My new Anxiety - Feels Physical and Chemical
At the beginning of this whole quarantine, I
had covid symptoms for a few weeks. Thing is, I didn't have anxiety during that period. At the end of that period I took a 5 day course of antibiotics. Next day after antibiotics, BAM, panic attack ! I didn't know what was going on so I went to the ER. They took some tests, talked to me for a bit , then sent me home with some Xanax. My physical anxiety wasn't super noticeable then. As time has passed , my physical/chemical anxiety has progressively gotten worse. My chest and stomach are constantly tight , I take a half dose of NyQuil to sleep and started Lexapro 8 days ago. Now I am going through the challenge that is starting an SSRI. It's been bad. I'm talking to doctors , therapists , friends and whoever will listen to me. It's scary and uncomfortable. I'd love kind words, advice , anything from folks in this forum who might be going through or have gone through similar. Thanks...just trying to get to functional.
@Ecobodhi
So hard to know what to say, yet, here I go. Take care. Be aware as you have been, of your symptoms. It's okay to report them. You are on the mark when it comes to self-awareness. Nothing wrong with that! Keep on! Stay solid in observing your reactions. Note them down if that is readily available to you. And, just know that you are on your own side. You are the best advocate for your own self-care. Keep on.
@Ecobodhi
May I ask a question? I find anxiety to be to broad a term. I suffer sensory overload. They called it anxiety or panic attacks. I found the anxiety attacks where a response to my condition. It changed how I feel with it. So my question is, do you see any triggers. Is it racing thoughts? Or does your skin feel to tight? Do you feel like an over charged battery? These are my symptoms. Your's may differ. Write them down. Each one. look at them, with a professional also. Decide if there is a logical reason. And there might not be other than chemical imbalance. For me it lead to my diagnosis. My skin to tight was just a reaction to actually being aware of my skin. Thoughts racing was my brain trying to keep up with the sensory inputs. Over charged battery was most likely a anxiety response to my fear. It's very scary, but I found attacking back and finding the triggers was therapeutic, I was less scared knowing I wasn't going to go down without a damn good fight!
@RealityCzech. Part of it just seems like a chemical imbalance. Part is this fear of not breathing I think. I had shortness of breath before the anxiety set in. That was scary. Then I had the panic attack and progressively my chest and stomach stayed tighter. I can't relax them without medication. Im hoping that Lexapro will give me some relief. Also intense work with a therapist.
