Anxiety Disorders Q&A
28 experts · 127 questions answered
Latest Q&As
When Psychedelics Make Things Worse
After a bad shroom trip a month ago, someone describes ongoing heightened anxiety, panic attacks, feeling numb and detached from reality, and wants to know how to feel normal again.
Answered by Dr. Richard Schultz
Next steps
After a traumatic LSA psychedelic experience four weeks ago, a reader describes ongoing panic attacks, depersonalisation, suicidal thoughts, and fear, with a past history of anxiety, eating disorders, cyclothymia, and recent grief.
Answered by Jim LaPierre
Tripping Can Be Traumatic
A reader has had social anxiety for almost 14 years since a bad mushroom experience at 21, has tried Lexapro and Buspirone with mild success, and asks about medication options and whether micro-dosing mushrooms could help.
Answered by Dr. Mark Abrahams
Grounded or High: A Stoner's Dilemma
Dear Nthrax, Thank you very much for addressing your question to me. Or should I say predicament? Based on your detailed adventures with substance use and experimentation, one thing is clear; you have very mixed feelings about your very mixed experiences. On the one hand, you enjoy pursuing a drug-f
Answered by Dr. Richard Schultz
Party Panic: How Substance Abuse Triggers Anxiety
After a frightening bad reaction to psilocybin, a reader developed persistent social anxiety and a sense of not being themselves, and asks how to recover and feel normal again.
Answered by Dr. Richard Schultz
The Lightbulb Has To Want To Change: Motivation For Treatment of Health Anxiety
Hello and thank you for addressing your question to me. I sympathize greatly with this challenging situation, for both you and your son. As a parent, I can imagine how painful it is to see your son struggle and suffer, and to find that there are such significant limitations in what you can do for hi
Answered by Dr. Richard Schultz
The Mind-Body Mystery
A reader describes over 3 years of daily foggy-headedness, episodes of going limp, and a recent incident of blurry vision and shaking, and questions their doctor's suggestion that it is anxiety.
Answered by Dr. Richard Schultz
Was it Trump or Just a Bad Trip?: Anxiety Begets Anxiety
Hello Sabrina, and thank you very much for your question. After an extended hiatus from Choose Help, I just recently returned and found your inquiry waiting for me. I do apologize for this extremely delayed reply, and am quite curious to know how things progressed for you in regard to the symptoms o
Answered by Dr. Richard Schultz
Giving Fish Versus Teaching To Fish: Which is More Effective In Treating Anxiety?
Hello, and thank you so very much for addressing this question to me. I find your question valuable for two reasons. First, it regards the treatment of Anxiety, of the Social variety, which is a specialty of mine. Second, it portrays the type of care NOT usually effective in such treatment, and thir
Answered by Dr. Richard Schultz
Mushroom Roulette: Hallucinogens, Anxiety, and The Youthful Brain
Hello and thank you for addressing this inquiry to me. I understand that you now find yourself in a place of greater confusion, insecurity, self-doubt, and worry than ever before in your life; I sympathize greatly with the distress you are experiencing, although it makes complete sense to me that yo
Answered by Dr. Richard Schultz
Social Anxiety as Self Stigmatization
Hello, and thank you very much for consulting me about your struggles with anxiety. Although you may not be aware of this, the symptoms and challenges you have described are quite common within the human population. In the United States, we refer to this syndrome as "social anxiety disorder," and it
Answered by Dr. Richard Schultz
Klonopin Withdrawal
Anxiety and GI problems are common symptoms related to benzodiazepine withdrawal, but you need to have good medical evaluations to make sure that there isn't some other problem causing both the anxiety and the GI distress. Sometimes the withdrawal symptoms persist longer than usual. Up to a year is
Answered by Dr. Stuart Shipko
Helping the Helpers
Hey there - thanks for reaching out to me. I totally understand not wanting to share your whole story via a website. Trust issues are tough - most of us (and by us I mean guys like you and me that have gone through a lot of painful experiences) really struggle to trust. It's personal and it's vulner
Answered by Jim LaPierre
An Imperfect Storm: How To Develop An Anxiety Disorder
Hello, and thank you for writing to me. I am so very sorry to hear of your longstanding distress, and am glad to hear that you are now motivated to heal. Further, in sharing your experience with me (via Choose Help), you are indirectly assisting others who have suffered from anxiety in similar ways.
