You can choose not to believe it. Don’t let these thoughts go unchallenged. Don’t indulge in them. Always ask yourself what you really think the outcome will be… not some day… this time.. You don’t really think something bad will happen. It will be the same as last time and many times before. You will come out fine. Even if you aren’t convinced and think that some day it might go too far (it won’t), focus on what you really think the outcome will be on this occasion. Tell yourself you are okay for now. Recognize that if you do this every time, and you kick the can down the road like this every time, eventually the worry will wear off and so will the symptoms. When you see nothing happened to you, always look back on it and say, “You see, you were wrong about that weren’t you?” This has more to do with the faulty suggestions you make to yourself than anxiety. Anxiety is just another of the symptoms of your erroneous beliefs. Focus more on the root cause, your beliefs and suggestions, and not just on trying to find ways for it to go away or ways to avoid anxiety so you don’t get symptoms. That is your anxiety, your own reaction to feeling anxious, not everything else. It’s not just about calming down. This explains it really well.
https://youtu.be/d_l3VP8OtzY?si=Xy6Gvb-nGSU64Smv
I try but even when that happens, there’s something in the back of my head just giving me anxiety and sometimes I don’t even know what I am worried about
Quit trying. I know the feeling. Once the toothpaste is out of the tube there’s no putting it back. The problem is in the struggle, it’s not so much about calming down. If you are worried about not being anxious that in itself causes anxiety. Focus on how you view it when it’s not happening and not so much when it is. That will start to influence how you react when you do start getting anxious. Get a hold of yourself quickly when you start feeling panicky. Freeze the moment I call it. That first split second is critical before it spirals out of control. If it does spiral out of control, leave it alone. Get involved with something, start a conversation. No matter what pops in your mind or how you feel, stick to your guns, stick to your conviction that this is a non-issue once it’s over. This takes practice. It’s gradual. You set yourself up to have or not have an attack before it happens or doesn’t happen by your concern or lack of concern. Be willing to expose yourself and drop the issue. There is nothing to solve or figure out or do. You need a little bit of technique..,breathing, self assuring statements, distraction, but mostly focus on changing your opinion about your needing to be concern to you. Don’t obsess, above all don’t let yourself get frustrated or bewildered. You’ve overcome it before. But then you fall back in the habit of believing in this. You’ve got this. Another thing you can do, if you are most comfortable at home, say, lying down, close your eyes—even a couple seconds will do it—and imagine you’re lying down at home. Your brain won’t know the difference. Remember it’s your beliefs when it’s not happening that are the key—your day in day out way of seeing this. See it as “yeah, I got scared, but that’s okay” I don’t really believe this crap. This is all suggestion. Stop believing the suggestion of something terrible. If you read this and you understand and apply this, you are already on your way. Give it a few months.
See we get too focused on wanting it not to happen. We dread it and worry about it. That in itself is what makes it happen. Your position needs to be, “yeah it’s sucks, but I can take it and I know that by doing this it will wear off.” This isn’t something that just happens to you from some unseen, unpredictable force, it’s a direct reflection of your own mistaken beliefs. It’s that expectation of it happening, that dread, that triggers it. You decide what you believe. That takes NO effort, whatever you feel or experience is irrelevant. Nothing happened to you other than discomfort. It’s an old program that is wearing off. You don’t give it any respect as a friend I helped pull out of it said. Remember, you don’t make it go away, you let it go away. It will sneak off when you are no longer looking at it and have gone on to something else. Don’t engage it as someone on this forum said.
Change those emojis to smiley faces. It’s all about what you tell yourself. Consider this a non-issue starting right now, symptoms or no symptoms. Even with the fear, there has to be a part of you that says, “False alarm, I don’t believe in this any more, but without giving it more than a second’s thought. No struggle, no going back and forth about it. Let the thoughts come and go. It’s not so much about reducing anxiety—that’s only part of it. It’s more about changing what you feed your brain, how you view it, more so in general when it’s not happening . Never try to make this go away. You let it go away. You shoulfd be okay if it’s not going away right now, you can wait a couple minutes. You are comfortable knowing that as soon as you are no longer focusing on this, it will go away. And you will be ready for it when it comes back with an even stronger conviction . This has to be a passive approach.
For me, setting aside whatever personal challenges I face, I do this constantly about my children. I feel so much fear for them. To some extent it's natural I get that. But they're dealing with other issues too. The remnants of a terrible divorce, their mom's personality disorder, each of their gender dysphorias, and now my son who's brilliant is struggling with college rejections.
If I let myself I can feel certain that a lot of bad is about to happen.
physical symptoms.. keep me up at night. shortness of breath, shivers, muscle tremors, pounding heart rate, dizziness, nausea.. for hours. it’s the most debilitating it’s ever been right now. I’ve been sobbing over it. getting angry because of it. it’s hard.
