My personal mental health story and background.

Hi there everyone, this is Sam. I recently registered on this site and i thought that i would start to open up to all of you about my health issues that are troubling me..

So a bit about myself, i am male, from England and am in my 20's and have started to have a issue for about one year.

I hope some people can read this and advise me what problems i have and solutions to how i could gently stop them

I started feeling extremely panicky and anxious about a year ago. This happened out of the blue and i cannot see a reason why my body started acting this way. There has been no negative life events that i feel triggered my anxiety.

I am unsure whether i have either an anxiety disorder or panic disorder mixed with depression. I would describe it as 70% anxiety and 30% low mood depression.

In terms of my symptoms i do have several:

1) Physical symptoms:

Trembling
Dry mouth
Talking Fast
Hyperalert
Shallow breathing
Fast Heartbeat

Oversleeping
Overeating
Not very Social because of anxiety

2) Mental symptoms -
Thinking rapidly
Feeling stressed continuously
Sometimes can concentrate on a singly activity and distracted

Low mood
No energy mentally even after sleep
Having low ambition due to low mood and fear

So then these are my symptoms i have had for the last year. I have tried solving them myself but they seem to have got worse over the last year.

I am unsure what to do as they do not seem to go away and seem to come up no matter if i am inside the house, outside shopping etc, whether i am alone or with people.

There seems to be a permanent anxious state as soon as i wake up but this gets increased if i go outside

What advice can people here give me to find the root of the problem as i am having trouble dealing with this issue of mine.

I hope you can help me start of on this journey of self improvement so i can live a normal life and do the things that normal people do.

I look forward to your responses and will answer as honestly as i can to any questions you may have about my feelings.

Thanks
Sam

Hey Sam! I'm new as well. I can relate to a lot of your issues (as I'm sure a lot of people can on the site as well) I personally feel that it would not help you if I or anyone else here try to "diagnose" you. I think you are doing the right thing by opening up and sharing your experience. I would suggest taking this list to a psychologist or psychiatrist to get a proper proffessional opinion and then work from there to decide on the best treatment for you.
Always here to chat

hi sam (and ace) glad you found us here! Ace is 100% correct if you can see a medical professional be it your gp, psychologist, psychciatrist or mental health worker with your list they are going to be the best person to help you find out what is going on and how to treat it. But we are here too , to listen and give what advice we can (if you want it). You are definately not alone, many here have had experiences similar to yours. You have done the right thing seeing the symptoms for what they are and having the courage to face them rather than trying to ignore them.
hope today is a good day for you.

Welcome Sam, I know that medication is not the solution to everything. Sometimes it is a valuable help. It would be good, I think, for you to go to a doctor and get a formal diagnosis. A problem can seem more manageable if it has a name. Possibly, the doctor will recommend some kind of medication. For 6 years, I refused to even try medication. What a surprise I got when I finally agreed to try meds. In no way did medication solve everything, but it let me sleep normally. That made life so much easier.

This is a great place to come for understanding and support. Still, you might do well to get some professional back up. It is very good that you want to go on a "journey of self-improvement." It sounds like you have a pretty positive attitude despite all your difficulty. That's a real good sign.

Going to agree that that's a great list to take to your doctor. You are already steps ahead of me, when I stumbled into my Ts office and was too much of a mess to really tell her what was going on. Unlike many health problems, when it comes to mental health, things tend to go hand in hand. Like when I told T about my anxiety, she asked me questions related to depression because they go hand in hand sometimes. Feeling anxious all the time can lead you to feel depressed and vice versa. And that complexity is why we can't diagnose you.

A lot of symptoms seems similar to mine, so here's a few ideas of what has worked for me.
-When I start to get that anxious-racing thought feeling I start to write down what's upsetting me. Even if it's nonsensical jibberish. The fact that my brain has to slow down for my hand to move can sometimes keep me calm or identify which factor is the problem and then I can try to deal with that
-This might be specific to me, but I'm an over-tasker. I pile as much on my plate as I can because I believe I should be able to do it all. Last September I was in full time college as well as working 3 jobs (1 of which alone gave me about 30 hours/week). Obviously, not great on my mental status (or physical for that matter). But I quit all 3 of those jobs and now I work 1 (flexible one) while I'm in school I try to go through my day slower. I try to remember to breathe slower
-I try to talk to people. Whether it's posting a rant online, or texting a friend or going on the chat here...just having someone hear you helps sometimes

Sam! This is a great place the more you explore. Good luck to you!

Hi, thanks for your advice. OK i am not sure that family or friends may be able to help, they may provide emotional support but may not be able to provide medical advice.

Do you think it is worth going to my doctor about this? If i do what is likely to happen at the meeting... will they give me medicine...?

I am a bit worried about starting medication because of the potential side effects.... of mental health drugs, also i am unsure whether they are likely to work.

So then please advice me whether i should see a general doctor or a psychiatrist?

Hope you reply soon
Thanks
Sam

Sam, If you have a regular doctor who knows you real well, then I recommend you start with your own doctor. If not, then I would encourage you to see a psychiatrist. Your list substantiates that you have a clinically significant disorder that warrants getting a diagnosis AND treatment.

No one will force you to take meds. If the doctor offers you a med, it's for the purpose of helping you to have less of the symptoms on your lists above. I think the side effects of some meds might be less distressing that the symptoms you have now. You never know till you try something. If side effects are too bad, then you just stop taking the med, as your doctor will want you to do. Sometimes, you have to try a few things.

Regardless of the meds, you really deserve to get a DIAGNOSIS. That way you have a firmer sense of knowing what you are dealing with. I strongly recommend you see one doctor or another. Your guesses about what is wrong with you may be correct, but a doctor should confirm that, or maybe suggest a diagnosis you haven't thought of. Then the doctor can help you know what to expect for the future.

Keep us posted. We're here for you, Sam. Good Luck

Hi everyone, thanks for responding.

OK, i will make an appointment with a doctor to talk about my symptoms with a professional.

Do you think that counselling can help? Is it really a proven technique that helps patients ... i am unsure as i have never had professional counselling from a mental health professional. I am trying to be open minded in regards to counselling but am curious as to how counselling can help anxiety/panic attacks.

Does anyone on this forum have experience with counselling? How did it help you and do you feel it helped?

Hope you reply soon
Thanks
Sam

Yes, I would go to a general doctor and get a regular physical, tell them about your anxiety problems but have them do blood tests and other "physical" stuff and then, after the results of all your medical tests come in, they can advise whether you should go to a psychiatrist or whether they will prescribe you something or if they think counseling will help (if you don't have any "problems" then talking to someone might not be something you would care about). But there are a lot of physical illnesses that can cause the symptoms you describe and since they came on suddenly, maybe it's just something physical out of whack.

could be side-effect of a medication you are taking now. check your diet and see if anything changed.

Counseling has helped me in the past. Sometimes just talking with someone helps me with my anxiety. I have gotten different ideas as to the cause of it. Hope you are feeling better.