Archive for September, 2009

God help me, here I go….

I’ve been dealing with clinical depression, anxiety, and OCD for a few years now, through high school and college. They seem to have followed me to adulthood and I just feel as though I’m at my wits end.

I recently moved about an hour away from home to start a career with high hopes of a new life, a clean slate, and people liking me for who I am. I mean, I’m an adult now, right? People should appreciate that I have a career, am a nice person with high morals, and not care I wasn’t the captain of the cheerleading squad. It should be easy to make friends.

Wrong. I feel just as lonely as before, if not more. I swore up and down I would make friends here and go out; I have yet to make a single friend. I approached a guy that was giving me signs of liking me on transit, and now he acts like he hates me, too. I don’t know why people just don’t like me.

I feel so disengaged from my God, and so alone. My depression is acting up full force, and I
just don’t know what to do. I’ve been on medicine and in therapy before and I don’t feel like they’ve helped.

I just want to be normal, what can I do?

Try diving into Louise Hay’s book YOU CAN HEAL YOUR LIFE…. I know it has helped me. And maybe you are trying too hard my dear. Just relax and be yourself. Spend some time trying to find yourself as well.. you’ve just gone through being and doing what your parents wanted, being and doing what the education system wants, now you are trying to be and do as your career dictates. You are young yet…enjoy some time trying to discover who you are and what kinds of things you truly enjoy on your time off. As you discover these things, it will be surprising how people will just start to come into your life…. don’t rush it all though. I had some of the same anxieties when I started to work a new career many hours away from home.. and slowly I am starting to get to know co-workers and other people in that community. It will get better.. I can promise you that. Email me any time if you need some words of encouragement.

I am only 16 and I feel like im falling into major depression.
I havnt been able to sleep all week and I feel like ive developed a huge phobia of not sleeping. The thing is I have no worries at all, im doing well at college, i have great friends and a boyfriend I love.
Sorry to go on but I couldnt sleep before but I put that down to the fact I had a photo shoot the following Sunday and I was panicing if i did not sleep, i would look a wreck!
Last week I couldnt sleep on Monday night but the night after I fell asleep, i was delighted because not sleeping seems to reallly upset me.! Badly.
Before I could sleep for 8hours no problem, bed at 10 up at 6. now. no chance. bed at 10 sleep at 4am if im lucky!
There’s only a problem now, because I have made one.
I constantly think about not sleeping, 24-7 it never leaves my mind, i go out with friends or family and I find myself with this horrible feeing and I want to be sick. I have thrown up because of it, i also cant eat. help.!

My son suffered from this when he was about 14. He didn’t have anything to worry about either, but it turns out he was suffering from an anxiety disorder. Even though he had nothing to be anxious about. Anxiety runs in families and can manifest with one event and then it seems it won’t go away. He couldn’t go to school, was dizzy, couldn’t concentrate and could hardly sleep. And now it sounds like you have intense anxiety regarding not sleeping which is affecting your mind and stomach. This is a real mental disorder and I really think you need to see a doctor or nurse about it. My son did fantastic with a short course of Zoloft and I remember he said he felt so much better on it. Please see someone before you go crazy!!! Good luck.

I have a very horrible, annoying habit of squinting and wrinkling my nose. I read up on facial tics and I understood them to be involuntary. I try not to do it, but I always end up doing it, and I look silly. Would this be considered involuntary? I just want to know how to stop it. It’s embarrasing. Home remedies or herbal remedies have never worked for me. I am on medicine right now for bipolar and OCD, maybe this is the cause. Or, does anyone know of a solution?

So far as I have read there is no "cure". These tics will be more pronounced when you attempt to avoid them. The avoidance creates a heightened level of anxiety/pent up energy. Your body will inevitably release it. When it does the added anxiety of failure worsens the tic. Tourette’s is often co-diagnosed with OCD.

I am in the process of being diagnosed. Possible ADHD/OCD.

I’ve really stressed lately. Now I find myself really upset, it gets harder and harder for me to breathe and there is a dull pain starting in my chest and seems to get worse when something new (in a bad way) comes up. It’s like it never ends and my head is burning up from the anger. Am I on the way to having a panic attack? I’ve tried breathing in deeply, taking a break from work, smoking a cigarette, etc.

