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I Suffer From Anxiety, And I Want To Overcome It

13

Posts

  • KetarKetar Come on upstairs we're having a partyRegistered User regular
    I had a goddamn miserable night last night: despite going to sleep the same time as usual and my eyes already heavy, I ended up tossing and turning with my eyes popping wide awake. I simply did not get a single hour of sleep the entire time, and I felt my heart racing real fast while generating a lot of body heat (metaphorically? it just felt like I was letting off a lot of steam).

    I’m not sure why that happened. It could be because I have a tendency to have a shot of cuban coffee after dinner. I never thought it would affect my sleep since it’s typically three hours before bedtime, but I’ve been lectured that the effects could last much longer. Henceforth, I’ll be putting a stop to that and see if I improve.

    On another note, I wanted to ask: is laziness a common sign of anxiety? I’ve had this long habit of trying things out and giving up early: physical therapy, mental therapy, exercises, etc. And when I try to inquire about things like what kind of career I should take, I end up shying away and stop from even looking up information. I think it’s a result of trying to steer clear of further stress (for example: a job field I was interested in ends up sounding harder/less lucrative than I’d hope, which leaves me feeling miserable). For example, NanoWrimo starts tomorrow. I’ve put it off every year and have felt miserable for not even trying. This year I want to break the cycle, in the hopes it will push me out of my extended writer’s block. But when I think about the deadline to begin coming up, I end up feeling nervous and anxious. Same as usual.

    This is a common habit I really want to get rid of, but I’m wondering if it relates to the bigger issue at hand (anxiety), and thus why I need to continue seeing someone and possibly take meds if deemed necessary. Like many of the things that give me grief in life, I want to take control and put an end to it.

    Yes, what you're describing is common for many people with anxiety problems. Avoidant behavior is a form of self-defense, trying to keep yourself out of situations that are causing you more stress or that you (often falsely) believe will cause you more stress. The only thing that is going to help you right now is sticking with therapy sessions and pursuing anti-anxiety medications for a while as well if that is deemed necessary/appropriate.

    Caffeine could cause sleep problems when ingested so late, but if it's something you do regularly that probably isn't what caused your bad night.

  • EncEnc A Fool with Compassion Pronouns: He, Him, HisRegistered User regular
    Enc wrote: »
    I have a tendency to have a shot of cuban coffee after dinner. I never thought it would affect my sleep since it’s typically three hours before bedtime, but I’ve been lectured that the effects could last much longer. Henceforth, I’ll be putting a stop to that and see if I improve.

    Uh, how much caffeine are you ingesting? Daily?

    I start the morning with a thermostat of American Coffee (not that strong but it’s all I got at that time).

    A couple hours after lunch I’ll have a cafe con leche (8 oz).

    Sometimes I’ll have a shot of cuban coffee around 5pm. About an oz I’d say.

    After dinner I’ll have another shot. This one might be the one that’s fucking me up (even though I never had it that bad before), so I’m going to put a stop to that, barring weekends.
    Enc wrote: »
    Also, there is no winning or losing NaNoWriMo. You just write or you don't. There are no stakes and nothing to prove.

    No, see, what you’re saying is perfectly logical.

    If only it were that easy to convince my subconscious.

    Coming from someone who used to have about this amount of caffeine a day, this is extremely unhealthy and likely is significantly contributing not only to sleep problems but a host of other issues you are going through.

    You need to get that down to one or two cups in the morning only, or less.

  • Professor SnugglesworthProfessor Snugglesworth Registered User regular
    edited November 2017
    Enc wrote: »
    Enc wrote: »
    I have a tendency to have a shot of cuban coffee after dinner. I never thought it would affect my sleep since it’s typically three hours before bedtime, but I’ve been lectured that the effects could last much longer. Henceforth, I’ll be putting a stop to that and see if I improve.

    Uh, how much caffeine are you ingesting? Daily?

