My anxiety is so bad

I've always had problems with extreme anxiety my whole life, and about a month ago I bucked up and went to the doctor. They put me on Citalopram 10MG, and I've steadily worked myself up to 40MG doses, been taking those for about a week. They also prescribed Clonezapam 0.5MG to take whenever I have an anxiety attack.

My doctor and I have agreed that it's my job that's causing this anxiety. Since I work at as inbound customer care for a major cell phone company. Which can be a very stressful job. Even though I do really enjoy it.

But I really don't know what to do anymore. I take huge anxiety attack 50% of the time when I wake up in the morning for work, and while I am looking for somewhere else to work, I still have to stay here for the time being since I need income. My doctor says to keep taking the medication and it will improve, but I'm scared because it hasn't been getting better so far. I feel absolutely hopeless, I've been having anxiety attacks all day today and the Clonezapam hasn't helped subsiding them like it usually does.

I'm really just ranting at this point because I don't have many places where I'm comfortable discussing this. But my anxiety has gotten so debilitating recently, and I'm so confused about what to do. It's just overwhelming and terrifying.

As well as throwing meds at your issues, your Dr should be seeing that you receive appropriate Therapy in order for you to better manage your symptoms. Learning relaxation, breathing and meditation techniques are Frontline treatments for Anxiety and Panic Attacks.

Rarely does Anxiety go away without proper management and treatment, but it can be controlled and you can live a normal life.

Dave.

Hi gigabyte... I am on citalopram as well, 20mg. and i wanted to be on klazapan but instead they stuck me on buspar which for me makes me sleep most of the time. I can only say let the medicines work. They take about 3 to 4 weeks to really start making a difference. I take mine in the morning then early evening before i go to bed to regulate. You can't just take meds without counseling for anxiety issues. You have to see a therapists for that. It is a journey, one day at a time... hang in there, you are not alone. Blessings..and keep posting...

Working through anxiety does take time, effort, and repetition. I know how hard it can be, I have been there & back again myself.

It is difficult. But, keep pushing yourself to go to work; try meeting with a T (therapist) and/or group to discuss ways to manage your anxiety & life; pick up some stress-relieving activities. Exercise is a great one! Litter pick-up, volunteer activities, etc. are also great ways to get your mind off anxiety & staying in the moment.

I know how you feel Giga! At least you finally got some help. If meds are what you need, then that's the road to recovery for you.

I wish you well and better days.

Intro

Call center jobs are a real nightmare. I know, I'm inbound customer service for Esurance. I think I take about 100 calls a day. I get yelled at, cussed out, and I can't hang up on anyone.

This creates that fight or flight response that brings on anxiety.

I've recently found that my extreme anxiety may have been from an underlying health condition though. They've got me on a beta blocker now, took my first dose last night.

I woke up at 4:30 a.m. with pretty much no dread. It was impressive.

Do you have a high heart rate all the time? If so, you may actually be suffering from more than just anxiety.

My previous job I didn't feel as much anxiety but I think that's because it involved a lot of moving around which exhausted me physically. My heart rate was always super high and I would wear myself out...

I hope for you it's just a job change that'll help. =) Hang in there.

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Septembersrain,

Now you are on beta blockers, taking them at night, you may find you have vivid, disturbing dreams or nightmares develop. This is a fairly common side effect, happened to me.

If you get occurrences, try switching taking your medication to the morning, that often works to reduce them.

Dave.

Luckily I get sleep paralysis. A few nightmares wouldn't even rattle my cage! Haha. Thanks for the warning though. I feel amazing so far. First time in years that I haven't felt and heard my own heart beating like I'd been running for my life. How did I ever convince myself this was normal?

I asked my fiancee if I died and if I'm a ghost my heart was so quiet this morning. What did you take them for Dave?

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I swapped between Metoprolol and Propranolol after my first Panic Attack in 1982, right up to 2013. I suffer terribly from severe Anxiety and Panic Attacks brought on by interacting with people and eating, mainly.

In '08 I had a heart attack and in '13 my Cardiologist changed my heart meds so I could no longer take beta blockers. I was doing well at the time, meditation was strengthening my mind and the combination of that and meds kept everything under control. That was all wrecked by a terrible Psychologist, so I am back to square one with no meds to use as support. No meditation, either, my physical pain issues have curtailed that at the moment.

While I have been damaged by Psychologists, the majority are only interested in helping and work to that end. However, it is important to always remember that we are the Employer, they are there to address our issues and a rapport is paramount, otherwise progress is impossible. I will always reccommend good Therapy as part of the treatment for issues such as ours.

Dave.

I was prescribed Clonezapam 0.5MG about a year ago, mostly for bed time because that seems to be when I get really anxious and can't sleep.
I had high hopes for it but it seemed to make my panic attacks worse, if not be the cause of them after only 3 days so my doctor took me off of it.

Medications effect everyone differently though, and do take quite a while to show signs of improvement. My doctor always told me about a month for my anxiety meds and up to three months for my antidepressant.

Give it time, but also share your concerns with you're doctor, it might take a while to find the right med for you.

I do hope things get better for you