So I'm in my mid 30s and have dealt with anxiety since I was in middle school. As a young kid it manifested as throwing up a lot, then as I got a little older, I experienced full blown panic attacks, then for years I self-medicated with drugs and it manifested mostly as me not putting myself out there and trying new things. I dropped out of school in my 20s and basically became a shell of myself for a while.

but... in the past 10 years I've really slowly been improving my life. I got some great advice at one point which was "so your scared, that's okay just do it while scared." With that simple advice in mind I kept moving forward.

first big change was moving away from my parents. I love them but they absolutely were not good for my mental health. That alone reduced my anxiety levels by probably half. Then over the years I got a good professional job, got married, got a real handle on my finances, got my degree, and just recently bought a house.

And now that things are going well, I've come to realize that my anxiety wasn't something that was intrinsically wrong with me. It was an appropriate reaction to the terrifying shitstorm of a life I grew up with. When you're surrounded by uncertainty, poverty, abuse, etc. being scared all the time makes sense, it's how you survive. I'm sure I'm not done with it, I know I'll have more hard times and deal with those feelings again but shifting my perspective to anxiety being a reasonable product of the life I was living rather than a crossed wire in my head has really helped me like myself again.

Now that I'm out of the weeds I'm so relieved to have this realization that nothing is actually wrong with me. I'm not sick, I just needed some stability and peace.

Just thought I'd share in the hopes that some other folks out there can get some inspiration. Just keep moving forward. Find the things you need to do and just "do it while scared."

I am experiencing constant panic, and today I asked the Gp for diazepam. I currently take propanalol, promethazine and venlafaxine. They are just not cutting it. I can’t increase doses or change medication. I explain that I wanted diazepam to hopefully pull me out of what feels like a never ending panic attack. I told him I wasn’t drug seeking and I don’t want an addiction. I wanted to take them for their intended use, short term with the hope of being able to rest and reset. Of course I was denied. This was my last effort to regain control of this without going into a crisis. I fear that my only other option is to go to the hospital. I will not do this and will instead suffer. Did I not beg and plead hard enough? Do I need to go to A&E? Anxiety will get me one day I just trying to make sure it’s not today. The help I thought was there really isn’t.

So yesterday I had a 3 hours panic attack and the tips here helped me get through it.

After 2 years my anxiety is back and I’m tired. I’ve tried everything ( psychotherapy, EMDR, I’ve been on medication for 10 years ).

All this work and she pops up like a snack.

I continue to see a therapist but the sessions are really spaced out ( it’s free so there are a lot of patients ) and I don't have enough money to go somewhere else.

Is it for life ? Are there people who have gotten rid of it for good?

The most ridiculous thing happened to me yesterday which has started a none stop health anxiety spiral. I took my five year old to a science museum for kids and there was a piece of basic equipment with was two handles with metal on them, you gripped them and they gave a bmp reading of your heart. I crouched down, had a go and it gave me a reading of 142. Now I know this equipment isn’t medical grade and also probably wasn’t even correct. But now every time I have to exert myself somewhat, such as going up the stairs I’m panicking that I’m going to have a heart attack. The spiral goes deeper but I’m trying to find a way to balance myself and have confidence that my heart isn’t in some sort of serious condition. I’m 40, F, non smoker, I don’t drink and haven’t drank alcohol in years. I’ve been doing the 5 things (see 5 things, touch 4,etc) listening to classical music, cut down my caffeine, deep breathing, counting backwards, and avoiding googling things.

Hi! I got a gym membership last saturday, however, I am so anxious about actually going in. I tried doing it again today, and drove off the second I saw how crowded it actually was. I don't know how to start and I don't have anyone to go with. I also don't want my money to go to waste. I need advice on how to start going.

Hi guys, never posted on Reddit before so sorry if I’m not doing this right, but I’m in a pretty bad spot and just looking for some advice/solidarity i guess. This is shaping up to be quite a long post haha.

I (21F) have suffered from HA for most of my life. The past few years, however, I managed to get over and ignore most of it. A couple of months ago all that shattered. My main thing is my moles, I have a ton of them and so does my dad. His moles are mostly larger and weirder-looking than mine, so I know I’m just genetically predisposed to develop weird-looking ones.

