Wow.  So I just found out about this site.  Seems cool enough…

I was diagnosed with Generalized Anxiety Disorder about 2 months ago.  And it makes sense, the diagnosis anyway.  I know that I've felt anxious all the time ever since I can remember.  I just have never been able to relax, and whenever I told anyone that it didn't feel right, they'd just tell me to just relax and chill out.  Which I never could do. 

Every single semester of school, I have made myself sick with the stress.  I'll then be out for a couple of days and have to catch up on everything.  Makes me just want to quit, but I'm no quitter.  So, I press on, and get sick again…and the cycle repeats itself.

I was put onto Zoloft, and recently had it increased to 75mg/day.  I couldn't sleep for a long time (one of the reasons why I originally went to my doctor), and I recently started Melatonin (3mg) and Valerian Root (450mg), both recommended by my doctor.  So far it's worked for most of the night, although I still get up sometimes.  I'm also on Lorazepam, but I only take 1/2 of 1mg, and it's usually at night cause that's when I tend to start getting freaked out and anxiety ridden. 

Is it normal to feel like you're being paranoid?  And maybe all of this is just in your head?  That you're just imagining it all?  But then reality sets in and you're all like, well, I can't be imagining it…but then you start thinking maybe you're just being overdramatic?  Maybe it's just regular stress and you're just blowing it all out of proportion?  But then I look at the pattern and I know that it can't just be regular stress…ugh.  I don't know.

There's a couple of metaphors that I use to describe my anxiety…the first one is "you're on a roller coaster before the first big drop, and thinking about it; but you're actually still at the beginning of the amusement park just thinking about getting on that ride."

And the other one that I use when someone tells me to just relax is "It's like telling a diabetic to stop eating sugar and then putting a plate of brownies in front of them…I just can't stop stressing"

Has anyone else heard about the stress relieving affects of hammocks?  I was just wondering if it might be a good thing to look into…