Not sure if I’m having Panic attacks, severe depression, or OCD!?
I know that y’all aren’t doctors, and I have made an appointment, but I would still like helping deceiphering what is going on! I’ve been thinking I’ve been having panic attacks because I start to lose control, I feel hopeless and desperate with sadness, I throw up and lose weight. Sometimes I have to miss class. I cry uncontrollably. However, i don’t notice heart palpitations and my sadness is usually triggered by an actual sad thing. It’s not completely generalized and I don’t have fear of dying. The other things is that sometimes I do really really weird things over stupid fears. I am not stupid. I have a 4.0 and am very self-controlled. However, last semester I took 9 pregnancy tests because I was terrified I was pregnant. I’ve never had sex! I took an HIV test also…and again, I’m a virgin! This sounds like i’m obsessive. I’m also plagued by constant sadnesses and lack of motivation. I’m 22 and my dad is bi-polar and doesn’t take his meds so he constantly stresses me out. My mother died 2 months ago. My stepdad died four years ago. I know this is long, but I would like an idea before I visit a psychiatrist. My appointment isn’t for 3 weeks! Thanks. Seriously y’all!
You definitely got a lot going on in your life. I don’t know anybody who could handle that much stress and not show some signs of it. Go to church and find someone to pray with there. You will find the peace of mind that you are seeking. Be careful if you decide to see a shrink. They are quick to medicate and the side effects generally cause more harm and leave you a basket case in the long run…still seeking, empty and wondering what happened to your life. You are young so make a careful choice to seek God because the answers to everything are with Him..not doses of medications. Take care.
Comments
Comment from Lucy M
Time January 19, 2010 at 12:59 am
You definitely got a lot going on in your life. I don’t know anybody who could handle that much stress and not show some signs of it. Go to church and find someone to pray with there. You will find the peace of mind that you are seeking. Be careful if you decide to see a shrink. They are quick to medicate and the side effects generally cause more harm and leave you a basket case in the long run…still seeking, empty and wondering what happened to your life. You are young so make a careful choice to seek God because the answers to everything are with Him..not doses of medications. Take care.
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Comment from b00bi3z_x
Time January 19, 2010 at 1:25 am
Yeah, you could be having all 3!
I’m sorry 
Sounds like a tough thing you’re going through.
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Comment from Tamborine
Time January 19, 2010 at 1:37 am
Congratulations on making an appointment. That is a difficult first step.
All of these symptoms are most likely related to some sort of anxiety or depression. The grief you are feeling is normal and your body is reacting strongly to some strong emotions.
The fact that you recognize the irrational behavior is the very first indicator that you are actually not crazy. There is a lot of hope.
It has nothing to do with being stupid or self controlled. Our bodies do very unusual things when we are stressed.
You are doing all the right things. You made an appointment with a professional, you are recognizing the irrational behavior and you have even identified some sources for the stress. Pat yourself on the back!
I can tell you to relax and wait for your appointment, everything will be fine – but those empty words do little to ease your anxiety.
I recommend journaling when you feel anxious. Write down what you are feeling and what you were doing at the time that you started to feel anxious. Bring that journal with you to your appointment. It will give you something to do and focus on in the three weeks that you have to wait.
You’re going to frustrate yourself if you spend a lot of time trying to diagnose yourself in the next three weeks. Try to focus on the positive and keep your journal handy. Hang in there. There is a lot of hope.
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Comment from jolie
Time January 19, 2010 at 1:59 am
Hi babe. Listen, the thing that immediately jumps out at me is the loss of your mum two months ago. I’m so sorry, I lost my mum as a little girl, and understand the devastation. With a dad who is an unmedicated bi polar sufferer on top of that, I can understand you describe yourself as self controlled. It was probably important to you to feel in control, when so much in your life has presumably been disruptive. Obviously there is also the factor of some mental illnesses being hereditary on occasion. I think your psychiatrist will work wonders for you, you are so clever to go. I am not a proffessional mental health worker by any means, but I understand you are asking for a regular persons opinion. So here’s mine: Your mum died. You are grieving, hence the sadness and weight loss. Your Dad is ill, hence the need to control things which has become obsessive. I imagine things are so hard for you right now, it breaks my heart. But fortunately, I know that with a bit of councelling and given a few tools to help cope with life, you will be fine. I can tell you’re a clever girl by the way you write, but you have been through a heck of a lot of heartache. It takes time and effort to heal. I wish you all the very best, you are a brave young woman, and I’ll be sending you love and luck from down under!! For goodness sake, keep your appointment. It will change your life. Good luck honey. xxx
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Comment from Kel
Time January 19, 2010 at 2:38 am
You sound like a high functioning manic depressive. If you have episodes of normalcy then your probably bipolar. High levels of stress, which you definitely have, can trigger this. Good luck!