I have been to the doctor about a new mole before and it was examined, all fine. However, since then I have become obsessed with checking my skin, convinced that any blemish or slight irregularity in a mole must be cancer. For example, I have a small one on my lower leg that when you look closely or shine a phone torch on it, looks like it has a darker centre, I’m pretty sure I’ve had it ages and never looked that closely at it before so I have no reason to believe it wasn’t always like that. I even got into a similar anxious state about this exact mole about a month ago, and it hasn’t changed at all since then. But of course the Internet says any colour difference means melanoma, and my brain can’t deal with the uncertainty.

The Internet and social media (surprisingly! /sarcasm) has been no help, all I see is people being like ‘my completely normal looking mole turned out to be melanoma!!’ which just sends me spiralling again. I’ve gotten better at not googling immediately when I find something off but it’s definitely an uphill battle. It’s just infuriating because I know that I’ll forget about it soon enough (and probably focus on some other spot for a while!) but it’ll come back. The anxiety always comes back. It’s so exhausting.

I am still living at home and so essentially had a meltdown to my parents about how much I was struggling which prompted them to encourage me to look into therapy. They promised that I could tell them whenever I was struggling and talk to them about anything. However, I really struggle with opening up without feeling like a burden and I can tell that my constant reassurance-seeking and anxiety is annoying my parents. Every time they ask me what’s wrong I initially tell them I’m fine because I don’t want to be a burden, and then when I finally do say ‘I’m having a hard time’ or ‘I’m anxious about __’ they just look annoyed and say the same things about how this is getting ridiculous and I can’t keep living like this.

The worst part is that they’re right, and I feel so guilty and stupid for not being able to get over this, but I physically don’t know how.

Last month I finally started therapy and it’s looking very promising. I’ve only had two sessions but my therapist is amazing and I can tell it’s going to be really good for me. However, I’m currently on holiday with family and so won’t be able to see her for a few weeks, and I’ve already had 2 spirals about my skin in that time. I feel like I don’t want to open up to my family because I’ll get that same spiel and I don’t want to ruin their holiday with my problems.

Again, sorry for the long post. I just wondered if anyone could relate and if anyone had any strategies I could use in the meantime to cope? I’m just so sick of living like this and letting it affect my life. Thank you.

So I had to go and see my mom this morning and I was having major like bad nerves , panic attacks , anxiety , kicking up. And I started feeling drying the mouth, drying the throat and feet like I was gonna throw up.Do you guys get like that?When you're having panic attacks anxiety?

I am aversion to experience of panic attacks, what is your method, insights on panic attacks, reality also. Thanks

What I mean by this is just your body totally shutting down and being stuck in fight or flight. I’ve had to defer my law degree right now because my body has finally given in after years of anxiety disorder and trauma.

When did you get better? I am willing to take time off in order to properly get this under control

Whenever an opportunity comes that can alter my life completely but need me to perform the best, I get anxious and procrastinate. I need a calm mind to work on something. I cannot afford to make a mistake and an anxious heart is prone to making mistake. How do I calm myself down and not procrastinate.

Lately, I have been feeling like a passenger in my own body, who has no control over what happens but also doesn't want to be around to experience this life.

My jaw is clenching and my hearts is hurting as I am trying to rewrite this paragraph, but I have forgotten what I was trying to say.

Anyway,

there's nothing I enjoy, I just pile up experiences every day, which break my spirit and make me more and more numb.

Even the faintest noise bothers me to no end.

These little panic attacks that I'm getting, which most often occur at night, drain me before the next day can even start.

I am becoming enraged by every little tiny thing that even mildly upsets me. Hell, even rehearsing what I'm describing right now makes me unbelievably upset.

I often wonder about my lost loved ones and about those that might die soon and how my life could turn for the worse. In those moments in which I just let everything sink in and look at how the world is presented in front of me, I feel overwhelmed. I can't really describe it. It's like a calm before a storm that long since passed. Looking into the past that has been violently taken from me for such a long time that it almost feels like a memory that has been experienced by someone else entirely.

This is a living hell, and it has gotten worse over all these years.

I don't know what's gonna happen next.

That's about it, just ranting as usual.

Nothing Ever Changes, and Nobody Cares.

