Medication alone isn't an ideal treatment for anxiety. As a fellow anxiety sufferer, I have found that it is best used in conjunction with therapy.

The meds help with the physical response to anxiety. When your mind and heart are racing, they help bring that down so it doesn't contribute to your anxiety. This puts you at a level where you can start to address the thing that's making you anxious. It won't solve all your problems, contrary to what some doctors may imply.

I would not suggest going off medication completely without your doctor's approval. What I would do is supplement the chemical treatment with alternatives, rather than depending on the alternatives altogether.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy teaches mindfulness - the act of thinking before your actions or reactions. If guided therapy isn't an option, there are plenty of resources out there, from websites to apps, so you can guide yourself.

Otherwise, I suggest that you find an activity that calms you down. Meditation works for some, but I find that I need to actively meditate. Putting all of your mental energy into something like cleaning, colouring or exercising can help to lower your anxiety levels.

It's pretty scary. One thing to be grateful for is that you do have knowledge of a family history and can make an educated decision to monitor your mental health before things get beyond your control. This will make things so much easier for you.

There's no official test for bipolar disorder. A diagnosis is reached based on family history and symptoms being experienced. Lighting quick up and down emotions aren't necessarily an indicator; it's more about long-term patterns. You may be asked (and probably should, anyhow) to keep a mood diary where you track your mood and other factors like sleep, energy levels and events in your life. This can help patterns to emerge and can help you to maintain your mental health.

When it comes to medication, there is no one medication. There are lots of different meds and combinations of meds with different ways of working and different side effects. It took me years of constant tweaking to get on a medication regimen that works for me, and it only does a small part of the work. The rest is all about proper nutrition, exercise and maintaining a regular sleep schedule. Your doctor may ask you to change a few things about your lifestyle before putting you on a medication. If you are put on a medication, it may take some time to start working. The side effects can be nasty sometimes, so ask your doctor any questions you may have. It also may not be the right one for you; I had many medication changes and dosage adjustments. Be sure to stick to your guns and let your doctor know what works and what doesn't work for you.

The big thing when it comes to bipolar disorder is self care. It's really easy to let that slide when you're in one of your extreme moods, and that can make things much worse. Avoid caffeine and street drugs. Make sure to eat a healthy, balanced diet. Try to go to sleep at the same time every night, allowing for 8 hours (going without sleep for more than a week sends me rocketing off into mania). Exercise moderately, even if you don't feel like it. Most importantly, know yourself. Learn your patterns and what works for you.

It can be overwhelming living with bipolar disorder, but it is possible to live a full, productive, happy life. It can be tough to get the help you need, but the earlier you catch these things the easier it is; you don't want to go through all this while in crisis.

Depending on where you live, it may be illegal to hire an escort. You would also be contributing to an industry that often ends in women being harmed.

I agree with your thinking that you should hold off on dating for a while. You have a recent breakup to process, and you've got a lot going on in your life. There's no problem with holding off on dating. That said, I don't agree with the idea that hiring an escort will solve all of your problems. If anything, I would think it would damage your self-esteem to only see women who are paid to be intimate with you.

So wait a while before trying to date again. Focus on your relationships with friends and yourself for the time being. Sex isn't all that important; you can take care of those needs on your own. Just work on being as happy and self-fulfilled as you can, and you'd be surprised how easy relationships can be after that. I met my husband while we were both on breaks from dating. Since neither one of us was trying to impress the other, it meant that we liked each other the way we were. Things can work out in ways you would never imagine!

WERE victims is the key here. The MKUltra program ended in the 70s. It is interesting to read about, but it was an unsuccessful program.

The government was experimenting in mind control for military purposes. Their techniques were questionable, and the studies involved no consent from participants. Any study done now requires full consent from the participant.

Unless you took a bunch of LSD from a guy in a suit back in the 60s, you should be fine.

I\'m going to echo Adviceman here; don\'t bother with the labels. It took me until after I was married at 25 to figure out what exactly you would call my orientation. You\'re way too young to know exactly what you\'re looking for at this point, simply because you haven\'t had the experiences to confirm it. You\'ve got a lot of growth and development to go through before you\'ll really know for sure.

There's no single answer, even when it comes to what meds are most effective for one person with bipolar disorder.

In trying to get on a good medication routine, I've had to try 6 or 7 meds in different combinations. Some worked temporarily, or some only covered one symptom. Some gave me terrible side effects that I couldn't live with. I've had continuous adjustments to dosages. It hasn't been easy, but my doctors have led me through the process.

Bipolar disorder isn't like a headache: you can't choose a medication based on a general consensus. Your doctor will select medications for you to try based on your body chemistry and what your particular needs are. For example, I'm a student so there's one that's effective that I haven't been prescribed because it causes difficulties with reading comprehension. Medication is on a case-by-case basis. If you're put on a medication that isn't working for you, then let your doctor know that a change is in order.

