My friend said she is taking her mothers medicine to treat her anxiety. Is this safe?

It’s never safe to use medicine from someone else. It is possible that Schizophrenia medications can be used to treat anxiety disorders but they also have more dangerous side effects than the traditional drugs used to treat anxiety. It is much safer to use drugs traditionally used to treat anxiety for treating an anxiety disorder.

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I am an individual with a GAD and am also bipolar. Life as a person with these problems is 100 times easier than it was even 20 years ago. These are accepted as genuine mental conditions that need treatment, psychiatrists are open to helping individuals with GADs through therapy, and there are now reliable medications available that have minimal side-effects (and there are multiple medications that can be tried, in case one or a combination of meds don’t provide the desired results). It is understood that individuals with these conditions are still human, still have feelings and thoughts and valid emotions and concerns that need to be addressed, and it’s easier to function on a day-to-day basis without having to first explain to the world – be it romantic interests, friends, family, or employers – that we have "a problem" that may make us unstable or difficult – if not impossible – to work with.

So, yes, individuals with GADs can indeed succeed in today’s world, and have. You’d probably be surprised how many well-rounded, educated, intelligent individuals have some kind of GAD or other issue.

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However, I’ve seen a lot of your posts in the past. You have said that you suffer primarily from anxiety, and that you didn’t even consider bipolar disorder as being a possibility until your psychiatrist brought up cyclothymia. Have you gotten a second opinion on that? Has another mental health professional corroborated the diagnosis of cyclothymia? If you are unsure about your diagnosis (which you have certainly seemed to be in the past) you should seek a second opinion, just to make sure you’re being treated for the right thing. Since you never noticed your mood as being a problem in the past, a diagnosis of a mood disorder seems a little odd to me.

There is a type of therapy called cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) that is extremely effective in treating anxiety disorders of all kinds. It addresses your thoughts and the resulting anxious behaviors, and by changing (or "restructuring") your thoughts, allows you to change your behaviors and beat your anxiety. Even if your anxiety does stem from bipolar, which is questionable at this point, it will help you manage your symptoms in a much better way with or without medication.

Good luck.

I think the problem is I don’t like giving up control, but I still don’t know what to do.

Does anyone who has anxiety have a way to deal with this?

Thanks!!

As a fellow sufferer, I can tell you that you’re on the wrong anxiety med. I had to try two different ones before I found the right one. When I found the right one (Klonopin for ME,) I knew immediately. Go back to your doctor, tell him/her EVERYTHING. That’ll help him figure out which one would be better for you. No more anxiety/panic attacks really helps you not only physically, but mentally too! Don’t put it off. You owe it to yourself to have calm nerves. What a difference!!

I have trichotillomania, and I’ve heard that these can lead to it?

shaking
fear of social situations
inability to get words out
stiffness
depression
nervous stomach
sweating
rapid heartbeat
nail biting

Maybe it is the symtoms of anxiety that make you feel like pulling your hair out or the things that led up to the anxiety. Anyhow, I really dislike all these labels we all have these days!

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