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Stress, Anxiety & Low Mood: Questions and answers

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I suffer really badly every year when winter comes, from Seasonal Affective Disorders. I can’t really tell anyone because I think people will just think I am nothing but a hypochondriac. I truly dread that time of the year when the clocks go back and the evenings get darker earlier and earlier. I just hang on for the winter solstice (even mark it on the calendar and count the days down). Am I just a wimp? Or is there anyone else out there who feels like this as well?

I'm sorry to hear that you suffer with S.A.D. Please don't be hard on yourself or see yourself as a 'wimp' as it is indeed a... Read the full answer 〉

I am currently working 16 hours a week as a housekeeper and have for the past 2 years. Before this I worked full time until 2011 when I was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer. I had an operation, chemo and radiotherapy and returned to work part time 11 months later, when I signed a contract. We now have a new manager who has said I need to reconsider my position and return full time! I told her I was not prepared to do this as I value my health. This is causing me stress, sleepless nights etc. I don't want to go in to work! I have been with this employer for 15.5 years. Can you tell me where I stand please as it is now making me ill?

I am so sorry to read about the challenges you have at the moment and have had with your health.  I would recommend that you speak to ACAS who... Read the full answer 〉

I have a day of panic attacks exactly every four weeks. No particular trigger. It's almost as though it's a monthly cycle - but I am a 60 years old female. Then for a couple of days I feel weak. Then I go back to just feeling stressed and weepy for another 4 weeks. What could I try to resolve the panic attack day in particular? It's a day of feeling totally frightened about everything. Everything seems an insurmountable problem.

I am so sorry to hear that you are suffering with cyclical panic attacks.This could be linked to hormone levels. Are you able to tell me what's... Read the full answer 〉

My mother is very over the top about things. She watches TV with the sound on really low, she doesn’t want the neighbours hearing her make a noise. You have to talk quietly every time you speak to her. She always says don’t tell anybody when she wins at bingo, even though she's been going for 40 years, three times a week. She pulls us down, tells us off for having a cold, she pulls our partners to bits. She's two faced and is driving us all away. We have never really got on but I try because she is my mother. Every time I’ve visited I end up in tears.

Sorry to hear you are having problems with your relationship with your mum.    Rest assured that yours is not an uncommon story and I... Read the full answer 〉

I am 47 and peri-menopausal and am experiencing very low mood. I've been taking thyroxine for hypothyroidism since 1998 and wonder if I can take St Johns Wort or if there is something else I can take? I'm feeling more down and low than stressed, and one of the major problems I have is getting up out of bed in the morning. I feel so tired and low it's difficult. My thyroid function has been good and very steady for the last 4-5 years and I've just seen my consultant in July. He's very happy with my thyroid, therefore I'm putting my feelings down to peri-menopause and the symptoms I've been experiencing.

I'm very sorry to read that you are suffering from these challenging symptoms.   Low mood and extreme fatigue can be classic symptoms of... Read the full answer 〉

I have suffered from extreme anxiety in the past, and know the symptoms, but I haven’t really had it for a good ten years. However, over the last year or so I have had a long run of different illnesses including mumps and in the last couple of weeks I have had a bad infection in the tubes to my testicles. I am now on my second course of antibiotics which have not yet worked. At the start of this I also had bad a bloated stomach and felt sick with odd pains too. This is still really bad now 3 weeks on and I don’t know if it’s connected to the testicle infection or if there is something more sinister going on. During this time my anxiety levels have risen through the roof. What do you think?

I am very sorry to hear you have been suffering both physically and with anxiety in recent months, having been free from it for some years.Health... Read the full answer 〉

I need help with my stress. Over the past 6 years I have felt stressed all the time. People keep having a go at me all the time, I shake all the time, I have headaches and I don’t eat due to the stress. I have only put on 2 kilos from the last time the doctor weighed me. I have tried everything not to get stress. Can you help?

I am sorry to hear that you suffer so badly with stress and related symptoms.  I wonder if you have spoken to your GP?  Sometimes there can... Read the full answer 〉

I suffer from Pudental Neuralgia and have had one nerve block injection performed by the only pain consultant in London who performs this procedure. I have to have another nerve block injection soon and I am almost frightened of this consultant as he is so abrupt and has no bedside manner whatsoever. I have chronic pain from a trapped nerve in this area and need to know how I can find the courage to face him again. I know I have to have this procedure done again and I am not afraid of the procedure itself, only of him. His fees are also enormous - I don't mind that - it's just that I can hardly face him again, but this is the only procedure, which may (or may not) help to diagnose the chronic pain I am living with at the moment. Please help me to have the courage to face him again.

