Is anxiety and hypervigilance a mood disorder?

[Fadeaway]

I am losing faith in my psychiatrist. Over and over he keeps saying that we need to get my mood issues straightened out. I started with him in November. In December, January and the first part of February I was sick, I mean real sick, the sickest I have ever been since I had Scarlett Fever/Rheumatic fever as a kid. In fact today is the 30th anniversary of that.

I have had nothing but bad luck with mood altering drugs and I do not want try another one EVER! I do not believe I have depression as a result of chemical imbalance. I get situational depression sometimes, but I think grief is a bigger problem and there is no pill for that.

I tried to stress the issues with anxiety and hypervigilance. When he insisted on talking about my mood I said it's not mood it is anxiety. He said, "you call it hypervigilance, I call that a mood issue." There went all my faith in the guy.

Problem is I was on a waiting list forever to get in to see any psychiatrist. Also, he works in the same office as my T. and they discuss my treatment plan together. I have already told my T I feel they have me all wrong and making judgments about my mental health based on some pretty abnormal stuff going on with my health.

My psychiatrist is not going to treat my anxiety unless it is with a mood altering drug.

I am thinking that next time I see my T telling him that if my psych. isn't going to give me anything to help with the anxiety, then we need to address the root cause of my nighttime/bed related anxiety ASAP.

 

[Deleted member 541]

@Fadeaway Is the grief over your trauma or a different issue????

 

[Fadeaway]

Both The loss of my children, the loss of the ability to ever have more children. the loss of the opportunity to ever have mother, the loss of my step grandfather who was the closest thing I ever had to a real parent and the fact that no one considered me close enough to him to think I was worth notifying when he died. The knowledge that I will never belong to a family, even though there is nothing I crave more.

 

[Deleted member 541]

That’s a lot to have grief over and to feel sad about. Have you ever gone to a grief counselor or done a grief group?

 

[Fadeaway]

No, I want to and from time to time I search for one, I just have bad luck with timing and scheduling. I figure when the time is right, the right one will open up.

 

[Deleted member 541]

Keep searching and make timing a non issue and go. When my mother died, my sister had a tough time dealing with it. To the point that I thought she had flipped. She kept saying things like “ mom is mad at me and won’t talk to me anymore”. When I’d point out the fact that mom had died over a yr ago, she’d flip out on me.

She finally went to a group for grief, and she finally accepted many things that before she wasn’t willing to accept. It helped tremendously....

 

[Gs172003]

Both The loss of my children, the loss of the ability to ever have more children. the loss of the oppo...

Oh wow that's awful I'm sorry

 

[Fadeaway]

I wish I edit my title to put a question mark.

 

[Nessa7]

No, anxiety and hypervigalence is not a mood disorder or part of a mood disorder.

That conversation would have me very concerned, too. Do you know what they have recorded as your formal diagnoses? A lot of people are prescribed anti-depressants for PTSD, but that conversation would have me wanting to confirm that they do have me recorded as having PTSD and do not have any additional diagnoses that we have not discussed.

That's a weird reasoning for not wanting to prescribe something for anxiety. It's not like someone could not have depression and anxiety. I think there are reasons that he might not want to prescribe benzodiazepines, but he isn't actually discussing that with you and there are a lot of other options for anxiety. I don't know how receptive he is to patients doing their own research on medications, but I've found it helpful to go into appointments fully informed on what some of my options are.

What does you therapist have to say about what medications you should be taking? Even though therapists are not medical doctors, they do have the benefit of spending much more time with you talking about your symptoms than a psychiatrist. Their recommendations and opinions have been really helpful to me in the past.

 

[shimmerz]

I read or watched a video once about grief being the cornerstone of most mental health disorders. I wish I could remember who it was but the person was reputable (Gabor Mate maybe?). Like you, I watched my sister go stark mad crazy with grief when my mother died. She hasn't recovered and it is almost 40 years later. Grief can do a number on just about anyone. And the number of huge losses you have suffered @Fadeaway is well beyond human tolerance.

So yeah, I would say if you are stalled in the trauma work that looking at dealing with all of that grief is a great idea. I agree with your thoughts on the drugs. I am not a big one for drugs but I did find that the anti anxiety ones helped me to be a bit more grounded when I was going through a rough spell. It is such a fine line though.

Oh, and here is a link I found regarding mood disorders and a more specific outline of what mood disordered is. I thought it might help.

Mood Disorders | CMHA British Columbia

ETA: Oh, and there was NO drug that made me un-sad. My sad was situational as well. When shit is going on there is NO drug that can (or should for that matter) make it go away. Sometimes it is just too sad for words and it is going to take me a loooooong time to figure out what those words could possibly be. When I find the words, that is normally when I get back to sad not defining me anymore.

 

[Fadeaway]

@Nessa7 PTSD is the diagnosis, although they were looking at high functioning autism due to my sensory issues. I am not sure if they are still thinking along those lines but I don't fit any symptoms outside of hypersensitivity of the senses.

Arrrg, I hit post again when I didn't mean too. @shimmerz Thanks for the link. I was searching for something like that with no luck.

 

[EveHarrington]

I really think it’s time for a new doc. Still thinking high functioning autism?!? Sigh.

Do they know nothing about the nervous system? How ours are damaged? That the damage to the nervous system is what causes hypersensitivity? Good lord.

Have you ever been on an anticonvulsant mood stabilizer? It might help. They regulate electrical signals as opposed to neurotransmitters. I know that trileptal has helped me be less hypersensitive.