Recently, I've been having a lot of difficulty with agoraphobia. Specifically, I had a real bad panic attack at work on Monday, and since then, I've been struggling to go to work. I know better than to avoid it, so I force myself to go to work. So far, I've been able to do so, and as the week wears on, I'm finding it slightly easier each day to convince myself there's no danger here.
The problem is that one of my physical symptoms of anxiety is loss of appetite. I can't eat. I've barely had a decent meal all week. Not having enough calories is causing other problems, like weight loss, lightheadedness, etc... I just have such a hard time eating. I find it so stressful to take each bite, especially in the mornings.
Being faced with the task of eating a meal has caused panic attacks for me in the past. I'm wondering if anyone else has this problem. I've always heard that anxiety and depression causes people to seek comfort through excessive eating and they gain weight. I am the opposite. Unfortunately, I've struggled with low body weight all my life (I'm 6'2" and weigh 155 lbs), so eating enough is very important to me, because I don't want to get any skinnier.
No, this does help me. I'm finding that I am able to nibble slowly on food throughout the day. Hopefully this will add up to a normal volume of food so that I don't have to worry about feeling lightheaded from not eating.
Thanks for your quick reply!!
I've been eating when I can, and filling in the blanks with high-calorie health-food drinks such as Ensure and Boost. It really helps me not feel so empty, and they're easy to eat/drink while I have no appetite.
I just started Paxil three days ago. I'm wondering if some of the appetite loss could be due to that. If so, then it'll probably pass with time as my body adjusts to the Paxil. It's just these first 2-3 weeks are stressful while I wait for the stuff to kick in. I've been trying to get off lorazepam for years, and I'm hoping that switching to Paxil will be my ticket off the lorazepam rollercoaster.
Last week was terrible for me. My level of anxiety increased immensely over the week prior. I'm not sure why, and I'm still trying to figure it out.
So when Friday came around, and at 3pm, I was informed that I'd be making a 1-hr presentation in front of all the highest company executives on this coming Monday at 11am, I panicked. I've been in a constant state of utter anxiety with this news. I've never had panic attacks on the weekends before, but this weekend, I am having them.
I will not avoid the situation. I know I will do well, too. I'm just afraid of having a panic attack while standing there giving the presentation.
Does anyone have any suggestions for calming myself down in preparation for this presentation?
Wow. It was soooo stressful. I was on 1.5mg of lorazepam. Not good, considering I'm trying to get off of it. But at least the presentation went well. The execs were pleased with my work and impressed by it. I was SOOO anxious the whole time. I started to have a panic attack, but I just kinda stepped outside the situation for a few seconds, challenged these fears, found a bit of respite and returned my awareness to the task at hand. I pulled through, but it was very taxing! All I want to do now is go lay down.
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