11 replies to this topic

[Poppythehammy]

Hi! I have GAD ( generalized anxiety disorder ). I want people to ask me any questions from how I got diagnosed, how it effects me, and what treatment options there are. Mental health matters, but is tragically misunderstood so I'm opening the floor to questions.

[Syrianhamsterlover09]

How does having GAD affect your day to day life? How do you cope with it? 

[Poppythehammy]

How does having GAD affect your day to day life? How do you cope with it? 

Well before I got treatment I had:

Panic attacks (which would take up an hour of my day grounding myself)

I couldn't sleep properly without freaking out

I developed anxiety tics you could describe them

If I said one awkward thing to a friend I would cry about it for hours and I couldn't fully enjoy interactions with people.

 

Now that I have treatment I still have anxiety, but its to the point where its manageable. The other day I was able to stop myself from going into a full blown panic attack (which is a huge deal for me!)

 

How I cope: I've worked really hard to learn grounding stragagys like 1 thing you can say, 2 things you can smell, 3 things you can hear, 4 things you can touch and 5 things you can see. Ive worked really hard to understand my emotions and why I feel how I do. 

[Robosrock]

Have you always struggled with it? When did it start?

[lil BIG dwarf]

How did you get diagnosed? Did you suspect you may have it? Does it still affect you (and if so, how) even after you got on meds?

[Poppythehammy]

Have you always struggled with it? When did it start?

Ever sense I can remember I've always struggled. Thats not universal though many times anxiety doesn't start until puberty or 20s. Even before I can remember my parents told me certain things would send me into panic attacks. I had my first panic attack that I can remember at 7, but even before then I always struggled. In kindergarten I threw up everyday because school stressed me out so much.

[Poppythehammy]

How did you get diagnosed? Did you suspect you may have it? Does it still affect you (and if so, how) even after you got on meds?

I got diagnosed by my doctor. It took about 30 minutes of questions and talk on meds.

 

Yes me and a lot of my family thought I had it. 

 

Well I've been on meds for 3 weeks and I haven't had a full blown panic attack sense! I still can get mini panic attacks and overall anxiety, but mine is pretty severe so it brought it from an uncontrollable level to a controllable level. 

 

Also with meds especially in teens you need to start therapy with it. I am waiting for a therapy appointment.

[galaxia]

Hello! I'm wondering what kind of treatments do you use? Has GAD effected your social and school life?

[Poppythehammy]

Hello! I'm wondering what kind of treatments do you use? Has GAD effected your social and school life?

I take an SSRI and a sleep med. I also use fidgets and I'm starting therapy soon! 

 

Before treatment I obsessed over every word I said and interactions were draining. When I went to public school in kindergarten I threw everyday from stress and had trouble making friends so I changed to online school in third grade. In 4th grade I went online school and once a week to public school on a special program. While until I got treatment my anxiety got worse and worse I did learn how to control it around people but interactions were still hard.

[Somewhat alive]

Do you have friends?
How does it affect you with quarantine
What do you think you struggled with the most
Did you have certain triggers or were the panic attacks random?

[Poppythehammy]

Do you have friends?
How does it affect you with quarantine
What do you think you struggled with the most
Did you have certain triggers or were the panic attacks random?

Yes I have friends

Quarantine was horrible for my mental health because I thought nothing was ever gonna be ok again

I'm not sure what I struggled with most

Both sometimes random sometimes triggered

[dimitrybernic]

What were your symptoms, and when did they first appear? I suspect that I have the same diagnosis, and I would like to compare people's symptoms to understand what is happening to me. I sometimes have panic attacks, and they occur only in closed or poorly ventilated rooms, as it seems to me that I do not have enough air. I would like all this to be just a coincidence and just a kind of difficult stage in life, as I would not like to realize that I have a diagnosis. I also read an article on fherehab.com about psychosis, and it already seems to me that I had such episodes. I will be waiting for your answers; thank you in advance

Edited by dimitrybernic, 15 January 2022 - 07:38 PM.