Sex has always been a popular topic for us humans. In the ruins of Pompeii they've even found vulgar graffiti and mosaics!

There's nothing wrong with sex, masturbation, or the human form. It's a perfectly natural part of life, and one that you'll eventually come to terms with in some form or another. It's something all mankind has in common.

When I was 13, I was in love with Dexter Holland of The Offspring. Like, seriously in love. For some perspective, he's my father's age and I'm 25 now. You're not alone in this sort of thing.

Obsessions are part of being 13. I can pretty much guarantee you that by the time you hit 16 or 17, you'll have calmed down a lot. There's no harm in fantasizing about a famous person, so long as you recognize that nothing will come of it. So enjoy, and keep those journals to giggle about when you're my age :)

You seem like you're too smart to be content with being someone's arm candy, and that's good. You need self-worth to get through times like this.

The first step is to stop thinking of yourself as a victim. You're not a victim of your mother and you're not a victim of the economy. You have a choice in which direction your life takes. You have employment and you have brains. It's up to you to make your hopes and dreams come true, not the universe!

You're still pretty young, and the boys your age are even younger. Most 18 year old boys aren't going to be looking for a steady, slow, logical relationship. It's not you, it's them. Don't feel down on yourself because they're all idiots. Sooner or later, you'll find someone who is looking for what you are.

As for the hopelessness of moving out: looking at the numbers you've given I would say that there's a lot of wiggle room, believe it or not.

1) Rent

Make sure that you're being given a fair rate for rent in your area. Check out craigslist and see what one bedroom, utilities included goes for. $550 seems awfully high, and you may even save money by moving out. If you're willing to share an apartment, you can save a lot of money.

2) Car

$550 a month is way above what you should be spending on car financing. Either your payment term is too short, the interest rate is exorbitant or you're getting a really nice brand new car. Our lightly used Ford Focus was $12 000, and our payments work out to $230 a month over 5 years, which is totally reasonable. If you can't afford those payments for a car, lowering your standards will go a long way.

3) $70 cell phone bill

This is another place you can pare down. I get that you want data and all that fun stuff, but if you've got to get out on your own, you will need to learn to sacrifice bits and pieces like that. See if you can lower your bill at all: even bringing it down to $50 a month will save you $240 a year!

4) Groceries

If you don't cook, learn how. Start budgeting your grocery bill. At our very most poverty-stricken (2 people living on one part-time income) we were eating on $30 a week. When I was living on my own as a student, my grocery bill came to $25 a week. You can easily build some wiggle room by being thrifty with your grocery money.

All in all, I see where you could free up at least $150 a month. Saved up over a year, that should be enough to split first and last month's rent for a 2 bedroom apartment with another person. It's very doable.

It sucks lowering your standard of living when you strike out on your own, but it teaches you really valuable life skills, and it's really satisfying. It also can give you a little more insight into the path you want your life to take from there. You may want to seek further education to open up your earning capability. There are lots of options out there to examine.

Masturbation is totally normal. Most of us do it at some point or another, and it's part of a healthy sex life.

The best thing about masturbation is that it's basically risk free. You can't get pregnant, you won't get STIs and it makes you feel good. It's a win-win-win!

As a fellow anxiety sufferer, I get you. It's totally possible to feel anxious about stupid things that you aren't nervous about. There are days when getting on the bus makes me anxious, but it's not like I'm afraid of taking the bus.

The key is to practice. And practice and practice and practice. Practice until you can do it with your eyes closed and then practice some more. Don't leave anything to chance. Also, if possible I find that volunteering to be first is (counterintuitively) a good tactic. When you go first you don't have to sit in your seat and stew about what's coming up.

I also like to stop prepping an hour or so beforehand and just focus on relaxing. This goes for tests, too. Any cramming you do at the last minute only makes you more anxious, and you're not going to get anything out of it. Don't even look at your cue cards for an hour before your presentation. Practice your breathing exercises and relax as best as you can.

You probably won't feel very much at first. I know that when I start a new medication there are sometimes some side effects like headache, nausea, or other things like that.

The main thing is to give it time. Don't expect a big change right away. Over time you'll notice that things get a little easier.

If you experience really bad side effects (I had one medication that made me throw up every day) or if you wait a month and aren't feeling any better, talk to your doctor about switching. If things get worse, tell your doctor right away. I know it seems counterintuitive, but no matter what don't stop taking the meds on your own. If you stop cold turkey you can experience some terrible withdrawal symptoms.

You can live through a severe car wreck, and you can die from a fender bender. It all depends on the injuries you get.

Since you posted this under mental health, I'm assuming that you're thinking about suicide. If that's the case, don't go through with this.

