susieL.17

In 2009 I was diagnosed with Celiacs Disease and have been on a gluten free diet ever since. Right after the first few months, I saw considerable improvement. All of my health issues went away, and for the most part I felt like a brand new person. But in the past year, something has gone wrong. I have always dealt with anxiety issues, but in the past year it feels like I have suffered anxiety worse than ever before. along with this I have experienced alot of depression, extreme fatigue, brain fog, being unable to focus, struggles in social situations and struggles to have fun, and even panic attacks. For some reason, all of these things came onto me like a tidal wave, and beat me down to a point of feeling like I have no hope, where I hate myself, making me feel so depressed a lot of the time. Sometimes I would cry uncontrollably, I would feel like I couldn't breathe, and I was so scared of almost every situation in my life. I hated myself because I felt like I could not "come alive" to say, meaning I felt like I could never be energetic or happy enough to have fun, thrive in relationships, or accomplish what I wanted in life. I felt stuck in a fog, lost from reality. I felt mentally insane, and anxiety hit me from every direction. I was a train wreck at the end of high school; it was a total bummer These types of things mostly happen when I am under stress or in social situations, where I am with a lot of people for a long amount of time, like school.

After reading all of the posts on this forum, I can relate to so many of what you guys deal with in regards to behavioral issues and gluten. It has caused me to pay extreme attention to what I eat, because if gluten has caused me to become this much of a miserable wreck, I want to stay as far away as possible (or light every molecule of it on fire). It has caused me to think maybe i haven't been as careful as I should be. But is gluten the reason for all of my problems? Why am I suffering from them if I am already on a gluten free diet? How careful can I be when it comes to being in contact with this "poison?" What do I do to never feel like this again?

I am going to college soon. I can't feel like I did in high school, I just won't be able to handle it. Some one please help me figure out how to be happy again, how to come alive and not be stuck in a fog, stop the panic attacks, how to have mental and physical energy again, and how to be able to love myself and thrive in the body God gave me!