Open Question: Why does she always look?

by John Kernstein on January 30, 2010

Coworker and I were becoming friends....I was stupid and sent too many messages because i have social anxiety and dont talk a lot in person i talk to much online..... i put too much pressure on the friendship. She told me to leave her alone. Now at work for the second shift we've worked together since then she keeps looking at me. She doesn't say anything she just looks to see what i'm doing. Kind of like she's studying me. Why would she be doing this? One friend said she's testing me to see if i'll talk to her? It's been 6 days and we haven't talked to each other. Last time she told me to leave her alone it was 8 days then she started talking to me again. I now realize why she told me the first time but she made up some excuse so i never knew the real reason until it was too late. Any advice on what to do? She used to punch me on the arm and push me. She said I make her smile.

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Open Question: depression and anxiety?

by John Kernstein on January 30, 2010

Hey, im 20 years old and im a guy. For the last 7-8 months of my life have been hell, I use to be the guy that was everywhere doing everything and always happy and not a worry about anything. But i was starting to panic while driving until i had a full fledged panic attack that scared the crap out of me. i didnt know what it was so i started to avoid going places afraid it would happen again and stayed at home in bed always. i have been on paxil for a month now and its made it more tolerable because i was a walking talking panic attack, there was not one point in about 2 months that i wasnt panicing about something and feeling my chest and heart. making sure it was beating or i wasnt having a heart attack. But my question now is, now that ive been on paxil, i dont care what happens, and i still think of all the things i did before, like why am i breathing heavy am i gona die? why is my heart pounding, am i gonna die? if i go driving ill pass out and die! just things like that, and i dont care if i live or die anymore, and all i can do is stay deep in thoughts about these things, its like life doesnt matter to me, and everyone around me doesnt matter to me, all i care about is myself, wich isnt me at all. its like i feel that everything is unreal and fake, like one day ill wake up and be me again, i stay up all night cause i cant sleep, and in the morning i usually fall asleep and wake up when its dark again, i havent seen sunlight in 5 days, and when i do see it, it scares me like its not real. i just want my life back again, and to go places and do things with my fiancee and friends and be me again without the worries... is this just in my head? have i let my mind go so outta whack with these outrageous thoughts i cant control my life anymore? please help

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Open Question: I often get depressed on weekends, frustrated with life too, Junior in College….?

January 30, 2010

[WHOSE THIS GUY?]
So I’m 20, Junior at a large university, sitting in my quiet apartment style dorm room Right now I have one friend that I see on average once every two weeks on the weekend for ~half a day. This isn’t surprising at all considering I haven’t had more than maybe three friends at a time throughout my life. Acquaintances are all I make now, even my ‘friends’ aren’t much more than that. I’ve been a shy kid with social anxiety, still am to some extent, but since I haven’t been anything else all my life, I don’t really have anything to ‘return to.’ [INTERNAL CONFLICT AND MY 'NORMAL'] One side of me wants to be social like everyone else on campus, but, thanks in part to the social anxiety and related factors, it is much easier for me to be a loner. It works out fine on weekdays when I have a regimented schedule to keep up, and I work part time at the school’s Helpdesk on weekdays, which gives me some chance to talk, even though most of it is work/academic-related (I make it that way, but better that than nothing for conversation with coworkers and patrons). [THE PROBLEM] But then Friday comes around. I have no class, nothing to do at all except homework and strategically figure out when to go get food from the campus center in the hopes of not returning the next day for more. This is because I get resentful and melancholy every day I have to finally leave my room for food and see everyone hanging out with friends in the campus center. I want to be more like them but everything else about me simply isn’t on the same page. Some combination of being a loner, recluse since my first years and inexperienced socially and at life. It’s *very* difficult to maintain my confidence and self-image as a loner, but it’s not as low as it used to be at least. Not to mention the semi-permanent numbing effect the lack of stimulation has on your brain!! Hate it, makes it even more difficult to hold conversations when you can’t remember obvious things/words/people. [TRY EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES?] With regards to extracurricular activity, it was all things I disliked that I would tolerate in the hopes of making a connection with somebody. I’ve been a member of the Fencing club freshmen year. Volunteered one time cleaning streets with members from a gated ’scholars volunteer’ type club, and my mom forced me into attending two Hillel events (I hate religion). At best, I developed one friendship (the one I see now once every 2 weeks) and a handful of acquaintances from all these activities. And when I’m at home over the summer I might visit the animal shelter with my dad to walk dogs. Pretty lame. So I spend my days on the internet (nytimes, offtopic forums from a PC game I used to play, music equipment forums, facebook spying) and watching tv… Besides loving animals (because humans haven’t been cutting it, too bad I can’t have any substantial pet here) I have a list of interests that require no more than me staring at a screen, be it my laptop or tv, essentially. [GOT A HELPING FAMILY?] Not sure if I should go this route, but I’ve grown up in a family of 5 that should have been split up some 15 years ago. Compared to those social recluses I’m the most ‘normal’, but as far as being an engaged member of society I’m still far from it. [SEEN A PSYCHOLOGIST?]
FYI, I’ve been through 1 social worker, 4 psychologists and 1 psychiatrist starting Junior year of HS. (zoloft for ~10 months senior year of highschool, I think I grew resistant to it towards the end but it made me artificially happy and much less nervous. My mother whose a helicopter parent is extremely against drugs like that so I couldn’t get on it again during my college time thus far, though I’m not sure how beneficial it would be anyways) I probably didn’t follow their instructions too well as far as making friends go (if you can even call them instructions, soo abstract imo), but they probably helped stabilize my toxic self-image thoughts somewhat. If I don’t get much information here at least I finally put these problems into text for some other forum. So what do y’all think? I know this was a very long read, categorized it so you could skip to whatever. Thanks in advance to anyone willing to put a few words down for me!

