New here - Have Anxiety/Depression/Stress... need advice

[Anjel]

I have been taking meds for depression/anxiety for the past 4.5 years... I found out in November that I am pregnant so I decided on my own to stop taking the meds.  I was doing great until last week when my son had a small seizure (he was diagnosed 4.5 years ago with Benign Rolandic Epilepsy) He has not had a seizure since his first one 4.5 years ago.  I'm so stressed/worried and full of anxiety that I can barely function - I'm not eating much as I have lost my appetite and sleep is not something i have had much of lately.  I have a lot of questions but I'll start out with these:

1. is there tests of any kind that will tell a person if they need the meds due to a chemical imbalance or does the doctor just guess?  I have never been tested for anything and it bothers me to take meds for the rest of my life for something like this.

2. Does anyone know if there are certain meds that are less harmful to the baby (I'm currently 22 weeks pregnant and plan on breast feeding)

3. What is the difference between "Stress/Depression/Anxiety"?  I am told I overreact to everything and I just need to calm down and relax... but I just can't do it!!!  The breathing and trying to think positive isn't working for me... I feel trapped and this is a miserable feeling.

4. Can anyone give me any ideas/tips etc... for getting through this... with or without meds???

thanks for any help you might be able to give me.
Angela

[little-book-worm]

I don't know about the tests for chemical imbalances, though I'm lead to believe that a chemical imbalance can often be the cause of some disorders. But I am in no way a doctor so I don't know. This of course means that I don't know about the baby thing, and I would just say talk to your doctor. Stress is a more normal feeling that alot of people feel if they have a lot of work they have to do, are feeling overwhelmed at work etc. Anxiety disorder or Panic Disorder  is much more serious and , you will have panic attacks, random atacks where you feel afraid for no reason and trapped. Depression is a continual feeling of hopelessness or sadness that one cannot seem to get out of and can often accompany anxiety and vise versa. As far as getting through it, seeing a good psyciatrist or psychologist always helps, but make sure the therapist is one you like and one whose methods you agree with. The first psychologist I saw I did not like at all, and it merely made the problem worse. Meds can help, but it's best to ask a psyciatrist. Otherwise just try and remember that you are not alone, you are not going crazy; try and believe that things will get better, slowly, but surley. One day you will wake up and you will feel a little better than the last day and hopefully you will keep feeling better. I hope this helps. I suffer from Panic disorder and know some of what you are going through if that helps. Remember, you are by no means alone. Hope you feel better.

[Celine]

Angela people told me to quit overreacting and calm down for years. The problem was no one ever told me how to calm down or stop overreacting. The answer for me was cbt and learning how to counter my thoughts using the tea form method. This is a cut and paste of one of my early posts here over three years ago:
I'm a newbie too and 46 years old. Had panic attacks since I was 17 and after years of meds and therapy think I may have finally found something that works for mine. I am panic free for the past six months and currently off all meds after years of Tofranil, xanax, prozac, remeron, zoloft etc etc etc. The proverbial light came on for me when I joined a cbt group eight months ago and was assigned at the start to read the book Been There, Done that? DO THIS! by Sam Obitz. It was a first hand account of what it was like for him to suffer for twenty years and took you through the whole cbt process he went through and that helped him get rid of his anxiety. I learned how to use all the cbt tools like the tea form and wrist counter and they have helped me restructure the way I react to things and I use them everyday and it sure seems to be working but my therapist said to keep using them for at least another year to make them become healthy thinking habits rather than just exercises. It was a lot of work in the begining but about eight weeks into the group in started to come together and so far have not looked back. I honestly thought I was too old to get better but I think I am finally on the right track.

Well like I said it has been three years since I posted that and I feel more strongly than ever about what the right tools can do for you. If you are willing to put some effort into helping yourself cbt is worth a try in my opinion and I am still doing the tea form exercise as part of my daily routine to keep my anxieties away