Anxiety and Schizophrenia

[Betterman]

Hello everyone,

I've always been a somewhat anxious person, but a year and a half ago, I smoked some really strong weed which really broke that barrier for me, and now I'm cursed with moderate-severe anxiety. Anyway, what I'm really here to talk about is schizophrenia, and my intense worry of it. A little time after I smoked the weed, I watched a program with David Suzuki about the dangers of pot-smoking and developing schizophrenia. Now, although I only smoked dope for a year and a half and did a handful of pills, I seem to have this incredibly irrational and frightening fear of developing schizophrenia. I examine every single action and thought that I have or do every day in order to make sure it's not "paranoid" or "strange" or "crazy." It's gotten to the point where even hearing someone mention the word "schizophrenia" is enough to trigger a full on bout (not attack) of anxiety for several hours, or even days. I exercise every single day and try to dispel the negative thoughts, and I have also been doing mediation as of the past few weeks, but I literally cannot get the thoughts of my head. I seem to go through positive and negative slumps in my anxiety, and I honestly don't know if I'm ever going to get out of it. My doctor recommended medication for me (Celexa) but I've read about some of the nasty side effects of antidepressants, and I really don't want to have to turn to them.
Sorry if this all looks like a wall of text, but I'm at my wits end and I don't know what to do.

 

[Retired]

Welcome to Psychlinks, Betterman and hopefully you might gain some insights that will lead to an improvement in your quality of life.

My doctor recommended medication for me (Celexa) but I've read about some of the nasty side effects of antidepressants, and I really don't want to have to turn to them.

The internet is filled with misinformation about medications that mislead people into ignoring the advice of their physicians. Depression and anxiety are medical illnesses thought to be the result of imbalances of specific neurotransmitters (brain chemicals) that can be restored with medications designed for that purpose.

Celexa belongs to a class of medications called Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors which is designed to target the levels of the neurotransmitter serotonin in the brain. Physicians prescribe medications in a rational manner, and although there is a possibility some people experience some adverse effects, they either diminish in a relatively short time when the body acclimates to the new chemical balance, or by maintaining a line of communication with your doctor to report any adverse effects, your doctor has strategies to help control the side effects.

These illnesses do not usually respond to willpower and are not caused by some deficiency or shortcoming on your behalf, but is a real medical illness in the same way as diabetes or high blood pressure. If your doctor diagnosed one of the latter ilnesses, chances are you would have little reservation about starting treatment.

I would urge you to continue your research using credible and reputable sites supported by reliable medical information, so that you can make an informed decision about potential treatment options.

I only smoked dope for a year and a half and did a handful of pills

What kind of pills did you take during this time?

 

[Betterman]

Thanks a lot for the reply, Steve.
The pills that I took are called bombs or more commonly ecstasy. They're composed of MDMA and anything else that the dealer can find.
I know for a fact that the last time I did them (I did them 6 times) there was MDMA, meth, coke, and LSD in them, and it was possibly the worst experience of my life. It's what I account my HPPD or visual snow to, but I'm slowly getting over that.