Slow is ok, kayelle. As trite as it sounds, just moving forward is accomplishment. Sometimes it doesn't seem this way, especially when the feelings are surging, but remember, everytime you give up, you're just postponing your recovery. You know you have to come back to doing the hard work. Keep going, my friend, message me if you need any support.
Side effects, depend from person to person. Some can take some medications, others cannot. I have virtually no side effects from Lexapro, my dream drug. I only took Zoloft before, but it didn't work for me. It made me drowsy, heavy headed and weak. I am now only on 5 mg of Lexapro a day, I don't take it for the anxiety, I take it for a depressive point of view. It helps to keep me on track.
If you have a caring doctor, you should try taking the meds he prescribes. There is no shame or no stigma in taking meds. It's an illness. The thing is depression and anxiety not only feel bad, they warp your point of view. They make it seem, for example, that you can't do things you logically can, and that you can do things you're not qualified for. It's strange, but there it is. I call it 'out of myself'.
Of your symptons, from my limited experience, agoraphobia is dangerous, because being confined and alone will tend to make the other conditions worse. As an illness, of course it can get better or worse. I tend to find myself functioning better if I have a social network and that I have the self esteem from going where I want and do what I want. All these are healthy for recovery. If I were you, I would see how I could go out at least once everyday.
When I broke my agoraphobia, I took buses and trains 9 hours a day, visiting strange new places. Now I can fly to anywhere on the globe on my own, although there are limited triggers, which I cope with using various methods.
Hang in there, kayelle, the situation can be better if you try. If you don't try, you don't suffer the effort, but things will be the same, and for us, that's a bad place to be.
That's great, thanks so much for giving advice! I am also getting better, but it is really slow and I'm trying to figure out if I'll go on meds or not...just wondering what kind of, or any, side effects you got from taking the meds? Did you have to try a few meds before you found one that worked for you? And do you get bad withdrawal symptoms or anything if you miss a dose?
I'm just being paranoid about taking meds, being anxious and all
Also, what did you take the meds for, is your problem mainly SA? Cos mine is panic attacks and agoraphobia, and also depression, so maybe I would need different meds than you?
Thanks so much for the advice! Much appreciated