    I start the morning with a thermostat of American Coffee (not that strong but it’s all I got at that time).

    A couple hours after lunch I’ll have a cafe con leche (8 oz).

    Sometimes I’ll have a shot of cuban coffee around 5pm. About an oz I’d say.

    After dinner I’ll have another shot. This one might be the one that’s fucking me up (even though I never had it that bad before), so I’m going to put a stop to that, barring weekends.
    Enc wrote: »
    Also, there is no winning or losing NaNoWriMo. You just write or you don't. There are no stakes and nothing to prove.

    No, see, what you’re saying is perfectly logical.

    If only it were that easy to convince my subconscious.

    Coming from someone who used to have about this amount of caffeine a day, this is extremely unhealthy and likely is significantly contributing not only to sleep problems but a host of other issues you are going through.

    You need to get that down to one or two cups in the morning only, or less.

    Well the good news is I slept better last night, avoiding the nightly shot I normally ingest.

    For what it’s worth, I had a recent blood test (unrelated, was necessary for a seperate test) and I came out 100% healthy, even with lower cholesterol than I had in my last blood test.

    Still, I would like to ween off the caffeine a bit, but I would also like some alternatives to getting that jolt of energy I usually need in the afternoon and early evening. I hate feeling tired, especially when I get home and want to relax.

    Professor Snugglesworth on
  • bowenbowen How you doin'? Registered User regular
    So here's something: You don't really need coffee to keep you awake.

    The reason you feel groggy in the morning is because you're dehydrated, so if you chug an equivalent amount of water, you will wake yourself up just as quickly as if you downed 8 ounces of coffee (or a whole thermos jesus christ man). The caffeine, being the substance it is, is probably not doing anything for your alertness anymore anyways, however it is probably stressing your cardiovascular and skeletomuscular systems out.

    You know what it causes when you drink whole thermoses a day?

    Irritability, muscle pain, headaches, anxiety-like symptoms, and a few other unrelated things. Guess what you've been struggling with!

    Like I said, you need to get your lifestyle stuff in order and you'll find it'll correct a whole host of ancillary problems. If you enjoy coffee, that's great, but you should probably stick to maybe 8 ounces a day at the most, and all in the morning. It'd be better to make it an occasional treat instead of an everyday thing, though. Also, you'll have to give it more time than a single day, it's not going to fix overnight because you're essentially going to go through withdrawal as soon as you stop drinking coffee and feel like a garbage fire for about 1-2 weeks.

    not a doctor, not a lawyer, examples I use may not be fully researched so don't take out of context plz, don't @ me
  • bsjezzbsjezz Registered User regular
    Still, I would like to ween off the caffeine a bit, but I would also like some alternatives to getting that jolt of energy I usually need in the afternoon and early evening. I hate feeling tired, especially when I get home and want to relax.

    that "jolt of energy", by the way, is much less performance-boost than it is simply staving off withdrawal symptoms

    sC4Q4nq.jpg
  • EncEnc A Fool with Compassion Pronouns: He, Him, HisRegistered User regular
    Yeah, a blood test isn't going to detect you being addicted to caffeine in a noticeable way. You need caffeine that much because you are dependent on it. Like Bowen said, there are direct links between your problem and what is going on. You probably should tell your doctors, PTs, or therapists about the amount of caffeine you are ingesting.

    Stopping caffeine cold turkey requires ~8-25 days of hell and isn't recommended. Throttle down what you are drinking to 1-2 cups maximum, and nonne after 11:00 am. And deal with being sluggish at night for a week.

  • Mr RayMr Ray Sarcasm sphereRegistered User regular
    Prof; you don't happen to suffer from ADHD, do you?

  • CalicaCalica Registered User regular
    Still, I would like to ween off the caffeine a bit, but I would also like some alternatives to getting that jolt of energy I usually need in the afternoon and early evening. I hate feeling tired, especially when I get home and want to relax.
    Physical activity helps with this. Do something that gets your blood moving, but doesn't leave you exhausted. For me that means going for a walk; for you it might be something else.