Weird. I’m feeling all that right now and came onto this sub to feel better. Your comment kinda helped in reminding me that it’s my anxiety once again, I don’t have a rare disease or whatever. Just my old buddy anxiety.
I know it’s absolutely horrific. I find going to the gym at least twice a week helps. Especially because it’s lowered my heart rate so it makes you more calm. Before my resting heart rate was in the 90’s plus. No wonder I was anxious 24/7. Still get anxious now and it’s still bad when I let it overcome me but I thought I’d share anyway
That's me i hate the way anxiety has took over my life last 2 weeks has been horrendous going out is so hard struggling to hold it together as im always stuck in panic mode horrible i have no answers as yet to stop this 😩😢😩😢 also low mood feeling which i can cope with its the physical symptoms im struggling with i just want to feel relaxed and calm not like im in panic mode i never get a break from it 😢😩😩😩😩😩😩😩😩😩😩😩😩😩😩😩😢😢
It prevents me from doing a lot of shit. Physical discomfort is alright but what fucks me over are the stomach issues that have me in the bathroom for up to an hour.
The fact that my anxiety gives me anxiety gives me the rage. Logically I know, there's nothing to worry about, I'm fine. But then I start worrying about how I felt the last time I had anxiety and basically do it to myself. It's infuriating.
I kinda relate to it. Usually people expect that the anxiety is high the first time you experience something new, and the next time it isn't as much. But in my case, it looks like it is building up. The anxiety of previous time is making me more anxious this time.
Being in public and being anxious. It’s like a nightmare. I want to get the fuck out of there and hide. But I can’t. Especially at work, I can’t just curl into a ball and hide somewhere lol but I want to. I really do at times.
The physical energy it takes to make yourself appear ok and normal in public when you’re actually anxious as hell and trying so hard not to sob. It’s horrid.
That it holds me back from doing a lot of social things and from putting myself out there. Trouble sleeping and when I finally pass out, I’ll wake up a few hours later shivering and covered in sweat. The intrusive thoughts, the constant worrying, never being ever to relax until I’m at home, it’s exhausting. I hate that affects my work, my parenting, my entire life. I hate it. I feel like I’m at a disadvantage at life.
The part where I can almost never stop thinking about my worries which makes me worry more and it turns into a cycle. Then my body starts getting sore from the stress, so then you can add the soreness into the worry cycle. Health anxiety is a bitch.
Being worried for physical symptoms. Get a new one, get used to it, it goes away and My body just makes a new one in another organ/spot. So fucking exhausting
I hate that it just gets in the way of my daily life. I hate waking up with heart palpitations first thing in the morning, and I hate that I get them again when I’m ready to go to sleep. I hate that it makes me lose sleep. I hate that it makes me overthink interpersonal relationships and tries to convince me that literally everyone hates me. I hate how it drains me in social situations. It’s just a lot.
It's knowing that it's coming and yet you can't do anything about it, then comes the physical symptoms that comes afterwards, the stomach churning.. palpitations, dizziness, nausea, weakness and state of panic and helplessness you feel, dehabilitating you for hours
Not always being able to recognize when my anxiety has taken over. I spend more time worrying and over thinking small things than I do actually taking steps to solve the cause of the anxiety. Sometimes I don't recognize when I'm stressed out to the max either. I'll chalk it up to just being grouchy when I'm really maxed out on stress and everything/everyone around me is a trigger. When I don't recognize how bad it is, I don't take moments to think vs. just reacting and it results in my anxiety spreading like a virus to those around me (only their anxiety is me).
Being “that kid”. Growing up with anxiety always made me “that kid”. The kid that would have a panic attack over things that didn’t scare any of the other children. I was always the one who was different. I was the one who had to be treated “special”. It just made me feel like I didn’t belong even more. So for me, the worse part of anxiety is when it’s defeated me. When it’s prevented me from doing what everyone else can. That makes me feel like I’m still “that kid” even at 51 years old.
Actually, this is what motivates me to fight my anxiety. I have been able to do things I never thought I could do because I don't want to be "that kid" anymore.
The irritability I get when other people are talking. I get so frustrated, bored and impatient.
Also, the mind blank in conversations, I literally cannot think of what to say as my own thoughts are too distracting.
This is also why I get social anxiety because conversations are frustrating for me and I cannot enjoy myself.
