martavee

Welcome azteacher I grew up in Arizona - Tempe to be exact. Oh I'd kill for that weather right now!!! It's still in the 50's (and rainy) where I now live.

I wish the doctors had caught on to my problem sooner there. I first sought help when I was 14 or 15? Diagnosed with general anxiety disorder and panic attack disorder..... then other stuff since then. SSRIs never worked - they made me feel worse. As I got older the worse my symptoms got and the worse my reaction to SSRIs got. So I was diagnosed finally - age 25 but knew something was seriously wrong when I was 21/22.

The fear is normal. I think in a way you go through a grieving process. First denial, then anger about so many medical professionals not recognising the problem. For me the bargaining step was about struggling to force myself to take the time to address the issue. I tried to ignore it/run away for so long, which of course just made it worse. So I've finally been able to convince myself that I'm not 'weak' for looking after my health. I used to be quite the perfectionist so I've finally embraced (well kind-of, I still have overly high expectations) being content with not having to be the best ... lower the stress so to speak. I've become a lot more laid back. The fourth stage, depression, I think I'm still going through that but that's mainly due to the fact that I haven't found the right medication combination yet. I'm still struggling a lot with my focus/attention - basically all cognitive skills, which is quite rough considering I'm on a law course in the UK.

Welcome! Grrr now that I'm thinking about Arizona I'm thinking about how much I miss mexican food