From experience, I can tell you panic attacks come in a palethera of variations. There’s the one you describe: The I feel like I’m going to have a heart attack and just die right here kind. (Those are fun, so fun , the E.R. sees them daily.) Then there are the, I feel paranoid, can’t stand in a checkout line ones that send many fleeing the store leaving grocery basket in middle of aisle 7. Then there are the What I’d really like to do is just find a comfy spot in hall closet for awhile till my pulse slows down a tad. It can all be draining..and pi** you off, to put it mildly…You have to take along deep breathe, hold it, then release air SSLLOOWWLLYY..and do this for about a minute..don’t hyperventilate, or you’ll feel like your suffocating..DONE IT!! I take antidepressents and it helps the anxiety. Don’t listen to Tom Cruise and his pompous attitude towards meds. He’s not anxious, he’s just NUTS!..period….

okay, so 3 days ago i couldnt catch my breath and i got really scared so i ended up having a panic attack, it ended and i thought all was fine… but then i went to work and it happend again not even 2 hours later! i have never had anything like this before so i went to the hospital and it turns out i was having panic attacks.

now im really scared they are going to happen at really bad times… like driving, at work again… in public… how can i contol them or just not have them anymore…

Well Im 15 And i get panic attacks all the time over nothing!!
Well what panic attacks are is they r in your head! So think to yourself. Nothing is wrong its just a perfectly normal day.
Or Try
Breathing in through your nose slowly. And then breathing out through your mouth slowly. it should help you calm down. It always works for me! Hope I Helped
GoodLuck
Laurynn xx

I’m 15 years old and I have lived through a lot of pain in my life so far. But the last 3 months or so have been pure torture. If you check my profile and look at my other question, you will see one of my problems with a kid at school. Well, it’s been a long time now since that and I still feel guilt/anxiety/depression every single day. I cannot tell if he has moved on or not, but I sure haven’t. But on to other problems. My dad has never been in good health. But now, he has a blood infection which has caused him to suffer from diabetes and some form of cancer. Supposably, the cancer is nothing to be concered about. But I am still worried about him. Between these 2 things, I can’t control my mind to mentally be happy with my life anymore. When will I have peace and serenity? Why I am depressed still? What do I have to do to control my mind? I have managed to make my peace with God, but I also have found some sort of comfort in partial anti-God music. Please give me advice on my life.

hey sounds like you have a lot going on huh!! maybe talking to a professional and getting some of this out may be helpful
i know its a hard age i went through a lot at that time and did so many destructive things to myself and life but now hat I’m older its like all that feels so small and i love having the life that i have been given , take the time to find the right person to talk to and remember u are not always going to like what this person has to say and thing get harder before they ever get easier

I don’t like ot be a passenger in the car. I prefer to drive. I don’t like the feeling I get when I"m in a meeting or when I am having to go to tour of a plant this week. I don’t like feeling like I have to stay in one place. In other words, I do not like the feeling that I"m not free to leave if I want. Like I have to sit there because its a meeting. I don’t like to be in center of crowds. I like to be away from crowds. I do not like sitting in the center of a pew at church, sport event, movie theater or any place that has seats. I like sitting on the end. I don’t like going to crowded places. I want to go when its not crowded. I do’nt like traveling. I hate sitting in car for long periods of time. I do’nt like waiting in line.These are just a few, and I have found that when I’m in these situations, I get a little nervous. Sometimes I avoid them but most time I deal with it and go on. Now are these phobia’s or just my preferencs for things I don’t like?

i basically feel the same way.i would say preference,i don’t like to feel that i have to go by or talk to someone if i want to leave or move.i avoid crowds as well,cause i can’t be bothered getting involved with all the hype.i always have to drive cause i don’t like the way other people drive.i kinda like to be in control.
so maybe we are control freaks,as there’s nothing wrong with that.we are in charge of our own destiny.
p.s. i do have a couple of phobia’s,like,don’t like elevators and flying. but that’s a totally different feeling.

I have recently been diagnosed with Aspergers Syndrome which is a form of autism for those who don’t know. I’d been advised to read up on some information about it so I can understand it more but while reading about it OCD was mentioned and now I’m wondering whether I may have OCD as well due to the fact that I :

I always count words because I like them to end in even numbers E.g. Manchester because there are 10 letters which makes it an even word to me because if it’s not even I believe that its bad look. Or I’ll count any other things that I can to make sure that its even.

When I go out I check my coat pockets so many because I can’t remember whether I zipped them up or not.

When my mum goes out places and I can’t get hold of her on her mobile I believe that she’s been kidnapped or killed. Like last time when she went to ASDA (Shopping Centre) and I couldn’t get hold of her I thought that maybe someone was holding the people in ASDA hostage and when she went to town to get my birthday present and I couldn’t get hold of her I thought she had been kidnapped because someone didn’t want me to get my present.

I always keep items that have no use because I believe that these items may be needing, like someone might want to look at it so I keep them.

