Any advice for dealing with paranoia/severe anxiety?

[Tampa Bay Hurricane]

It's driving me insane.

My psychiatrist says "I may need to be hospitalized" for what my therapist calls a "possible psychotic illness" due to a
"debilitating likely brain chemical imbalance"

I'm only 19 and I might be hospitalized if I can't control my severe anxiety which sometimes becomes paranoia.

I wish I could just live a normal life without all of this mess

Any advice for dealing with paranoia
Again thanks to everyone who responded to my post several weeks back about this stuff.
It's just that I want some advice about how to handle this situation.

[j]

Since I doubt there are many Doctor's in this group, I have to assume you are asking for non-medical advice for treatment.

May I offer a daily dose of Baseball as a remedy. It's relaxing, and will give you something to look forward to every night instead of counting carpet fibers.

[gtalum]

I think your psychologist is better qualified to give you this advice than any of us are. I wish you luck with your situation, though.

[JonathanBelles]

I would take ADD med if possible. I use to when I was ten when I had APHD but then the symptoms went away (until they returned this year)

[SouthFloridawx]

Well dealing with depression in the past myself, it can be very difficult. We are all affected by it at one point or another in our lives. Luckily people who get depression aren't looked at as crazies as they used to be.

I like to think about it this way for myself. If I am depressed, have anxiety, paranoia or any of the other symptoms that come along with mental health imbalances.... it is usually pointing to something is going on in my life to cause me to feel that way or experience those things.

Medication can help people, but I think you need to really take a look at your life... no matter your age and ask yourself, what is really going on. Are there problems at work, home, school, past issues or many other things.

Usually that I have found when, your body is giving you symptoms that is your mind telling you something is wrong. You probably need a change in life, whether that be a new job, some new hobbies, different friends and many other things. Besides just looking at it from a clinical point of view, but i'm not saying ignore them, because you should listen to your counselor/therapist, especially dealing with cases where it is very bothersome and serious.

Anyway... I'm sorry your going through this and i'm not sure if I made any sense to you. If you need someone to talk to or would just like to vent, my email address is NFairman1024@yahoo.com . Please feel free to message me anytime.

Sometimes it is necessary to step out of oneself and remove yourself from your situation, so that you can take a look at it from a different perspective. I realize that paranoia can be a very hard issue to deal with, I have delt with it in the past. You need to be able to, even after the fact.. look at it and say that it's not really how you feel, but there is something going on causing it to happen. No matter how long it takes you need to find out what is causing these things.

Good luck my friend,
Nathan

[SouthFloridawx]

p.s. I was just dealing with this type of thing with my little brother. He did not want to go to a mental health center for a few days. I explained to him a little like this. If you keep experiencing a problem and doing what your currently doing now is not helping, and your situation is not getting any better... maybe it might be necessary for you to be able to go somewhere away from everything in order to get the help you need, or the different look at life. Don't look at it as a bad thing, but be willing to try different options... If your therapist is recommending that you do so, it's probably a good idea to listen to thim. Remember it's not forever and can be very beneficial, so that you can take time out of normal life to be able to focus on what is really going on with you. Psychologist and therapists for the most part seem to know the most about this issue, eventhough it may not seem right at the time, later you may find that it was best thing you could have ever done.

[Tampa Bay Hurricane]

thanks everyone I will take the advice of my therapists.

[Stephanie]

thanks everyone I will take the advice of my therapists.

Ditto SouthFlorida's posts.

I have chronic depression and have had it for for almost 20 years. I know I suffered from it too while I was a teenager.

Depression encompasses both of those symptoms. The worst part during untreated depression is the lack of control, which causes the anxiety and paranoia and then makes the depression worse. It's a downward spiral.

I have a chemical imbalance so I need to take medication. I was hospitalized for a few days back in 1989 when the "stigma" of depression was just starting to lessen. More people were stepping up and being treated for this and thus making more people aware of it. There are so many people that are probably depressed and they self medicate by drinking and drugs.

Both therapy and drugs have helped me and I have no bones telling people that I have depression. Most of the time they look at me like "you're KIDDING ME!" because I am overall a happy person. The medication helps - it was a life saver for me.

Best of luck to you and if you need an ear, please feel free to pm me.

[yoda]

It's driving me insane.

My psychiatrist says "I may need to be hospitalized" for what my therapist calls a "possible psychotic illness" due to a
"debilitating likely brain chemical imbalance"

I'm only 19 and I might be hospitalized if I can't control my severe anxiety which sometimes becomes paranoia.

I wish I could just live a normal life without all of this mess

Any advice for dealing with paranoia
Again thanks to everyone who responded to my post several weeks back about this stuff.
It's just that I want some advice about how to handle this situation.