I am so sorry to hear that you are suffering physically and then have the added strain of seeing a consultant who makes you feel uncomfortable. That... Read the full answer 〉

I suffer with arthritis in my feet and back and I can't move as fast as I used to. When I'm in a rush, or can't move as fast as I want to, or when I'm really in pain with my feet, I get very anxious and start to feel ill. I’m really a well person apart from this. I’m 73 and still working. I own a cafe, so it is quite hard work.

Thank you for your message and I am so sorry to hear you are suffering with both pain and anxiety as a result of the pain, especially since you have... Read the full answer 〉

I am a 48 year old male. The last few months I have been suffering from severe mood swings. I often feel jittery and panicky, and my mood is generally low. I have also been having personal issues. Are these feelings likely to subside when & if I can resolve my issues? What can you recommend to help? I've been taking Kalms tablets, but they seem pretty ineffective. I'm at a bit of a loss at the moment as to what to try next.

It certainly sounds like the personal issues you are experiencing are causing stress related symptoms.   I tend to recommend that it is... Read the full answer 〉

My 15 year old son has just left home to go live with his father, because I grounded him for drinking alcohol. He didn't even tell me. My ex loves the anguish and torture I am suffering. I can't sleep and I am having anxiety attacks. I have just started a new bottle of Passiflora and Valerian, which I hope will help. Is there anything else I can take to help?

This is a horrible situation for you, but most teenagers would do the same if they had the option to storm off the moment they were crossed by a... Read the full answer 〉

I have for several years on and off experienced neurological issue! It has been about 4 years since the last episode apart from a recent one this week. Symptoms are always the same. Starts off with shaky feeling as if my body needs food or sugar (although it doesn't need either). Then I get palpitations and sweats. I feel disorientated, dizzy, and have left sided weakness in arm and leg which gives out on walking. Words become slurred. And I end up crying as I become unresponsive but not unconscious! After these episodes I am left exhausted for at least 48 hours! ECG, BP and pulse normal. Docs said don’t know why or what? Due to have blood test next week.

So sorry to read about your experience.   It sounds frightening and debilitating for you.  Due to the complexity of your health issue... Read the full answer 〉

My doctor says I am suffering from anxiety. I get shortness of breath and he is reluctant to prescribe me medication as it can make my breathing worse. I do not want to take prescription medicationanyway. More recently I am worrying a lot more, crying more, waking up more than five times during the night and do not want to interact with people.I had a hysterectomy at 45. I am now 48 and do not take HRT. I only take Sage tablets for hot flushes. I feel worse since operation and only half the person I used to be. Is there anything I could try as I don't want to feel like this?

I am sorry to hear you are suffering with anxiety and a set of symptoms that leave you feels like you are only half the person you used to be.The... Read the full answer 〉

I am 18 and have tried a few things to try and feel less stressed. I've tried talking about it to friends and family but it doesnt help. When talking to college tutors, I am unsure of how to approach them as I do not want to let it show that I am stressed or in low mood. Do you have any suggestions on how I can talk to a college tutor about it?

If I was in your position, these are things I would ask myself: - What exactly is it about college that's causing me stress/low mood? -... Read the full answer 〉

I have a history of feeling low and very depressed, that I know was due to my job. Now they want to change my job roles or make me redundant. I am very stressed out, not sleeping or eating and have been working in very cold conditions. Just started to stand up for myself after seven years and now I feel that is why I may not have my job anymore. What can I do?

I am sorry to hear life is so stressful for you at the moment with potential job changes, especially as you have a history of suffering with low mood... Read the full answer 〉

I experienced a panic attack a number of years ago, which was quite frightening. Since then I have only experienced one further full attack, but, through controlled breathing I managed to alleviate the attack. I am now suffering with a stiff neck and upper back and throat. Could these be due to stress? There is a history of stress within my family. I work as a health and safety manager, a high level job with lots of responsibility. Your help and guidance is most welcome.

Panic attacks can be very alarming and I am pleased to hear that you have found controlled breathing can help to alleviate an attack. It seems that... Read the full answer 〉

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