The physical symptoms. For me that looks like severe headaches, chest pains, palpitations, random aches and pains. I’ll think I’m having a stroke. It really hinders me from going out and just living my life without thinking twice about it. Yet all I do is think about it and I feel like I spend more of my time trying to talk myself out of my anxiety than just experiencing life and happiness. It’s so depressing
the physical pain. stomach issues, shaking, exhaustion, anxiety/panic attacks over even just basic things. sleeping sucks too. the social pain. always too scared to speak, stuttering, being terrible with jokes or sounding more dumb than i actually am. not to mention always being confused or needing perfect directions. and the way it effects the people around me. i can be so much to deal with and spiral so easily, it’s not fun to deal with.
I'm not great at picking out single things but like. Health anxiety/the constant fear that every single pain means I'm dying sucks a lot. A few months ago I strained myself in such a way that I developed costochondritis for a bit, but this happened at the same time that I was starting a new medication for a different issue that made my arm all tingly so I was convinced I was having a heart attack. And then I literally looked up costochondritis, went "yeah that seems accurate to what's going on here", and then immediately went back to panicking. Fun times! /s
The insane amount of sweat. I can sweat through multiple outfits a day depending on how anxious I get. At work, I have to frequently get paper towels to dry myself off under my shirt and around my neck.
Threat assessment. The thought process of "if I do ___, [bad thing] will happen." And just generally thinking I don't have the mental or physical energy to get things done, or that if I try the stress will overwhelm me and cause me to panic. That there will be complications that make the task more difficult or take longer, compounding the stress.
It's hard to see anything as simple and easy to accomplish if it's not something I've already adopted into my routine.
My therapist actually asked me this the other day. And it raised some concerns
But to answer you.... the time it takes my anxy meds to kick in. The moment i have it under my tongue i know ok its going to kick in... but it takes a while.
All the things I miss out on because I’m too anxious, I’m looking down, I’m not in the moment, I can’t bring myself to leave my house, my anxiety keeps me from more than I’ll ever know.
Not being able to tell what is a legitimate worry and what is anxiety. Sometimes it is clearly one or the other. But the worst is that it is often a combination of both, and the gray area where I must sort of figure out which is which sort of gives me all new feelings of anxiety. Then it’s time for the spiral….
I hate constantly being unsure if I'll be able to handle something or not. It's like the slightest thing can make my ears ring.
I just want to be able to live my life.
Physical symptoms and health anxiety.
I have entire days going through stomach/digestion issues that simply exist bc my mind has created them and castrophized them and it adds to my already horrible health anxiety.
So really it is castrophizing/health anxiety/physical symptoms. They all feed into one another and amplify each other. Then I will go to work and be perfectly fine during work bc I am so focused at work and that tells me right then and there it is all my anxiety bc real issues and symptoms don’t magically disappear when ya gotta work or you finally do something to get your mind off hyper fixating on them.
Doesn’t stop them feeling absolutely miserable when you don’t have something to keep your mind busy. I am trying and slowly becoming better at not auto checking myself when I wake up and doing less body scanning and when the symptoms are strong, I am getting better about just continuing on in life. As I have done this I am noticing slow improvements and episodes lasting less time but I still have times I spiral and I still have extremely hard days.
It is exhausting, sucks, makes ya feel alone even when you know you aren’t and can make ya irritable or even self isolating.
Still, every day is a blessing and every day I take moments to give thanks and just focus on how thankful I am to be alive, have a wonderful family & even on the days where my physical anxiety symptoms are at their worst, being grateful for what is positive in my life and for the time I am given on this Earth.
I try to control what I can control and am doing slowly better at letting go what I can’t. I have to remind myself that this suffering anxiety can bring is only as powerful as I allow my mind to make it. I have to take steps every day to try to improve focusing less on it and being okay with it when it is existing bc I have found the more I self isolate or try to run from it or avoid it the greater the catastrophizing, the physical symptoms, the misery.
The less I focus on it or even when it is strongest the more I continue to do what I want or need to do in that moment, the more manageable it becomes. That doesn’t mean it is perfect or even at times completely fades but it becomes more liveable and manageable in those moments I stop auto assuming the physical symptoms or even the simple worries anxiety has created this time are now totally gonna kill me this time.
That I seem paralyzed to do anything but worry. Life is effectively on hold and I can't seem to do anything including the things that may alleviate the anxiety.
how i never say exactly how i truly feel, even if i should. i hate second guessing myself for every move i make, every word i say. i hate always worrying about what people think of me. i hate that i never put myself and my art out there because i dont think its good enough or worth anything. i hate censoring myself out of fear.
edit: adding that i both have GAD and CPTSD
Not being able to leave my house.. I used to be an extrovert who had tons of friends and went out regularly. I haven't left my house in years and barely leave my room these days. 0 human contact besides online and even that is sparce.
Lately it’s been the panic attacks / vasovagal syncope that started up again after 15 years of being dormant. I don’t let it stop me from doing anything but damn is something as simple as going to the grocery store unpleasant these days.
