Shambles77

Hello all.

I've been on 20mg of Citalopram for two weeks for my anxiety and low moods. When I first started taking the drug I did not experience any major side effects. Just sweaty palms and drowsiness.

Since last night, however, I started to get a headache which is getting progressively worse although it is bearable at the moment. I am also getting very slight muscle twitches/spasms in my legs which started about 3 days ago. It's starting to make me panic as I believe that I may have Serotonin Syndrome. But then again, I'm wondering if it is just my anxiety resurfacing and making me worry about Serotonin Syndrome. I just can't stop thinking about it.

Is it normal to get headaches/muscle twitches at this stage? Am I overreacting?

Any help will be appreciated.

Thank you.

- Sharon.

I've been feeling rather strange lately, and have been experiencing a range of negative emotions.

The thing is, I am pretty introverted anyway and have always had trouble communicating etc, but recently my feelings of anxiety have been getting worse. I really do not feel like communicating with anyone at all, I just want to hide away in my room and never leave.

My parents often complain of this as other 17 year olds are usually out with their friends or out looking for a job - but my anxiety about being in these situations stops me from doing anything that involves going out and socialising. I know it's pathetic, my parents often get angry as at my age I should be able to do all of these things.

It has come to the point were I don't event want to talk to my college tutors or anything because I feel like a bit of a burden.

I also feel sorry for my parents as I have been rather irritable lately, I'll snap when they call my name and the smallest things have been making me angry - this adds to my self-hatred as I often regret my actions.

Regardless of this, there are also times where I feel quite happy and relaxed but that mood can quickly change, I can suddenly become very irritable and upset.

The reason why I am worried, I suppose, is because suicidal thoughts have started to slowly enter my mind. The thing is, I don't want to die, I know suicide is not a solution - it is selfish - however there are times where I wish I hadn't woken up in the morning and there are times when I feel like suicide MIGHT be a solution but this feeling soon subsides.

So I just want to know - Has anyone ever experienced anything like this? Should I be worried? Or will it pass with time?

Thanks for reading, I'd really appreciate any help.

p.s. I am not looking for a diagnosis of any sort.

Hello. :)

I'm 17 and expected to go to University next year,..Which frightens me to death.

The thing is, I WANT to study art and philosophy at Uni but my feelings of anxiety are stopping me from doing it. It's the social aspect that really frightens me as I do not believe that I will be able to cope, my parents have even agreed as I am very inadequate for my age,

By inadequate I mean that I am unable to do things independently, I get very nervous when asked to do a task on my own - especially when I'm being observed or feel like I am being observed. Even though I want to do things such as go to work/university I physically cannot bring myself to do these things due to feeling so nervous. . . It just seems impossible!

Even when my friends ask me if I want to go out I sometimes pretend that I am busy just to avoid public embarrassment - I know this is unfair and I feel VERY guilty when I do this but I just can't shake it,

My anxiety about this matter has increased over the past few weeks/months and it has started to interfere with my college/school work and is stopping me from doing many things - I'm fed up of myself now, I suppose others are too! I feel like such a burden because I cannot do things independently.

So I was just wondering if you have any advice as to how to overcome this 'fear'?How do I become more independent? Have you ever experienced anything like this? Will it go away naturally?

Thanks for taking time to read my question, I'd be very grateful for your help. :)

I'm a female (aged 17) but I see no correlation between being female and posessing the ability to multi-task, because I just can't do it . . . I think in a linear way, about one thing at a time. E.g. If my mother tells me to do more than one task at a time, I ALWAYS forget atleast one of the instructions. This makes the people around me very angry, and I feel really bad because they interpret it as selfishness which is not the case.

I understand that the brain is unable to encode two forms of sensory input at a time, however I have noticed how others are able to switch their attentions between two or more tasks without failing. I just can't do it!

I seem to lack a lot of left brain functions anyway thus also lacking common sense.

So I was just wondering, has anyone else noticed/experience this? Are there any reasons?

