Extreme Anxiety

CoffeeLove said:
My late husband battled severe anxiety in his younger years - mainly based on the thought of dying. He came home from work one day with a smile on his face. I asked what had happened. He said, "I no longer feel anxiety about dying." As he talked to me, there was such a peace on his face, and a light in his eyes. He explained that while working that day, he felt like a "light bulb" went on in a dark room. I listened as he talked and shared. Telling me that we are given 72 chances each minute to meet death - that is the average number of times our heart beats in a minute. And all it takes is one heart beat to make that cross over. He said that as he realized the truth of that - he had decided to look at it as 72 opportunities for life each minute, instead. Choosing to live each heartbeat as full as he could possibly make it. Whether it was to listen to a bird singing, or a child laughing. Whether enjoying a sunset or sunrise. Whether drinking a favorite drink, or talking with someone. 72 opportunities each minute for LIFE.
Sending you much love and many hugs ((( )))
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CoffeeLove, welcome to the forum and thanks for posting your husband's experience. I do believe that sometimes we have a moment of clarity that solves a problem for us and it sounds like your husband had a great one.
 

I’m 83. I feel like I’ve won life’s lottery. There are thousands of young people and kids who die each day. Why should I complain if I die tomorrow? I’ve known what is was like to be a kid in the 40’s, a teen in the 50’s, and a young adult in the 60’s. I was married to a good woman for 60 years and had two fine sons. How can you top that?

We’re all going to die. I worry more about becoming feeble than death. It’s not like I look forward to it. It could be very unpleasant. But, that’s pretty much beyond my control. Like Woody Allen said, “I’m not afraid of dying. I just don’t want to be there when it happens.”

Afterlife doesn’t worry me. If the atheists are right, I will simply cease to exist. If the religious people are right, I’ll take my chances for a fair judgment and take whatever I deserve.

In the meantime, I’ll continue to bumble along and try to enjoy the good things and put up with the bad. It’s a nice Spring day. I’ve got green tomatoes and my orchid cacti are about to bloom.
 
Grampa Don said:
I’m 83. I feel like I’ve won life’s lottery. There are thousands of young people and kids who die each day. Why should I complain if I die tomorrow? I’ve known what is was like to be a kid in the 40’s, a teen in the 50’s, and a young adult in the 60’s. I was married to a good woman for 60 years and had two fine sons. How can you top that?

We’re all going to die. I worry more about becoming feeble than death. It’s not like I look forward to it. It could be very unpleasant. But, that’s pretty much beyond my control. Like Woody Allen said, “I’m not afraid of dying. I just don’t want to be there when it happens.”

Afterlife doesn’t worry me. If the atheists are right, I will simply cease to exist. If the religious people are right, I’ll take my chances for a fair judgment and take whatever I deserve.

In the meantime, I’ll continue to bumble along and try to enjoy the good things and put up with the bad. It’s a nice Spring day. I’ve got green tomatoes and my orchid cacti are about to bloom.
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Good to hear from you @Grampa Don.
I like your relaxed state of being and appreciation for the good things.
Perks me up.
 

CallMeKate said:
I've been wanting to look into Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and checked the Kindle store to see what reading material is available. There were so many that I reached the "overwhelming, I'll do this later" place and never got back to it. Not sure how to tell which are the good/helpful books.
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Here are some of my Kindle 'self help' purchases:
Tiny Habits ....quite a good book, my doctor recommended it. For changing behavior, getting rid of bad habits, creating good habits. Can be applied to managing the 'bad' mental habitis(like overthinking, rumination, catastrophizing) and developing the 'good' mental habits as taught in CBT.
Saying Goodbye to Grief with Mindfulness Written by a Taichi master/instructor that I've been following for the past 4 years. She draws from her own struggles in life and describes how she's come to terms with those situations.
Retrain Your Brain: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy in 7 Weeks A workbook that describes key concepts and has exercises to follow in learning to deal with anxiety and depression.

To be honest, I've learned the basics of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy through these and other sources, but I would really like to get a real, living and breathing therapist to sit with me and train, one on one.
 
