Hi ad123!
I say it everytime I make a post to give you a bit of background - I am a 16 year old and have had GAD and frequent panic attacks since I was 9 or 10 but I went into therapy around 7 months ago and I have had no relief, quite the opposite in fact, so I know where you're coming from.
With anxiety disorders, they are lifetime illnesses (my GAD is specifically called "chronic" by the mental health professionals dealing with me) and when dealing with one you need to expect relapses, otherwise you will be sorely disappointed. Anxiety tends to get better and worse over a period of days, weeks, months and even years. My anxiety has come and gone over all these years, but since it has been left untreated it has now come back with a vengance.
I noticed you say "self-diagnosed". I am one who has always been offended by people who say this, but I mean you no offence. It's just the trauma of living everyday life with generalised anxiety is a nightmare, it really is, and to my mind, if you really do have GAD, you would be at the doctors banging on the doors!! If you think you have GAD, see a doctor, it's imperative. If left to fester, it will only get worse. Look at where it got me!! (Even though I did go to the doctors loads of times, they dismissed me because there was no physical disorder) Be persistent in your search for a good doctor. I don't care what anyone tells me - anxiety disorders can be one of the most disabling illnesses and one of the hardest to treat.
Being in a constant state of worry and panic has been my life story, just now the worries manifest themselves in severe physical symptoms. There is so much I could say to you from your post. My mind tends to race so fast constantly, that is one of the reasons why CBT is proving to be so difficult for me because I can't catch the dysfunctional thoughts causing me anxiety. This is why I urge you to seek some sort of therapy and there are loads of options open to you because treatment in anxiety has never been so effective - medications (anti-depressants(tricyclic or SSRI), benzodiazipines, buspar, beta-blockers etc) therapy (normally psychotherapy or CBT) and other options such as hypnosis. If you want any of these further outlined feel free to ask! I'd love to help anyone with anxiety, I'd never wish it on my worst enemy! It would be a good idea to learn some relaxation and breathing techniques also to calm yourself down at points of extreme stress. Yoga is particurarly good for this if you can find a class, book, or video.
I am assuming a large portion of your anxiety is secondary fear of the fear? By that I mean you are afraid of feeling the anxiety symptoms and this causes you a lot of stress? What happened at your counselling? Did they teach you any techniques to help you relieve your stress? I suggest you go for the same approach again as was effective before and if it does not work make small adjustments in your therapy - whether pharmalogical or non-pharmalogical - until you recover, because it sounds as though you have a good chance. You've done it once, you can do it again
and treat this as a minor relapse in your recovery!