    Probably won't help with caffeine withdrawal, though. I wouldn't know.

    Also, it might help to keep the rituals. Have your hot beverages, but switch to tea or something like choffy. One of the nice things about tea is that different kinds have different amounts of caffeine, so if you like drinking tea you can ramp down your caffeine intake that way.

  • MayabirdMayabird Pecking at the keyboardRegistered User regular
    Chocolate is chemically very similar to caffeine but only has trace amounts of actual caffeine in it. A little dark chocolate can take the edge off withdrawal because it'll trick the body into thinking it's getting the caffeine it craves.

  • CelestialBadgerCelestialBadger Registered User regular
    Caffeine withdrawal is just a headache for a couple of days. Tylenol gets rid of most of it.

  • KetarKetar Come on upstairs we're having a partyRegistered User regular
    Caffeine withdrawal is just a headache for a couple of days. Tylenol gets rid of most of it.

    That is some big time YMMV on both of those.

    I mean, caffeine withdrawal isn't going to have any serious or dangerous side effects but there can be more going on than just a headache. Also, some people get pretty severe headaches trying to go cold turkey on caffeine. And there isn't a single OTC pain reliever that relieves headaches for me, so... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

  • EncEnc A Fool with Compassion Pronouns: He, Him, HisRegistered User regular
    Caffeine withdrawal is just a headache for a couple of days. Tylenol gets rid of most of it.

    Yeah, good for you if true. For many (most) people with significant caffeine addiction, quitting cold turkey is 3-4 days of increasingly bad headaches, 3-4 days of crippling migraines that make functioning difficult, then a slow decline of symptoms over 1-2 weeks.

    Though if you wean down to very little caffine per day (8oz or so) and go cold turkey, it's much less terrible.

  • TaerakTaerak Registered User regular
    edited November 2017
    I used to be a serious coca cola dependent myself. Quitting was hard - I'd gone off it twice, but it didn't stick.

    Two years ago I basically made myself a rule: whenever I am thirsty, sluggish, or anything else I wanted to relieve with caffeine and sugar, I'd have a pint(ish) of water first.

    Most of the time I found I didn't really want anything after. Still keep to the rule - water for thirst, anything else is entertainment. As long as I am not kidding myself, the system works pretty well. Highly recommend it to help reduce your caffeine intake.

    I also recommend starting your caffeine reduction or cold turkey (I really preferred cold turkey; but it's definitely not for everyone) over a long weekend or holiday. Normally this doesn't make a significant difference to most dependencies, but the good thing with caffeine is the physical cravings pretty much stop with the symptoms. You'll deal with the mental cravings longer though, hence why I still keep to the water thing.

    Taerak on
  • VoodooVVoodooV Registered User regular
    I bought the bottomless mug at Bruegger's Bagels, so I've been guzzling coffee for the past two years. When the mug expires at the end of the year, I'm going to give up coffee for at least a year. Even though my issues have been very mild, I also want to see if it makes any difference in my digestive issues, because they started around the same time I started drinking more coffee which makes it a worthwhile experiment to perform.

    I still have a lot of loose leaf tea though too.

  • djmitchelladjmitchella Registered User regular
    Anecdotal only, but for what it's worth -- I drink a fairly large cup of coffee every morning, then another couple of 12-oz-or-so cups during the day.

    While trying various things to gain weight while starting on weightlifting again, I tried GOMAD, which is basically "drink a gallon of full-fat milk a day". Nutritional soundness of that aside, I found out that I simply couldn't drink any coffee as well as all that milk, it was just too much liquid -- but I also didn't miss the coffee at all; no headaches, no problems with alertness in the morning, I was surprised to find that I felt totally fine. Possibly the initial hit of liquid and calories was enough to make up for the caffeine?