For entirely pragmatic reasons, you shouldn't even give this a shot because you could end up living, but with horrible injuries. Months or even years of rehab and pain. You could end up braindead, living forever with limited mental function.

You could hurt someone else. Someone who rounds the bend unexpectedly, someone who tries to get you out of your car and is injured in an explosion. Not to mention family and friends who would be hurting forever because of the hole you're no longer there to fill.

There's always a way out, but suicide isn't the one to take. Call a hotline near you, or go to the nearest ER if you feel like you're in immediate danger. There's always help, it just might take a little time to work. Give yourself a chance.

You won't be happy if you change yourself for someone, especially if that person is abusive.

This guy may tell you he loves you, and he may be very sweet most of the time, but he is abusive and controlling. He has no right to lay a hand on you for any reason, and he has no right to scold you and make you feel like nothing. If he's being abusive now, things will only get worse if you end up getting married. He has made it clear that he believes that this is a healthy relationship dynamic and it's not.

You deserve better than this, and you can find it. There are many, many men out there in the world who will treat you well and love you. If you're having trouble leaving, there are resources in place.

Studies have shown that up to 70% of women in India are victims of domestic violence. This puts you at risk for serious injury, emotional damage and possibly death. If you were to marry this man and have children with him, your children could be subject to the same. If you are having trouble leaving, contact a domestic violence helpline near you.

When is the last time your dosage was modified? Your body will get used to a low dosage after some time, and may require more to get the same effect.

I know that when my medication is up for a tweak, the first things I notice are that my sleep cycle is out of whack and that I have trouble doing things. This may be a matter to take to your doctor.

In the meantime, try keeping yourself on a strict schedule. If you have certain things you need to get done, schedule time for them and don't allow yourself to do anything but that. Be specific. Instead of "Clean my room" write out a list of tasks you need to do in that room and check them off as they're completed. That way you're not doing one big project, you're doing a bunch of smaller ones that only take 5 minutes.

Also try rewarding yourself. Get 5 thank yous done, watch TV for a half hour. Get all of them done, go out to a movie. A method I used to get through massive amounts of math problems was to get something tasty like chocolate covered raisins, and have one after every problem I completed. If you can't pull motivation out of nowhere, you need to make your own.

Good luck!

Don't ever, ever say "You're the doctor" when it comes to your health.

I'm not saying that you should use Google to diagnose yourself, but if you don't agree with a diagnosis and have real reasoning to back it up, fight until your doctor will listen to you.

I have bipolar disorder. I was misdiagnosed as having depression when I was a young teenager and subjected to years of antidepressants that did nothing but make me manic and miserable. It took until I was 20 or so before I had the guts to stand up to my doctor (thanks to a great counselor I had!) and tell him that I don't think I have depression. The problem is, rapid cycling bipolar disorder is easily mistaken for depression. The main question they'll ask is if you've had a mania lasting longer than a few weeks. Mine don't, usually, so my complaints of days of insomnia and high-flying were mostly ignored.

Chart your symptoms day by day in a journal. Take note of how much you sleep and when, what your activity levels are and what your mood is like. Don't just use the 1-10 scale. Are you happy, sad, agitated, euphoric, depressed? Did you experience anything like paranoia, hallucinations, etc? I'm not sure if you're female or not, but if you are keep track of your menstrual cycle in the same place, because hormones can affect your mood cycles as well. Keeping track of all of this can help your doctor in figuring out how best to treat you. If there's clear evidence that you're suffering from something other than depression and your doctor won't listen to you, find one who will.

Whatever you do, make sure you keep taking the medication, even if you don't feel it's working. The withdrawal from antidepressants is killer and can make you extremely ill.

Don't get in a situation where you can obsess over bad thoughts. If you get stuck in a loop, go do something else. Read a book, play a video game, knit a sweater, cook a dozen loaves of banana bread. Go for a walk and listen to music so loud that you don't get a chance to think.

If you're really struggling, open up to someone near you. Stay with a friend or family if you normally live alone. Avoid being in a situation where you are alone and suicidal in a house with anything that can harm you. Find a safe place, even if it's just a coffee house.

I know it's hard sometimes to keep living life when you're depressed. Even little things like getting in the shower can be a huge chore. So celebrate those little accomplishments. Be proud of yourself for getting out of bed, for showering, for putting on clothes. Every tiny step you take gets you closer to being better.

Most of all, don't lose track of the fact that you are not your depression. You are still yourself, and as soon as you're out of the fog you will be back to normal (mostly). Depression can make us miserable, awful people to be around, but that is always temporary.

Seriously? Take 3 or 4 shots? That's an interesting one.

I also would not suggest anxiety pills. I have them, and when I have to take one I get sleepy, my thought processes slow and my speech starts slurring. Not the best look for a big speech.

The best thing you can do is practice, practice, practice. Know that stuff front and back until you could give the speech in your sleep, then practice it some more. That way you'll be less likely to draw a blank or to read from your notes too much.

