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Dealing with anxiety in the workplace/medicine is causing dilemma

Hi all, I wanted to share my situation. I’ve suffered with terrible anxiety and anxiety attacks my entire life. I’m a 31 year old male. I work in a very high stress environment. My Psych prescribes me klonopin for the anxiety. It seems as though the klonopin is slowing me down.(not a shocker) It’s never been the type of med I can go to sleep with... just calms me so I can participate in daily life activities. I got a negative year performance review for the first time ever. My superiors said they’d like to see me be more proactive and not have to be micromanaged. This past year I also gained quite a bit of weight and luckily got back on track with that and am down 15lbs.  I just feel stuck that I need the medicine to work but the medicine might be making me work too slow. Thanks for listening to my mess. Any experience is welcomed!!
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Avatar universal
I can't add anything to what Mom told you, but wanted to add something on a different theme, which is, sometimes a job is very stressful because it's not the right fit for us.  When we suffer from anxiety, especially anxiety that isn't treated such as yours (benzos, as Mom said, can give temporary relief but they also are addictive drugs that typically work less well over time unless you keep upping the dose, which obviously leads to the problems all addictive drugs pose).  She was referring to antidepressants, which, when they work, are also no picnic and have many of the same problems as benzos, but when they work they work all the time, not just for a short period of time.  Therapy is also very important, as you can not only work on your anxiety there but also on whether you're feelings about work are stemming from your anxiety or from something else.  There are also a lot of lifestyle changes that can be helpful, such as meditation, exercise, dietary changes, etc.  Keep looking, you may not find what you're looking for but then again you might.
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973741 tn?1342342773
Ugh, sorry to hear this.  Have you tried any other types of medication for your anxiety and panic attacks?  There are several other choices that are more round the clock meds rather than something you have to take as you do klonopin.  Benzos are a good helper drug or short term solution but long term, in my opinion, there are better choices.  If you haven't tried them, this might be something to consider for a positive change for yourself.  

You have a psych which is great, but do you do any counseling?  Therapy to work on coping strategies for the anxiety disorder could really be beneficial.  Lastly, we all need to work but is this the only job you feel you can have?  If you are an anxious person and have panic attacks, perhaps the stressful work environment you have isn't ideal for you. Do you have any other options you can explore?  
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Arlington, VA
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