  • bowenbowen How you doin'? Registered User regular
    Anecdotal only, but for what it's worth -- I drink a fairly large cup of coffee every morning, then another couple of 12-oz-or-so cups during the day.

    While trying various things to gain weight while starting on weightlifting again, I tried GOMAD, which is basically "drink a gallon of full-fat milk a day". Nutritional soundness of that aside, I found out that I simply couldn't drink any coffee as well as all that milk, it was just too much liquid -- but I also didn't miss the coffee at all; no headaches, no problems with alertness in the morning, I was surprised to find that I felt totally fine. Possibly the initial hit of liquid and calories was enough to make up for the caffeine?

    You're grogginess in the morning is a side effect of being slightly dehydrated. Drinking a cup of water will accomplish the same thing as a cup of coffee in re: waking you up. The caffeine will also impact your nervous system on top of the water in the coffee that does the actual rehydrating and you will feel like shit as the effects wear off. And thus you will want to drink more coffee to "wake yourself up".

    not a doctor, not a lawyer, examples I use may not be fully researched so don't take out of context plz, don't @ me
  • CelestialBadgerCelestialBadger Registered User regular
    Decaf coffee can be pretty decent if you need the morning ritual.

  • bowenbowen How you doin'? Registered User regular
    Decaf coffee can be pretty decent if you need the morning ritual.

    Great way to trick your body too. Placebos work. Even if you know they're a placebo.

    not a doctor, not a lawyer, examples I use may not be fully researched so don't take out of context plz, don't @ me
  • mtsmts Dr. Robot King Registered User regular
    well decaf isn't truely a placebo since it still has caffeine in it

    camo_sig.png
  • VoodooVVoodooV Registered User regular
    eh, the other reason I'm dropping coffee is money. Got a car payment now. Money is tighter and coffee isn't cheap, even with the bottomless mug.

  • That_GuyThat_Guy I don't wanna be that guy Registered User regular
    I suffer from wicked anxiety but am able to keep it in check by self medicating with cannabis. Getting just the right dose can be tricky for some people. One of my coworkers just started a micro dosing regimen with CO2 oil and it's really helped him a lot.

  • DrDinosaurDrDinosaur Registered User regular
    That_Guy wrote: »
    I suffer from wicked anxiety but am able to keep it in check by self medicating with cannabis. Getting just the right dose can be tricky for some people. One of my coworkers just started a micro dosing regimen with CO2 oil and it's really helped him a lot.

    This is astoundingly bad advice

  • bowenbowen How you doin'? Registered User regular
    DrDinosaur wrote: »
    That_Guy wrote: »
    I suffer from wicked anxiety but am able to keep it in check by self medicating with cannabis. Getting just the right dose can be tricky for some people. One of my coworkers just started a micro dosing regimen with CO2 oil and it's really helped him a lot.

    This is astoundingly bad advice

    Medical Cannabis is a thing in a lot of states now.

    Maybe seek the advice of a physician for this stuff if it's not legal in your state to go to the dispensary and pick up some.

    I think anxiety is one of the many things it can be used to treat.

    not a doctor, not a lawyer, examples I use may not be fully researched so don't take out of context plz, don't @ me
  • DrDinosaurDrDinosaur Registered User regular
    bowen wrote: »
    DrDinosaur wrote: »
    That_Guy wrote: »
    I suffer from wicked anxiety but am able to keep it in check by self medicating with cannabis. Getting just the right dose can be tricky for some people. One of my coworkers just started a micro dosing regimen with CO2 oil and it's really helped him a lot.

    This is astoundingly bad advice

    Medical Cannabis is a thing in a lot of states now.

    Maybe seek the advice of a physician for this stuff if it's not legal in your state to go to the dispensary and pick up some.

    I think anxiety is one of the many things it can be used to treat.