Hello everyone, my doctor has stopped the sertraline due to the severe side effects I was experiencing. I was only on 25mg for 8 days and this is day 2 of coming off. Am still feeling tired although not as bad and some stomach upset and not hungry. Although I was only on a low dose for a short time do you think I might experience these symptoms for a few days until it is out of my system.
 
Maisie123 said:
Hello everyone, my doctor has stopped the sertraline due to the severe side effects I was experiencing. I was only on 25mg for 8 days and this is day 2 of coming off. Am still feeling tired although not as bad and some stomach upset and not hungry. Although I was only on a low dose for a short time do you think I might experience these symptoms for a few days until it is out of my system.
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Google (PharmGKB summary: sertraline pathway, pharmacokinetics National Institutes of Health (.gov)
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov › articles › PMC7008964 ) informs that the half life of Sertraline is 24-32 hours. My understanding is that it takes about 5 half lives for a drug to completely leave the system, so that would be about a week.

You've only been taking a very little for a short time, so it might not take that long for you and keep in mind that in 32 hours 1/2 the drug is out, which is significant. 32 more hours and half of the remaining half is out, etc., so you'll hopefully be feeling better as the days go by.

EDIT: Just realized you said you're on day two. So hopefully, you've a very short way to go before feeling better.
 
Hi @Maisie123 😊

I took sertraline back in my forties, 3 days in, my face and tongue began to swell. I stopped it immediately.

Now at almost 63, I have found taking vitamin D on a regular basis has helped me so much.
I take it at night. I sleep better and wake up feeling better.

My daughter has occasional anxiety. She was diagnosed with low vitamin D.
I can see a difference in her when she forgets to take her vitamin D supplement.

We ask each other “have you taken your vitamin D lately“ 😊

She describes her anxiety as “feeling completely overwhelmed“

I was thinking maybe the next time you go to the doctor you could ask him to check to see if you are low in vitamin D.

I wish you well 💕
 
Maisie123 said:
Hello as you know my doctor has started me on 25mg sertraline which I have been taking for 5 days now. I take it at breakfast which is what she said to do. In the morning I feel okay and can cope but by the afternoon I develop terrible physical symptoms which include weakness,lethargy,shaking,heart racing. By the evening they seem to abate. I wonder if anyone else has had this reaction when starting sertraline. She wants me to go up to 50mg from Monday but am a bit wary of doing this because of these symptoms.
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I was wondering if your anxiety is caused by something else besides turning 80. Do you have health issues that might be causing the anxiety (You don't need to answer, but just something to think about)? Has anything or anyone changed in your life (people) and this may have affected you? Try writing in a journal (this has worked for me) and put your thoughts down. Ask yourself questions and try and find answers - maybe you will see a pattern. Also, there are games you can play on AARP.ORG (I do that every night) to relax. Watch a funny movie, or reach out to a friend. This forum has been a place of comfort for me when I needed it.

Regarding your medicine, I would definitely alert the doctor of the side effects. You are taking this to alleviate issues, not cause more issues. The side effects you are experiencing can also be an anxiety-provoking event! It would definitely cause me to be anxious! So please let your doctor know. Edited - Just saw the post that you came off the medicine.
 
medical doctors have given out medication for anxiety for many years now as have some psychiatrists too - many of the problems have been discussed above by some of the 'new age' pychologists are using a techniques which is not drug focused at all called CBT - cognitive behavioural therapy - Cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) is a type of psychotherapy (talking therapy) based on the idea that how you think and act affects how you feel.

if you have medical insurance coverage that includes psychological treatments might be worth exploring and it doesn't need drugs?
 
I never give death any thought. Years ago, I accepted the fact that someday I would die. Since then, it’s been out of my hands. I refuse to waste time worrying or thinking about something I have no control over.

We have all heard the saying, “He’s going to worry himself to death.” I knew such a person and today, he’s older than me. I think he’s at least 80, so if he’s been worrying about death all these years, he’s wasted a lot of time.
 