When I spilt something on the kitchen floor I left it on the floor because I didn’t want to miss the start of Simpsons but then I had to go back and clean it up because I thought someone might slip on it and break there neck and die or something.

Sometimes I have evil thoughts flash into my mind that I can’t explain.

To certain people they probably think I’m being stupid but I really can’t help doing or thinking these things.
So anyone who has had experience with OCD or no someone with OCD please leave a comment
Thanks

Sweety, I am a nurse and I know what autism and Asperber’s are, as well as OCD. It does not matter so much what diagnoses you receive as whether you receive treatment. Many of the things you mention are not so very unusual, actually. I know people who like to count things, who worry a lot of things all the time, who leave messes so that they won’t miss a good TV show, but then reconsider because of very good reasons, and everyone has bad thoughts that pass through their mind from time to time. None of that is stupid or weird. It is all perfectly normal, my dear, and you can trust me on that. I have raised 2 very normal, wonderful children and they did all those things. But now you have something unusual, Asperperger’s, and it is going to make you do all those things to a greater degree than the average person. So it would be an excellent idea for you to see a psychiatrist or psychologist. That will help you cope better. The doctor may also be able to give you some medication that will make things easier. I have taken medication (Prozac) during especially difficult periods in my life and it is nothing to be ashamed of. It is due to a chemical disorder in the brain usually, an imbalance of serotonin, as I understand it. You would never tell a diabetic that he or she should "buck up and kick the habit" of taking insulin, would you? Of course not! That would be nonsense. So, if you need some type of medication, it would be the same sort of thing. Your body may not produce the proper amount of chemicals to keep everything running smoothly, and taking a pill may help. But I am not a doctor so I cannot tell you anything more specific. But do read up more on Asperger’s and on autism.
Always remember, you are not to blame for any of this and you are not being stupid, even if some ignorant people say that you are. You are simply a little different. And a doctor may help your life become a little easier. A book you might enjoy reading is "Animals in Translation." It was written by Temple Grandin. She is autistic, not just a sufferer of Asperber’s. But you may find that she has some excellent advice for you. She has managed to make quite a name for herself in spite of her "illness." Good luck to you.

Over the past year my son and his wife (of almost 20 years) having been having a messy seperation. I would rather not go into details, but I have learned things about her that I wish I hadn’t. I’ve loved her like a daughter and now I can’t make myself talk to her even for the sake of the grandkids. Maybe the fact that I still love her is part of the problem. For many reasons I can’t avoid contact with her. Even though I am on a daily dose of xanax, I am having serious panic attacks when I see her. They are incapacitating and have to end. Any ideas.

You are going to have to deal with this somehow. I had a similar situation with my own daughter. To cut a long story short, she denied me access to her children whom I adore. This went on for 18 months. During that time she became pregnant with and delivered twins. I was not allowed to see them either! All of this stress brought on severe panic attacks. In desperation I sought medical advice and also joined a local support group, which fortunately for me was for grandparents who are denied access to their grandchildren!! My point is, Can you find simliar support for yourself in your situation? Or make an appointment to see a counsellor? You need this. It helps to talk about these problems with understanding professional people and people who are experiencing similar problems. Don’t try and cope with this stress alone. I know that you do not want a confrontation with your daughter in law because you do not want to risk being denied seeing your grandchildren. I can fully understand this but you need to get some help, relief and guidance for your self.
I now see my daughter and all of the grandchildren but I can’t forgive my daughter in my heart. I doubt I ever will. She does not know I feel this way toward her as I hide it. I no longer trust her but as long as I keep my mouth shut, I know I can see my grandchildren any time and they are so precious to me. If you want to talk or have more questions, please email me. I would love to help.

I had one wisdom tooth out around 11 am (10 hours ago), and I ended up having to go back around 3 pm because the bleeding wouldn’t stop. I know that may not seem long to other people who have had this happen, but I have low blood sugar and couldn’t eat. The surgeon put in a stitch and an artificial clot, and my instructions say not to smoke for 7 days. But smoking (and I don’t mean anything more than 1 or 2 tonight) is the best way I have to reduce my anxiety right now. I know it is really the pulling on the cigarette which causes problems, and if I am careful would it be alright to have a cigarette tonight?
On the instruction sheet it also said I shouldn’t drink alcohol for 7 days.

i know this won’t be a very popular answer but, when i had a wisdom tooth removed i could not go without smoking. i made sure the area was well packed with gauze, kept my teeth clenched, and took very slow, shallow puffs and i never got dry socket. but you decide for yourself, i could have just been lucky.