Hey,

I understand your situation very well, as I have much of what you are talking about myself. Yes, I have "escaped" hospitalization myself, but I am basically in the same boat as you are. However, I haven't been back to see a pysch in quite a while because I was told that I might have to be hospitalized myself. Listen to what the pyschiatrist says. If he says that it will help you, it will. I didn't listen, and I am paying the consequences for it, which means I soon will have to go back and see a pysch soon myself.

Yeah, I know. It feels like you are not yourself and you just want things to go back to normal and you wish everything was different. But this is the hand that we are dealt with, and we must see to it that we make the best of it.

When dealing with paranoia, make sure of where you are, as in your surroundings. Are you paranoid that someone is going to do something to you? I am at times paranoid that my friends are going to do something against me, as in force me to see a psych. But I have reminded myself that they are my friends, and that they wouldn't do that to me unless its absolutely necessary. Have you talked to your family or your friends about this? Sometimes doing this can help allay your fears and help people understand what you are going through. Remember that paranoia is just a fear of something, and its not likley to be real. Its just in your brain, and its not going to happen.

There is a website I am on frequently and it helps me quite a lot. The site is http://www.recoveryourlife.com. Its a great website that helps people who deal with a wide variety of mental illnesses ranging from depression, to eating disorders, to even paranoia. The people on there range in age groups from as young as 14 and 15 to as old as in their 40s. They are very helpful, very willing to talk to you and you can discuss with them what is going on with you. In fact, you might even make a few friends on there (as I have). HOWEVER, the site at times can be triggering, so be careful where you go on there.

I hope this helps some and if you need someone to talk to, I am only a PM away.

Matt

[Tampa Bay Hurricane]

thank you all very much for helping and advising me...i value greatly these suggestions

[azskyman]

The most important word you can hang on to is hope.

In 1984 and again in 1988, at times in my life when things were going along well, not stressful, I met up with the spectre of inner anxiety.

It took my functional life and dismembered it. Work could no longer include an 8-hour day. Somedays a couple of hours was the most I could hang on to. I felt out of control in so many ways at times. And I was miserable company to be around.

I was miserable company for myself.

I went through the full gamut of medical tests. From heart to cancer to ulcers and brain tumors. If I'd have been a used car on the lot, I would have had CERTIFIED HEALTHY stamped all over me.

It was spending time with others who shared my experience, combined with counseling and a small amount of fairly new depression medication, that I not only found my way back up, and home again, but also have recognized the core issues and symptoms for every day that has passed since then.

I have been told by others that time spent with me has helped them confront their own anxiety and incapacitating paranoia. I did nothing but look at them and tell them I know. I really know what a formidable foe it can be.

Keep the faith and hope. Reach out as you are doing. Get both medical and professional help.

And mostly recognize that you are so far from being alone in your battle.

You WILL make it through, and you will laugh and be happy and feel strong once again.

You will.

[Stephanie]

Just to add to what Poppysky said, I can handle an 8 hour day at work, maybe 9 or 10, depending upon the situation, but I can't sustain it indefinately. I'll take work home if needed but not everyday. I need my downtime. I don't know if it's the depression exclusively that's doing this, but I don believe it's holding me back from ever moving up in the corporate world. I don't have the mental energy or stamina to be able to put in the 10 - 15 hour OT many managers in Accounting tend to do. Actually, I tend to resent it.

The point is, anxiety/depression/paranoia is a very real illness that effects a person on so many levels. Get help and treatment, but if you do have a chemical imbalance like I do, realize that this is something that you'll have to deal with for the rest of your life. I've never felt better than I do now with the medication but I know it still affects me.

[alicat]

I don't know if this will help, but about a little over a year ago, I was hospitalized with type 2 bipolar disorder..After about 6 weeks, I was on the right medications and functioning back to my old self again..Some times, you just have to take the plunge, if it's the only thing that will help you get better..I can't speak for your doctors, but if you need the time to find the right medications that'll help you out, then maybe it's the best thing..Anyhoo, good luck to you..get a good support system..

[Tampa Bay Hurricane]

thank you everyone for advice!

The thing that I am really afraid of to point of being paranoid is of losing control or of having a severe anxiety attack.

and many times when I tell people the following they say: "My gosh you have been watching too many sci-fi horror movies!"
sometimes when I am in deep anxiety i start worrying that some people can read my mind, or that I think demons are
manipulating one of my teachers minds and making her say things that the demons know will cause me mental
suffering

at other times when upset these crazy demon-like influences say and try to persuade me "Go break a glass bottle against your head the next time you get upset you worthless person!!"

but I know that demons are just evil and stupid so I should ignore them...but sometimes they make stupid insults
like when I was at the airport and getting in line
demonic voice said: "You inconsiderate, selfish idiot, what makes you think you can cut people in line? You think you are better than everyone else?"
but I wasnt even cutting anybody

and then I went to pick up the tag things that you tie to your bags when taking them on flight and then
painfully and forcefully a nasty burst of insults: "You think you can steal the bag ties, you are so inconsiderate of other people! You're worthless!"
and I wasnt even taking too many tags


and then I watched a hurricane Charley Video on storm2k and the voices said "You inconsiderate idiot you enjoy death damage and destruction!" Even though I do NOT enjoy death and damage and destruction I just love the power of nature.