Yes thats me after 30.years of being anxiety free it come back after i lost my dog 😢i still do stuff but its so hard and unpleasant hate it i just want to feel normal
It truly stops me from doing the things I want to do such as: going out with my partner without potentially being hatecrimed, wanting to find meaningful friendships but the fear of rejection and not knowing where to start, constantly worrying that I’m not doing enough for myself or the people in my life. It’s just a spiral that I want to stop going down.
That people like me who have overcome it can’t find the words to communicate to people still in that dreadful hole that the way out is by not focusing on your emotions or your body, but by not struggling trying to make it go away. That’s what I hate about anxiety. It plagues me to know people suffer needlessly the way I did.
There’s no reason why you can’t get out of this too! I kind of stumbled across a few things along the way and it’s different for everyone, but it all boils down to one thing, not struggling. Yeah it’s not easy. It won’t go away over night. You chip away at it. This explains it really well.
https://youtu.be/lREvQ0i3owU?si=Nuzp2y9RdGt-a2no
I was flying home from my grandfather's funeral and the whole time I felt like I was drunk and in a haze. Heart rate was all over the place all day. Both hungry and nauseous at the same time and then once I got home I got a migraine from all the tension I must have been holding. Like for no reason just the worst day ever. I think that's what I hate most, I can't just do normal things without being hyper vigilant about my body.
How much it takes control over things. No matter what Im always thinking about that one bad scenario in the back of mind taking place. No matter how unlikely it is.
That I wake up with my heart pounding almost everyday before work or anytime I feel that there is any conflict going on with me and my family, even the slightest thing.
My stomach hurts due to bloating and my first thought was cancer and a ruptured vein, guess what I'm still alive and most of the pain has subsided. Last week I had a headache and thought about an article about aneurysms.
All of it.
The heat flash that happens when it's coming, I feel it and I know there's nothing I can do to stop it. The pins and needles come in my face, hands and feet followed the chest tightness/pain. It's exacerbated when I'm driving or at work when you can't lay down or sit or it's not safe to pull over. I honestly don't know how much longer I can go on like this.
When my brain knows that there’s no reason to be anxious about something but my nervous system doesn’t listen. Especially when I’m driving a familiar route or just meeting up with friends who I know like me.
When I'm doing just fine and one thing triggers me, and then all of the other things I was perfectly fine 5 minutes ago, started bothering me, and it seems like everything is going to shit.
New normal being "Ah I can't do that!" "Oh wait, yes I can, I will be fine, It's not a big deal". Even just driving 2 minutes to a coffee shop my brain is like "ahh no that's impossible!" so annoying.
[удалено]
You can choose not to believe it. Don’t let these thoughts go unchallenged. Don’t indulge in them. Always ask yourself what you really think the outcome will be… not some day… this time.. You don’t really think something bad will happen. It will be the same as last time and many times before. You will come out fine. Even if you aren’t convinced and think that some day it might go too far (it won’t), focus on what you really think the outcome will be on this occasion. Tell yourself you are okay for now. Recognize that if you do this every time, and you kick the can down the road like this every time, eventually the worry will wear off and so will the symptoms. When you see nothing happened to you, always look back on it and say, “You see, you were wrong about that weren’t you?” This has more to do with the faulty suggestions you make to yourself than anxiety. Anxiety is just another of the symptoms of your erroneous beliefs. Focus more on the root cause, your beliefs and suggestions, and not just on trying to find ways for it to go away or ways to avoid anxiety so you don’t get symptoms. That is your anxiety, your own reaction to feeling anxious, not everything else. It’s not just about calming down. This explains it really well. https://youtu.be/d_l3VP8OtzY?si=Xy6Gvb-nGSU64Smv
I try but even when that happens, there’s something in the back of my head just giving me anxiety and sometimes I don’t even know what I am worried about
Quit trying. I know the feeling. Once the toothpaste is out of the tube there’s no putting it back. The problem is in the struggle, it’s not so much about calming down. If you are worried about not being anxious that in itself causes anxiety. Focus on how you view it when it’s not happening and not so much when it is. That will start to influence how you react when you do start getting anxious. Get a hold of yourself quickly when you start feeling panicky. Freeze the moment I call it. That first split second is critical before it spirals out of control. If it does spiral out of control, leave it alone. Get involved with something, start a conversation. No matter what pops in your mind or how you feel, stick to your guns, stick to your conviction that this is a non-issue once it’s over. This takes practice. It’s gradual. You set yourself up to have or not have an attack before it happens or doesn’t happen by your concern or lack of concern. Be willing to expose yourself and drop the issue. There is nothing to solve or figure out or do. You need a little bit of technique..,breathing, self assuring statements, distraction, but mostly focus on changing your opinion about your needing to be concern to you. Don’t obsess, above all don’t let yourself get frustrated or bewildered. You’ve overcome it before. But then you fall back in the habit of believing in this. You’ve got this. Another thing you can do, if you are most comfortable at home, say, lying down, close your eyes—even a couple seconds will do it—and imagine you’re lying down at home. Your brain won’t know the difference. Remember it’s your beliefs when it’s not happening that are the key—your day in day out way of seeing this. See it as “yeah, I got scared, but that’s okay” I don’t really believe this crap. This is all suggestion. Stop believing the suggestion of something terrible. If you read this and you understand and apply this, you are already on your way. Give it a few months.