    I meant specifically suggesting to self-medicate

  • CelestialBadgerCelestialBadger Registered User regular
    Cannabis can both increase and decrease anxiety, depending on the person. Worth trying if regular medicine fails, especially since PS is also having problems with back pain, which it can also treat. High CBD (the stuff that doesn’t get you high) would be the right stuff to try. Only applicable if legal in your state. Don’t just go to a drug dealer for this - the recreational types are *low* CBD and so not useful for this purpose. Only legal Mmj suppliers have this stuff.

  • JacobyJacoby OHHHHH IT’S A SNAKE Creature - SnakeRegistered User regular
    So I've just started visiting a psychiatrist for my long-running anxiety-type issues. It's time for me to really work on them now.
    I've been prescribed lexapro 10 mg to help with this, but I was wondering if anyone could share their experience starting lexapro.
    How did it feel? Did that feeling change over time? When did you realize it was really working?
    Thanks!

    GameCenter: ROldford
    Switch: nin.codes/roldford
  • DidgeridooDidgeridoo Flighty Dame Registered User regular
    Jacoby wrote: »
    So I've just started visiting a psychiatrist for my long-running anxiety-type issues. It's time for me to really work on them now.
    I've been prescribed lexapro 10 mg to help with this, but I was wondering if anyone could share their experience starting lexapro.
    How did it feel? Did that feeling change over time? When did you realize it was really working?
    Thanks!

    Hello! That is the medicine and dosage I've been taking for the past year or so.

    The only negative side effect i experienced was some GI discomfort for the first week or two, but that settled itself.

    My sleep patterns amd appetite started improving pretty quickly, but it took about four to six weeks before i 'felt' different, if that makes sense. It was probably about 3 to 4 months before it was at full effect. Its a slow-acting medication, for sure.

    Basically i noticed myself thinking one day that i was feeling a lot less anxious and happier in general, and noticed that i was not engaging in anxious patterns of behaviour anymore (like obsessively planning or googling a topic within an inch of its life). I also noticed that i was able to start enjoying previous hobbies more fully, and was able to concentrate better.

    A year later and I'm very happy i started it, and i intend to stay on it for the foreseeable future because of the quality of life improvement. Good luck, and stick with it! It takes time, but for me anyway, its well worth it.

  • KoopahTroopahKoopahTroopah The koopas, the troopas. Philadelphia, PARegistered User regular
    Jacoby wrote: »
    So I've just started visiting a psychiatrist for my long-running anxiety-type issues. It's time for me to really work on them now.
    I've been prescribed lexapro 10 mg to help with this, but I was wondering if anyone could share their experience starting lexapro.
    How did it feel? Did that feeling change over time? When did you realize it was really working?
    Thanks!

    I started on 10mg, but I ended up going up to 20mg the next month since it didn't feel like enough. The first day was complete hell for me though. The thought of trying medication that would affect my brain kind of drove me through a full day panic attack. The best advice I can give is to start on a day when you're completely free in case you experience something similar, and also to fight through that shit. The second day I felt amazing. I mentioned it in my thread, but I felt like Neo from the Matrix. Everything seemed slower, and I was able to focus on single things instead of having a constant buzzing of thought in my head. I didn't feel depressed or anxious about planned events or my dad taking care of me at the time. It really helped me feel more like a normal person, and less like a bum. I've been taking it ever since. Eventually you forget that you're taking it, and another piece of advice I can give is to not skip a day. I've skipped days on the weekends because I'd think I felt okay so I don't need to take it today, but then I feel like complete shit the following day.

  • mtsmts Dr. Robot King Registered User regular
    Jacoby wrote: »
    So I've just started visiting a psychiatrist for my long-running anxiety-type issues. It's time for me to really work on them now.
    I've been prescribed lexapro 10 mg to help with this, but I was wondering if anyone could share their experience starting lexapro.
    How did it feel? Did that feeling change over time? When did you realize it was really working?
    Thanks!

