Hi There,

I'm new here... I'm in my late twenties and have spent much of my life with anxiety, but have only recently started tackling it to try to better manage the daily battle.

I've always been a worrier. I've always been panicky. I grew up with an alcoholic parent and haven't had much stability and have found it easier to blame most of my problems on that. While it definitely hasn't made it easy... it doesn't make it okay to be unhappy and it doesn't make it okay to live around the clock with severe anxiety.

It became evident that it was time to do something about this when the symptoms became very physical... I've experienced nausea, headaches, shaking, sweats, tightness in chest, difficulty breathing, difficulty focusing, concentrating, and remembering things, lack of sleep, and more. I've learned that being on edge around the clock is unbearable, and its time to take care of myself and get better.

This in itself has been a battle though... I'm currently starting on my third anti-depressant (trying Zoloft this time... but I've been on Effexor XR and Cipralex/Lexapro), and am taking Ativan twice a day to manage in the meantime. I realize that this is a short term solution and do not have concerns of a long-term addiction. I'm also finding that despite taking some time for myself, I'm having many more bad days than good and its nearly impossible to relax or focus. I'm also seeing a psychologist to help with this.

While its been difficult to deal with all of this, it's become apparent that I'm also struggling with depression.

Although I'm struggling with all of the above, I'm optimistic that I'm moving in the right direction and that things will become more manageable. I look forward to meeting the great folks on these forums.