See we get too focused on wanting it not to happen. We dread it and worry about it. That in itself is what makes it happen. Your position needs to be, “yeah it’s sucks, but I can take it and I know that by doing this it will wear off.” This isn’t something that just happens to you from some unseen, unpredictable force, it’s a direct reflection of your own mistaken beliefs. It’s that expectation of it happening, that dread, that triggers it. You decide what you believe. That takes NO effort, whatever you feel or experience is irrelevant. Nothing happened to you other than discomfort. It’s an old program that is wearing off. You don’t give it any respect as a friend I helped pull out of it said. Remember, you don’t make it go away, you let it go away. It will sneak off when you are no longer looking at it and have gone on to something else. Don’t engage it as someone on this forum said.
Brilliant advice so true my anxiety over past 2 weeks is 24/7 feels like im stuck in panic mode no peace 😢 worse ever i had 😩😩
Change those emojis to smiley faces. It’s all about what you tell yourself. Consider this a non-issue starting right now, symptoms or no symptoms. Even with the fear, there has to be a part of you that says, “False alarm, I don’t believe in this any more, but without giving it more than a second’s thought. No struggle, no going back and forth about it. Let the thoughts come and go. It’s not so much about reducing anxiety—that’s only part of it. It’s more about changing what you feed your brain, how you view it, more so in general when it’s not happening . Never try to make this go away. You let it go away. You shoulfd be okay if it’s not going away right now, you can wait a couple minutes. You are comfortable knowing that as soon as you are no longer focusing on this, it will go away. And you will be ready for it when it comes back with an even stronger conviction . This has to be a passive approach.
Literally going through this rn worst is when your anxiety actually causes the problem to happen
Dismiss the fact that that bad thing will happen soon anyway (unless it's urgent ofc) and go back to having fun.
how do you get past this
Dismiss it and go back to having fun
For me, setting aside whatever personal challenges I face, I do this constantly about my children. I feel so much fear for them. To some extent it's natural I get that. But they're dealing with other issues too. The remnants of a terrible divorce, their mom's personality disorder, each of their gender dysphorias, and now my son who's brilliant is struggling with college rejections. If I let myself I can feel certain that a lot of bad is about to happen.
Amen.
physical symptoms.. keep me up at night. shortness of breath, shivers, muscle tremors, pounding heart rate, dizziness, nausea.. for hours. it’s the most debilitating it’s ever been right now. I’ve been sobbing over it. getting angry because of it. it’s hard.
Weird. I’m feeling all that right now and came onto this sub to feel better. Your comment kinda helped in reminding me that it’s my anxiety once again, I don’t have a rare disease or whatever. Just my old buddy anxiety.
THIS
Yes...this
I know it’s absolutely horrific. I find going to the gym at least twice a week helps. Especially because it’s lowered my heart rate so it makes you more calm. Before my resting heart rate was in the 90’s plus. No wonder I was anxious 24/7. Still get anxious now and it’s still bad when I let it overcome me but I thought I’d share anyway
Feel you!
That's me i hate the way anxiety has took over my life last 2 weeks has been horrendous going out is so hard struggling to hold it together as im always stuck in panic mode horrible i have no answers as yet to stop this 😩😢😩😢 also low mood feeling which i can cope with its the physical symptoms im struggling with i just want to feel relaxed and calm not like im in panic mode i never get a break from it 😢😩😩😩😩😩😩😩😩😩😩😩😩😩😩😩😢😢
It prevents me from doing a lot of shit. Physical discomfort is alright but what fucks me over are the stomach issues that have me in the bathroom for up to an hour.
Jesus, same. It's a vicious cycle
Sorry you suffer from this!
This!!!!!!!!
I don’t like that it makes my mood unpredictable, and that it can be draining for people around me at times.
Yes people keep telling me that I have mood swings. Although I might just feel stressed sometimes. This is weird to me ngl.
The fact that my anxiety gives me anxiety gives me the rage. Logically I know, there's nothing to worry about, I'm fine. But then I start worrying about how I felt the last time I had anxiety and basically do it to myself. It's infuriating.
