Do I Need A Doctor or Medication? Anxiety/Fear sufferer

[sullenboy]

Anyone have any advice on how I can get myself to Relax??? I'm a 28 yr old Male.

 

 

 

I'm a bit of a shy person, but not deathly shy. I mean, I'm a musician, so I can be onstage no problem,

with the ocassional nervousness of course. I can stand in front of a crowd and give a speech with the

usual nerves no problem. I can speak up for myself in most situations...

 

 

My Problem usually lies in either confrontation, or being with my girl. I can be myself around my girl,

But i've always felt kind of nervous and it makes me act silly and say stupid things all the time, when i just

want to be laid back and calm. I have a lot of anxiety in certain situations. Being with friends, around the ladies,

meeting new people, I know what to say but I just can't relax and be cool... And in confrontations, forget about it

I can stand up for myself, But i stutter and shake and my heart pumps a million miles a minute, even during

confrontations on the phone. The words just can't come out and i stutter like a dummy.

 

I try to have the "I really don't care what other people think about me" kind of thinking, But deep down I think

maybe i do care. Maybe it comes from being brought up by my mom and her always being stressed out and depressed

and her yelling. She was a good mom, but she had me doing very responsible things very early in my life, Like babysitting

my sister every night when she was only 1 year old and I was 10 years old. Or riding my sister to school when she was 5

and I was 15 in a baby sit attatched to the back of my bike. I had to park that bike at my high school. Girls use to say: "hey,

are you that kid that rides that bike with a baby seat on the back?"

 

I mean I don't know, I have good morals, know how to be very responsible, know how to treat a lady, i'm great with kids,

women always say i'd be a great father...But I just have such a low self esteem and have lots of anxiety all the time and fear.

 

Do you think maybe I should see a doctor? i mean, I'ver heard there are drugs out there, But aren't they only

for people suffering from far worse things than me? Are there alternatives to medicine? I'm clueless to this stuff.

[moimeme]

There are drugs for disorders, but it sounds more that you may need counselling to uncover and deal with issues from your past. Some things are due to chemical imbalances but others are due to past experiences that need to be 'processed' properly. The sorts of reactions you are having sound more like the latter. By all means see a doctor and ask for a referral to a psychologist or psychiatrist to get a proper diagnosis and treatment.

[cindy0039]

I agree with moimeme. It doesn't sound like you have a disorder that would require drugs, but I'm NOT a professional. I definitely think you should see a therapist and tell them the kinds of things you've said in your post. They will help you deal with your problems and determine whether you need to see a psychiatrist for diagnosis and treatment with medication.

 

Good luck!