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Why is this happening? Is it really anxiety?

I have battling depression & anxiety for many years.  I battle majority with health anxiety.   I only take Xanax 0.25 as neede which isn’t often at all.  I’m petrified of medicines.   The past few days it’s like I’ve had almost constant anxiety.  Last night I tossed an turned an didn’t rest well so when I woke up my heart was racing an I automatically started freaking out.   I got myself calmed down some but it’s still there like my heart rate is much lower but still a little elevated an I just keep having the worrying feeling.   Does anyone else get anxiety that can last hours or a few days at a time?  I’m trying to go to work an not let it defeat me but it’s so hard.   Thanks.  
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Avatar universal
Did you suffer from an illness in your past which has gone but its affects still remain in you?
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Sorry I’ve not been online lately.  No not that I’m aware of.  
Avatar universal
You say mostly your anxiety is health related, so is there a health issue?  Or is this something different than your normal anxiety?  The answer to your question is, yes, many including me have anxiety that is more there than not there.  I've also had an anxiety problem where it was only there if I had to do something I had developed a phobia to, and I've had it where it was just occasionally.  So it does differ by the person and at different times in life.  If yours is getting to a point where it's getting harder to function, have you sought out therapy?
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I just constantly worry about my health and thinking something is medically wrong with me.   For example I will get red cheeks an heart rated elevated an I start automatically thinking something is medically wrong with me.   I do go to counseling probably not as much as I should.   When my anxiety gets bad I start either wanting to run to er or make numerous doctor appointments.  I had been doing pretty good then yesterday an now again today has been almost constant.  
Yeah, it isn't always the same.  Make sure your therapist specializes in the treatment of anxiety or you can spend years just talking about the weather or politics.  And you do have to keep going until the problem is solved or you decide the therapist can't help and you find a different one.  If the therapist isn't pressing you to take actions to fix your situation, find one who will.  It's harder, but just shooting the breeze won't really help much.  It seems for the most part you're okay, so be grateful for that.
I’m very grateful that I don’t suffer some of the health an mental issues that others do.  It’s just during my bad times it gets the best of me an at times is hard to get back to “normal” My counselor is mental health, marriage and family counselor she is also faith based.  She does help me tremendously.   It’s just the health anxiety that I seem to let get the best of me...
Just to say, I hope you're right that your therapist is helping you and not just making you feel complacent.  You don't describe someone who specializes in anxiety treatment or someone who will force you to eventually face things.  There is no "faith" in medical care -- either it works or it doesn't in a scientifically studied way.  Faith is great for feeling good (or sometimes bad, as it's very judgmental), but it doesn't help with your health care if you have a problem that needs fixing.  A marriage and relationship counselor isn't an anxiety therapist.  I've been down the therapy road a lot because I've grown old with my anxiety problem, and I've spent years with therapists who just chatted.  It doesn't usually help, and only offers short-term comfort.  The most recommended form of therapy for anxiety these days is CBT, and while it won't help most who do it, it helps the most at least according to what we know now, and that's not much.  So again, if this problem continues without getting better, the therapist no matter who nice the person might be isn't actually fixing your medical problem.  I hope it all works out.
Paxiled
Are you the guy who was struggling to get off paxil some 15-20 years ago? I remember being on this website back then and there was a username just like yours.
Still me.  I wasn't having trouble getting off Paxil, I had gotten off it and doing so destroyed my life.  Yes, it remains destroyed, or I wouldn't still be around.  I didn't know I'd been around that long.  I wouldn't have believed this could be a forever thing.  Thank God it doesn't happen often.  Peace.
Paxiled, So I should seek CBT therapy to truly help with the anxiety?  I'm open to going to both types of therapy if it will help me with my mental health!  I recently went to my primary care doctor and she is wanting me to start Prozac.  She feels it would be more beneficial than the Xanax.  I'm just kind of leery of starting a medicine like that.  Any advice you have on that medicine or advice to me if I give it a try?  You seem to knowledgeable with all this!
Paxiled, So I should seek CBT therapy to truly help with the anxiety?  I'm open to going to both types of therapy if it will help me with my mental health!  I recently went to my primary care doctor and she is wanting me to start Prozac.  She feels it would be more beneficial than the Xanax.  I'm just kind of leery of starting a medicine like that.  Any advice you have on that medicine or advice to me if I give it a try?  You seem to knowledgeable with all this!
My answer reflects my opinion, as I am not now nor have I ever been a doctor.  I've seen so many mental health professionals over the years, however, that I might as well be!  First, and there are those on this site who will vehemently disagree with me, I don't believe anyone should get medication for mental illness from a primary care doc.  When there are specialists in a field, see the specialists, as they have studied the issues more and have prescribed the medications more and therefore you have a better chance of getting better care.  Not a guarantee, just a better chance.  You wouldn't get surgery from a primary doc, even though they have been introduced to it in med school and residency, so why would you get specialized treatment from them?  So if you want to do meds, see a psychiatrist.  My own test for it is, if your life is still manageable, try to fix it with therapy.  There's no guarantee it will work, far from it, but medication has downsides and so it should be used only when necessary.  If your life isn't liveable anymore at any reasonable level, medication is for that.  Prozac specifically isn't the best for anxiety, as it can be stimulating compared to other ssris, but it's also much easier to stop taking.  So it's not a bad place to start, because if it works, you have much less chance of having a horrible time trying to stop taking it when that time comes.  Some people just don't have problems stopping meds, but some almost everyone has problems with.  Prozac is easier because it lasts longer in the body, which provides an additional taper off of it along with the taper any experienced psychiatrist knows about.  General docs often don't know how to manage these meds, as they do a little bit of everything and don't have as much experience with any one thing.  I do agree with your doc that antidepressants work better because when they work they work all the time, whereas benzos like xanax only work for a short period of time.  They are also addictive and are therefore more likely to be trouble stopping.  Don't stop abruptly; taper off as slowly as you need if you do decide to stop it although benzos are often prescribed along with antidepressants.  It's best to take them only as needed, not daily, as taken daily is when they are addictive.  But again, this is something psychiatrists know more about than regular docs, although also again, many psychiatrists are as clueless as dirt and many general docs are very dedicated to learning about this stuff.  And yes, I would recommend CBT, because if it works, it's a lot quicker than other forms of therapy.  Peace.
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