How anxious is too anxious?

Hey guys and gals,

Just wanting a spot of advice regarding anxiety. I've been feeling anxious for ages, mainly in the context of depression and mixed episodes. Anyway, now the mood thing is somewhat sorted but the anxiety lives on.

I half told my psychiatrist about it but he asked if it stopped me doing stuff and I said no even though the answer was yes.

An example is this weekend.

So my housemate was away, so on Friday I just didn't get out of bed til 6pm because I don't really have many friends here (just moved this year) and the thought of dealing with a whole day seemed pointless so I just slept through it.

Then yesterday I had heaps of jobs to do, and saw a few friends. I get anxious when I go to the shops but I just breathe through it because I know the whole cbt thing blah blah. I get really anxious at home. Little jobs like tidying my room stress me out to the point of my heart pounding and feeling sick, but i usually force myself to do them eventually. Then today I just felt sick all day. The good thing about it is that's dont eat as much so my drug belly doesn't grow. But doing anything, like walking outside or public transport or making food or basically doing anything other than nothing is really stressful and makes me feel really anxious.

I know the whole cbt thing and I'm not a stressor or a worrier at all, it's just this gut anxiety all the time. Except less at work, where I'm mainly ok now.

I mean I guess one big scale I feel stressed as life isn't exactly going to plan right now, but I don't see what's could do differently to stop it, except regain my self esteem which well and truly died in the last giant mixed episode where I just became captain self destructive.

What should I do? Should I tell my psychiatrist? I. Don't have an appointment with him til next year, but I could make one. I'm scared of getting too dependent on drugs, but if this is something that could be fixed like the epic bipolar depression was with the right amount of drugs should I just go see him?

Oh wow, this got really long.

I definitely think you should see your pdoc and tell them the truth. I use writing in a journal to help me process thoughts and work out what's causing the underlying problem that's really making me feel stressed. I also try not to sleep in too much even when I don't have much on. Some days I don't succeed and sleep in till lunch but I try to schedule things in the morning to get me up.
Exercise helps to but it can be hard to get going. Make sure you reward yourself when you do something that's hard to do. Lists can help get through the things you need to get done.
Moving to a new place is hard so don't put too much pressure on yourself. Keep in touch with old friends and try to get involved with new people. It took me a couple of years to feel at home in my current city.

Aw thanks . Good advice. I can't tell if I'm being silly or not but maybe I should get in touch with the doc. I feel like I'm making it up, but that's the same thing I thought when I was most sick with bipolar, I cant even tell.

I would call your pdoc and be honest.

You maybe going through stuff and need some anti anxiety medication for awhile. I was putting myself through some bad anxiety because it wasn't "bad enough" in my mind. When I talked to my pdoc we talked about what was going on and I realized I set my bar for what is high anxiety way too why until I let myself get to the point where I can't function and then I go for help.

And it maybe that you only need anti anxiety medication for a little while.

If anxiety is keeping you from doing things, then it is an issue. I have generalized anxiety disorder and I get really freaked out by the smallest things sometimes. But, I've gotten to the point where I force myself to do things. Like talk on the phone. Or go to the store. I hate those things. I wouldn't say I have gotten over any of my issues, I am just better able to cope with them.

Cardio exercise always helps my anxiety. Last time, an hour of non-stop swimming provided complete relief from strong anxiety for many hours afterwards. I manage without anti-anxiety meds.

Hmmm thanks guys. I think next time I see the doc (which isn't for a while) i will bring it up. I get nervous going to the doc and put my best game face on, meaning I look fine and come across as Really confident.

And yes, exercise helps me too; I'm trying to figure out the least edgy time to go but that is a good point.

Do anxiety meds make you out of it? I dont want to be high all the time. At the mo I'm taking 800mg epilim and 25mg seroquel, which is baby doses compared to many. I like it because I'm still a bit silly in the evenings when my drugs wear off, but good for work.

Dear FarAwaytree,
I think everyone gave you great advice. Sorry to hear you are anxious/over anxious. You really need to tell your Pdoc the truth.
For me, in my opinion, not for everyone, Talk to a proffesional!!
Anti anxiety drugs like zanax have been around along time and work well with very low dosages. And not something you have to take everyday.
I so hope you feel better soon. Talk to people here at pc, in the real world and you will find that you are not alone and that helps big time. Try to not to put so much on what you want to accomplish do small task. Eat, you have to eat to keep energy in your body. Sometimes a whole day could go by and before bed i wonder if I ate today. So I buy bnnanas, I'' scuff one down while making coffee in the morning.