14 months out with fatigue and anxiety. Advice please!!!

[[Cr...]]

Hey guys it’s been a while. So a lot of my symptoms have resolved themself and left. BUT, anxiety has returned at 14 months out. It felt like a was wired from caffeine for about 3 weeks, and once that faded I’ve been feeling extremely tired(even tho I sleep 8 hours per night). So now I’m stuck with extreme fatigue along with anxiety when talking to customers at my work. I feel like when I talk to them it sucks all of the life and energy that I have left. It’s hard for me to stand there and talk to them. I’m a server in a restaurant so I HAVE to be nice and personable. I also have a little dizziness but I think the tiredness and anxiety are all tied to one issue in my brain. Anybody have any advice or experience they can share with me???

[[Br...]]

Some of our toughest symptoms can take a long time to ease off.  For many of us, significant healing takes place in the second year.  I know I was coping with anxiety well into the 2nd year.  We often see a very clear link between an increase in stress and an increase in symptoms including anxiety. I know this was true for me.  Over time those periods of anxiety has become less and less intense.  I'm sorry you're going through this and that you have to soldier on by presenting a happy, friendly face for your job.  I'm sure it's a strain.  But you've been through a lot already and you've seen a lot of healing.  The healing will continue and you'll get there.

[[Cr...]]

Thank you. I just keep telling myself to keep pushing through and that each day that I get through is one day closer to finally being healed. Did you have fatigue as well? I’ve been tired for over two months straight now. Like very tired lol. It’s noon and I’m barely waking up. It just seems as tho I have no energy to do much of anything and no Energy to be social either. It’s lonely and i Hope my friends and family understand and don’t move on with their life without me:

[[Br...]]

I know - on top of everything it puts us through withdrawal can be such a lonely experience and we can feel so isolated.  I had fatigue and it comes up often on the forum.  I had periods when it felt like I was fighting gravity.  You will get through this and the sun will shine again.

[[Cr...]]

When did your dizziness and anxiety finally go away? I feel like they are connected with me.

[[Br...]]

It's frustrating how different everyone's withdrawal trajectory is.  My dizziness dissipated after about 6 months.  Other symptoms lingered much longer.  My anxiety is what brought me to benzos in the first place.  Same as for many other folks, benzos really made my anxiety much, much worse in the long run. After about 18 months it had improved significantly.  For instance, over time I stopped having clusters of panic attacks and hours of cortisol surges.  We can get a general idea about healing and recovery from other people's stories but our paths will differ.  The important thing to remember and hold onto is that you are healing and on your way to recovery.  It calls for unbelievable patience but it is happening.  You're on your way.

[[Hu...]]

For me, the anxiety was nearly non-stop for about a month and a half after my CT. Like total, all consuming, thought I was dying levels of anxiety. I had one or two days here and there when the anxiety wasn't quite so extreme, but on those days generally the depression took its place instead. Still, they weren't quite as bad.

 

Then about a month and a half in, my anxiety caused me to want to give up, if you know what I mean, and I came so close to doing so. But that became a turning point. I still experienced some days of severe anxiety in the few weeks after that, but I got much better overall, generally. I started having good days.

 

After that it was good days and bad days alternating every 3-4 on average for another three months. Then, from January 2021, I've had maybe 10 days maximum combined of waves?

 

My anxiety is very high at the moment due to some dental issues and taking antibiotics. But I'm not in a wave. I think we just become a little more sensitive to anxiety due to the trauma of withdrawal.