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Open Question: what are the effects of a low dose of klonopin (0.5mg)?

January 30, 2010

“Clonazepam Orally Disintegrating Tablet 0.5 mg” i have pretty rough anxiety and recently told my mother about it, i have an evaluation next week or so for this, it’s been going on for years but recently has been getting really bad and interfering with my life, so i told her. my younger sister (i’m legal, she’s 16) is on these meds and is currently away in treatment so my mom told me that they should help but i’m kind of worried about side effects or something and is this a medication that you need to take for a while to get relief?
also how long does 1 dose last? (.5mg)

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Open Question: What Are Some Good Anti Depressants I Can Try?

January 30, 2010

I’ve been on Wellbutrin (Buprophin) for about 5 years now, I don’t think it’s been working for a while… I haven’t switched to a new one because of insurance problems but that’s all fixed now.. So what are some medications that I can take? I want to avoid any medications that cause weight gain.
Looking for medications that can treat stress, high anxiety, and just general depression.

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Open Question: Depression and Anxiety – worried whenever im going out with friends or a girl who may like me?

January 30, 2010

im 21 male. i suffer from depression and anxiety, my anxiety is quiet heavy i dont have a good social life at all im mainly stuck indoors, i have friends but i wouldn’t consider them to be close like going out with them everytime etc.
however when im invited out with a bunch of friends or with a girl and just only a girl, why do i always feel nervous to go out.
like i see people who go out and see it as nothing and just a normal outing, for me its something special and nervous. i dont know why i feel like this, possibly could it be cos i dont have a very big social life?
please give me some possibilities as to why i might feel like this before going out, also this will be on mind since this is arranged. sometimes i will be unsure and never give a straight answer if im free that night that i can go out that night. for example if its clubbing i hate clubbing, i hate seeing people happy etc. i dont know why im like this

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Open Question: Mental Health issues?

January 30, 2010

Im now 16, from year 7-8 i felt really low about myself quite depressed, i then started drinking alot on a weekend with my friends, In year 10 i developed a really bad anxiety disorder which turned into OCD, im now im okayish but i dont like to socialise really and i dont want to go anywhere apart from my house, school or my boyfriends and when i do go other places i have to force myself as my brains telling me no. I have really bad mood swings one minute im happy then the next minute im really aggitated and sad etc.I also have a really low sex drive which causes my boyfriend to think i dont like him. Its all really just starting to get on my nerves and i wonder if im actually crazy or something, can some one help please, and please dont suggest concelling as i had it for ages before and found it no help whatsoever thanks.

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Open Question: should I drop out of uni ? or stay? i don’t know ?

January 30, 2010

I’m in my first year at university studying Anthropology. It all seemed like a good idea at first and I felt content knowing that I was doing something with my life. My problem is that I have an anxiety disorder that is making studying hard for me, I never turn up to seminars and even lectures make me panic, I struggled in school and somehow thought uni would be different but… it’s not. I couldnt wait to leave school but now I can’t wait to leave uni but at the same time i want to stay because I will feel like a failure and have no other life plans. Obviously anthropology was a stupid course to choose considering i find it extremely hard to speak to people and that is the main focus of the course. But every other course I think of frightens me too because of my anxiety. I’m stuck. Also I have a lovely boyfriend that I could start a little life with but I know i would be such a dissapointment to my family if i gave up everything I have acheived so far for a boy. I don’t know what to do and now I’m just speaking to a computer.

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Open Question: 17 and stuck………………?

January 30, 2010

im going to sound pretty snobbish and ungrateful to a lot of people but i go to a private boarding school and am in the first yr of my a levels: latin, art, history and english (+crit thinking)
i find them all quite boring especially since i’ve become a bit depressed through some anxiety issues. i just dont kno what i want to do with my life at all. im expected to get a and a*s and go to a good uni, but i don’t want to just for the sake of it. there are so many careers which i love the idea of; acting, singing, modelling, especially dancing, but i wouldnt know where to start. i know most people go through this phase but i really want to do something fun and exciting with my life. i am however a bit wimpy and shy and so just don’t know what to do. im bored of my lessons, i do balet, slightly aimlessly, play the piano and clarinet (to grade 8 standard) but that’s nothing compared to other “prodigees” in my school who are also workaholics , and i also play polo which is the most exciting thing i do and i love but is just a hobbie. im never good enough at anything, all the while being quite good, it’s just at my school, there are always people better. I WANT TO DO SOMETHING INTERESTING AND WORTHY IN MY LIFE!
help? :)

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Open Question: How protected are babies in the womb?

January 30, 2010

I am 19 weeks 1 day pregnant and just about an hour ago my two female dogs got into a fight over a cookie and the one pinned the other down and I let them go at it because I didnt want to get hurt but then I seen my one dog started to bleed… I actually took my son’s air bat and stuck it in between them so the one would get off… Finally after a 1 minute and 1/2 she let her go… I didnt get hurt but my anxiety was so bad and my nerves were a wreck after the situation… I cried cause the only thing I could think of was my baby girl, I am worried that I might have caused her to go in distress… I calmed myself down but I am still worried… Is there anything I should do and please no rude answers, my dogs never do this and I didnt know what to do… Help please?

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