I'm a second year college student, going to school full-time and working anywhere from 25-35 hours a week (mostly late-nights). When I started school last year, it really kicked in around the latter half of the semester. My step-brother would joke about how he never saw me in our biology class during the week but truth be told, I would be so paralyzed with nervousness and fear in the morning that I couldn't even move, much less get out of the bed. So I would just sleep it off and some days I would be in my dorm room until the late evening. My grades dropped and I started getting sick, so I decided to transfer. after second semester. I'm now in culinary school but without a car, my 4 hour commute (2 hours one way), 18 credit hours (six classes), and working 7-9 hours a day are finally hitting me hard. The nervousness, shortness of breath and anxiety have been back for the past three weeks and my 4.0 average has dropped. I over slept this morning (again) and found myself in an almost robotic-like state as I got dressed and finally said enough is enough. I went to the ER and was evaluated/treated for stress and anxiety (so they DO have a name for what I thought was all in my head?). I was prescribed a very low dose of Klopinon (?) and hopefully that will help a bit. I just turned 20 years old last week and I feel 40 (not saying 40 is old at all) but lack of sleep, losing weight from not eating right, and no time to breath is literally breaking my body down.
Does depression and anxiety run in families? Is the medication really addictive? Any holistic alternatives that have been effective?View Thread