[evulienka]

Hey, this is not directly connected to IBS - but I´m at my wits end what to do. I´ve been suffering from horrible bouts of anxiety for the last four months - difficulty breathing, chest pressure, fast heart beat, and the worst time is at night, I can´t fall asleep, even after 2-3 hours I´m still awake, I´m anxiuos, my muscles tense up, and the chest pressure is the worst part of it. I´ve got a pretty difficult time in college, with all the exams and workload, and the anxiety has gotten really bad. I´ve been taking Bromazepam for a few weeks but it doesn´t seem to help anymore ... and all the stuff that everyone recommends like going for a walk, taking hot showers, listening to music, breathing excercises, they just don´t work for me at all. I´m seeing a psychiatrist but I don´t really feel like it´s helping at all - she tried some antianxiety meds on me, even antidepressanst - but I got such horrible reactions from them that I couldn´t take them. At first she seemed nice and understanding - but lately I got the impression that she doesn´t even believe me, or doesn´t understand the severity of my problems. I can feel that she doubts what I´m saying and the other time she even asked whether I think I really need meds for my problems ( god, if I didn´t need them why would I be there???) and that I don´t look depressed at all. I got really angry - I know there are worse problems in the world than mine and I know I shouldn´t be so stressed out about stupid school and stupid exams - but unfortunately this is how my mind and my body react to stress. No matter how much I try not to think about it it doesn´t help, the anxiety is still there If you have any advice please help - I´m starting to feel really helpless. Evu

 

[Kathleen M.]

How much coffee, tea, soda, energy drinks do you consume? You may need to cut those out completely (at least most college students I know tend to drink a lot of them to try to deal with not sleeping enough) or limit them to before noon. Even if you are tired in the afternoon for classes or are having trouble staying up late to study or finish a project.Caffeine can really increase anxiety symptoms (like rapid heart rate) and really mess with the ability to sleep for some people.Have you tried natural sleep inducers before bedtime? Like Melatonin? Chamomile tea? Non-alcoholic beer (it is the hops that tend to make people drowsy).Or do you have a bad reaction to taking anything at all, some people's anxiety over taking a pill for anything can make them react badly to even a placebo because they are so anxious about having a bad reaction they create a bad reaction.Do antihistamines make you drowsy? Benedryl is what is in most OTC sleep aids and sometimes it is enough to help people drop off and usually other other drowsy there isn't a lot of bad side effects.You may not be depressed, you may just have bad anxiety. Unfortunately a lot of the breathing exercises and that that can eventually help with anxiety are not always things that immediately work the first time and may take a few months of regular practice before you develop the skill to use them. Unfortunately sometimes you need to get enough practice during times when you aren't completely stressed out before you can get them to work under extreme stress.And every single person I have ever talked to in college has stress about the exams and the school work. Some people do not show it, but if you can get them to talk about it you find out they at least some time in school had stress and worry about some part of the college. So stop thinking you are weird or wrong for having stress in a situation where people are supposed to be at least a little stressed out much of the time.Sometimes finding the right therapist takes some time and the first one you see may not be the right one. Have you discussed with the doctor what you think about her and that you feel that she doesn't want to treat you? It may be worth having a discussion with them to determine if they are the right person, and if there may be a better match for your needs.

 

[evulienka]

Thanks for your response Kathleen. I usually drink one or two coffees a day, no tee, no energy drinks... I don´t know, but even if I don´t drink coffee at all the insomnia is still there. I´ve never tried non-alcoholic beer or melatonin - I´ve already heard about melatonin so that might be a good idea. I think I am depressed - because I fit lots of the symptoms - I also looked into my report and the psych wrote there - depressive disorder, and before that she had written - adjustment disorder with depression .... so I´m kinda confused, on the one hand she writes that into my report, on the other hand she tells me - you´re not depressed, you don´t look depressed at all. Maybe she thinks I´m just going through a mild depressive period and it will go away with time or something. I was already thinking about finding a new doctor - but I wanted to give this one a try, I´ve only been seeing her for like 3 months, so I suppose I can´t expect miracles in such a short time. On the other hand, I need a doctor who actually BELIEVES me - because if she doesn´t then what´s the point, right? But I´m not really sure how to talk to her about it. Should I just ask her openly - Do you believe me or not? (Lol) I don´t know, I´m just not that straight-forward. I think I´m gonna give her some more time and we will see how that goes.

 

[Kathleen M.]

I would try to have a straight forward conversation but try to do it without blaming her.So use sentences that start with I rather than you.So I feel like you may not understand how much I am suffering (and they you could add an when you say ......) or I feel like you think I'm not telling you the truth about my problems.Rather than something that is an accusation that starts out "You do not believe me...."After all how a person interprets and feels about what is going on is a legitimate issue for therapy. Sometimes the anxiety or depression will effect how other people's words or actions effect us. At least with a therapist it should be OK to talk about how things effect you where it may not be appropriate in other settings or at other times.

 

[Harleystreet]

U are in a big problem

why u are so anxious? leave happily. No tension

 

[evulienka]

I just got back from my psych session today. She asked me how I was doing and I said pretty bad lately. I told her how the insomnia has gotten a lot worse and that after 3-4 hours I´m still awake and can´t fall asleep. After that she seemed pretty concerned and said that I definitely needed some pills to help me fall asleep - what a relief that she seemed concerned. She suggested that I should try some yoga techniques - don´t really know where to start with that. I´ll try the pills and see if it helps (hopefully).