    When I was on it I had a feeling like I had low blood sugar and night sweats.. For me most of that disappeared if I took it right before bed

    camo_sig.png
  • Professor SnugglesworthProfessor Snugglesworth Registered User regular
    Been some time since I updated this thread, so I figure now’s as good a time as any.

    Unfortunately, I haven’t improved much on the anxiety front. In fact, I sometimes feel I’m getting worse. Lately I’ve found myself making irrational or just plain boneheaded decisions. Stupid little mistakes that I could have avoided if I double-checked with someone or took the time to think it through, but I don’t because of some stupid internal logic (for example, making a mistake at work that could have been avoided had I spoken with someone to clarify/double-check that I was doing it right, but choosing not to ask because I worry it would make me look dumb).

    This week I finally saw a psychiatrist. I laid out my issues and he prescribed for me Aripiprazole as well as Melatonin. He believes my anxiety is affecting my sleep, which I can believe (it’s not that I have trouble sleeping, but rather the fact that I toss and turn and do other things when I’m asleep).

    He said taking both before bed wouldn’t be a problem, but after just one night I woke up the next day feeling fucking awful. It took me no less than four attempts to get out of bed, as I felt really nauseous and heavy with my movements, which are consistent side effects with teh Aripiprazole. I called the office after this and while they insist that my body would adjust after a couple of days, I really am too afraid to attempt that again. They at least recommended I stick with the Melatonin, so I suppose I’ll try it again on the weekend (I can’t afford to be in that kind of condition during the week when I work).

    Maybe I jumped the gun seeking medication, but I just don’t think I could “will” myself to get over my issues. I only saw the therapist I mentioned before twice, and I recently received an e-mail that she was no longer practicing in that firm. I don’t know if that’s a sign that she wasn’t competent or that she just moved, but either way I need to find someone else.

    More than anything I want to get over my biggest weakness: any time I try to do some serious searching on something like looking for new jobs or researching careers or apartments, I quickly give up and go on to do something relaxing (my current vice is Monster Hunter World. It’s a really, really addicting vice). The pressure or the unknown leaves me too anxious to continue, so I “retreat” as it were.

    I’ll never get anywhere if I keep doing this, and I’ll never focus on a career if I keep being this indecisive. I want to get over this, especially since it’s all part of my new year’s singular goal.

  • DidgeridooDidgeridoo Flighty Dame Registered User regular
    I strongly, strongly encourage you to continue taking the medication. Side effects usually go away after the adjustment period, but the medication can't help you if you don't give it a chance to work.

  • EncEnc A Fool with Compassion Pronouns: He, Him, HisRegistered User regular
    More than anything I want to get over my biggest weakness: any time I try to do some serious searching on something like looking for new jobs or researching careers or apartments, I quickly give up and go on to do something relaxing (my current vice is Monster Hunter World. It’s a really, really addicting vice). The pressure or the unknown leaves me too anxious to continue, so I “retreat” as it were.

    I’ll never get anywhere if I keep doing this, and I’ll never focus on a career if I keep being this indecisive. I want to get over this, especially since it’s all part of my new year’s singular goal.

    What have you done to do so?

  • bowenbowen How you doin'? Registered User regular
    Yup, medication like that needs at least a week or two to really start ramping up and fix things, and sometimes the side effects are dumb during that ramp up period.

    not a doctor, not a lawyer, examples I use may not be fully researched so don't take out of context plz, don't @ me
  • CelestialBadgerCelestialBadger Registered User regular
    If the medication is still bothering you in a week or so, get a different one.

  • Professor SnugglesworthProfessor Snugglesworth Registered User regular
    Didgeridoo wrote: »
    I strongly, strongly encourage you to continue taking the medication. Side effects usually go away after the adjustment period, but the medication can't help you if you don't give it a chance to work.

    Is that a known medication though? I at least want to present some evidence to family members urging me not to take it.

