SEVERE ANXIETY: MY FIRST HAND EXPERIENCE

It was never an easy battling with severe anxiety. No medication, no cure is able to completely fix the problem. There are medications just to lessen the effects you are suffering from it, but never the cure to make it go away. That’s the time, where all I could do is just asked God why am I in that situation.

Back in 2015, I suddenly felt a pin and needle sensation throughout my body followed by a burning and chilling effect at the same time. Pretty messed up experience right? I usually experience this whenever I’m sweating, or when a cold breeze hits my skin. I thought my body is just reacting to coldness but I was wrong. Eventually it got worse day by day until such time I wasn’t able to bare the pain and experience sleepless nights. In effect of that traumatic experience, I avoid getting sweaty, or I just avoid going to windy places.

My life changed drastically. I’m all about limitations; limiting myself to do the things I love. Whenever I go out, I usually wear jacket to avoid the breeze. I see to it that it’s not that sunny so I won’t sweat that easily cause due to my size, I can easily perspire.

I got tired of restricting myself so I decided to see a doctor. First of all, I don’t have any idea what kind of doctor to go to and so I went to a dermatologist to explain my situation. They don’t seem to find any allergies on my body and therefore couldn’t diagnose me well. They referred me to Internal Medicine. To no avail, they don’t seem to find any diagnosis at all. That’s the time the doctor asked me if I’m willing to see a psychiatrist. I was hesitant at first thinking, “Is this doctor thinking im crazy?”, but still I did.

I went to see a psychiatrist. I explained to her what seems to be the problem. I told her what I’m feeling physically. She willingly listened. After explaining, she asked me directly what I am thinking as of the moment. I just told her, “Nothing, just wanna know what’s wrong with me?” She asked me again if I have problems, or is there something bothering me right now. I don’t get her at first but eventually, I was able to connect with her. I answered the doctor, “im currently rendering for resignation in my job, I still don’t have a fall back yet”. She asked me where I am working. I answered, “At a contact center in a nearby mall”. She said, “I see, is there anymore problem aside from that?” I said, “my girlfriend and I broke up” She asked again, “aside from that, is there anything else?” I said, “I don’t know if I can provide for my family if I don’t get a job right away”

The doctor gave a big sigh. She said that I’m currently suffering from Severe Anxiety. I asked her if it’s curable, she said, “it can’t be cured by any medicine, but the effects can be controlled” With what she said, I got worried more than ever. IT-CANT-BE-CURED. Who the hell would want to hear that line?

Since I was still in my senses, I asked the doctor again, “whats the cause?” She answered me, “You worry too much about problems that does not even exist at the first place and if you change your mindset, maybe that will go away” CHANGE-MY-MINDSET. That’s a lot of work to do. She gave me Vineuron, a B1612 vitamins. It would help my nerve problems. It will repair the damaged nerve endings when im having an anxiety attack.

So what was literally happening to me? Why am I experiencing those pin and needle prick and burning sensation?

I researched about it and found out that the reason behind it is that the nerves do not accurately communicate with the brain. There is an excessive electronic impulse coming from the brain and frying my nerve endings thus the burning effect. Further research about it, I was lead to Paresthesia. It can be an explanation but I think that’s another problem.

I went thru the net and looked for people who were experiencing the same problems as I am. I read their experiences and how they manage to cope up and let it go away.

I tried changing my mindset. It’s hard but it’s worth it. Right now, it’s been 2 years and I haven’t had any attack. I’m not even taking any B1612 vitamins right now.

What I learned from this experience is that, people tend to overthink, creating problems even if it wasn’t there in the first place. We were so drowned in the idea that eventually, a problem might arise given the current situation. Right now, I don’t even bother to think about what’s gonna happen next and let life flow naturally.

It does not mean that if you don’t think about your problem, you’re a happy go lucky person. It’s just that, there are plenty of beautiful things to experience rather than sulking up a problem that might or might not come.

Friends. Friends also are our good medicine. Never solo your problems. We should be open enough to share our problems or our thoughts to them. They may not be able to help you the way you needed help but the feeling that somebody is listening to you is a plus factor already.

If you ever happen to encounter such problem, don’t hesitate to leave a comment. I may be of any help to you.