think am crazy

[stressedme]

am suffering from gad keep thinking it must be something else feel so terrible, was on prozac made my anxiety ten times worse so i came off them been off them 2 days now but dont feel better for it. i panic all day, feel spaced out as if am on drugs thoughts racing am confused etc. doctors says it anxiety. can it really b this bad am wound up all day and cant sleep am night am in a permenant state of terror. anyone had similar problems?

[Godb4me]

oh i know that feeling of terror all too well! I had it for about a year thinking i had all kinds of mental illnesses! EVERY ONE of them probably. For me, every single time i would take an antidepressant, even for a week, i would decide it was making things worse and stop it. (and it does at first)SO, i would have withdrawals for a week or so from it and some people def. do so if you feel crazier than before thats prolly why! I have learned that its best to just try to except that this is just anxiety and try to get it under control. I had to end up taking meds...i take cymbalta and i have some yucky side effects but its much better than i was before.... Here's my list of how i felt before meds and i hope this helps you!

Everything looked dreamy, unreal
i was scared to be by myself
scared of EVERYTHING just about
scary thoughts running through my head..i mean crazy ones too!
panic attacks about constantly if not atleast high anxiety unless i was asleep
could not sit and relax at all
seeing spots and flashes out of the corner of my eyes which also made me have more anxiety
depression eventually set in b/c of this
i can't think of them all right now but i will say that there was much more, i thought i was pure crazy then after i got over that i still am always thinking there has to be something that the doctor is missing b/c i just can't believe this is all from anxiety/ depression? BUT it probably is. Please hear me when i tell you that i lived in pure H*** for atleast 6 months and i am okay for the most part now. BUT if you have to go on meds...You have to suffer through the crazy feeling time on the drug for atleast 3 weeks and it does get better...way better. I took little peices of xanax here and there to get me through til the med started working.. A.D.s make things way worse in the beginning of treatment, thats why there are suicidal warnings on them. I sure hope you get better, sorry to write a book..i just feel like i know what you are going through and many others here do too. God bless!

[littlemiss_anxious]

You are not crazy  - truly crazy people have no sense that their thoughts are odd!!    You WILL get through this.  I had a period of time (about a month or two) when I was pacing around the house literally all day long, I had chatter in my head, felt NUTS and would space out.  I would tell my husband it felt like I had this "dead" feeling in my forehead...can't really explain it but it was SO scary and I thought I was dying.  Eventually it went away.  It was one of the scariest anxiety symptoms and you're probably feeling this way because you just went off the meds and your brain is trying to adjust. 

My advice -- exercise, drink lots of water, do some yoga if you can, be with people.  Take your vitamins, drink some magnesium, eat some brazil nuts (selenium) -- anything to try and balance and calm your body.  It is such a scary state to be in...so hang in there and know it will not last forever.

[aeydownlow]

you're are not alone stressedme, sometimes I think anxiety comes with being paranoid. I still have those scary moments and thoughts but I try to face them and let them go rationally. It's scary cause it feels like you can't control your thoughts, but as long as you fear those scary thoughts, then you know your still in control.
It's a part of what we're suffering, we just haveto find something to keep us occupied so these thoughts would just let go of us.

[stressedme]

thanks for your replies guys. anxiety/ocd is such a lonely illness feels like u must b the only one that feels this bad!! is it normal to feel really confused like u cant think straight wth the anxiety?

[aeydownlow]

In my experience, I think it's part of the symptoms of anxiety. The confusion, the lack of focus. It's related to anxiety. Hang in there!

[sleepless.army.gal]

  Hey! You are not crazy! If you are worried about being crazy then I know for sure you are not!  Ok? I am in the Army,& was severely injured and I have suffered PTSD and various sleep problems. If I can make it(and I am a big baby) I know you can too. I wish I had better advice for you. Try to look for the good in everything and try to lookforward to something everyday. Even something as small as a favorite treat. Mine is flvored coffee. Only in the a.m. though. Limit the caffeine, get exercise in the sun if possible and stay hydrated with mostly water if you can. Take care of you!  Jeanie.