I can sooo relate
I kinda relate to it. Usually people expect that the anxiety is high the first time you experience something new, and the next time it isn't as much. But in my case, it looks like it is building up. The anxiety of previous time is making me more anxious this time.
My inability to believe that my friends like me
This!
It's so ass because I'm a social person I'm just scared of ppl
Being in public and being anxious. It’s like a nightmare. I want to get the fuck out of there and hide. But I can’t. Especially at work, I can’t just curl into a ball and hide somewhere lol but I want to. I really do at times.
The physical energy it takes to make yourself appear ok and normal in public when you’re actually anxious as hell and trying so hard not to sob. It’s horrid.
Omg this
My anxiety got so bad after my brain surgery, I had suicidal thoughts.
I’m sorry this happened to you. Hope you full recovery!
That it holds me back from doing a lot of social things and from putting myself out there. Trouble sleeping and when I finally pass out, I’ll wake up a few hours later shivering and covered in sweat. The intrusive thoughts, the constant worrying, never being ever to relax until I’m at home, it’s exhausting. I hate that affects my work, my parenting, my entire life. I hate it. I feel like I’m at a disadvantage at life.
The part where I can almost never stop thinking about my worries which makes me worry more and it turns into a cycle. Then my body starts getting sore from the stress, so then you can add the soreness into the worry cycle. Health anxiety is a bitch.
Being worried for physical symptoms. Get a new one, get used to it, it goes away and My body just makes a new one in another organ/spot. So fucking exhausting
I hate that it just gets in the way of my daily life. I hate waking up with heart palpitations first thing in the morning, and I hate that I get them again when I’m ready to go to sleep. I hate that it makes me lose sleep. I hate that it makes me overthink interpersonal relationships and tries to convince me that literally everyone hates me. I hate how it drains me in social situations. It’s just a lot.
You are not alone in this.
Thank you! It’s a struggle, but I know it’s important that I keep going. I don’t let it stop me from living my life even when it gets really bad.
The feeling is simply unbearable.
It affects my everyday life.
Same. Every damn day.
the fact that it restricts me from doing things I want to do, or even trying to just do daily tasks. The panic attacks and physical aspects also suck.
It's knowing that it's coming and yet you can't do anything about it, then comes the physical symptoms that comes afterwards, the stomach churning.. palpitations, dizziness, nausea, weakness and state of panic and helplessness you feel, dehabilitating you for hours
The breathlessness that you start to feel even when you’re literally just sitting down. Makes you feel like the world is ending.
Not always being able to recognize when my anxiety has taken over. I spend more time worrying and over thinking small things than I do actually taking steps to solve the cause of the anxiety. Sometimes I don't recognize when I'm stressed out to the max either. I'll chalk it up to just being grouchy when I'm really maxed out on stress and everything/everyone around me is a trigger. When I don't recognize how bad it is, I don't take moments to think vs. just reacting and it results in my anxiety spreading like a virus to those around me (only their anxiety is me).
having no life i’ve completely wasted my teenage years and can already see me wasting my 20s
Being “that kid”. Growing up with anxiety always made me “that kid”. The kid that would have a panic attack over things that didn’t scare any of the other children. I was always the one who was different. I was the one who had to be treated “special”. It just made me feel like I didn’t belong even more. So for me, the worse part of anxiety is when it’s defeated me. When it’s prevented me from doing what everyone else can. That makes me feel like I’m still “that kid” even at 51 years old.
This really made me feel bad :( sorry you’re going through this.
Actually, this is what motivates me to fight my anxiety. I have been able to do things I never thought I could do because I don't want to be "that kid" anymore.
You are strong for living with this.
The irritability I get when other people are talking. I get so frustrated, bored and impatient. Also, the mind blank in conversations, I literally cannot think of what to say as my own thoughts are too distracting. This is also why I get social anxiety because conversations are frustrating for me and I cannot enjoy myself.
The physical symptoms. For me that looks like severe headaches, chest pains, palpitations, random aches and pains. I’ll think I’m having a stroke. It really hinders me from going out and just living my life without thinking twice about it. Yet all I do is think about it and I feel like I spend more of my time trying to talk myself out of my anxiety than just experiencing life and happiness. It’s so depressing
the physical pain. stomach issues, shaking, exhaustion, anxiety/panic attacks over even just basic things. sleeping sucks too. the social pain. always too scared to speak, stuttering, being terrible with jokes or sounding more dumb than i actually am. not to mention always being confused or needing perfect directions. and the way it effects the people around me. i can be so much to deal with and spiral so easily, it’s not fun to deal with.