Was hospitalized for extreme
anxiety and complex PTSD over the last week. When I discovered they wanted to keep me in hospital, I fled. The police were called who then contacted all the taxis in the area as well as the motels and hotels. I later learn , that I was a wanted women. 😳

The police figured they’d track me using my phone’s location device but I always have mine off so it took hours for them to find me.
This woman hunt wasn’t due to their fear of me harming anyone but for fear of my own safety.

When they did find me they told me that a doctor gave them specific orders to bring me back to the hospital and I didnt wish to go so I was man handled 😱

I cannot say with absolute certainly that I completely detested it. The two male police officers weren’t hard on the eyes either 😅

Now I have access to medical help and believe I’m on the right concoction of meds to help keep me emotionally stable.

Except for the arrogant psychiatrist, the stay was actually very pleasant. I met a lot of wonderful people whom seemed to genuinely like me. There wasn’t a person there I didn’t get along with. The first day there I slept all through one night, the next day and all through the next night. I’ve never slept so much before n my life but I also have never been so heavily drugged either. There was oral meds and meds


The day I was released was music day and I sang for them. They clapped . One of the patients had tears in her eyes and told me it was beautiful.

Now I have support for my mental health which I lacked due to moving. This however doesn’t diminish or disregard what I know happened to me whole loving. It merely makes the acknowledgment a bit more acceptable.

Someday I’ll go back there and play my saxophone and sing for them. They are very nice people. ( even the psychiatrist). I just didn’t like him.

Anyway… I’m back. ☺️😂🤪
 
PeppermintPatty said:
Was hospitalized for extreme
anxiety and complex PTSD over the last week. When I discovered they wanted to keep me in hospital, I fled. The police were called who then contacted all the taxis in the area as well as the motels and hotels. I later learn , that I was a wanted women. 😳

The police figured they’d track me using my phone’s location device but I always have mine off so it took hours for them to find me.
This woman hunt wasn’t due to their fear of me harming anyone but for fear of my own safety.

When they did find me they told me that a doctor gave them specific orders to bring me back to the hospital and I didnt wish to go so I was man handled 😱

I cannot say with absolute certainly that I completely detested it. The two male police officers weren’t hard on the eyes either 😅

Now I have access to medical help and believe I’m on the right concoction of meds to help keep me emotionally stable.

Except for the arrogant psychiatrist, the stay was actually very pleasant. I met a lot of wonderful people whom seemed to genuinely like me. There wasn’t a person there I didn’t get along with. The first day there I slept all through one night, the next day and all through the next night. I’ve never slept so much before n my life but I also have never been so heavily drugged either. There was oral meds and meds


The day I was released was music day and I sang for them. They clapped . One of the patients had tears in her eyes and told me it was beautiful.

Now I have support for my mental health which I lacked due to moving. This however doesn’t diminish or disregard what I know happened to me whole loving. It merely makes the acknowledgment a bit more acceptable.

Someday I’ll go back there and play my saxophone and sing for them. They are very nice people. ( even the psychiatrist). I just didn’t like him.

Anyway… I’m back. ☺️😂🤪
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I hope you'll continue to get well. Is your husband a support for you, Patty?
 
RadishRose said:
I hope you'll continue to get well. Is your husband a support for you, Patty?
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I can’t answer that truthfully so won’t answer but with these new meds and some proper counselling for cPTSD, I should be capable of navigating my way. I really can’t complain about how I was treated. Everyone was really very nice and the best part is that I’m now in the system. The medical system out here is very limited. Only 50% of hospitals are open and many them only open part time.
Thanks for asking
 
Pepper said:
@PeppermintPatty
(((Patty)))
You're a champion. I did notice your absence but I thought it was your own choosing. Wishing you the very best, you're a keeper. 🤗
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Thanks. I never called 911 emergency. I called 811 who then dispatched 911. I was told not to drive which was why I had the ambulance drive me and because of that they wouldn’t release me.

