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I have never been screened for anxiety. Never ever. I never thought anxiety was a problem for me. I didn't know a baseline of non-anxious; I was accustomed to f
by NoZebra120vClip 3y ago
I have never been screened for anxiety. Never ever. I never thought anxiety was a problem for me. I didn't know a baseline of non-anxious; I was accustomed to fidgeting and being antsy and aggressive. That was normal, right? No psychiatrist every mentioned the word to me in 30 years of treatment. Never were drugs to alleviate anxiety ever put on the table.
About four years ago, I really started listening to other clients in my clinic who suffered from who-knows-what. I learned new terminology from them and I found insights into the experience and treatment of mental illness that doctors don't help with. I spoke to one young lady about dissociation. I asked her what she meant by it, and what that's like for her. I listened to other people speak of debilitating anxiety, and panic attacks, and the sorts of drugs they took to counteract that.
I currently have a prescription for a sort of antihistamine that is supposed to treat anxiety. It works well to do that; unfortunately it also knocks me out for at least 24 hours. So if I am so anxious that I can't sleep, I will take the drug, but I need to be prepared to be asleep in bed for that long, and miss out on work, appointments, church, whatever. It's a Faustian bargain, that's for sure.
- CommitSyn 3y agoIs it hydroxyzine? I am prescribed it as a non-habit forming anxiety medication, but it just knocks me out too so I only use it as a sleep aid. And if I take two my heart races and I can't sleep. My anxiety and depression have been significantly improved since starting TRT (I was way under the normal range for my age). I am waiting for cannabis to become legal here because smoking miniscule amounts as a teenager helped me tremendously in all aspects of life, but I never enjoyed, nay I feared, getting stoned.
- NoZebra120vClip 3y agoYes, it is hydroxyzine.
- renewedrebecca 3y agoI react "backwards" to antihistamines... I took a hydroxyzine for a panic attack and was so wired I didn't think I'd ever sleep again. Of course if I take an Adderall, that makes me sleepy.
- tnecniv 3y agoI’m not a doctor, but it's not uncommon for people with attention disorders to feel more tired when taking a stimulant. When it hits, your brain is finally not racing around and feels at peace. Just food for thought.
- CommitSyn 3y agoThat's just how stimulants are said to work for people with ADHD. They don't have enough dopamine for proper functioning, so when they do get a boost of dopamine they are able to function more normally. Wired (hyperactive) -> tired. I'm not aware of antihistamines making people with ADHD wired, but I do know someone that used to get energetic when they took a benadryl.
- DANmode 3y agoWhere is "here", if you don't mind me asking?