Stress Center Peer Support

Hi I'm new here. For me, one of the most frustrating "side effects" of anxiety disorder has always been the insistence that it is something one should simply "snap out of" - as if it were possible.

I've been struggling with anxiety for 20 years. When I went on Xanax for the first time at 21, my God, by my family's and friends' reaction you would have thought I was taking LSD. "You don't need those! You just need a kick in the pants! You need to get religion!" To this day, I get, "So, what, you're just going to be on them the rest of your life?" Well, if you had to take heart medication for the rest of your life, you'd do it, wouldn't you? People need to realize that mental illness in all its forms is no less serious than any physical ailment, and is not something one can simply "snap out of" and "get over" and there is nothing wrong with taking medication for mental illness anymore than there is anything wrong with taking medication for a physical illness.

Having said that, I do now want to include other ways of dealing with my illness, which is why I am so excited to have received Lucinda's program this week. I have been listening to the relaxation CD twice daily but I cannot for the life of me stay awake for the duration, so I'm wondering if I'm getting the full benefit if I'm sleeping through most of it.

Even in a room full of people I have always felt alone and isolated because this disorder is "my dirty little secret", only a select few very close to me know and even though they know, I'm still alone with it because while they try to be supportive they don't really understand, and how can they? They don't have it, thank God. I'm tired of being alone with this, I'm tired of pretending everything's fine when it's not, so I'm ecstatic to have found this board with all you wonderful people because I want to start surrounding myself with supportive people who really understand what I'm going through because they go through it too, even if it's just online to start with. Isolation makes everything worse and now that I'm divorced, and my child has moved out, and I'm self-employed and work from home, I have to be careful not to cut myself off completely from the rest of the world and become a crazy cat lady or something lol.

My mom as the worst about wanting me to snap out of it. To see her, life is perfect. If it's not, sweep it under the rug. So I never learned to deal with problems.
You reminded me that when I had migraines, I had a lot of the same reactions- it wasn't a "real" illness, there was a mental problem. I found a letter that you could give to family and friends that explained briefly the medical problem and treatments. I think I would love to find something concise that explained maybe myths and facts about anxiety and depression so I could have some "validity." I really wish the public were better informed as a whole, and maybe with celebrities fighting the same battle, there will be more media attention.

HI Paige,

I use to have that feeling that I didn't belong, it will take some time but believe me it will pass.

I just wanted to wish you luck with the program. I look forward to hearing about your progress, keep posting.


Penu

I can totally relate to the dirty little secret. I am the go to person at work whenever there is a crisis or problem. I drop what I am doing and help. When I get home I am emotionally and physically exhausted. That is when the anixety would come in waves crashing into me and I would shut down and retreat to my bedroom with neck/back/shoulder pain. I spend a good part of my day anxious that someone will find out that I am not all together. I feel like such a fraud sometimes. The thing is I have been living like this for over a decade. It is exhausting and I an tired of living this way. Here's hoping for some relief as well.

Hi Paige,

Your right people don't understand at all,but your not alone.You can read all the books in the world and unless you have it you will never understand or they will never understand.