Answered by Dr. Richard Schultz
Resilience and Calling a Truce
Your judgment is harsh and unwarranted. I’m confident you’d never judge another person the way you are judging you. Your words show a person who is sensitive and kind to others. Too often, we who have great empathy for others lack compassion for ourselves. Your fears are grounded in reality and expe
Answered by Jim LaPierre
Downside of the Upside: Yesterday's High Is Today's Low
Hello, and thank you very much for addressing your interesting question to me. I am sorry for the distress you have been experiencing. As I have stated in this forum previously, the paradigm of Classical Conditioning suggests that any previously neutral or pleasant stimuli can, when repeatedly paire
Answered by Dr. Richard Schultz
Anxiety 101
Hello Paul, I wanted to start off by saying that I'm really proud of you; that you have found the courage to ask for help and acknowledge that there is a problem. Your question deals with two major facts: First, that you have been smoking pot and that you have been sober for 4 days and secondly your
Answered by Anil Bobal
Drinking, Anxiety, mental Illness
Your question and concern are understandable, but before you go down the road of worrying about having a mental illness, you need to see if you have the same anxieties, paranoia, and fears if you do not drink at all. You state that you do not have a drinking problem but that you drink 2-3 times per
Answered by Loren Gelberg-Goff
What to do about long waits for appointments
I can certainly understand your frustration with the wait. However, there are a couple of things that you can do to get appropriate help. First of all, see a therapist experienced in working with PTSD. There are relaxation exercises and mindfulness practices that will go a long way towards solving y
Answered by David Johnson
Is it OCD?
Hello Anonymous, If your symptoms are interfering with your daily functioning then I suggest to see your primary care physician to rule out other problems that could be causing your symptoms. Then see a mental health provider to further discuss your thoughts, feelings, symptoms and behavior patterns
Answered by Arlinda Lindsay
Will Klonopin increase my risk of Alzheimers?
It is not definitive, but it looks like benzodiazepines might increase the risk of dementia. The short term effects of Klonopin and other benzodiazepines are well known, and memory impairment is a common side effect of this category of drug. The studies which look at whether benzodiazepines are asso
Answered by Dr. Stuart Shipko
You Cannot Worry Your Way Into Wholeness: Chasing Anxiety With Workaholism
Hello and thank you very much for addressing this question to me. I have great compassion for the exhausting and unending treadmill upon which you are stuck. You are describing symptoms commonly associated with Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) combined with the possible presence of Panic Disorder
Answered by Dr. Richard Schultz
I'm having problems stopping Klonopin
Unfortunately, I am not sure that what you want can be found in a drug rehabilitation program. Unfortunately they do not have the sort of time you need and typically no hospital is required for this sort of problem. As I write in my eBook 'Xanax Withdrawal' flexibility in tapering is important. I wo
Answered by Dr. Stuart Shipko
Living in Fear
I am sorry that you spend so much of your time in a state of distress. As you indicate, you are aware that your worry is generally about health issues that have a low probability of occurring. When people suffer from these kind of recurring anxious thoughts to the point that they interfere with thei
Answered by Loren Gelberg-Goff
I am addicted to benzodiazepenes but my doctors won't taper them because I am on methadone.
You have indicated that you are tapering off of methadone at the present time. I agree with your doctors in this case. You need to taper off just one drug at a time. The benzodiazepines and the opiates (like methadone) both act as antagonists to a major stress/anxiety hormone and neurotransmitter ca
Answered by Dr. Stuart Shipko
Post Traumatic Stress and Marijuana
Hello and thank you for such an interesting question. You stated you witnessed an accident at which you assisted; however the outcome was out of your hands. Most people who witness such traumatic events can experience what is termed Acute Stress Disorder, which usually begins to surface within one m
Answered by Jeannie Cameron, LMHC
Physical, Psychic, Pneumatic - In This Order
The three terms in the title refer to an ancient tripartite division of human nature which still applies today. As a non-medical practitioner, if a client (Note, I do not say patient), inquires about a symptom such as yours, I direct him/her to a physician first, in order to rule out physical causes
Answered by Dr. Mark Abrahams
When the Holidays Aren't Joyous
Hi there and thank you for writing. My heart goes out to you for what you're experiencing - my first thought was, "Good God, does this happen every year?" I encourage you to step back when all of this is over (early January) and ask yourself, "Am I willing to go through that again?" I understand pre
Answered by Jim LaPierre
Focus Feeds Fright: How Cognition Affects Physiological Sensations
Hello and thank you for addressing your question to me. Prior to appropriately responding to your inquiry, I will need some clarification. You wrote that the anxiety you experienced while trying to fall asleep seemed to "affect the vibration or noise from the engine that's passing by." Did you mean
Answered by Dr. Richard Schultz
Interview Anxiety
I would suggest you see a therapist for a while. There is something about your feelings and/or thoughts about your job of choice or interviewing itself that is triggering your anxiety. Understanding the fears you have about yourself will give you greater self-confidence. Meanwhile keep interviewing
Answered by David Johnson