Acute anxiety

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DP has started with severe anxiety about 3 weeks ago. Never had anxiety before, did have an episode of depresssion 30 years ago but it resolved with antidepressants which he stayed on for a couple of years then came off. Anxiety not a reaction to anything, just came out of the blue. He’s not talking much but when he does talk he says he regrets working so much when the kids were little, regrets buying the house. He whispers “make it go away” sometimes. Sticks to me like glue. He hasn’t smiled or laughed for about 3 weeks. He works part time and is off sick. He can’t face food until the evening when he feels less in hell and isn’t drinking much fluid - half a cup of coffee, half a cup of tea and a bottle of beer today. Losing weight quite quickly. Not dressing or showering unless I insist. He was prescribed Sertraline 2 weeks ago and a few days ago propananol but it’s not improving, worse every day. Does anyone know how long this will go on for? I know that this can’t go on an on. He’s speaking to his GP weekly.

From my own experience Sertraline can actually make things worse for the first few weeks, hopefully soon it should start to improve things. I hope he feels better soon.

Thank you, I wondered if the sertraline is making him worse or whether this is the course of the illness and the sertraline hasn’t started to work yet. I’m glad your’s lifted.

Just popping on to send support. Really feel for you both. I hope the sertraline kicks in properly soon? And he drinks more fluids.

Just wanted to say thinking of you both.

I found Fluoxetine good for anxiety - I’d had pretty bad anxiety and depression for over two years when I tried Fluoxetine. Within a few days I felt almost back to normal.

If your husband’s symptoms get worse or he starts acting strangely, he might need urgent care. He sounds on the edge of a breakdown to me.

I hope things improve. He may need urgent care OP as some of what you describe sound similar to being close to a breakdown..

Thank you all. @GingerPasteIm glad you felt better after a few days. I think you’re right he is on the edge of a breakdown, and the next thing that could happen is his thoughts become more disconnected from reality so I keep trying to get him to tell me what he’s thinking. On Friday he went to see our daughter at her University city for the day - it was a long-standing arrangement and he didn’t want to let her down - she noticed he wasn’t himself but he said he was really tired and she appears to have accepted this, but I wonder if recovering from this long day explains yesterday. Last Sunday I persuaded him to spend a couple of hours at his Allotment with our late teen son and he was grateful to walk round Tesco with me last Saturday but this weekend he has barely moved. We’ve had to let some friends down today. He doesn’t want anyone to know. At work two of my close long-standing colleagues know so I could talk to them in the week but I don’t want to have to deal with all the kind enquiries which i will follow if we tell family and friends why I’m unloading here. Thank you.

This isn't anxiety – anxiety doesn't simply appear for no reason in someone with no past history and for no reason (anxiety is the emotion that brings our attention to something that's too important to ignore; like all emotions it can be disproportionately excessive but it can't come out of nowhere for no apparent reason). His GP needs to refer him.

I agree he could be having a breakdown. Is there a local crisis team?

This doesn’t sound like anxiety- he needs a mental health assessment to make sure he’s on the right treatment path

Hi if I can get him to drink fluids today I’ll ring the GP tomorrow and escalate. I think I’ll be told to take him to A&E to see the Crisis Team. The lack of fluids is going to start to make him physically ill if he doesn’t drink. He’s a bit less biddable today. I thought he was bad last Sunday but this is much worse. Thank you all for your replies.