The hospital I was at wasn’t the one closest to me but was 1 1/2 hours away and I made the mistake of saying I hadn’t a clue where I was and didn’t know how I was going to get home. As soon as I said that Mr. Psychiatrist said that he was going to take care of me by making me stay there.

I could be wrong but I think anyone would be alarmed if they were detained at a hospital against their will. I wasn’t a danger to myself, nor was I a danger to others so that part I didn’t understand.

However I have since learned that symptoms of complex post traumatic stress disorder mimic many other mental health disorders making it difficult to pinpoint what drugs work and what doesn’t . It I was surprised to learn what drug I’m on but have to admit that they help.

Being drugged in a big city I knew nothing about , with no vehicle or even stable enough to drive concerned this one doctor who was the only doctor in this hospital at the time. I’ve never in my life slept 3 days in a row.
It was enough to sedate a baby elephant.

Thank you❤️
 
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CallMeKate said:
I'm so glad you're back, @PeppermintPatty ... and also glad that you're in the system and able to get help now. Welcome home. 🌷
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Thank you. I was told that since I was under the care of the hospital that it was their responsibility to make sure I was safe which was why the police were brought in. It did however make me feel like I was some kind of convicted criminal yet I have to admit that every single one of them were very kind.

It is nice to have all this info but I wasn’t impressed how they went about it. I felt tricked.

Thanks.
Im rambling.
 
I was called to the scene of a man acting weird and unusual. When I arrived at the scene at 3:05 a.m., he was lying naked in the road and shouting profanities. I thought to myself that this will be easy enough. I’ll cuff him and get a Trooper to take him to the hospital to be given a psychiatric examination.

Two days later, I was told he was diagnosed as mentally ill, neurotic and prone to panic attacks. I wrote it up as a psychiatric case and turned it over to the D.A.’s office who sent him to one of the state mental hospitals for further testing and examinations. This is how these cases are handled. They continue to hand them off until someone decides what’s the best course to take.

In this case, the judge confined him to the state hospital in Danville until further doctor’s diagnosis and re-evaluation by the state psychiatric board, which is made up of 5 psychiatrists who determine the patient’s outcome. Usually, these types of cases are to warehouse the patient for maybe 5 years and then re-evaluate. Nice, huh? Maybe he will be released after the re-evaluation and maybe he will be returned for another 5 years.
 
For the record, I’ve never been in trouble with the law before. When I called 811, it was just to talk to someone. My call was dispatched to emergency. There was no emergency but since my husband couldn’t drive me to the hospital, they sent out an ambulance which I personally thought was over kill.

It was my understanding that I was going in for blood tests and an examination. They did the tests and told me to wait 1 hour for the results. Forty minutes later a psychiatrist comes in and starts asking me information about my family and about our property and whether it’s difficult to take care of.

Then he asks if I’d made any purchases lately. When I told him he seemed baffled that my husband would allow me to buy such a purchase? To me it sounded like a BS reason to label someone. Somehow he dramatized the purchase to seem wrong and frivolous.

Most of my disorders I’m well aware of and have certainly had all kinds of counselling, both in the past, and in the present.

To me this seemed like the perfect set up for medical staff to experiment on me which they did. I don’t remember 3 entire days. I had all my rights taken away because I called a hotline to speak with someone about depression which I don’t find ‘that’ unusual.


I was drugged against my will.
I was housed against my will
I was man handled against my will
(Yes I joked about that but there was nothing funny bout it) Nowhere I my conversation did I suggest I was going to hurt myself or anyone else. Nowhere in my conversation or demeanour did I suggest any such thing. I was in the safety of my home just wishing to talk to someone.

The only reason I decided to take the ambulance was because my heart rate and blood pressure were really high and the paramedics suggested it. I really wish I hadn’t done that.

I don’t drink, do any street or illegal drugs and get counselling when necessary as well as the meds if required.

There is no way I expected that to be the outcome. I’ve been hospitalized against my will before and it’s not very nice and I wasn’t a harm to myself or anyone else either so I left. There was no violence, there wasn’t even any harsh words except ‘no thank you.’

