Published on 12, July, 2020
Hi,
I'm having a bit of a rubbish day so would appreciate any advice. After a long wait to see a gp regarding my anxiety which is really affecting me I wasn't allowed a prescription for an antidepressant as the gp believes that a non medicated route is the best.
Normally I just take beta blockers but I'm struggling with low mood and anxiety more than usual. I explained that I am saving up for a private assessment for autism and told him that I believe that sensory overload and general fear of social interaction due to being crap at it is the main factor in my panic attacks.
Has anyone found that medication has helped them or should I suck it up and resign myself to the fate of being permanently anxious for ever?
I've tried CBT on four separate occasions and it hasn't worked for me at all so I am a little pessimistic about talking therapies in general.
Anti-depressants are not the answer, although they have their uses at certain critical times. You're far better off learning coping strategies which can be effective but take time to learn. Once you have to rely on chemical interventions it can be very hard to come off them and you simply give yourself more problems to overcome. It's a question of finding the right kind of therapist for you and that you 'click' with, something which is much easier said than done. The way you think about your problems can powerfully affect how they affect you so it's well worth persevering and trying to discover the right approach for you.
I've tried at least half a dozen antidepressants, and none have them have helped. At least that I've noticed - you get told that they take 4-6 weeks to 'kick in' (some time after the brain has adjusted by 'receptor downregulation'), so some of them I've given up on after 3 months. They've had effects starting and stopping (generally SSRIs make me sleep more even if I don't need it and suppress dreaming, and then when I stop the rebound gives me vivid dreams).
lostmyway said:The way you think about your problems can powerfully affect how they affect you so it's well worth persevering and trying to discover the right approach for you.
Aye to that. It's a shame CBT hasn't helped. My problems with CBT have been that a lot relies on knowing how I'm feeling in response to events, and being 'alexithymic', I can't actually work that out separate from the event. Someone else might be able to tell me my emotional state better than I can.
Part of the 'behavioural' component of CBT should really include 'graduated exposure therapy', which is quite successful for phobias. If this consists of steps like 'I will attend this event for at least 2 minutes, even just to observe', 'I will go, and can leave after I've said hello to two people', this may be best practised by a social worker rather than in a consulting room. It desensitises you so after a while your heart isn't beating so fast. I'd be interested to know how the GP reacts to the idea of exposure therapy for social phobias and anxiety. Also, are there any physical things you can do to avoid the sensory overload, like sound-cancelling headphones? Back in the 1980s if I was invited out, I'd sometimes joke I was autistic to exaggerate my relative lack of interaction (little did I know). I don't think it's much to be embarrassed about - the headphones would be an obvious physical sign, an embarrassment to master.
I like Moomins, and Snork Maidens, and even Fillyjonks.
I didn't. Hemulens can be OK, and they do tend to have special interests, but they can also be rather officious and up themselves.
Fillyjonks are more prone to anxiety, I think. The Fillyjonk Who Believed in Disasters eventually found peace.
Don't forget the Hemulens!