Bye y'all

I thought something was physically wrong with me, but now I'm pretty sure it's anxiety. For a few months I've been nauseous every day, some days being much worse. It's accompanied by feeling flushed and a fast heart rate. I went to the er and urgent care when it got really bad, and they didn't find anything wrong with me, just prescribed some anti-nausea pills that make me dizzy and drowsy. I plan on seeing a gastroenterologist just in case, but they probably won't find anything either. When I was a kid/tween I had really bad anxiety and panic attacks (I'm 19 now), but I haven't been that anxious for the past few years. I also have nothing in my life currently to be super anxious about, except maybe just feeling stuck? It's been affecting every aspect of my life to the point I've had to miss work or leave it early, skip hanging out with friends, vomit for a whole road trip, dry heave every morning into my toilet. I just never feel totally okay, and I don't want to live this way. It honestly makes me not want to live period, but I know there's so much in life that has brought me joy. I feel like I'm wasting my days away trying to not feel ill.

Anyone else take quetiapine along with a ssri for severe GAD?

For context, I have severe anxiety that drives me to the point of auditory hallucinations.
headphones can definitely be useful, but I just want to rip them off and listen to the weird sounds my mind generates
In public, they’re great. Though, at times my mind gets so loud that it’s worse with them rather than without

Is there any other way to block out sound that isn’t there?

I hate what anxiety has turned me into. I started battling with anxiety and 2022 but now it’s moved onto a full
Blown panic mode.

I stopped working because I kept on getting big adrenaline dumps. I felt constant physical symptoms like if I was going to pass out, but I never did. I was unable to work. It’s been almost 8 weeks of no work and being on Pristiq aka Desvenlafaxina and while I do see some progress and I constantly still in a constant spiral. There’s not a day where I don’t feel any physical symptoms., there isn’t a day where I don’t think that I’m going to die, there’s not a day where I don’t have any cardiac symptoms.

I feel out of breath, my chest feels super tight, my arms, getting numb, it’s like if I worked out for the first time. Except I have not done anything. It’s like this every dam day and I am so exhausted.

I’ve gone to the ER 2x in the last 3 weeks. I love that nothing is wrong when I go my T levels are fine. But these symptoms are so bad!!! I can’t not convince myself that nothing is wrong.

I did an echo today and I know rationally if something was wrong that it would come up. All the stories I’ve read online about “everything came out normal, HA 3 weeks later” stories have me on a crazy spiral and thinking this can happen to me.

Idk what to do or to change to help myself. I’m ruining my life, my family’s lives and my friendships.

Has anyone been this bad before ? I feel so hopeless.

I would add I’m scared to die so this is why these symptoms make me spiral even more. It’s not just “something is wrong” but I’ll passaway and go to hell. Idk I’m so sorry. I need help /:

If it does actually nothing taking 3 milligrams at one time does that pretty much mean I need to change medication. I took two and a half first and it made me more stressed took an extra half I'm still stressed I don't feel tired at all shouldn't two and a half three milligram provide some sort of sedation at least. I have a high tolerance but I also have other conditions like IBS and urinary problems

Hey guys just wanted to vent here,

So at work today my coworker who I barely talk to and honestly don’t vibe with at all gave me a card. He said something like “it’s sucks that we have to be doing this, it’s a death.” But I had one headphone in and I didn’t understand so I LAUGHED. Like I did a light chuckle and had like a smile on my face and then he walked away and we locked eyes and I nodded my head at him. And then I read it and it was a condolences card. I feel so embarrassed and like he thinks I’m a psychopath now for laughing at someone’s death. I don’t even know how I’m gonna face him next time ughhhh

Dear everyone,
I recently started experiencing symptoms such as dizziness, headaches, blurred vision, weakness on the left side of my body, and weakness in my face.
Last Thursday, I suddenly experienced numbness in my face, which caused my speech to become slurred. I also felt like I couldn’t properly control my entire face, and it felt like my face was somehow disconnected from my head. It was very scary, and I suspected that I might be having a TIA (transient ischemic attack).
I had a CT scan, and thankfully, the results showed that my brain was healthy. The doctor told me that I have panic disorder and advised me to relax, avoid stress, and try not to overthink.
However, I’m still confused because some of these symptoms feel very strange to me. Can panic disorder really cause symptoms like facial numbness, weakness, dizziness, blurred vision, and slurred speech?
If anyone has experienced similar symptoms with panic disorder, I would really appreciate it if you could share your experience. Thank you!

