Anxious about Anxiety !!

Hi there, I am a 20 year old M, and have recently been diagnosed with anxiety, only problem is I thought that all my irrational thoughts and actions were normal until recently and what i thought was asthma was really panic attacks. I am constantly worried i have severe health issues and frequently feel out of breath. Recently I am always feeling tired , coupled with low blood pressure and have gone from a very confident, sports orientated young man to a shell of what i used to be, over-eating and paranoid. I have recently been prescribed Sertraline 50 mg but have not yet plucked up the courage to take it as i am worried as to its effects and whether it will be dangerous: guess i am just hoping there are others out their that can give me some confidence and clarification because i feel like i am going a bit mad and am very new to all this.

Thanks for your time, take care.

 

Hi hscchaun -

Anxious thoughts are normal, it's just when you become obsessed and scared of your thoughts and feelings that it develops into an anxiety disorder. Please trust me when I say that it will get better. I've been struggling with panic disorder for the past 10 years. I have months or a year when I'm fine and then a bad period where I have panic attacks fairly frequently. I found the best thing for me was to learn as much as I could about anxiety and how it works (physiologically and psychologically). Therapy is a great option - Google ACT therapy or CBT (just depends on what works best for you and where your anxious thoughts are coming from).

I have taken 100mg of Zoloft (Sertraline) for the last 6 years. I'm currently coming off of it as it's stopped being effective. I strongly suggest taking it in the morning as it can make you jittery until your body gets used to it. You should be fine as long as you take it regularly and DO NOT STOP abruptly. If you want to come off of it, you need to do it slowly and with doctor supervision.

Best of luck and I sincerely hope that you feel better soon. Until you can find a therapist, try relaxation breathing and meditation. There are lots of free meditation / relaxation apps if you need some direction.

-Monica