| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| wrldtrv |
Posted - 11/04/2011 : 20:16:27
Somewhat of a relapse in the past few weeks. I feel the symptoms are coming fast and furious lately, and it is exhausting trying to debunk them, one by one. One loses faith in the psychosomatic explanation as the fear mounts. And really, isn't fear what this whole thing is really about? None of the symptoms are particularly painful or disturbing on their own; it is simply the fear of what the symptoms mean, what they might herald for the future.
I think this cycle started when I started getting mentally prepared to have my annual PSA, which I have been doing because of a high number two yrs ago. Along with that is a visit to the urologist. In the weeks and days leading up to this, I got more and more anxious and depressed, imagining the worst scenario. Well, it all ended well this week as my score was exactly the same as last year. Instead of relief, I was already starting to catastrophize about the other physical symptoms I have been having. An arm that has bothered me for almost a year. A butt/hip thing that has flared up on/off for at least 10 years. Even various foot symptoms. Each one requires great mental effort to combat.
I'm thinking that because I go through continual up/down cycles of feeling the healthy and fit I objectively am, and the unhealthy and crippled I feel when my fears take over, that I might consider something more effective than the lexapro I have been on for a couple of years. I feel that though I've made significant progress in many ways over the years, I'm at a disadvantage trying to do it all through mental effort and discipline alone. Some different chemical help might be helpful to combat what is obviously at least partly a chemical problem.
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| 1 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| art |
Posted - 11/07/2011 : 14:32:45
I think there's some truth to that wrld. Much of this is biochemical I'm certain. You have made lots of progress in the last year or two, so don't assume that because you're having a difficult stretch, that's in any way less significant.
In my opinion antidepressants are not particularly effective for health anxiety. If you don't have an addictive personality (and I'm guessing you don't), I don't think there's a thing wrong with a mature adult who's in there battling every day getting a little help once in a while. That's what benzo's are there for.
Please, anti-benzo people, spare the lectures. For many they're a perfectly appropriate and effective medication. |
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