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Anxiety Articles

Anxiety about Anti-anxiety meds

Monday, March 17th, 2008

Hi, I was on Lexapro 20 mg for about 3 years for anxiety/panic/depression and did great. So great, that in Sept 07 I decided to quit taking it. Big mistake! I was fine for several months, but now that I look back I can see that the anxiety was building up again. Finally, in Feb 08 I started getting severe anxiety with occasional panic attacks. I began taking lexapro at 10 mg in Jan. and bumped it to 20 mg when my attacks started. I've been at Lexapro 20 mg for 4 weeks now. I was taking the Lexapro once a day in conjunction with xanax .25 2x day. I've been trying to be positive waiting ...  
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Is this anxiety or what?

Monday, February 25th, 2008

From a S. American teen: well im about 16 just moved to a whole new country with my family i been dealing with anxiety pain and drama also living with my moms problem and covering her problems..now i don't know what is happening im having nightmares everytime i sleep and i'm never hungry i have major headache and now my left arms keep getting numb and i can't feel it at times. i feel like im not even here cause there is a point when my body just goes numb. i also get feeling that my heart beat gets fast then slow now im just really upset but i seem not to really show it i also been having really bad mood where i ...  
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I have big problems with anxiety.

Tuesday, February 19th, 2008

Hello. I have been having problems with anxiety.I went to my family Dr.and he said I have Generalized Anxiety Disorder and put me on Lexapro. The medicine helps somewhat but I think I have more problems then just anxiety. I have alot of other problems I failed to mention to him because I was too embarrassed. I am shy,timid,embarrass easily,afraid of humiliation and rejection,very sensitive,I hate talking to people,afraid of intimacy,don't like being touched,hate crowds,paranoid of being watched by people,spend most of my time in fantasy,very seldom leave my house,I have a hard time concentrating and i'm much more comfortable being alone than with my wife and son.I love my wife and son but my anxiety gets to a point where I have to get ...  
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Is it okay for him to curse me?

Wednesday, February 6th, 2008

Q: My husband and I have been married for almost three years. We dated for over six years before we married. I felt like I knew him so well and we would be fine. I knew he had a temper (at times)but overall he is an amazing person. He really is very loving and kind overall. Sometimes though (more frequently recently) he gets SO angry. He curses at me and calls me names. I feel like he really hates me at those moments. He doesn't hit me he just yells a lot and I can tell he is FURIOUS! He gets angry when things don't go his way. He's fine if all is well but if ...  
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Do You Know of Any Online Therapists?

Wednesday, January 30th, 2008

Q. To start with I haven't left my house in 2 months. I have dealt with my paranoia and mental illness since I was a teen but I think it could be getting much worse. I have alienated all of my friends away with my paranoia as I always think they are laughing or making faces to each other about me and I call them on it. I am obsessed with the idea that everyone thinks I am a man dressed up like a woman and is laughing at me. I am positive this is happening although my husband tells me it is absurd. This drives me crazy and makes me have severe depression and the desire to kill myself. (I have tried because of ...  
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Am I Getting Better?

Wednesday, January 30th, 2008

Q. I am a mother of a 17-months-old and have been married since last year. I am originally from Europe and my husband is in the US Military. Four months ago we moved from Europe here to the States. My husband works and I stay at home.

Shortly before leaving Europe I experienced what I now know were anxiety symptoms. I felt like I couldn't get enough air and my mind was foggy. I was generally scared and apprehensive, and went to see a doctor for my physical symptoms. The doc ran tests which were okay and assumed I was suffering from anxiety. She prescribed Xanax to take as needed to fend of a panic attack. I only once took it. My symptoms disappeared once

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Husband is over-involved with wife’s eating habits.

Sunday, January 20th, 2008

I am super-sensitive about the issue of my weight or food intake. I occasionally binge and although I am in a "healthy" weight range, I would like to be thinner and my husband likes very slim girls.

I have always been obsessed with food and think about it a lot. I have never had an eating disorder (starving or purging) except for the binging episodes. I would like to loose about 20 lbs. I am 5'4 and currently 143lbs. I have never liked exercise but have been exercising consistently for the last 12 mos (more than I ever have in my life — about 3-4 times a week). My husband is very fitness-minded and lactose intolerant so watches what he eats very carefully. I have

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Her teen daughter doesn’t like to be left alone.

Friday, November 2nd, 2007

My 15 year old daughter is very uncomfortable if left alone. She has not been left alone alot so I guess she is not used to it, but I find it surprising at how nervous and uncomfortable she becomes when she is to be alone for even relatively short periods of time, ie half an hour to 45 mins. Her 10 year old brother doesn't have the same problem.

A: Have you tried asking her in a loving, gentle way what's the matter? It certainly isn't usual for a 15 year old to be this nervous about being alone. I have to wonder if something is frightening her and she doesn't feel she can talk to you about it directly. Instead, she is

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Possible depersonalization/derealization, anxiety or physical health?

Thursday, August 16th, 2007

Q: I've been seeing many doctors over the last 3 weeks and no one seems to be able to conclusively decide what exactly I'm going through. Perhaps, someone here can give some helpful words.

Here's the back-story. About 3 weeks ago, during a routine day at work, with nothing out of the ordinary, I experienced an "episode" where I was suddenly overcome with fear, panic, and feeling as if I was passing out or dying. I did not black out, however my heart began to race, I felt fevered, my hands trembled like I have never seen in my life, I was sweating, and I was unable to stand.

After a few minutes, these initial symptoms began to subside...however, I felt completely disoriented and

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Depressed caused by social phobia

Sunday, July 29th, 2007

Q. I think I may suffer with depression caused by social phobia. I want to get help for this as it is holding me back career wise and also life wise. I am at risk of losing my job because of this condition. My problem is that I am finding it very hard to see a doctor because I fear he may send me to a therapist. I'm not sure what I fear from seeing a therapist but my instincts keep telling me not to go, and it doesn't matter how hard I fight it I just panic and end up back at square one.

My boss currently knows about this and he thinks that I am getting help. But secretly I am not.

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I’m afraid to go to a therapist!

Friday, July 20th, 2007

Q. I just recently had a break up with my bf of 1.5 years. I also just graduated college in May, and honestly, it seems that all aspects of my life, everything from Caregiving part time, to being with my family, to being with my bf and working my butt off full time at school, has not been very fulfilling or meaningful to me.

I am very proud that I graduated, a lot of the times I felt I wasn't going to make it. I wanted to give up. But now that I've made it, I still feel the same. I've been arguing with my bf so much that a week ago we decided to break it off. My family is tired of hearing of

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How do I get help for disability and new dislike of people in general?

Wednesday, July 18th, 2007

Q: I've looked all over your site and haven't been able to find anyone or any situation like mine. I should start by telling you that I am physically disabled. Between 1999 and 2003 I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia, Sjogren's Syndrome, and Spondylitis. In general, I suffer from pain all over my body, have had pancreatitis and cirrhosis several times in the last eight years (from the Sjogren's) and have been forced to use a cane when I walk (that's from the Spondylitis). I know and understand that depression is a common symptom of Fibromyalgia, and although I am not currently on medication for it (I was on Zoloft), I believe that I have it under control. My mother also has depression and has been ...  
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If you think you can do a thing or you think you can't do a thing, you're right.
-- Henry Ford