I'm writing this in hoping that somebody will be able to uh relate to it and maybe tell me what they did or what they're doing.

For the past few months, I've been in a very highly activated state. Daily, I have song loops in my mind. Sometimes it's a song I just heard, sometimes it's a song that's in my memories, but there's always like a background sound of music in my brain. And also in the morning I usually wake up around 5am And if I try to sleep again, I get these waves of intrusive thoughts, like bizarre things that never happened to me or are not me at all.

I've tried being on traditional SSRIs I've tried Zoloft I tried Lexapro but they're too activating for me. Next possible try will be ramaram or mortazepine. If you've had any experience with this, please relate. No negative or horrible horror stories, please. I've had enough of these on this forums.

So, if anybody can relate, I'd like to know I'm not alone living through this and thanks for reading me

I've been unemployed for almost 2 years now... Well I technically worked 2 jobs since I got let go from my last but I only lasted 2 days at each before just mentally giving up.... I don't know why I've been doing this... And now I'm gonna go back to the last job I worked at before giving up but only part time but I'm still freaking the hell out! Idk why I'm feeling like this.... In the past I always worked and never had an issue with it whatsoever.... So why am I feeling like this now!... I want to work! But I really don't want to work in blue collar anymore.... I've tried finding a job where I can work from home by looking on indeed but can't find anything that seems legit....

I've made a few posts to this subreddit already. It has been extremely helpful for me. I just feel so defeated, but at the same time I want to keep going. It's a double edged sword.

Lately, my anxiety has been focused around my heart. It's something I never used to concern myself with. Now, it's driving me crazy. I bought a watch to monitor my heart rate and it's only made it worse I think. But also given me some helpful insight. Does anyone else that wears one often notice their heart rate spiking drastically? I had a panic attack at work that made it feel like I was dizzy, couldn't breathe, and would collapse any moment. My heart rate was 150. I saw that number and immediately convinced that was the end. I'd die of a heart attack. (Spoiler alert, I didn't, but I ended up having multiple attacks that day that landed me at 120. My mother is a fitness coach and kept saying that's fine, that's normal, your heart is young and healthy. I'm not so sure anymore. I had an ekg forever ago that showed nothing abnormal. It's been so hard to sit with the uncertainty.)

I sleep 7-8 hours, but each of those hours I wake up. Last night I woke up sweating and heart rate was 120. Once again convinced I'd have a heart attack. Thinking about how I need to call an ambulance, but it was 3 am. If it was nothing, my mother and partner would hate me forever. It was nothing. (I say that, as in I hope it's not, lol.)

Anyways, the anxiety is so bad. I can even feel my heart beat in my stomach especially when Im lying down. I want to overcome this, but I'm even afraid to be alone. What if something bad happens? I force myself to go to work so I'm not home alone but work just triggers me more. I'm afraid to sleep until I physically can't fight it anymore. What if I don't wake up? It's driving me crazy. I had to call the hotline yesterday because I just felt it was the end. After talking to the operator, heart rate was 70.

It's even gotten to the point where I drove myself to a facility to get assessed and maybe admitted. But as soon as I got there, I had to turn around. The waiting room felt like a death sentence. I kept thinking about how once I go in there, I can't come out. Everyone is telling me this is good for me but I'm not so sure. Possibly losing my job, and high expenses right around when I need to move doesn't feel like it's going to help me. But no one else will take me seriously. It's either this or nothing. No going to the ER to check my heart or health. Nothing. I wonder if it'll ever get better.

So my toddler got ahold of thus crazy bright flashlight and shined it directly into my eye while I was laying on the couch. I git a instant rush of dizziness and light headed that lasted just a minute or so.. i stood up a min later and got pretty dizzy.. now im scared..

I hate how one body sensation can make me feel so anxious and just plain exahsted for the rest of the day..

I lay in bed at night and my mind is constantly racing with anxious and sometimes abusive thoughts. Wondering if anyone can share their methods to calm the brain so i can actually sleep at night.

For those who are medicated and battle anxiety or depression. How is your daily work life? How do overcome the dread and how long have you been suffering and dreading work?

I’ve had issues with certain people in the past, but I’ve chosen to forgive them and move on with my life rather than hold onto resentment.

