Struggling with Anxiety Support Thread

[tuneinrecords]

anxiety , it used to be really bad but its not half as bad now a days.

Sucks man. Right now i'm trying to deal with it, i've been working my ass off trying to get jobs an finally get an interveiw for a job that would be perfect for me. My girlfriends mom said she could take me to interviews and all that if I get them.
So I tell her I have an interveiw tomorrow at 6 30 at night . She says she will see if she has gas money.
I've done decided if she can't take me then i'm moving out.
I'm trying my best to fight off an anxiety attack right now. No I don't take medication for it, I smoke cigs and that helps some but i haven't had one in two days.

Those cigs may help in the short, but in the long term you know that they're only compounding your issues.

For everyone's issues, meditation is key. Remember we live in a society that fosters fear and anxiety. We have to go the extra mile to keep our minds clear of the debris that gets piled up on it each day. Deep diaphramtic (sp?) breathing helps me when I get nervous before playing a gig. Breathe into your belly, not your chest.

Again, the right foods do wonders. Avoid the crap food, read the ingredients. Educate yourself. You are what you eat isn't just some cliche your mom thought of.

 

[Spence]

I have Asbergers , it sucks sometimes but in most social situaltions now i can cope relatively well

i also have pretty bad depression, although i have never been officially diagnosed with anything as very few people actually know about it ,and i find it hard to trust medical professionals

 

[Rook]

I have a lot of anxiety. It's pretty ok at the moment, but will stop me sleeping for long periods of time.

At it's worst, everything causes me to worry a lot. I don't show it too much because I've grown up with it and try to see it for what it is. A recent example though, I had to get up and go to the shop around 9:30 to pick some stuff up before going to work, I didn't have to be at work til 11. I didn't have to get much from the shop, the shop's 5 minutes away, and my work is maybe 20 minutes away. I barely slept that night because of the amount of variables and things that could go wrong which would make me late for work.

On a day to day basis it shows more as general paranoia, feeling like the car's going to crash or like I've failed everything. I think the thing I have most difficulty with is people, if you're in my circle (my family, girlfriend and a lot of her family) then again I'm pretty ok, but even some of my oldest friends make me feel extremely uncomfortable about pretty much everything and I base my worries on absolutely nothing, they're groundless.


I find exercise helps me an awful lot, if I do some decent exercise, shower every day and have at least one good meal (i.e. tire myself out) I don't have the energy to worry and it's the only time I relax. I love being tired for this reason.

Nice to know I'm not alone

 

[tuneinrecords]

I have a lot of anxiety. It's pretty ok at the moment, but will stop me sleeping for long periods of time.



I find exercise helps me an awful lot, if I do some decent exercise, shower every day and have at least one good meal (i.e. tire myself out) I don't have the energy to worry and it's the only time I relax. I love being tired for this reason.

Nice to know I'm not alone

It's good that you've found things to help keep you in the positive.

I always feel good after a productive day and feel crappy when I sit around and get nothing done. It's easy to get trapped into a routine of complacency depending on your situation and that can be a bad place to be.

I think for everyone - exercise, healthy eating and showering regularly is real important stuff. It's important to keep your body fueled and taken care of. The body, mind, spirit connection is real important. If you're body is treated poorly, the mind will suffer and vise versa. I feel a big difference in my attitude if I don't eat properly. It goes straight down the crapper. I just need to get more exercise. I've been threatening to take a yoga class for years. I did it once with a person who really knew what they were doing and I felt fn awesome afterwards. It was really something else. Plus there's most often hot women in yoga classes so you might also spark up your love life while conditioning your mind, body, and spirit.
Of course, music is why most of us if not all are on this site. Words can do no justice to the power of music. There's some kind of quote that I'm sure I'm gonna mangle but it goes something like = for that which there are no words, there is music.

 

[HaMMerHeD]

I've struggled with depression since I was in grade school...the earliest I can remember feeling like I wanted to die was age 9. I'm 34 now, and the feelings of helplessness, powerlessness, and worthlessness are no easier to deal with. I've been in counseling and I've taken every medication under the sun, and nothing has helped. If there has been any change, it has been for the worse. Every day I wake up feeling exhausted and ready to die. Every night I go to bed, praying to whatever god may be listening to kill me in my sleep. I suppose it is a hard way to live, but it's all I have ever known.

