Introducing Myself

[John L]

Hi, my name is John and I suffer from paranoid schizophrenia, severe major depression, obsessive compulsive disorder, an anxiety disorder, a panic disorder and seasonal affective disorder. My psychotherapist recommended I try one of these forums and this one look like the best. Right now I'm mostly dealing with anxiety. Of course I've been anxious about Covid, but also a little relieved. I'm afraid to leave my house, but with Covid, I don't usually have to. I'm not afraid to walk around my neighborhood, but once I get out on the road I'm so scared of being in an accident I get so nervous. I'm especially nervous in heavy traffic, fog, precipitation, in the dark and when riding with other people. Under the care of my therapist, I've been engaging in desensitization exercises. I go on short trips in the evenings or with someone else driving. I used to just drive around in the rain, but I've gotten to the point I just go somewhere local when they're predicting rain and just see if it rains. Another problem I've been having is that when I get nervous driving, I drive slowly and have been picked up several times by the police. The police aren't very understanding when it comes to people with mental illness. Now I'm afraid not only of having an accident, but of being pulled over as well. I've been trying gradually to increase my speed, so we'll see how that goes. The doctor has put me on a new medicine and we'll see if that helps.

 

[Bobnnat]

Welcome John. We look forward to sharing any assistance we might be able to offer from our experiences, and appreciate if you see a post where you feel you might help someone out. It’s great that you’re seeing the therapist, and it sounds like you’re on the right track.

 

[Joshua1]

Hi, my name is John and I suffer from paranoid schizophrenia, severe major depression, obsessive compulsive disorder, an anxiety disorder, a panic disorder and seasonal affective disorder. My psychotherapist recommended I try one of these forums and this one look like the best. Right now I'm mostly dealing with anxiety. Of course I've been anxious about Covid, but also a little relieved. I'm afraid to leave my house, but with Covid, I don't usually have to. I'm not afraid to walk around my neighborhood, but once I get out on the road I'm so scared of being in an accident I get so nervous. I'm especially nervous in heavy traffic, fog, precipitation, in the dark and when riding with other people. Under the care of my therapist, I've been engaging in desensitization exercises. I go on short trips in the evenings or with someone else driving. I used to just drive around in the rain, but I've gotten to the point I just go somewhere local when they're predicting rain and just see if it rains. Another problem I've been having is that when I get nervous driving, I drive slowly and have been picked up several times by the police. The police aren't very understanding when it comes to people with mental illness. Now I'm afraid not only of having an accident, but of being pulled over as well. I've been trying gradually to increase my speed, so we'll see how that goes. The doctor has put me on a new medicine and we'll see if that helps.

The best thing you can do is breathing exercises and self assurance methods. Medicine is a coping method. It helps but the get rid of personal issues requires actions and taking steps.