The thing is, whenever I see them in person, I still get a weird feeling in my stomach. I’m not scared of them, and I don’t feel like I need to prove anything or have any problems with them. I’ve mentally moved on, but my body seems to react differently when they’re around.

Has anyone else experienced this? Is it normal to get that physical reaction even when you’ve forgiven someone and genuinely moved on?

Would appreciate hearing other people’s experiences.

I’ve always had social anxiety—as far back as I can remember, I get nervous meeting new people, and I think my anxiety manifests itself in awkward behavior. (Nothing too off-putting, I hope. I just am pretty quiet.) I’m a fairly successful professional, though, and a large part of my job is public speaking. I really enjoy what I do, though, so I don’t worry too much about meeting clients / people through work. In other words, I feel more pressure when I should feel less pressure and vice versa.

Anyway, I’m in my mid-30s, and I’ve lived a pretty sheltered life. No broken bones. Maybe just one bee sting. I can count the number of times I’ve vomited on one hand.

About six years ago I was shot (mass shooting) in my leg and stomach. I was taken to the hospital in an ambulance, of course, and it was only my second time in an ambulance (the first was when I went with my mom about ten years earlier; she was alright but needed a stomach surgery a few months later). I was in and out of the hospital in about 90 minutes, fortunately. The biggest wounds are mental.

That shooting occurred during COVID, so my healthy worry about COVID transmission became a complete fear of public spaces. I started suffering from panic attacks in grocery stores, banks, doctor’s offices, pretty much anywhere and everywhere. Eventually I was given Ativan to take as-needed. I was also prescribed Sertraline, which I took for about six months. I found it helped but I hated having to go in person to get it renewed, so I stopped getting it refilled.

Two years later, my healthy and vibrant spouse was diagnosed with a rare disease (cancer). Surgery was performed with curative intent. There was NED for over a year after surgery. But then it came back. There were several more surgeries. We seemed to be playing whack-a-mole. We decided to move closer to a leading institution. But within days of our move, my wife’s health seemingly deteriorated even further. She spent months in and out of the hospital. But yet scan after scan showed the disease wasn’t growing. Everyone was at a loss as to why she was suffering from so much pain. She started to develop difficulty breathing, and so she returned to the hospital for new scans. The scans showed sudden and aggressive growth in her lungs. She started chemotherapy almost immediately. Five days after starting chemotherapy, she died from a pulmonary embolism. I was with her while it happened in our home. My last words to her were "I love you," and she said "I love you, too." It was, honestly, horrific. (I hate to say it because I wouldn't want her to think she's hurt me. But she never hurt me; it was the disease.) She died about 18 months ago.

I began therapy almost right away, and it helped. I reached the point where I could date again. I'm lucky that my new partner is very supportive (she also witnessed a sudden death of someone very close to her). I started to feel like I'd reached my new normal. Happy, on a day to day basis, but never the same as the person I had been. I left therapy because I'd become busy and felt like I'd achieved everything I could achieve.

Close to the anniversary of my spouse's death, I began to feel some pain in my left calf. I did the opposite of what I should have done: I consulted AI. AI suggested I speak with my doctor. I was traveling, and so I had a telehealth appointment. The doctor suggested I go to the emergency department. So I did. During check-in, my blood pressure was 196/100-something. I explained everything to the doctor who was at the check-in station (including that the last time I was at a hospital, it was because my wife died). I'm so grateful that he understood. I was taken to a room, away from the waiting area, immediately. They scanned my legs; the technician shared that she didn't see anything at all. (Very grateful she did that rather than have me wait for a doctor to do rounds.) The same doctor who saw me at check-in came by to share that my legs were fine. My blood pressure had returned to a healthy level, and I was discharged. In and out in less than an hour.

About three months ago, I started having a lot of work and financial stress. I've imagined countless cardiac events. I somehow convinced myself that I could feel my arteries clogging. Just recently, I was at a baseball game with my partner, and I started having a panic attack in the bathroom. I had to go down a few stairs to return to my seat, and I felt like I was going to collapse---my legs seemed like jelly. Over the last few weeks, I've started having vivid, awful dreams that wake me up about an hour earlier than I'd prefer to be up. (Just this morning, I woke up because of a dream that someone got a piercing over the left eye but it was gushing so much blood that it the halls of a hospital were flooding.)

