Dr google ... No stay away from that dr. He has everyone convinced that we are all terminal. I don't have anxiety that needs meds but my husband does and I hate to say it he is afraid of almost everything. Anxiety is very real and it can be dilibating. Have you seen your doctor lately?
I want to just give you some advice if I can. I have been to the ER with my husbands anxiety convincing him he is having a heart attack. It has been always his anxiety. And I know it is very scary and it isn't something " in your head". Anxiety causes many many problems. I spoke with one ER doctor on an occasion and a heart attack ( real deal ) can ( but not always ) be very painful. You said you plsyed football. I suppose you have had a " Charlie horse " before? ( real bad cramp in the leg) one type of heart attack is just that a Charlie horse or cramp in your heart. If you have had a Charlie horse you know it hurts so bad you can't even scream out and you start to sweat just from the pain. Absolutely this is not the only sign of a heart attack because the heart is complex and different parts of the heart can " tilt tilt " like a pin ball machine while the rest of your heart is working fine. So here is what we did my husband was honest and very candid with our doctor and we approached it from both sides and it has helped. He takes Zoloft 50mg and Xanax ( as needed no more than once a day). And we saw a cardiologist for an angioplasty. The cardio doc said he had the cleanest arteries he has ever seen in a 45 year old man. Believe it or not my husband was able to " see for himself " that his heart was very heathy thus helped with the feeling of having a heart attack. Did it help the anxiety . Nope. But now when his chest feels that way he uses coping skills and we deal with the anxiety. As a really cool dude note that angioplasty was done on valentines day !!! My husband got to give me a picture of his heart ( awe) I still have it ( cool huh?) I think if you can get into the doc and talk to him / her about
what your going through. ( if they down play YOUR feelings get another doc !) I think maybe some therapy and coping skills and breathing will help you a lot. You will also find many many totally awesome people on this forum who struggles are the sane as yours. You will have support and love and advice. Keep posting. You will be ok.
You mentioned you don't play football anymore but do you get regular excersise because excersise releases feel good chemicals into your system. I know you know this ... Remember how awesome you felt after winning a game? You can get that back. Take care of you. Start small and give yourself a break don't get down on yourself because depression and anxiety are married to each other. Please go talk to the doc and don't be a stranger here.
Wow ! My husband won't take his Zyrtec anymore because he is afraid that it will react with his Xanax. It is wonderful and amazing how similar stories just appear here.
See ya around