Question: My name is XXXX I am 22-years-old and a graduate student. I started Paxil (10 mg) in December 2013 because I was having anxiety/panic attacks before tests and presentations in school. It worked perfectly. I graduated in May, so I decided to go off of it 1) because I felt I had conquered my test/presentation anxiety and 2) I felt like I gained weight from it. I did experience withdrawal symptoms over the summer, but I pretty much just dealt with it. I moved back to school on August 20th to start a graduate assistant job, and my anxiety basically hit me like a ton of bricks, except way worse than last time. I started to feel like i was living in a dream world--almost detached from reality, and that started giving me severe anxiety and panic attacks. I also kept thinking about my heart beat and was terrified that it was going to stop beating/the thought of my heart completely grosses me out. I saw my counselor at school and went home to see my doctor and they both agreed I need to go back on Paxil. They didn't think trying a new medication would be a good idea since they know it worked for me last time. I started taking it again at 10 mg on September 2. I also have been out of work for the past 2 weeks while I try to get better. Some of my anxiety has been alleviated, but I am still in this state where I feel like life is a dream, and I think that is what is giving me anxiety because I feel like at any time I can just lose my mind. I am also prescribed .5 mg of Xanax twice a day as needed. I have been taking this pretty much everyday (sometimes just once a day) and it makes me feel better to an extent. After the 4 week mark, my doctor said if I am not 100% better I will need to increase to 15 mg or 20 mg, but I am scared to. For the first 10 days of Paxil (this time) I felt very sick, dizzy, light-headed, nauseous, no appetite, etc. I have lost a lot of weight this past month from feeling this way. While I do have a supportive counselor, doctor and family, I just want to get another opinion to assure me that this will go away. My main question is--do you ever think I am going to come out of this state of feeling like I'm in a dream? And my other question is--do you think increasing my dose will help with this/make me sick again? Please let me know when you get a chance, and thank you for listening to my story. I look forward to hearing from you.