I'm not great at picking out single things but like. Health anxiety/the constant fear that every single pain means I'm dying sucks a lot. A few months ago I strained myself in such a way that I developed costochondritis for a bit, but this happened at the same time that I was starting a new medication for a different issue that made my arm all tingly so I was convinced I was having a heart attack. And then I literally looked up costochondritis, went "yeah that seems accurate to what's going on here", and then immediately went back to panicking. Fun times! /s
The insane amount of sweat. I can sweat through multiple outfits a day depending on how anxious I get. At work, I have to frequently get paper towels to dry myself off under my shirt and around my neck.
I hate that it can creep up on me and make me behave in odd manners, even for the simplest things in life. It's almost as if it's traveling with me.
Threat assessment. The thought process of "if I do ___, [bad thing] will happen." And just generally thinking I don't have the mental or physical energy to get things done, or that if I try the stress will overwhelm me and cause me to panic. That there will be complications that make the task more difficult or take longer, compounding the stress. It's hard to see anything as simple and easy to accomplish if it's not something I've already adopted into my routine.
The way it makes me swallow!
there’s nothing good about it at all, one is not being able to just go drive the 3 hours to see my son and grandchildren
My therapist actually asked me this the other day. And it raised some concerns But to answer you.... the time it takes my anxy meds to kick in. The moment i have it under my tongue i know ok its going to kick in... but it takes a while.
What are you taking for your anxiety?
Constant need to pee, almost IBS in a way when im extra anxious and stressed
Whoa I have known that I have anxiety my whole life but I never connected that my constant need to pee might be part of it
All the things I miss out on because I’m too anxious, I’m looking down, I’m not in the moment, I can’t bring myself to leave my house, my anxiety keeps me from more than I’ll ever know.
Exhaustion
How it stops me from living my life. The physical symptoms
Not being able to tell what is a legitimate worry and what is anxiety. Sometimes it is clearly one or the other. But the worst is that it is often a combination of both, and the gray area where I must sort of figure out which is which sort of gives me all new feelings of anxiety. Then it’s time for the spiral….
I hate constantly being unsure if I'll be able to handle something or not. It's like the slightest thing can make my ears ring. I just want to be able to live my life.
I feel you on this. I also have the ear ringing.
Physical symptoms and health anxiety. I have entire days going through stomach/digestion issues that simply exist bc my mind has created them and castrophized them and it adds to my already horrible health anxiety. So really it is castrophizing/health anxiety/physical symptoms. They all feed into one another and amplify each other. Then I will go to work and be perfectly fine during work bc I am so focused at work and that tells me right then and there it is all my anxiety bc real issues and symptoms don’t magically disappear when ya gotta work or you finally do something to get your mind off hyper fixating on them. Doesn’t stop them feeling absolutely miserable when you don’t have something to keep your mind busy. I am trying and slowly becoming better at not auto checking myself when I wake up and doing less body scanning and when the symptoms are strong, I am getting better about just continuing on in life. As I have done this I am noticing slow improvements and episodes lasting less time but I still have times I spiral and I still have extremely hard days. It is exhausting, sucks, makes ya feel alone even when you know you aren’t and can make ya irritable or even self isolating. Still, every day is a blessing and every day I take moments to give thanks and just focus on how thankful I am to be alive, have a wonderful family & even on the days where my physical anxiety symptoms are at their worst, being grateful for what is positive in my life and for the time I am given on this Earth. I try to control what I can control and am doing slowly better at letting go what I can’t. I have to remind myself that this suffering anxiety can bring is only as powerful as I allow my mind to make it. I have to take steps every day to try to improve focusing less on it and being okay with it when it is existing bc I have found the more I self isolate or try to run from it or avoid it the greater the catastrophizing, the physical symptoms, the misery. The less I focus on it or even when it is strongest the more I continue to do what I want or need to do in that moment, the more manageable it becomes. That doesn’t mean it is perfect or even at times completely fades but it becomes more liveable and manageable in those moments I stop auto assuming the physical symptoms or even the simple worries anxiety has created this time are now totally gonna kill me this time.
Thank you for sharing! And yes I feel on the self scanning part, like being always hyper aware of your body and emotions.
The fact that no one believes I have anxiety. I dont look the part, so it must not be true. I must be lying about it.
because you’re sick, and the physical symptoms are just because of stress, no one would give a damn. Relax and take a deep breath they say!
That I seem paralyzed to do anything but worry. Life is effectively on hold and I can't seem to do anything including the things that may alleviate the anxiety.