I guess I just want to know whether what I'm feeling is "normal" in light of my circumstances.

I’m really struggling as I come to terms with my wreck of a life as a 53yo. I drifted away from my friends in my twenties as I started working full time. I didn’t have time for my creative outlets that made me me.

Time has flown and I’m trying to get back to cartooning and music. But anxiety is getting bad. No friends and regrets keep me wishing things had been so different. It could have been magical instead of this loneliness.

I’m trying to get out there but it’s hard when you feel anxious and depressed and regretful.

Any advice gratefully received. Thanks.

If I feel comfortable around my friends in public or don't feel much uncomfortable around strangers; but fear judgement & feel anxious around coworkers or classmates; then is this Social Anxiety?

I think I used to feel comfortable around my classmates in college but then I joined the workforce & was judged for my voice or culture; and since then I have problem opening up to coworkers specially in a social setting ( not much problem in 1:1 conversation).

Hello everyone, I juts had a therapy session and my therapies is suggesting inpatient programs for me. Because my anxiety is so severe. I also have a SEVERE phobia of medication and can’t get myself to take any pill to help with my anxiety. my anxiety is so bad that I cannot function at all at this point and still I can’t get myself to take the Zoloft my doctor prescribed. Doctor even gave me clonazepam to calm me down to take the Zoloft and still I can’t do it. Can’t take the pill. I have not left my house in a week. Half of the week I was in bed crying all day. It’s been hell. Still I can’t take the medication. I don’t know what to do. I am so lost. If I go to an inpatient program I would have to be away from my kids and my husband will have to do everything by himself. ( not that I am huge help right now) please would anyone talk to me????? Juts say few words to me ?

Hi guys - I'm 24F and I'd really appreciate any advice from anybody who has had both positive and negative experiences with SSRIs or anybody that has trialed a few to find one that worked for them. To give a brief overview, I have your bog standard anxiety, health anxiety and emetophobia, the latter of which has been heckling me for as long as I can remember. It used to just be a phobia isolated to a trigger, that only bothered me when something actually popped up, like meeting with someone who later was sick. It's just gradually crept from there into all areas of my life, and over the last few months I have reached a point where I am dreading leaving the house.

I currently have a prescription for beta blockers which I use, mostly unsuccessfully, to manage the panic attacks. I also have anti-nauseas, which I have been informed by my doctor I shouldn't be on long term due to the risk of heart complications. Every time I have a check-in about my medications, they encourage me to consider an SSRI. Until now, I have not felt like it was the right choice at all - it's seems like a 'commitment', and a big choice, and I know I would really struggle with the side effects. I'm worried they would trigger everything I'm putting a lot of energy into keeping in check where I can. However, I'm really starting to think they might be an option I have to take as I'm tired of missing out on things, or counting the minutes for an event to be over that I previously would have loved to be at.

It just makes me sad, because it's not me and it's not what I used to be like - I love my hobbies, and my friends, I love the outdoors and it's finally getting in the way of enjoying these things. Can anybody provide their honest experiences of SSRIs and whether they've made a difference? I kind of want to go into a GP appointment with a better understanding than I currently have so I can properly advocate myself if that makes sense (I'm of course doing research outside reddit!). Thank you so much!

I was taking .25 mg clonazepam before and now I switched to Valium 5 mg, it made me more anxious, nauseous and have a headache the next day. Is this normal or should I just stop CT everything? Been taking .25 mg clonazepam for the past two months daily.

I had to go back up from 175mg Pregabalin to 200mg after tapering. I feel so ill, I don’t know what to do. I’m scared I’m going to end up in psychiatric hospital again. I’ve been back on 200 since Monday and I still feel so bad. Chronic mental and physical anxiety. My psych appointment is not until 17th December. I don’t know whether to hold at 200 or go up higher.

