I've been getting panic attacks. This has been developing over the last 8 months or so ever since I started getting them from smoking pot. I've stopped doing drugs but they're becoming more and more frequent, especially in social situations. I'm afraid to answer questions in class or give presentations. Here's the problem. I don't want to go to a doctor. I'm on my 4th month of accutane treatment(which has all sorts of terrible mental effects), and I fear that if I go to a doctor they'll take me off the treatment. I've only got one month left and after it's over I'll never have acne again. Not that I'd know how to approach a doctor anyways. So is there anything I can do about this? Advice, comments, concerns?
Maybe you should try out different anti-anxiety medications and see which ones are right for you. It took me almost 15 years to find medications that didn't come with bad side effects or had stopped working after a short while.
cigarettes, vegetarian, work out 3 times a week. I wish I could just forget about it. But it's like suddenly a spotlight is focused on me, and I feel my heartrate go up and up and up. I get it down by breathing deep but that still takes a little while.
I have the same exact problem as you. I've had anxiety problems (specifically social anxiety problems) for about 5 years or so, but I believe that my pot smoking habits have also made the problem somewhat worse. I started college last year, and my anxiety levels shot up tremendously as I was very afraid of being called on in class or having to do presentations. So, I started going to counseling and trying to see if that helped. I went through it for a year, and although it helped with overall stress and anxiety, such as when I'm are at home trying to maintain a low stress level all around, it couldn't help control my panic attacks when I actually had to do a presentation. It's like an automatic fear reaction when I have to speak in front of crowds. I didn't try any anxiety medication, although this year I might. If I were you, I would just check with your doctor to see if you can take an anxiety medication to accompany the accutane. If it was me and my anxiety was that terrible due to a medication, I personally would want to stop the accutane, because anxiety really gets in the way of things and is extremely unpleasant. On the other hand, you have already put in four months of treatment with the accutane, and since you only have one month more to go, might as well finish it,and try other methods of controlling your anxiety. But I dunno, that's a tough situation.
If this continues I'm sure I will go to a doctor. I'm a freshman in college and today I had a presentation for my english class and I was panicking before I even got to class. Some hero pulled the fire alarm so it was cancelled(much to my relief ). I really want to continue the treatment. Acne has lead to self-image problems, lack of confidence in the past, and the treatment has had a very positive impact so far. I would like to try counseling, but the problem with the medication I'm taking is that it's been associated with all sorts of mental health problems in the past(depression, suicides, ect) and if they think anything is wrong they'll pull me off for liability reasons. That makes me apprehensive to try and seek any sort of treatment at all. I appreciate all the advice so far. I am starting to think I'll just have to tough it out.
Wait--- You're on medication for acne? And it has those effects on some people? hmmm... I used to have really bad acne. It stopped when I ate better and stopped using so many chemicals on my face and head and skin and diet etc. I bet if you got off that scary pill and used a natural soap like dr bronners or something you wouldn't have bad acne
I have tried everything for the acne. That's half the reason I'm a vegetarian. I've gone natural(no soap, no deodorant, no shampoo) before and it did nothing, just like the different diet. No other medicines have proved effective. This new stuff is really a last resort. My doctor was worried about me getting permanent scarring, and I am ready to be finished with the acne anyways.
Not necessarily! I tried to "tough it out" for nearly, hmmm, 5 years? I started getting panic attacks in high school and I literally tried everything to get better. I've meditated, exercised, changed my diets, change my consumption (media, reading, internet, television), reiki, acupuncture, herbs and supplements, stopped taking birth control. All of this things most definitely helped, but I tried so hard not to take medication because I truly thought I could just tough it out. I didn't get better. Superficially, I appeared better but in my core, I was very very very sick and depressed and finally, I've decided to try anti-depressants. Well, I've been on Prozac for anxiety for the past few weeks and already, i'm finally having days where I experience NO anxiety at all, which was something that hadn't occurred in YEARS. I'm all for holistic medicine and I know it helps because it helped me, but for SOME people, a true chemical imbalance exists that can ONLY be helped with medication like an SSRI. As for therapy, I highly reccommend seeing a cognitive behavioral specialist rather than traditional talk therapy. A CBT will train you effective methods to deter your anxiety. These methods WILL help if they are practiced!
honestly, I think all problems, even acne, go back to energy points. if you have an acne problem, most likely, it's something to do with your colon, liver, and kidneys....all of which are located around your first three chakras. maybe you're blocked over there, and you have an energy "overload" in one of your chakras? it could be anything, but I really think thats what it comes down to, is energy points.
I'm seeing my doctor next week. I guess I could tell him I've been getting unusually nervous and was wondering if it was related to the medicine. Acting ignorant all the while and just see what he says.
presentations intimidate a lot of people. maybe try harder to pick topics that you can get excited about its always easier to talk about something youre knowledgabe on or care about. to be honest if youre in college and you know youre going to have to talk in class (always helps) and do presentations what you need to do is talk on the first day the first chance you get. take charge. nobody knows you are nervous and chances are most are in the same boat as you. the longer you wait to speak in class the harder it will get until you feel like you are the only one not speaking and they are all waiting on your first words and ready to critique them to the umth degree :O im tellin ya talk on the first day thats the KEY i promise! i always do and i dont fear presentations at all hell i dont even raise my hand! i want a one hour presentation on your progress in two weeks
I've got really bad anxiety problems too and I am currently uninsured for health and whatnot. I have only gone to student health counselors about it and it has helped some, but I worry that the problems are permanent. Do you know if having mental probs like anxiety make health or life insurance premiums go up? I 've looked around a few sites and could only find info on types of life insurance at http://www.theroundtable.org .