It is probably hereditary. My father was bipolar and he killed himself when I was 12. I have had a lot of tests, and I am definitely not bipolar. My diagnosis is MDD, Major Depressive Disorder. I have a daughter, and I am terrified that I will pass on my psychosis to her. She shows no signs so far, but she's only 8.

Tonight has been especially hard. My mind is running in overdrive...all I can think about are all the reasons my life is a sad, regrettable waste of energy...and it's hard to argue with yourself. It's a cacophony of self-hate, and it is deafening sometimes...especially right now.

Counseling does help in the short term...I have counseling on wednesdays, and those days have become little islands of sanity.

I have no consistently effective coping mechanism for this. All I can do is try to keep the sharp, dangerous things away from myself until my mind settles down a little bit.

 

[tuneinrecords]

I've struggled with depression since I was in grade school...the earliest I can remember feeling like I wanted to die was age 9. I'm 34 now, and the feelings of helplessness, powerlessness, and worthlessness are no easier to deal with. I've been in counseling and I've taken every medication under the sun, and nothing has helped. If there has been any change, it has been for the worse. Every day I wake up feeling exhausted and ready to die. Every night I go to bed, praying to whatever god may be listening to kill me in my sleep. I suppose it is a hard way to live, but it's all I have ever known.

It is probably hereditary. My father was bipolar and he killed himself when I was 12. I have had a lot of tests, and I am definitely not bipolar. My diagnosis is MDD, Major Depressive Disorder. I have a daughter, and I am terrified that I will pass on my psychosis to her. She shows no signs so far, but she's only 8.

Tonight has been especially hard. My mind is running in overdrive...all I can think about are all the reasons my life is a sad, regrettable waste of energy...and it's hard to argue with yourself. It's a cacophony of self-hate, and it is deafening sometimes...especially right now.

Counseling does help in the short term...I have counseling on wednesdays, and those days have become little islands of sanity.

I have no consistently effective coping mechanism for this. All I can do is try to keep the sharp, dangerous things away from myself until my mind settles down a little bit.

I'm sorry for your troubles. It sounds like you've traveled a painful road in life. I had a roommate sometime ago who moved out who left a book behind called Understanding. It was all about getting out of depression, but the one thing that stuck out in there was the idea that the brain is like a computer and we can reprogram it through positive thinking and daily rituals like affirmations and such. It takes repetition to rewire things, but it can be done. I had a lot of negative emotions and negative feelings towards a lot of people around me. It took me a long time to even realize that. When I look back at myself about 10 years ago, I see a very different person. It took me some time and I have some ways to go yet, but I was able to reshape my knee-jerk reactions where I would automatically get upset and negative over things. It started by catching myself in the moment when my temper or negativity came to the surface. Being conscientious about my immediate response was where it all started and from there I was able to alter those seemingly uncontrollable urges and behaviors. The mind is plastic in the sense that it can be rewired. It happens all the time in certain cases of brain injuries. People relearn skills they lost in a stroke and such. I don't know if any of this is new to you or of any help, but I figured there's nothing to lose in trying. Again, I know you've been through a lot and I'll never be able to relate completely and I'm not trying to say that I have the cure or whatever. One last thought - at times when I'd been depressed and lethargic and feeling worthless, it was usually the welfare of other people that spurned me on to pick myself up and help them out. The more I obsessed over and worried about myself, it seemed the worse I felt. It's in being with other people that I would forget my troubles and live for them so to speak. Anyway, I hope you can find some solace in this and even though this is just an online forum, know that there are even total strangers out there that care for the welfare of other strangers. Be well.