Another thing is to remember that this is only one tiny part of your life. If you find yourself worrying, tell yourself that in just a little while it will be over and you won't have to do it again. What's 5-10 minutes in the grand scheme of things, right?

Some people say to picture the audience in their underwear. I like to pretend that they're not there, or that I know all of them and that I'm comfortable with them.

Conquering the fear of public speaking is a really great idea. There will be times in your future where you may have to use those skills, and it's great to have some practice.

I can't speak for anyone else, but I can tell you why I try to stop people.

About 6 years ago, I came to this site looking for an easy, painless way to kill myself. I had next to no relationship with my family, I was plummeting into a length battle with mental illness, and I was failing out of university. I asked a question without signing up so nobody would know who I was, and because I didn't plan on ever coming back.

I received an outpouring of answers sharing peoples' experiences, telling me things would get better, telling me that someone out there cared if I died, telling me that THEY cared if I died.

So I didn't try that time. I joined Advicenators, kept asking questions and started trying to make a difference in other peoples' lives. It's not like my life was magically solved, but I held on for just a while longer. There were a few suicide attempts and plans after that, but each time someone was able to catch me and stop me. Now, 6 years after that first question I'm happily married, living in a house that we purchased, curled up on the couch with our awesome dog. My life isn't perfect, but I'm learning more every day about how to cope with or change the things I'm not happy about. My relationship with most of my family is back on track and my bipolar disorder is pretty well regulated.

If I hadn't asked that question on Advicenators, I don't know if I'd have made it here. If the people who answered my question told me to go ahead, or even worse, stayed silent... I would be gone. I owe Advicenators my life. That is why I try my best to answer every suicide question. When I do answer, I share my story and tell them that they can make things better, that you shouldn't end your life based on one, or even 100 bad moments, because there are so many amazing moments waiting for you in the future.

I had good reasons to want to kill myself. I'm sure everyone who considers suicide does. I just like to point out the reasons why everyone should stay alive, and they're even better.

I'm not a psychiatric professional, but I have so many psychological disorders that I may as well be one!

To me, what you're saying just screams OCD. OCD isn't all about washing your hands or touching things a certain number of times. Sometimes, you're like me and can't do something unless you do it perfectly, or can't focus unless your surroundings are organized.

You're already diagnosed with an anxiety disorder. OCD is just another one. Things cause you anxiety that shouldn't, like not being able to remember something meaningless.

The good news is that you're already on the medication that most doctors would prescribe for OCD. The biggest part of treating OCD, though, is therapy, just like with any anxiety disorder. You've got to learn some skills for coping with stress and hopefully reducing it. If you're already seeing someone for your depression and anxiety, that's great! Let them know about the symptoms you're experiencing and they'll likely come to the same conclusion I have.

The isolation is likely a symptom of your depression. If you've only started on your meds recently, they take a while to start working. Sometimes up to a few months. If you've been on them for a long time, it may be time for a readjustment.

I've taken Celexa in the past, and I'll add to the list of people telling you not to quit it cold turkey on your own. If I missed so much as a single dose, I'd go into terrible withdrawal symptoms. It was awful.

There are different levels of depression, just like there are different levels of any other disorder. Someone may find that they can control their diabetes with diet and exercise, while someone else may need an insulin pump. Just because diet and exercise works for someone else doesn't mean it will work for you. The fact that they've got you on two medications right now probably means that you need the extra help.

Don't worry about birth defects right now. That's only if you're taking those particular medications while you're pregnant. If you're planning on starting a family, you can talk to your doctor and either be weaned off of your current meds or put on others that don't carry a risk. I know the side effects from the meds suck, but you may not need to be on them forever. My father has been able to go off his meds a few times (doctor-supervised, of course) for periods of years. Plus, you'll change as you grow older, so your medical needs will change as well.

My Personal Forum

My name is Amanda and I'm 26 years old. I'm currently studying electrical engineering. Armed with a fairly odd sense of humour and a sunny outlook on life, I'll take on just about anything. I'm also cussedly stubborn, which has its ups and downs. Things get tough sometimes, and I've never been one to run from it.

In my last 8 years with Advicenators, I've gone from honours student to failing out of university (and getting back on top again!), from single to married, from tenant to homeowner.

Until lately, I have been struggling with a diagnosis of bipolar disorder and OCD, which had basically ruined my life and taken just about everything from me. I'm thankful every day for every experience I've had because of this ordeal, because it's helped to make me who I am today. Things like that really make you appreciate what you do have. Now that I'm back in work and school and starting to become myself again, I couldn't be happier. I credit Advicenators with saving my life back when I was a teenager, which is a big part of why I'm still here.

I won't necessarily give you the answers you want to hear, but I'll always be honest and do my best to help.

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