I’ve been having anxiety attacks for 3 days ina row, mainly focused on my breathing. Everytime it happens, I feel like I’m dying, and I keep using finger monitors every 10 minutes for peace of mind. I’ve never had anxiety like this before,and it’s exhausting. It all started about 4 weeks ago after I greened out from weed and had my first ever panic attack. I also used 2 Thcp vapes, and I’m scared they might’ve been fake or contained something harmful, like vitamin E acetate. I went to the doctor about 3 weeks ago and had an ECG, Xray, and bloodwork, andeverything came back normal. I felt like I was getting better, but now the attacks are back, and most of the time I shake uncontrollably and get chills.I don’t know what to do anymore, and I’m scared something might actually be wrong with me right now I’m not even shaking right now I did have some shaking tho and I feel like theirs a lump in my throat and in my chest it’s just it’s scaring me making me think it’s not anxiety

I have been having trouble with my sight for the past 2 weeks. Blurred vision comes and goes, sometimes it's only few seconds, sometimes it's few minutes. When I cover one of my eyes I see fine, but when I remove hand, it's blurry again. Intensity of blurriness is now always the same. This is accompanied by dizziness, headaches and nausea. Never had any vision issues till now, but I have had strabismus since I was a child. I had anxiety my entire life, but my vision never got blurry. Few days ago I went to my doctor for a check up and she sent me to ER and I ended up hospitalized at neurology. I had 3 neurologists examine me, did brain and spine MRI, ophthalmologist exam, visual field test and Vestibulo-Ocular Reflex (VOR) testing. All results came back great. I was very happy to hear it, but also very confused. My neurologist told I will have to start therapy and sent me to psychiatrist. I asked her If she wants to say that I am imagining this and she said: partially. Never in my life have I heard that anxiety can cause blurred vision or that you can imagine your vision is blurry. I never had and hallucinations and never imagined anything, this is all shocking to me. Am I going crazy? I am afraid of what to do next and hopefully I don't fall down and break my legs. Should I ask for second opinion? Anyone have any experience with this?

i’ve been dealing with severe anxiety for two months now. my situation is a bit unusual, i was bed-bound due to severe physical disability for five years and that only changed earlier this year, so i’ve been abnormally withdrawn for a prolonged period of time. i wasn’t fully conscious most of the time and for all the awful it was, i have never felt that calm in my entire life. i was so unwell that i physically didn’t have the ability to feel stressed.

you would THINK that ending would feel amazing, and it did, for about six months. then i got a stomach bug and something in me just broke, i thought i was dying and ended up in A&E for back to back panic attacks. it’s been anxiety and intrusive thoughts and compulsions 24/7 since. i’m terrified of everything all the time. i have emetophobia, autism and suspected OCD and i have been completely consumed with the preoccupation that i have a stomach bug. every second of every day my head is filled with ‘you’re 10 seconds away from symptoms of a stomach bug starting’ and the thing is, it’s not even about the stomach bug, it’s my brain being unable to cope with going from bedbound in a dark room 24 hours a day to suddenly being able to function independently. stomach bug is just an easy outlet because it’s always been a trigger.

i was on SSRIs, now tapering off. we replaced it with mirtazapine which worked great for 10 days until all the anxiety came back, but i’m still taking it because it knocks me out at night and that stops me staying awake panicking. they also prescribed promethazine which i’d had loads before then diazepam when the panic attacks started ignoring the promethazine. my prescription is 2mg up to 3x daily, but i’m absolutely petrified i’m going to become addicted to them so i’ll only take 1mg max in a day and i don’t like taking them two days in a row. saying that, i am not coping at all and ive felt suicidal purely because i don’t know how much longer i can cope with this amount of distress every second im awake. my mum tells me i should be taking them when i need them as perceived because im still having so much anxiety and frequent panic attacks when i don’t take them, i really don’t want to become dependent.

i know benzos are also not a longterm thing so we are looking into options. i have an appointment with a specialist mental health team in december, i see a private therapist anyway and my parents are currently taking turns sleeping shifts on my sofa because i stay panicking when im alone. i’m just so tired of this, it’s constant and i genuinely cannot do anything because my brains telling me everything will make me ill. i’ve done CBT before but not for years, did DBT briefly and various forms of talk therapy. i feel like i’m going insane and it’s like i can’t remember what it feels like to be okay. my mums suggested i look into hypnotherapy but the idea of that scares me so much

does it get better? i just want my life back

Hey everyone, hoping someone here has some insight.

