Answered by Siva Anoop Yella

Why am I worried about the symptoms of mental illness?

Hi doctor,

I want to know what is happening to me. Before three weeks, I had panic attacks when my father made a negative comment to me. My dad has a brother and he has schizophrenia. I am scared about this disorder. I do not want to have it. I have contacted some therapists and they all think that I might have anxiety. But I am scared of it as schizophrenia. I am searching a lot about the symptoms of it. I have more stress due to it. I have weird thoughts and dreams as soon as I close my eyes. I know that it is not normal to have dreams right after sleep and it should be after ninety minutes. I remember every single dream getting after the sleep. This causes more anxiety in me. I do not want to be crazy. What can I do?

23 Apr 2024 - 1 min read

Are my extreme mood swings due to bipolar personality disorder?

Hello doctor,

I have an abusive and narcissistic father, who has also made sexual advances towards me many times. I have never been understood by my family nor had minimum space for myself. I feel anxious when left alone. I could not get on with relationships due to strict family boundaries imposed by my father, whom I idealized in childhood. I have had a history of the following conditions:

• Addiction behavior leading to impulsive and depressive cycles.
• Impulsive emotionality leading to oversharing of personal information and searching for emotional space from others or strangers.
• Bragging about love and friendship leading to an inferiority complex with abandonment and rejected feelings.
• Showcasing by breaching privacy leading to guilt feeling and loss of self-confidence and self-respect.
• Frustrating Cycles of thought leading to depression due to repetitive cycles of wrong actions.
• Dependency on others for emotional stability leading to a lack of self-control over emotions and needy behavior towards others.
• Anger and despair over things beyond self-control leading to complaining and abusive behavior and a general sense of sadness regarding life.
• No deep connection with oneself with a sense of confusion leading to agreeable behavior and unworthy feeling about oneself.
• Nothing to nurture the creative mind leading to a boring life with nothing to cherish and accomplish at a mental level giving space for speculation and worrying.
• Needing a partner to live a life of fulfillment and happiness leading to never being happy with oneself with a deep sense of loss of fulfillment and happiness without a partner and constant searching for a partner in anyone and anywhere giving rise to frustration.

Previously, I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder with stress ten years ago, and with major depressive disorder with anxiety one year ago. I have taken some counseling sessions four years back. It felt good during the sessions; however, I had a similar problem after I stopped going to counseling due to a change of place. Currently, I am not using any medications or going for counseling sessions.

I was given tablet Oliment 5 and tablet Enchorate Chrono MD 200 mg for bipolar disorder, however, these medicines would numb my brain activity, leading to a feeling of no urgency even in urgent situations, and make me feel lethargic, so I have stopped using them nine years back during my examinations. Also, I had a lot of weight gain and hair loss due to the medicines.

I am looking forward to psychological counseling with no pharmacological interventions.

Kindly help.

17 Jan 2024 - 1 min read

After stopping the medicines for insomnia, I cannot sleep more than three hours at night. Why?

Hi doctor,

I was taking medication for insomnia. Lonazep 0.5 mg was prescribed at night along with Nexito 5 mg and Fluovaxin CR 50 mg at night. After tapering it, it was reduced to 0.25 mg and I stopped it after few days. I was getting five to six hours of sleep with an intermittent disturbance at night till last week. I can sleep only for three hours at night and I could not sleep in the morning for the past three days. Can I have rebound insomnia? What is the treatment? I do regular walking and all related sleep hygiene techniques. My sleep has got reduced after 100 days of stopping the medicine. Please help.

20 Dec 2023 - 1 min read

How to overcome emotional blunting after stopping antidepressants for a few years?

Hi doctor,

I am 30 years old and I have never fallen in love, even though I have been with girls I liked very much. I think it is because I took Venlafaxine (Effexor) a few years ago. I stopped using it eight years ago. However, I feel like my emotions are very much like when I was taking them. I feel like I am starting to have emotions. It rises and then crushes and comes back down. I think the medication prevents me from having strong emotions. Is there anything I can do at all?

Please help.

17 Oct 2023 - 1 min read

How to stop me from dwelling on my delusions?

Hi doctor,

I have become paranoid for a few months that my coworkers are conspiring against me and serving as informants for the FBI. Occasionally I believe that I have psychic powers, reinforcing my belief about my coworkers. I know both are likely delusions, but that does not stop me from dwelling on them. Currently, I am taking Prozac 60 mg. What should I do? Kindly help.

11 Oct 2023 - 1 min read