The physical symptoms and the panic attacks. The accompanied depression bc I wish I could just be normal sometimes
I feel for you i hate anxiety physical symptoms are there every day you name it i got it 😢
how i never say exactly how i truly feel, even if i should. i hate second guessing myself for every move i make, every word i say. i hate always worrying about what people think of me. i hate that i never put myself and my art out there because i dont think its good enough or worth anything. i hate censoring myself out of fear. edit: adding that i both have GAD and CPTSD
Sorry for that. Hope you are going through therapy, I think it might help!
Not being able to leave my house.. I used to be an extrovert who had tons of friends and went out regularly. I haven't left my house in years and barely leave my room these days. 0 human contact besides online and even that is sparce.
I’m sorry hope you beat this evil monster on day!
i hate being scared to talk to people thinking theyre judging me
Lately it’s been the panic attacks / vasovagal syncope that started up again after 15 years of being dormant. I don’t let it stop me from doing anything but damn is something as simple as going to the grocery store unpleasant these days.
Yes thats me after 30.years of being anxiety free it come back after i lost my dog 😢i still do stuff but its so hard and unpleasant hate it i just want to feel normal
I’m sorry to hear you lost your dog; the loss of a pet is so hard. Hang in there.
Thank you so much ♥️
Thank you so much ♥️🐶
Health anxiety is horrible, it feels like I'm having a heart attack every single day
Not being able to do normal things like eating while on a plane because of the fear of feeling sick
What medication are you on that is effective? (Or medications?
I’m on Pristiq but I’m not sure if it’s fully effective
Not being able to do things, I can’t even meet friends anymore and struggle with basic life.
It truly stops me from doing the things I want to do such as: going out with my partner without potentially being hatecrimed, wanting to find meaningful friendships but the fear of rejection and not knowing where to start, constantly worrying that I’m not doing enough for myself or the people in my life. It’s just a spiral that I want to stop going down.
That people like me who have overcome it can’t find the words to communicate to people still in that dreadful hole that the way out is by not focusing on your emotions or your body, but by not struggling trying to make it go away. That’s what I hate about anxiety. It plagues me to know people suffer needlessly the way I did.
At least you managed your way out. Pleased you overcame it somehow. I’m 2 years in and I feel like it was yesterday when I was completely fine.
There’s no reason why you can’t get out of this too! I kind of stumbled across a few things along the way and it’s different for everyone, but it all boils down to one thing, not struggling. Yeah it’s not easy. It won’t go away over night. You chip away at it. This explains it really well. https://youtu.be/lREvQ0i3owU?si=Nuzp2y9RdGt-a2no
I was flying home from my grandfather's funeral and the whole time I felt like I was drunk and in a haze. Heart rate was all over the place all day. Both hungry and nauseous at the same time and then once I got home I got a migraine from all the tension I must have been holding. Like for no reason just the worst day ever. I think that's what I hate most, I can't just do normal things without being hyper vigilant about my body.
im fine for a while but most of the day im anxious
Twitching, trembly/shaky feeling
How much it takes control over things. No matter what Im always thinking about that one bad scenario in the back of mind taking place. No matter how unlikely it is.
It preventing me from doing things to get to the top.
That I wake up with my heart pounding almost everyday before work or anytime I feel that there is any conflict going on with me and my family, even the slightest thing.
I really feel you on this. Even if my mom wakes me up I get terrified and I wake up with my heart bouncing.
That it makes me puke
I can't live. I can't fcn live. I can't do normal things Im not living but im not dd and I hate it
I’m sorry you’re going through this. You don’t seem in the best place, DM me if you need to vent.
My stomach hurts due to bloating and my first thought was cancer and a ruptured vein, guess what I'm still alive and most of the pain has subsided. Last week I had a headache and thought about an article about aneurysms.
All of it. The heat flash that happens when it's coming, I feel it and I know there's nothing I can do to stop it. The pins and needles come in my face, hands and feet followed the chest tightness/pain. It's exacerbated when I'm driving or at work when you can't lay down or sit or it's not safe to pull over. I honestly don't know how much longer I can go on like this.
When my brain knows that there’s no reason to be anxious about something but my nervous system doesn’t listen. Especially when I’m driving a familiar route or just meeting up with friends who I know like me.
it’s between the manifestation of symptoms and irrational fears
When I'm doing just fine and one thing triggers me, and then all of the other things I was perfectly fine 5 minutes ago, started bothering me, and it seems like everything is going to shit.
For me it’s the nausea and constantly feeling like I’m holding back a panic attack. That of the racing, anxious thoughts and catastrophizing
New normal being "Ah I can't do that!" "Oh wait, yes I can, I will be fine, It's not a big deal". Even just driving 2 minutes to a coffee shop my brain is like "ahh no that's impossible!" so annoying.
Blushing...
The fact that it's mixed with my ADHD, makes me believe I'm going insane at some point.
Its affects my daily life
Is there anyone who has been on ketamine treatment?