Does this happen because I'm afraid of insults?
It's really weird.

The insults/commands occur as a combination of recurring disturbing thoughts and are sometimes a little audible.

And then when anxious I see the walls moving/closing in on me or moving in various directions but my experience tells me that walls
do not move like that.

[vbhoutex]

The best advice has been given above. do exactly what your health care providers are telling you to do. No one here is completely qualified to answer your concerns even though some obviously have struggled with the problems you are experiencing.

Please take advantage of the professional help available to you. There is no shame in dealing with real problems. You don't need to worry about what others think, only about what is best for you!!!

[yoda]

thank you everyone for advice!

The thing that I am really afraid of to point of being paranoid is of losing control or of having a severe anxiety attack.

and many times when I tell people the following they say: "My gosh you have been watching too many sci-fi horror movies!"
sometimes when I am in deep anxiety i start worrying that some people can read my mind, or that I think demons are
manipulating one of my teachers minds and making her say things that the demons know will cause me mental
suffering

at other times when upset these crazy demon-like influences say and try to persuade me "Go break a glass bottle against your head the next time you get upset you worthless person!!"

but I know that demons are just evil and stupid so I should ignore them...but sometimes they make stupid insults
like when I was at the airport and getting in line
demonic voice said: "You inconsiderate, selfish idiot, what makes you think you can cut people in line? You think you are better than everyone else?"
but I wasnt even cutting anybody

and then I went to pick up the tag things that you tie to your bags when taking them on flight and then
painfully and forcefully a nasty burst of insults: "You think you can steal the bag ties, you are so inconsiderate of other people! You're worthless!"
and I wasnt even taking too many tags


and then I watched a hurricane Charley Video on storm2k and the voices said "You inconsiderate idiot you enjoy death damage and destruction!" Even though I do NOT enjoy death and damage and destruction I just love the power of nature.

Does this happen because I'm afraid of insults?
It's really weird.

The insults/commands occur as a combination of recurring disturbing thoughts and are sometimes a little audible.

And then when anxious I see the walls moving/closing in on me or moving in various directions but my experience tells me that walls
do not move like that.

That is certainly not good. Make sure you tell your pysch ALL of what you have told us. If you don't, they will not be bale to help you in the best ways or the best they can.

Yes, the voices can take many forms, be they demonic, satantic, rough, soothing, even child-like. Yes, they can take the form of insults, and it doesn't have to mean that you are afraid of insults or can't take them from people. However, you must learn not to listen to them or resist their influence. If you don't, they will slowly get louder and louder and you will lose control. In fact, its possible that they could even "take over" you. You DO NOT want that to happen, as bad things happen when that occurs. Trust me, its happened to me once before, and I did very bad things.

The voices will tell you anything that they wish to say, if you let them. It sounds like you have a type of command voices, which can be dangerous. Please make sure you tell your pysch about this, even if it makes you hospitalized. You will be helped and perhaps you can learn how to exercise control over these demons or voices that you have. I have no idea regarding the "walls" stuff... because I have never experienced an anxiety attack.

**FYI: I am not a pysch, nor majoring in it. Most of what I post here is what I have learned from my own experiences, have dealt with when I am helping other people, or have read online on websites. For more concise infomation, see a pysch for yourself**

[Tampa Bay Hurricane]

Thanks everybody I talked to my psychologists today I got some medications that should stop the
voices by stopping certain neuron communications

and I also got anxiety medicine for dealing with problems with paranoia

and my therapists said to whenever the voices come "recognize it as worthless trash" and "do not respond to them or that will make them worse"

I told my psychologists all these things and so they said they will use some kind of behavioral therapy to help me.

Again thanks to everyone for helping me with this really weird stuff.

[yoda]

Thanks everybody I talked to my psychologists today I got some medications that should stop the
voices by stopping certain neuron communications

and I also got anxiety medicine for dealing with problems with paranoia

and my therapists said to whenever the voices come "recognize it as worthless trash" and "do not respond to them or that will make them worse"

I told my psychologists all these things and so they said they will use some kind of behavioral therapy to help me.

Again thanks to everyone for helping me with this really weird stuff.

You are very welcome! Its great that you were able to tell your pyschs and they were able to give you meds and ways to help you get through this. Hope behavioural therapy goes well for you.

[Stephanie]

I'm so glad! Just keep up with the therapy and do everything that the doctors tell you to do.

You're MORE than welcome!