 

[Skyblue]

I know it might be nothing next to some stories told by people here already, but I have all sorts of anxiety based issues I'd guess (I never went to a doctor to check those up as I haven't felt a need, so they're all "self diagnosed" I guess).
I've always had trouble talking with people, even people I know... only exception are close friends pretty much. Same goes on phone- I can't stand making phone calls. I have to go somewhere quiet, relax myself, breath deeply, think of what I'm going to say and then call.
Aside of that, I always had annoying as hell mood swings. One minute I'm all happy (more or less anyway, I'm not really a cheery person) and then something really not important happens (might be my parents arguing about something- just a regular argument, like who shall drive my brother back from school; They obviously forget about it after a few minutes) and my mood swings the other way around... Sometimes nothing happens at all and I just get all dried out of energy and concentration, and be all gloomy. It gets really annoying...

Those Are they main things I guess. Like I said- it's probably nothing compared to of the problems other people have, but that's what I've got.

 

[Lagtastic]

i felt the same as 100% of you. then one day i said I DONT GIVE A FUCK.

This.

I had awful anxiety as a youth. I had acne so bad for like 2 years I didn't even want to go outside, it was terrible. After it finally went away after trying every possible medication that was available, I was left with the mentality of getting nervous around other people.


One day, I just woke up with a different outlook. Unless you're in my family, a friend, or I'm trying to sleep with you, I don't care what your opinion of me is. Cured all my anxiety. It's worth a try.

 

[Church2224]

I am going to give on update on my situation.

I am now seeing a doctor down hear in Richmond. I have taken myself off of the meds I was on before and now I am feeling a bit better and more confident and optomistic about the future.

My OCD doctor is using cognitive therapy and is recommending some changes in my diet and exorcising and daily routines.

One thing he did recommend was spend much less time on the internet, as he said it just fuels my Obsessive thoughts and behaviors and creates fear and doubts in my mind. So I am going to cut back, play guitar much more often, take my dog on more walks, ect. I will still be around here, just not as much.

 

[caskettheclown]

Recently fell into another deep depression due to bullshit with me and the ex (long story) and life being stagnant, as in me not having a job and no car and so on. My friends barely hang out with me and I always get stood up or just ditched by them when we do

I've always had a really hard time coping with change.

I also have what some therapist/psychologist call the lonliness trait. Where you almost always feel lonely.

Also most recently i've developed a fear of wrecking or hydroplaning a car, its gotten really bad where I start to have an anxiety attack if they drive wrong...

 

[weiner]

I dropped out of school before I started my final year because of my depression. I'm back on track now, but it was awful I would just sit around all day smoking, drinking and feeling like shit. Even though I have some real close friends I would feel like a loser sitting in my bedroom every night getting high.

The best thing I did to help myself was exercising regularly and quitting smoking.

 

[harkonnen8]

Heavily depressed. Can't concentrate. Nothing makes me happy.
Trying to meditate. (Don't know what the fuck I'm doing. ) Can't think clearly or communicate with others.

 

[Aaron]

I thought i was having really bad anxiety, i would start shaking and freak out. I found out it was alcohol withdrawl symptoms, close to delerium tremens, i was put on ativan.

 

[JPMike]

I was being anxious from a young age and always had depression. I even loved listening to depressing music at home and just enjoy pessimistic thoughts, till I was 17. I would go out and hang out with friends but still being in that mood when I was mostly alone.

Then drugs came in, mostly marijuana along with some other stuff and alcohol, everything at the start was nice, kept doing it for quite some time. I made a serious relationship with a girl, too much emotional investment by my side, which caused me to be so anxious, I couldn't enjoy any moment of it, plus marijuana, not the way to go.

When I broke up, depression and anxiety were unbearable, marijuana sometimes would help me, sometimes it would make things worse, I was trying to forget the whole matter.

After 4 months of the end of relationship, panic attacks would kick in. I was shocked that this happened to me, I didn't know what to do. I found myself not being able to deal with situations and places. I went to a doctor and I was diagnosed with agorophobia. Something, that I didn't expect to happen to me.

Really, I was only reading these on wikipedia, newspaper and magazines. Plus, I was finding it weird to happen to someone, cause I was really the opposite, I didn't have trouble doing anything, from going on to trips, open spaces, overcrowded places, shows, etc.

I went to a doctor, I am on Seroxat for a year now, everything's much better now, I have managed to go 3 trips with an aeroplane, something that seemed impossible a year ago, went to overcroweded places, basketball games, shows, etc.