A doctor calling authorities is strictly to save their own behinds. I don’t think it’s abnormal to not want to stay in a psych ward at a hospital unexpectedly. Of course I’m going to be alarmed and leave. Did I know my calling 811 would lead to this? Hell NO!!!

This was something from the movies. The bad movies. My situation is nothing at all like @911’s situation. I wasn’t doing any questionable or criminal behaviour and in my opinion this should never have happened.
 
911 said:
I was called to the scene of a man acting weird and unusual. When I arrived at the scene at 3:05 a.m., he was lying naked in the road and shouting profanities. I thought to myself that this will be easy enough. I’ll cuff him and get a Trooper to take him to the hospital to be given a psychiatric examination.

Two days later, I was told he was diagnosed as mentally ill, neurotic and prone to panic attacks. I wrote it up as a psychiatric case and turned it over to the D.A.’s office who sent him to one of the state mental hospitals for further testing and examinations. This is how these cases are handled. They continue to hand them off until someone decides what’s the best course to take.

In this case, the judge confined him to the state hospital in Danville until further doctor’s diagnosis and re-evaluation by the state psychiatric board, which is made up of 5 psychiatrists who determine the patient’s outcome. Usually, these types of cases are to warehouse the patient for maybe 5 years and then re-evaluate. Nice, huh? Maybe he will be released after the re-evaluation and maybe he will be returned for another 5 years.
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I realize that you were just doing your job.
On the otherhand, I have a question:
Could you have found out that person's family contact person and then proceeded to call up that person and discuss the event?

In my opinion, our entire mental healthcare sytem, treatment of people/patients and the laws should be rethought about,reviewed and reevaluated.
My opinion is based upon what I have heard and what I have learned or know.
 
PeppermintPatty said:
For the record, I’ve never been in trouble with the law before. When I called 811, it was just to talk to someone. My call was dispatched to emergency. There was no emergency but since my husband couldn’t drive me to the hospital, they sent out an ambulance which I personally thought was over kill.

It was my understanding that I was going in for blood tests and an examination. They did the tests and told me to wait 1 hour for the results. Forty minutes later a psychiatrist comes in and starts asking me information about my family and about our property and whether it’s difficult to take care of.

Then he asks if I’d made any purchases lately. When I told him he seemed baffled that my husband would allow me to buy such a purchase? To me it sounded like a BS reason to label someone. Somehow he dramatized the purchase to seem wrong and frivolous.

Most of my disorders I’m well aware of and have certainly had all kinds of counselling, both in the past, and in the present.

To me this seemed like the perfect set up for medical staff to experiment on me which they did. I don’t remember 3 entire days. I had all my rights taken away because I called a hotline to speak with someone about depression which I don’t find ‘that’ unusual.


I was drugged against my will.
I was housed against my will
I was man handled against my will
(Yes I joked about that but there was nothing funny bout it) Nowhere I my conversation did I suggest I was going to hurt myself or anyone else. Nowhere in my conversation or demeanour did I suggest any such thing. I was in the safety of my home just wishing to talk to someone.

The only reason I decided to take the ambulance was because my heart rate and blood pressure were really high and the paramedics suggested it. I really wish I hadn’t done that.

I don’t drink, do any street or illegal drugs and get counselling when necessary as well as the meds if required.

There is no way I expected that to be the outcome. I’ve been hospitalized against my will before and it’s not very nice and I wasn’t a harm to myself or anyone else either so I left. There was no violence, there wasn’t even any harsh words except ‘no thank you.’

A doctor calling authorities is strictly to save their own behinds. I don’t think it’s abnormal to not want to stay in a psych ward at a hospital unexpectedly. Of course I’m going to be alarmed and leave. Did I know my calling 811 would lead to this? Hell NO!!!

This was something from the movies. The bad movies. My situation is nothing at all like @911’s situation. I wasn’t doing any questionable or criminal behaviour and in my opinion this should never have happened.
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I have read your posts.
I am sorry that you went through a rough time.
 

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