Doctor's Assistant chat
Customer: Ive had anxiety for years but for 1 month now its been much worse where i will have intrusive bad thoughts and cold sweats which lead to a panic, i wanted a diagnosis to see what could be the problem.
Doctor's Assistant: I'm sorry to hear about the increase in your anxiety and the symptoms you're experiencing. Can you tell me if there have been any recent changes in your life or stressors that might have contributed to this change in your condition?
Customer: Probably spending allot of money on vehicle repairs in the last month.
Doctor's Assistant: Thank you for sharing that. How has this financial stress affected your daily life or routine?
Customer: I’m less happy then usual and always waking up with anxiety.
Doctor's Assistant: Thank you for providing the details. Here's what I'll tell the Psychologist: <ul> <li> Your anxiety has worsened with intrusive thoughts and cold sweats. </li> </ul> Is there anything else the Psychologist should know before I connect you?
Customer: No
Answered by Heather in 1 min 3 weeks ago
Psychotherapist
6,016 satisfied customers
Specialities include: Health, Mental Health, Parenting, Relationship
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Hi there! I'm Heather, a mental health expert, and I'm here to answer your question today about anxiety and the challenges you're facing. It's completely understandable to feel overwhelmed, especially with the financial stress you've mentioned.
Customer
I just want to get to the bottom of this as I’ve had anxiety all my life but it’s worsened a lot in the past month
Have you discussed your concerns with your doctor?
How do you typically cope with your anxiety when it becomes overwhelming?
Have you noticed any physical symptoms, aside from cold sweats, that accompany your anxiety episodes?
Customer
my doctor recommend to see a therapist which I recently booked in
Customer
I try breathing techniques or meditation
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Customer
Cold sweats, dizziness and confusion sometimes.
From what you’ve shared — the long-standing anxiety, the sudden worsening over the past month, intrusive thoughts, physical symptoms like cold sweats, dizziness, and confusion — it suggests that your anxiety has escalated into a more acute or severe phase. It's possible you’re experiencing heightened generalized anxiety, or even features of panic disorder, especially given the intense physical symptoms during panic episodes. This site does not provide evaluations and or a diagnosis, but you are already saying that your doctor referred you to therapy because you have an anxiety condition.
Major life stressors, like financial strain from unexpected vehicle repairs, can sometimes tip chronic anxiety into crisis. It's also important to consider that persistent early-morning anxiety and feeling less happy than usual could hint at a depressive component developing alongside your anxiety, something we call comorbidity, which is very common.
I’m really glad you’ve booked an appointment with a therapist — that’s a powerful first step. Therapy can help not only with managing the anxiety but also with understanding why it’s intensified recently and finding ways to stabilize it. In the meantime, it’s great that you’re trying breathing techniques and meditation. Sometimes when anxiety is at its peak, these tools might not seem immediately effective, but with regular practice and possibly some guided adjustments, they can become powerful allies. If your physical symptoms — like dizziness and confusion — worsen or feel alarming, it would also be wise to rule out any medical causes with your GP to be thorough.
Customer
Is it most likely I have an anxiety disorder ?
Customer
Or OCD
Customer
Because the anxiety is mainly triggered with intrusive thoughts
OCD is an anxiety disorder. You are explaining symptoms of anxiety, so that , anxiety, is most likely what your diagnosis is. There are many types of anxiety and maybe your question is about what type of anxiety disorder best matches your symptoms. You will need a mental health evaluation to determine the answer. But to say the least, you can assume that you have an anxiety condition since your doctor has already discussed treatment options with you.
Customer
I see, will you recommend any medication to ease my symptoms as it has been effecting my daily life ?
Customer
From your experience do medication work for other patients like myself ?
Commonly prescribed medications are in the SSRI/SNRI family. These include drugs such as sertraline, venlafaxine, and escitalopram. And yes, these medications are safe and very effective.
Customer
Ok, how can I obtain a prescription through a doctor ?
You will need to meet with your GP at the very least. There are probably online telehealth platforms in Australia, but if you sign up for one, make sure they are located in your area and not in another country. There are limits to where a doctor can legally prescribe.
Customer
Ok thank you
You're welcome. Have I answered your question? If any part of my response is unclear, please let me know. It’s my goal to deliver excellent service, so please let me know if there is anything more I can do. Thank you for using our site.
Customer
What SSRI medication will be best option for me or for someone new to SSRI as I’ve never taken anxiety medications ?
That is up to your doctor to decide based on his evaluation of your symptoms. But in that class of drugs, one is not necessarily stronger or more effective than another.
Customer
Ok, thank you for your help
Customer
Hi, one more thing is the disturbing intrusive thoughts a symptom of my anxiety ?
Oh, yes, definitely.
I am happy to help you with your future questions, too. Thank you for submitting your question. If you would like to ask me another question in the future, you can add me as a favorite Expert. You’ll have the option to do that on your “My Questions” page if you choose to rate our interaction. Or, you can add me as a favorite Expert then type @ followed by my name (Heather B) in your next chat. Best wishes to you.
