Seeking medical help for anxiety?

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Hi, I just joined this platform not too long ago as I thought it might be an appropriate place to seek some advice. I’m a fresh graduate (F) going through some changes in life recently. I don’t have any diagnosis for my mental health, but I have generally been experiencing feelings of anxiety in my daily life and was seeking help with counselling and therapy for a while through my school.

I was under a lot of stress and feelings of anxiety with some job-related concerns for a whole day recently, and I found myself feeling quite affected mentally and physically from it after. It’s been a few days past that but my appetite still feels decreased, my energy level feels lower, it feels like my throat is tighter with slight feelings of nausea and worst of all is the constant diarrhoea (sorry for the TMI). This has been the second or third of such episodes where I feel so lousy physically and it sucks when you still have social and work commitments to attend to in this state. I used to only feel nervous but never this lousy physically. I don’t think this is normal, is it?

I know I can seek counselling or therapy too, but I’m considering medication to control major episodes like this where the effects of it feels so prolonged and terrible. I was wondering if anyone had any experience or advice on this, and how can I address these issues at the moment. I’m not sure if I’m eligible to seek medical help on this cause I feel like someone could just tell me it’s situational or that it’s not as serious as I’m thinking of it as. I just wanted to get some perspectives on this :slight_smile:

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Dear @sunnyblue

Hi there — thank you so much for reaching out and for sharing what you’re going through with such honesty. That’s not easy to do, especially when you’re not feeling your best, so I want to say upfront: I laud your courage.

What you’re describing — the stress, the persistent physical symptoms, the feeling of being “off” for days after a tough episode — is real. Just because you don’t have a formal diagnosis doesn’t mean it’s not serious or worthy of care. You’re experiencing your body and mind responding to stress in a way that’s affecting your daily life, and that alone is enough reason to pause and listen to what you need.

It’s also completely okay that things feel more intense now than they used to. Life transitions — like finishing school, job hunting, adjusting to new responsibilities — can really shake up your sense of safety and stability, and sometimes anxiety starts to manifest more in the body than it used to. That doesn’t make you weak. It just means your system is saying, “I’m overwhelmed. I need a little help.”

And it’s okay to not have all the answers right now. It’s okay to just feel lousy and confused and unsure — you’re doing the best you can.

You mentioned considering medication, and I want to gently affirm that you have every right to explore that if you feel your symptoms are starting to interfere with your daily life. Medication isn’t a last resort — it’s one of many valid options that some people use as part of their support system, just like therapy or counselling.

That said, if you’re already thinking about it, it might be a helpful time to revisit counselling, especially since you’ve had experience with it in school before. A counsellor can provide that safe, grounded space where you don’t have to “prove” you’re struggling — you just get to be honest about how hard things have been, and explore what might help.

Sometimes, just having someone consistently show up for you — to listen, reflect, and remind you that your struggles are valid — can make the whole difference, especially when things feel heavy both mentally and physically.

You deserve support that sees the whole of you. And it’s okay if you don’t have a neat label or a diagnosis. Feeling this way is enough reason to reach out — because you matter, and how you feel matters. :yellow_heart:

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My friend has diarrhea. I think that u can ask on the internet for fresh grade work anxiety cuz everyone goes through it.
Yours seems like a serious case, so u should go to the polyclinic n tell the doctor what u told us. But referral to a psychiatrist(the one that dispends mends) will take months. I think continue using ai for therapy n use ur existing counsellor n therapist until then. Im not sure but maybe u can ask ur therapist or counsellor for referral to a psychiatrist too

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Have you try mindfulness, might help you a lot, Brahm Centre is the leading mental health VWO that has a lot of mindfulness programs.

you can read up this link.

I used to have Anxiety but i really hate psychiatric drugs. Due to the fact i always a victim of healthcare abuse while being forcefully injected with psychotropic drugs.

But…being a victim of healthcare abuses, i also end up trying my best to learn what they learned. So…based on my knowledge toward medicine, i learn that sometimes this meds is the a must but taking it often will result in dependence. So…i actually try hard to look for fast-acting meds that i can use as and when needed, which reduce dependence and also increase it effectiveness.

The only anti anxiety drug i took is Xanax at the lowest dose, and it takes 30 mins to take effect, and i just keep popping one every 40 mins until the anxiety subsides, no need to worry about overdosing since even consuming the whole slab you will still be in the safe dose range. The is very helpful when anxiety dont hit me 24/7.

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hey, i’m wondering if you’ve been diagnosed with IBS before? the diarrhoea sounds like it might point to something like that. if you wanna get a referral to a psychiatrist, you can get it from a polyclinic doctor. can refer to a public hospital’s psych dept, i feel like the experiences there are generally better