Even though sometimes, I still get mini panic attacks, mostly severe anxiety and the fear that something might happen but I am managing to leave that thought away and be positive or think something else.

My best advice is, that if you suffer from anxiety don't do drugs or alcohol, it's guaranteed that you will cause yourself an anxiety disorder or a phobia. Mostly, anxiety is caused by subconscious phobias that you haven't realised and they emmerge when you cross your limits.

Plus, alcohol and mostly drugs, lower your serotonin levels, which can cause many problems. You can't evaluate right the environment you are being in, you think of something bad or something might be happening to you, so you get anxious and start panicking.

The safest bet, is that in the long run drugs and alcohol can be your best enemies if you excess their use. No one said, don't do it, just control the amount of it. I strongly believe it's not bad, experiencing them and doing them once in a while, but if you overdo it you will find yourself after a while not being able to do it again for the rest of your life. As to me, if I do, I am going to get some serious panic attacks.

"Παν μέτρον άριστον" - Socrates, "All in good measure".

I found this thread/topic really important and I wanted to share my dime with you all and tell you, that if you suffer from the same thing as me, you are not alone and in any case if you want help, someone to talk to feel free to talk to me. We must help each other, if we can.

P.S. I strongly believe, psychological disorders are the cancer of our time, which eventually will cause the real cancer to kick in.

 

[The Reverend]

I don't want to get into the particulars of my situation, as I don't enjoy pity parties and I'm horrible at accepting any kind of sympathy, but it's kicked me off on another cycle of depression and even more anxiety.

I'm doing everything humanly possible to survive and even thrive in my situation, and I hope that within a few months things will start moving with me, instead of against me. It's that hope tempered with a realistic view of, well, reality, that's keeping me going. It's a choice, it really is, at least for people in my situation, where it's not wholly chemical. I'm constantly tempted to just succumb, but I have to choose otherwise "on the daily", as my wigger brother would say.

Keep your heads up, SSO. The clouds will part, however briefly, and we'll see the skies again.

 

[squid-boy]

I feel a good portion of anxiety, but my real dark passenger is schizophrenia. It has only gotten worse with age, too.

EDIT: That probably answers a few questions people have about me.

 

[Rev2010]

i felt the same as 100% of you. then one day i said I DONT GIVE A FUCK.

Ya know, though I would've said it differently he's got a bit of a point. I dealt with anxiety for years, mostly because I have a known heart issue called atrial fibrillation. So sometimes I would panic, on the train or whatnot. Never had any medical assistance called or anything, I would typically get off the train and start walking the extra distance home etc.

Then one day, and after a few doctor visits, I simply realized it was all in my head. I dealt with it for the next time or two then it just kinda went away all on it's own since my knowing it was just me defeated it.

I still sometimes get a bit worked up with major events, like this past weekend on my vacation in Saint Martin when our return flight was canceled and we couldn't get any info whatsoever on updated status. In these situations alcohol reeeeally does help. It calms me down majorly and allows me to think straight believe it or not. Also, doing what I think is best - in that case simply paying the cab fare both ways to go to the airport and sort shit out really took a weight off our shoulders. Otherwise I would've sat in the room on the phone trying impossibly to get through and getting more anxious.

Anyhow, best of luck man. Really try to realize it's all in your head.


Rev.

 

[SenorDingDong]

I have horrible anxiety with food. I actually have Pseudodysphagia as well (the fear of choking) and coupled with my Dysphagia (swallowing disorder) rarely consume solid foods. It sucked at first, but I got used to it overtime. It's just hard when I go out with friends, and they want to go to a restaurant, and I have to make up a bullshit excuse of why I can't eat. I used to follow a strict diet, fruits, vegetables, and quinoa paired with tofu and nuts, but I can't eat much of anything anymore. I use vegatable and fruit juices (like bolthouse farms) and nutritional shakes, as well as products like Vega. I am still very healthy, very active, and have high energy levels, but it sucks all the same.

 

[jrg828]

I have severe anxiety/panic disorders. ughhhhhhhh. Hate it.

me too dude :/ at least 3 times a day i'll have a panic attack and i have a hard time breathing. starting a perscription today and hopfully it'll go down, or even go away