Thanks in advance

- Sharon.

I'm 17 years old and I've never felt like this before. Every night, over the past few days, I just burst out into tears. I keep reminiscing to happier times in my childhood yet these memories make me feel so sad. My dog died last week but I already felt as if I 'got over it' , also I keep thinking about my grandad's cancer - but I don't know if this is the source of my tears.

I've been trying to accept the fact that "All Things Must Pass" (as the great George Harrison said) however this is much harder than I thought it would be. Now I feel as though time is going by too quickly and that I'm wasting the little time I may have on this planet.

I try to distract myself through meditation (although I hardly ever have the space or time to meditate) I also try to occupying myself with other things, like spending time with family etc, but my thoughts return to the same memories - forcing me to isolate myself - even though it makes me feel so lonely,

I was wondering if you guys could help ... Is there any way that I can get myself back on track to how I used to be? How can I stop myself from dwelling so much? Thanks in advance :)

(P.S. I hope I don't sound like I am moaning).

Hello :) ... I have a second hand Asus laptop which has been in my possession for nearly a year now. Ever since I first got it the battery life has been pretty short, as it would be fully charged but only last for 20-25 minutes before it was completely dead. Today - when the battery died- the charger would't work. The light on the charger always goes off when I plug it into the laptop and comes back on when I plug it out. At first I thought the voltage on the charger had been adjusted however this was not the case becausr it was still on 19v as usual. I tried someone elses charger and it did the same thing. . . Does anyone know whats up with my laptop? Could it be the battery? Is there anything I can do at home to fix it?

Thanks in advance :)

I understand that George Harrison devoted a lot of his life, and music, to the spiritual idea of God but he remains my favourite Beatle despite me being an atheist.

I appreciate a lot of his music on deeper level - as I share his love for peace/harmony among people however I cannot quite connect with his Godly intention. I also love the whole thing Harrison expresses about finding oneself, being 'enlightened' and the whole 'life is a journey' thing however I do not buy the whole 'God consciousness' concept.

Am I contradicting myself? Is it possible to be a spiritual atheist? I believe it is possible but what do you guys think?

In my A level art project we are expected to view primary sources of other artists' work in galleries and such like. In my project I am focusing one illusion and especially the technique of Trome l'oel. I've been inspired by Julian Beever's work however it may be difficult to see his work in person ... Are there any galleries or exhibitions in London or Birmingham where I can view work that is SIMILAR or conveys the technique of Trompe l'oel?

Well, I'm doing a biological psychology experiment for my assignment. We are to observe whether people respond faster to a light or sound stimulus, and need to work out the average of all the averages from both conditions.

In the sound condition I worked out an average of 0.25 hundredths of a second.

However for light I got an overall average of 0.2975 .. How do I round this decimal up to 2 significant figures?

For my art project I REALLY want to look at Julian Beever's work as I think it's amazing. However, in order for it to be valid research I need to find controversy to do with it ... Is there anybody in the media who has disagreed with Beever's work/style? ... If not, is there anybody in the media that disagrees with anamorphic/illusionary art?

I really hope you have some suggestions.

Thanks, Sharon.

I was wondering this, because it's getting nearer the time where I have to apply to university and stuff - I'm so confused!!

So is an undergraduate the same as a foundation course? Or are they entirely different things?

http://slingshottshirts.com/music-t-shirts/led-zep...

My mum bought it me, because I love Led Zeppelin, however I'm afraid that people may be disgusted at the naked angel on the front. So what do you think? Is it too crude?

I'm 16 and cannot help but hate myself as a person. There's not a lot I'm good at, I'm always messing things up, I have no common sense, I'm forgetful, immature, clumsy, annoying and un-intentionally rude. However I do feel VERY LUCKY to have things that a lot of people probably don't have - such as a roof over my head, food on the table, family. And for this I am very grateful.

I just feel as though I do not deserve all of this. I have had therapy sessions recently for my nervousness and fears. But have only completed 4 out of 10 sessions because my therapist had to leave.