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Comment from Bobby
Time January 19, 2010 at 2:46 am
Trust me, I’ve been through all of that. The ECMC psychiatriactic program got me and my meds straightened out. life has never been better. Best of all it’s a psychiatriac resident (they are learning from my experiance) so it’s free. go to your local hospital and ask if they have a free psychiactric program. if they don’t, they can reccomend one to you. DO NOT SEE A PRIVATELY OWNED PSYCHIATRIAC BUSINESS. It is very expensive and only got me more messed up, cared more about money than helping me. Also download a program called SHARM, it stands for sleep hypnosis and relaxation meditation. It calms you right down. I’ve also found a hypnotist and after 3 or 4 visits, i started learning how to take control of my situation. If you wanna talk more in depth, e-mail me at bobbybass182@gmail.com
I can help you out or at least get you in the right direction. EFFEXOR is not the answer but any psychiatriast will prescribe it for all of your symptoms. It is very expensive and there are no generics. These privately owned businesses get paid bonuses for prescribing it. I’ve been into this for years and did a ton of research before I found what works for me.
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personal eperiance
Comment from cmsliwa
Time January 19, 2010 at 3:15 am
It doesn’t sound like you have panic attacks. That is an uncontrollable fear that you are dying or losing control of yourself. It is an anxiety thing. It definatly sounds like you may have OCD (I suffer from it too). OCD is when you obsesse over thoughts… like "I think I’m pregnant" (even though you are a virgin) and compulsions are when you take the pregnancy tests and HIV tests because you don’t feel calm until you check. The depression is normal, with you losing your mother.\
I am so sorry for your loss. I lost my father just a year ago when I was seventeen to suicide, and it killed me, making everything worse. You are probably feeling guilt and grief. Depression is a horrible thing. It makes your quality of life… well, very low.
You will get through this. I have been through it and am again in the process of healing from my fathers death. It can take 2 years for full blown grief to subside. Hang in there. If you’d like to talk some more, email me on the yahoo account, or try caitlin.sliwa @ gmail . com.
Hang in there.
References :
Panic disorder, anxiety disorder, phobias, depression, OCD, lost father.
Comment from S
Time January 19, 2010 at 3:54 am
It is a difficult time in your life but look at it as a "temporary phase". Bear in mind that nothing, NOTHING, lasts forever. Everything has a season in your life, and this is a cold season. It will pass. It doesn’t matter what condition you have. What matters the most is that you have recognized that there is something wrong, and you have decided to solve it. It is a wise decision to see your therapist. There is a difference between a psychologist, who listens to you and helps you find solutions, and a psychiatrist, who will prescribe medications to help with your condition. It is more expensive, but probably better to see a psychologist. Distance yourself from your father, find ways to fill your time, don’t let him get into you. I know how it feels to have a father that constantly stresses you out. Repeat this mantra and apply it: "I am stronger than all obstacles. I can overcome all of them." Patience, wisdom and action to solve the problem is what you need. But don’t feel sorry for yourself. It is not going to solve your problems. Good luck.
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Comment from michelle m
Time January 19, 2010 at 4:12 am
I think that you are just going through alot now, and its okay to feel a little like things are crazy. I am not a doctor but i know how it feels to lose people in your family and to think that every thing that could go wrong does, I think you made a good decision in making a appoinment if only to talk. I also fear alot of things like death every day things that I know could happen and I work in a hospital where I see first hand sick people and things that people go through in real life. I suffer from ocd and its scary some times I feel like I am the craziest person in the world like I am a evil thinker but other times I know that I am not and I love the Lord with all my heart so I pray to him for strenght. I wish you the best and keep God first in your life.
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Comment from Daniel A
Time January 19, 2010 at 4:35 am
I have a friend who’s been to quite few psychiatrists and then reseached quite a lot on the internet as he had anxiety and panic attacks and tried a product that involves no medicine, all natural cure.
It revolutionerised anxiety as its now the leading cure (unfortunate side is limited people only know about this cure) and he said it totally worked for him and for a quite a few people he knew! He looks like a new person
Definately Recommended : http://www.apanicaway.com
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Comment from Alice B
Time January 19, 2010 at 4:44 am
Negative emotions (like sadness, stress, anger, etc.) causes your Serotonin production to be low; when your Serotonin level is low, you are more prone to getting Anxiety, Panic Attacks, Depression, etc.
Medication like Antidepressants (SSRI – Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor) helps to boost Serotonin level.
But there are natural ways to do it without medication. There’s this strange herb called "St John’s Wort" – it is said to be more effective than Prozac. No, it is not for mild depression only and ignore those sayings. In fact, it does help anxiety and panic-attacks as St John’s Wort works like prozac. Other natural ways will be exercise, diet, more exposure to light, etc.
The problem is that, even if your Serotonin is balanced… you have that "learned behavior" in your mind. You need to break that initial cycle to destroy that learned behavior – Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) does this. A technique that you can use without CBT will be Distraction… There are several other techniques to help cope them!
Ok, to use Distraction: Firstly, try to….
Extracted from Source.
References :
http://PanicAttackResearch.blogspot.com
Comment from Kyasarin
Time January 19, 2010 at 12:35 am
You show signs of all 3. Sorry about your mother, that can’t be helping. Just hang in there until your appointment, it will help.
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