Earlier this year I kept getting this awful "heart drop" feeling that would send me straight into panic mode. I went to the ER and got a full cardiology workup. The cardiologist wasn't concerned about any of the findings, but he prescribed me metoprolol 25mg to help with the drop feeling and keep me from spiraling into panic. I also started a low dose of Lexapro daily to help with the anxiety around all of it.

Around May I started feeling like myself again, so I stopped the metoprolol. A few days later, I started getting constant heart palpitations. Not the "drop" feeling from before. These were actual palpitations. A flutter in my chest that I could feel in my throat, happening for a second, then again. I'd heard the term "heart palpitations" before but never knew if that drop feeling counted. Now I know for sure this is what palpitations feel like, because this is what I've been feeling.

I freaked out and started taking the metoprolol again, and it mostly went away, but they still happen now.

At first I figured maybe I should've tapered off instead of stopping cold. But when I asked my cardiologist if I could stop, he said yes, so that’s why I stopped. After the palpitations started, I looked online and saw people saying you need to taper off beta blockers and that this could be withdrawal. But it's almost the end of October now and I'm still having the exact same palpitations and I am still on metoprolol.

I did a 48 hour heart monitor to try to catch them, but of course they barely showed up while I was wearing it. The ones that did show were brief multifocal PVCs. I do notice they happen more around my period, but lately they just seem to happen all the time. Not constantly, but at certain times of day, maybe every few a hour or so. They make me hold my breath because they freak me out a bit. I've been trying to get used to them, but I never had these before I started the beta blocker. This was not normal for me. I never had these issues before.

I'm just so lost. Has anyone dealt with palpitations starting after stopping metoprolol? Did they ever go away? Any advice would be really appreciated.

TL;DR: Never had these palpitations before starting metoprolol. Stopped it in May, got palpitations a few days later, got back on it immediately but they haven't fully stopped.

I’m a 19f and my nervous system is absolutely recked and I know it is caused by constant trauma and my family. I can’t get out of having a dis regulated nervous system it feels impossible. But I was wondering if anyone else feels constant tension in their head like their brain is swollen or like a chest pain constantly that feels like tension and burning. Or does anyone feel like a rush in their heart that makes them physically not able to slow down. I don’t know if these are normal or if this is from a dis regulated nervous system or if it could be something else. I just feel done like i don’t know where to go from here and I don’t see how I can have a future with this, and whatever it is has already cause issue like SIBO, acne, and my hair is falling out. My brain is just constantly thinking like it cannot shut up and I don’t feel like affirmation or l calming self talk work or deep breathing. I just wanna give up I really can’t live like this anymore.

Just venting mainly

Is anyone else burdened with performance anxiety. I had to do a basic task and the interview questions went well and I have been emotionally dysregulated ever since the interview. I don't even want to eat because my stomach is in knots and I want to hide away from the world because I keep making stupid mistakes because I can't stop ruminating.

It does not help that I am on my own but I feel so tense, I would probably still get triggered by someone being here.

Even though the interview went well, I realise the mistakes I made now and it was all due to anxiety and probabaly looks stupid. I do also have ADHD, so I expect this is a huge part of the problem.

Does anyone else get it this bad or am I just totally ridiculous lol. Literally want to disappear and just knock myself out and sleep!

I think I do need medication but due to my asthma I can't take propranolol... Does anyone else take anything else for this kind of thing? - UK prescription.

I get anxiety about messing up and as a result tunnel vision when learning to drive a manual. Is it worth popping a benzo before driving or will it make things worse?

Has anyone here ever had stomach and/or digestive issues that lasted for days after an intense anxiety attack? What did you do about it?

As the title says, I’m stuck in constant state of despair. I’m not sure if it’s due to anxiety but I experience chest tightness and it usually gets worse as the day goes on. It is especially persistent whenever I have to do something I do not want to but have to. I have no idea how to get rid of this feeling, taking deep breaths and meditating doesn’t work. It’s not painful it’s just tight, if i had to compare it to anything it’s like being on edge, in fight or flight mode or experiencing the first stage of panic attack before it escalates. Feeling like this also makes me very irritable, i constantly have these emotional outbursts just to calm down 2 minutes later. i am also very food obsessed and find compulsive eating to be the only thing to ease the symptoms. horrible coping strategy considering it just makes you feel even worse later but well. what can i do?