    Also as an update I called again to clear some misinformation: the melatonin is to be taken “as needed”, i.e. when I can’t sleep (which, again, doesn’t happen often). They suggested I could take the other medication earlier before I go to bed so that I can potentially sleep off the side effects, which makes sense.

    I may try again in the weekend, not when I’m working. That said, I don’t want this to be something I have to rely on for life. And once more, this is admittedly done over my own impatience: seeing a therapist regularly would be a longer and tougher affair, since I would have to keep requesting time off to do so (unless they were available on weekends).

  • UsagiUsagi Nah Registered User regular
    edited February 2018
    Boundary time--stop talking about your medication with your family. It's your health and none of their business, especially if they can't manage to be supportive while you're struggling.

    And yes, that is a known medication thing, particularly with brain meds it can take several weeks for your body to gain the full benefit of what you're taking.

    Usagi on
  • EncEnc A Fool with Compassion Pronouns: He, Him, HisRegistered User regular
    Again, you have to do something. This feels like you are trying to find reasons not to get help or take action. There is always a reason not to seek professional assistance, be it for PT or your therapist. Seeking out your family/internet to give you advice on what to take rather than trusting someone who can actually help you. This is all the same behavior as quitting job hunting to play Monster Quest or quitting your stretching rather than following your PT's advice and not solving your back problems.

    What have you actually done to change these things that you haven't immediately sabotaged? There won't be a quick resolution here. Like the stretching, its something you will have to work with to make things better.

  • ceresceres When the last moon is cast over the last star of morning And the future has past without even a last desperate warningRegistered User, Moderator mod
    Depends on the med, one, sometimes two weeks for psychiatric stuff depending on what you're taking, and it can suck. Ride it out if you can, unless they take much more than a week to fade. The stuff needs to build up in your system enough to reach and maintain a therapeutic level. You won't know anything about how you feel until at least that point.

    As far as "will this make my life better, it's been three weeks and I'm in the same shit"... if you are calm enough to make better decisions, sometimes you don't get to see how the real benefits until a bit down the road. I had a therapist about.. jeez.. 8-9 years ago? when I was talking about going back on medication because I was fucking batshit insane and definitely what I would call sick. I talked to him about it and I was scared to start again because that's what depression can do. You want improvement so badly, but things that might actually help you make things better are goddamn terrifying.

    So I said "well, if I think it's not working I can always go off it in a month." And he said to me "No. You won't know anything in a month. It needs a real chance to work to see long-term benefits. If you aren't prepared to commit 3-6 months to this, don't bother, you're wasting your time." It sounds pretty harsh and I guess it was. But I knew I needed to do something, and when I finally got to the point of taking medication it strengthened my resolve to stay with it for as long as I could.

    You've started it, stay with it as long as you can. You made a huge decision to start the medication, and hopefully that's the start of better things.

    And it seems like all is dying, and would leave the world to mourn
  • CelestialBadgerCelestialBadger Registered User regular
    Anxiety, of course, can make you anxious about medications.

  • SwashbucklerXXSwashbucklerXX Swashbucklin' Canuck Registered User regular
    edited February 2018
    Also, please don't start and stop the aripiprazole (aka, just take it on the weekend). I say this for your own health. Take it exactly as prescribed, once a day every day at about the same time. It is bad for your brainz to fluctuate anti-depressant levels. If it's been a couple weeks and the side effects are still bad, talk to a doctor about going off it and/or trying a different one.

    I am very much in favour of medication as part of effective therapy for anxiety and depression, but you can't mess around with it. It's serious stuff, and no matter how much your brain tries to convince you that you can't/shouldn't, you need to consult with a doctor along the way. I get it. My anxiety has a strong anti-doctor component because of some bad experiences in the past. I have a very difficult time trusting doctors, but I do trust science, and the science is clear about how to properly take these drugs. Listen to the smart folks in this thread.

    SwashbucklerXX on
    Want to find me on a gaming service? I'm SwashbucklerXX everywhere.
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