Dear parental units,
When I’m having a panic attack, and you ask what’s wrong, and I tell you. LEAVE ME ALONE. You were there less than two years ago when I was diagnosed with anxiety disorder and severe depression, this is not something I’m making up, not something you can make better my telling me I’m being silly, or crazy, or whatever. In fact, telling me those things often only makes it worse.
Thank you.
From dictionary.com:
panic attack
n.
The sudden onset of intense anxiety, characterized by feelings of intense fear and apprehension and accompanied by palpitations, shortness of breath, sweating, and trembling. Also called anxiety attack.
Doesn’t quite cover it, does it? Those of us who have never experienced a panic attack probably don’t understand what you’re going through.
Add to that the fact that something like this is pretty terrifying to watch, and stir in a dash of denial, and your parents’ reaction is not entirely surprising. (I’m not saying that they’re doing the right thing, merely that their reaction is probably not uncommon.)
Is it possible to have the same doctor who diagnosed you explain to them what’s going on, and what they should do (my guess: not much; there’s probably not much they can do) while it’s happening?
Thanks for your reply, Marley,. The real problem is not that they don’t understand, because they’ve seen it happen many times in the past two years. It’s that they’re stubborn and frustrated. Well guess what? I’m frustrated too! Sarcastically telling me to chill out and call you in the morning isn’t very helpful. I just wish they would have gotten it by now!
Move out at age 18. Seriously. If they know what’s wrong, and still act this way, there’s no point in sticking around.
My own mother acted somewhat like this when I had serious depressive episodes. Years later, she admitted that she just didn’t know what to do. The point is that she may have cared, but even so, she couldn’t help me. Better to just move on, and hope your parents come around later in life.
You’re not being silly, and you’re not crazy. You have a serotonin/neurotransmitter imbalance in your brain that causes it to have a little conniption at times in ways that are almost completely out of your control (the treatment, however, you can control). I have an anxiety disorder too, and I know that when you are in the midst of a panic attack, you would give almost anything just to feel normal again. I read the best way of describing an anxiety disorder awhile ago (I wish I’d taken note of who said it); “People don’t realize how much of an effort it is for some of us to just feel normal.”
If you are still looking for the medication that works best for you, I would suggest talking to your doctor about Serzone. It is working very well for me, with virtually no side effects. Oh yeah, and you might try singing out loud if you’re feeling anxious - it helps regulate your breathing which is a big part of the anxiety process.
I’m 22 actually, and I don’t live at home anymore. I used to be on Zoloft and Paxil, but I don’t like depending on medication to get by.
This sort of scares me. I also am depressed and have anxiety disorder and I know that without my medication I’d be miserable and so would everyone around me.
As many people on this board know, it took me a long time to a) reject the theory that taking medication made me weak and b) accept therapy (which I’m now in)
If you’re not taking medication can you tell us what you’re doing to alleviate the anxiety?
j
Okay. Then I would advise that you not confide in them anymore. What they are telling you is hurting, not helping. There’s no point in asking for more pain.
As for “depending on medication to get by,” there is no such thing. If you broke your leg, would you be ashamed of using a crutch to walk? Masochism is not a suitable response to what you are going through. You’re not going to get better by just “acting tough” and refusing to take the medications that are designed to help people with your problem.
Unlike most physical injuries, degression rarely cures itself. You are going to HAVE to take very specific action to get better. Your attitude that “I don’t like depending on medication” is no better than that of a Christian Scientist who refuses treatment that is known to work and suffers instead.
If you don’t like the side-effects of Zoloft and Paxil, there are other alternatives with fewer or no side effects, like Wellbutrin. But you won’t learn about them until you get into therapy.
Good luck.
One of the tricks and anxiety/depressive disorder can play on you is it can make you not want to go see a doctor or take the medicine you need for it. I’ve had this disorder for over 11 years now; I’ve tried to go off the meds every time I start feeling better again (I hate admitting there’s anything I can’t do, and I hate relying on drugs), but every time I do, I relapse. Then I start taking them again, and I start to feel normal again, and wonder why it took me so long to get back to the doctor. Some people can manage an anxiety disorder without drugs; I’m not one of them. I don’t take a large dosage, but I do take it every day. Just something to think about.
Oh, and Lizard is right about the influence of people around you. People with anxiety disorders need to keep their stress levels as low as possible; people who cause you additional stress are not people you need to be around.