I know there are ways in which I can improve, but what are they? even as I write this I feel like an idiot.

Well I'm 16 and have been self teaching for about 2 years. . . I played in the school band one year, and it was pretty apparent that I was rubbish even though I only had to play 4 chords, I soon left because the music teacher forced us to play modern mainstream rubbish against our will, which didn't enrich my playing either. I managed 3 shows, however. My accuracy sucks, especially when I play in front of others, due to my nerves. My friend played as lead guitarist and is still way better than me, he was also good at telling me how my guitar playing sucked (although he does like my song writing!) ... The thing is, I have knowledge of guitar but am crap at playing it (in my opinion) and have very little technical ability, however I've always been more concerned with emotion when I'm playing. Ability would be nice too though! ...

Any-who! I feel like I haven't improved at all. I understand that there will always be people better than me but its as if I have made minimal progress HOWEVER I still love the guitar! .... Am I crap? Or is this normal when learning guitar? ...

Hello all :)

Well, I went to the hospital yesterday after waking up with a pain in the left side of my neck and not being able to move my head to the left. The doc told me that I had a swollen lympth nodes, he said it could be caused by my sudden outburst of acne but sent me to my GP for further examination incase. It's day two now and have been getting muscle spasms on the left side of my neck and my left arm ... Could all this be caused by a trap nerve? Or could it be indicating something more serious?

Hey. Well, I've been experiencing short stabbing pains on the left side of my head for about a week and a half now. They only last 1 or 2 seconds then they are gone. Ive started to get slight ear ache and shooting pains in my face now ... I dont know if its linked but I have neck ache on the same side and some shoulder ache on both sides. Any idea what it could be? Has anyone else experienced this?? .. I'll really appreciate your help. Thanks in advance :)

- Sharon.

My Grandad was diagnosed with mouth cancer, caused alcoholism and heavy smoking, September last year. When he stopped therapy they said he was too weak to operate on, but miraculously he gained health and the hospital allowed the possibility for an operation ... But recently we found out that he definately can't have the operation because the cancer spread to his bones.

Does anyone roughly know how long might be left? I found out by accident and am not ready for another shock, so its best I prepare myself.

Thanks in advance :)

Well, I'm 16 years old now and in my first year of Sixth Form college. . . I've had this attribute of rocking back and forth for a long time (apparently) but only noticed it recently. My mum and step-dad often point it out and tell me to stop, but I can't because it's often subconscious. I recently spoke to my friend who said that I always rock back and forth, but she has become accustomed to it so doesn't point it out any more. although strangers find it weird. I also rock myself to sleep sometimes, my friend told me it's a comfort thing which happens when you're sad or insecure. I notice it when I'm anxious and/or exited too. . . Even if I deliberately stop it starts up again without me knowing - it's very bizarre.

Is anyone familiar with this? How can I stop?

Thanks in advance :)

For days now I haven't been hungry, I've been forcing myself to eat and can't make it to the end of a small meal ... My mother says it could be stress ( A - Levels and that) but it doesn't feel that way, because I tend to procrastinate a lot (unfortunately). . . I don't have weight problems so it isn't a self-concious thing ... what could it be?

I don't know why this is. Ever since I was a little kid I've found talking to strangers, or people in general, quite difficult. I'm rubbish at parties, I mostly spend time at events like these feeling very nervous and looking forward to being at home. As a very young kid I used to cry and have tantrums whenever anyone, apart from my Mum, came near me or if we had to go to any public functions which often got me in trouble because I caused embarrassment to my Mum, . . Obviously, now I'm 16, I don't behave like this any more ( I'm hoping I get even better with age) but I still feel painfully shy, nervous or withdrawn when in a public places and it makes me feel like such an idiot.So I hardly go out because even going down to the local shop makes me fearful, and I'm worried that I won't be able to progress in life because of my issues.... So why is it that I find it so difficult and everyone else seems to be alright? How can I get over this??