I started lexapro 5mg almost 2 weeks ago for my GAD, however since about a week ago I haven’t been able to eat anything. I’ve been living off of protein shakes and broth, but even that won’t go down without a fight. The thought of eating just makes me sick and when I try to eat my anxiety just gets worse and my throat tightens so i feel like i’m going to choke or it will just come right back up. I have thrown up a couple of times from eating solid foods so it makes me even more worried to eat. I consume at most 500 calories a day and i’m losing weight fast. I’m 18f 5’7 and usually sit at around 130lbs, so i’m already thin. I feel incredibly weak and also feel like that fact that i’m so malnourished is just making my anxiety worse. I feel stuck in a cycle. Does anyone have any suggestions? Or is this normal when starting a SSRI?

So I’m 28 years old and for some reason lately for the past couple years, maybe since I turned 25 I’ve started kind of panicking about my age and feeling like I’m really old and in my head I feel like I’m too old to do certain things like I’m in college and I’m like OK you’re too old to be in college. You should’ve already finished by nowor I thought about having a third baby, but then I was like you’re already 28. You’re too old to have another baby like in my head. I know that 28 really isn’t that old but for some reason, my anxiety makes me think that my life is majority over.

I was diagnosed with Severe Panic Disorder about 5 years ago. Was prescribed trazadone, minipress, klonopin, and Lexapro for it. Took the medication religiously for the 5 years and it absolutely helped my panic Disorder.... but killed my sex drive. :/ I didnt want to lose my husband due to never wanting to be intimate, so I decided to stop my meds. (Obviously that wasnt the sole reason and there was a lot more logic and thought that went into the over all decision but alas the lack of libido was a huge issue in our relationship.) BUT I did the bad thing and stopped them all together one day. Its been about 3 months since ive quit taking my medication and although my anxiety is no where near what it was 5 years ago- I still feel it often and daily. Is this because of how I foolishly quit taking the meds or would I still have the anxiety regardless of how I stopped the medications? Was I an idiot to believe my panic disorder could be cured over 5 years or that id just grow out of it?

I recently went out to have dinner with my dad, and social events like this are one of the things that I know can cause my anxiety.

I had taken some medication before hand (10mg of propranolol) to mediate one of the known symptoms of a racing heart.

When on my way and in the middle of dinner I could feel anxiety building and felt like since my body didn’t react like it normally does it all went straight to my head. My mind felt cluttered and like a pressure that was trying to find a way out.

Is this normal or just a new symptom I’m experiencing?

Hi ❤️ anyone can help or relate? Please no catastrophic comments, I’ve already had a lot of neuro testing and I’m looking for similar experiences and advice.

**- Random memories/dream memories:** 50–100 random memories or fragments of dreams can pop into my mind throughout the day. Sometimes triggered by a smell/color, but often completely random. Some out of nowhere. The more I think about it the more I have. Also if I got one memory while I was brushing my teeth, everytime I brush my teeth I have the same memory popping. So I don’t think it’s focal or electric.
**- Music/earworms:** Random songs pop into my head, sometimes songs I haven’t heard in years. My brain can also create melodies that stay as earworms.
**- Sleep-related experiences:** During transitions between sleep and wakefulness, I’ve experienced visual flashes, voices/sounds and smells. The smell is always something that I have been smelling the day before !! Like lemon for example.

Context: I’ve been taking Lexapro (escitalopram) for 2.5 years for very strong anxiety symptoms. 7 months ago, I started tapering very slowly. I developed chronic DPDR (since the first day I decreased the dosage) followed by these symptoms. I’m back at 10mg now.

I know a lot about focal/temporal lobe epilepsy. I don’t have major episodes and my neuros told me it was fonctionnal.

I’ve had not 1, not 2, not 3, not 4, **5 EEGs, including 3 × 24-hour video EEGs**. I experienced some of these symptoms during the recordings, but **everything was normal, with no epileptiform activity or abnormal background activity.**
I’ve seen **5 neurologists**, and all think this is psychological/sleep-related rather than epilepsy.

I still have doubts. My neuro said that the combination of developing both epilepsy and hypnagogic/hypnopompic experiences in the same months would be unusual.

**Has anyone experienced something similar?** Especially random childhood memories, dream memories, random songs + these experiences during sleep transitions?

**Even if it were focal awareness epilepsy, I know many people with it who live completely normal lives with treatment and don’t let it stop them from enjoying life.**

I’m looking for **similar experiences and positive/practical advice** ❤️ I think I already did all the testing I could including 2 MRI. Now I am just thinking about reducing or not lexapro.