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Friday, March 19, 2010
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Mental Health |
Fear of overexertion01/15/2009 |
Hi, I have had unexplained fatigue and shakiness in my hands for around 2 years and my tests such as blood, urine, etc. came out normal. I don`t know what could be wrong, but recently I think I`ve begun to realize that I have a fear of overexerting myself. For example, I can compare it to my fear of heights or if I`m playing tennis, I want to run as fast I can to the ball, but I jog instead. The reason I say this is because my fatigue began after the end of an extremely difficult college semester, which left me physically and mentally exhausted for a few weeks. I think this incident left me psychologically scarred in a manner of speaking because I do get mental images of myself becoming tired. I did take 5 mg of Celexa for a month and a half, but no effect. Basically, my question is could there be such a thing as a fear of overexertion?
Anxiety disorders have many different appearances. Anxiety disorders are common today and can range from very specific "phobias" (or fears, such as claustrophobia, a fear of small, enclosed places) to generalized anxiety disorders, which have been described as excessive worrying, occasionally to such a degree that people can worry about how much they worry.Only a mental health professional, taking time with you to question you and listen to you can decide whether you have an anxiety disorder. However, the fact that 5 mg of celeca did not help in 6 weeks does not mean that you do not have an anxiety disorder. Most anxiety disorders take higher doses of medications (even SSRIs, which Celexa is one type), and 5 mg is considered a very small dose. They often take longer to see a benefit from the medication, often 4-8 weeks to begin to see benefit.
Therapy, especially cognitive-behavioral therapy (or CBT) is also quite effective in treating anxiety disorders.
I encourage you to look at some of the weblinks for more information about anxiety disorders, and to make an appointment to see a mental health professional. If your symptoms are interfering with the way you want to live your life, then it makes sense to seek help to get better.
Good luck.
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Nancy Elder, MD Associate Professor Department of Family Medicine College of Medicine University of Cincinnati |
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