Anxiety

I have anxiety about 99% of the time. I have Bipolar and GAD (generalized anxiety disorder). Just about anything will set it off. Stress at work, stress at home, someone stopping in to see me unexpectedly, anything being out of place on my desk, anything relating to my million and a half phobias. I live in a near constant panic. It's really annoying, to say the least.

I've worked through some of it with therapy. I do deep breathing techniques through the day and when I feel like I'm going to have a panic attack to slow them down. I do exposure therapy for my phobias, fears, and situations that cause anxiety.

I absolutely obsess over ever decision. I think about what all the options are and then I think about all possible outcomes of said options. Then I think about outcomes of those outcomes. I try to make a decision, and then end up questioning the decision before I ever make it. So it never gets made, essentially. I wait until the last possible second to make a choice and then obsess about if I made the wrong one.

Exposure therapy for things like what you're talking about would be writing down the WORST case scenario. Then actually feel it, experience it. Do that often and get used to the idea - of failure, of whatever it is that's making you so anxious. Eventually, it won't make you so anxious anymore. While your doing the exposure, breathe in deeply and down to your stomach, no shallow breaths. This calms the "fight or flight" anxiety mode that will make your heart race, etc when you start forcing yourself to think of things that cause anxiety.

If all else fails, I take a lot of Xanex. X.x

Hope that helps some.

I only recently learned that I had anxiety problems, when I started my antidepressants (which are also antianxiety), and my dad thinks I've had anxiety that's gone undiagnosed for a very long time, perhaps as long as 8 years. I never knew it, and thought my stress about everything, quite literally, was just a me-thing.

Looking back, any sort of change or decision, big or small, set it off. For example, and one of the more simpler things, ordering things off of EF made me panic. I'd spend hours obsessing and figuring out what I wanted to order, narrowing down choices, making sure everything added up, making sure everything fit into my budget...

Seeing as I didn't really know I had anxiety problems, I really didn't have a mechanism for keeping it under control. I just did what I had to. I cried a lot. My dad suspects I had two mild to moderate anxiety attacks in the past four years or so, looking back.

It was only when I started the antidepressants that I'm on, and I felt relieved for the first time in... several years. I don't feel stressed out like I did before. Even when I am stressed out about something, I can focus at the problem at hand, instead of becoming overwhelmed by the worry. I don't cry as much, in relation to the stress. (I'm crying as I write this because I'm on my period and I'm extra emotional during my period, and, of course, this is a tough subject to write about. Don't worry, heh.)

So, all in all, if you haven't spoken to your doctor or psychologist/therapist , please do. You don't have to live with anxiety.

I have panic and anxiety disorder and do suffer from panic attacks. I take xanax as needed and it has gotten better over time. I was prescribed several different antidepressants and all of them had an adverse affect on me so I just stick with orgasms, yoga, exercise, meditation and xanax for relief.

i've been experiencing it a lot the past year or so. every time i think about graduating, which i'll do next semester, i start to feel panicky b/c i still don't know how hard it will be for me to find a job or if i'll find something i like. i got my internship just about settled, so that has helped, but i've had so many projects & assignments the past few months that i've been losing sleep. i start to get panicky & it's all i think about. it usually goes away after a few hrs, but it still bothers me. it's the worst when i'm on my ADHD medication. i think once i graduate & get myself situated w/ a job, it'll be easier for me & i won't feel like i'm about to have a panic attack so often. all the stuff going on w/ school, finding an internship, & tried to get out of my lease at the end of the semester is what overwhelms me so much.

I have severe anxiety and panic attacks, and I've actually called 911 before because I thought I was dying (and there have been times where I didn't go because I really WAS almost dying, so you can imagine how terrible I felt during them) and if I am very hurt or angry I am likely to have either or both.

I have severe anxiety issues that have actually kept me from working for the past year. They came on out of nowhere. Each time I went into work, I would get a sharp pain in my chest, shortness of breath, sweaty palms, and I'd get dizzy and start to cry. It was completely out of nowhere! I eventually had to take a leave of absence and I am now looking to get on disability. I've started to get myself back into society by going out to a bar where only a few select people show up each night. That way I can get used to being about people without being overwhelmed. I have started taking medication for it, as well as for depression and bipolar disorder.

So far the medication helps but it is also VERY important for me to have certain techniques to keep myself from having these attacks. One of them is called "Self Soothe" and it incorporates each of the 5 senses. The goal is to focus on the senses instead of whatever is causing you anxiety. I carry with me a tiny baggy of lavender scented soy beads that I got from a specialty store close to where I live so I can use my sense of smell. I also carry dum-dums for taste, a small piece of soft fabric for touch, and I have music on my phone for sound and pictures for site. It really seems to help. If you would like, I can send you a message with a bunch of other techniques that I have learned. Shoot me a message and I would be glad to help. I know how difficult it can be, especially not knowing if it will ever go away.

ONE MORE THING that I want to add, I think it's awesome that you are sharing this kind of thing because it helps SO MUCH to get it out and to know that you're not the only person that is dealing with it! I wish you the most luck in getting a handle on it.

Pretty often. I suffer from Social Anxiety, and in certain situations panic/general anxiety. Master also has issues with anxiety. While it sucks, her and I know what the other is going through when an attack hits and offer any ounce of support til it subsides.

I suffered from sever agoraphobia all my early teenage years and still do occasionally. They have me all all kinds of meds. Honestly, the only thing that ever helped me was smoking. Whenever I quit I find myself back on the anti-anxiety meds. And when ever I'm smoking I don't need medication at all. Interesting psychological phenomenon there eh ??

I'm lucky - although I have experienced some bouts of anxiety it's pretty rare and something very serious has occurred to trigger it.

I have generalized anxiety disorder and PTSD from traumatic past events and suffer from frequent panic attacks if not medicated. The GAD and a little social andxiety runs in my family and started during puberty. It gets triggered by large changes in my life and by snow (my greatest fear...strange, I know) but it doesn't actually require a trigger - it's just like a short circuit in my brain. I tried combination of Ativan and Xanax with a drug like Paxil but the side effects of the drugs they used to regulate my serotonin always caused more negative side effects than good. So for years it's just been me and my Xanax (.5 mg x 3/day) and a sleep drug when needed, I average 15-20 nights per month when I take my rx sleep drug. My brain just doesn't like to shut down

But, with the drugs I am fine more than 95% of the time...better living through chemistry!

I don't experience much anxiety, but I have had panic attacks for absolutely no reason. I have no idea why I get them when I do, but all I can do is focus, breathe, and try not to run and hide in a corner.

I daily have problems with anxiety..

I was diagnosed back in 199-something for anxiety due to suffering abuse at the hands of my biological father. I have been able to slowly help myself with this, but every now and then I get that throat crushing feeling of it and I have to remove myself from the situation or i'll end up in the hospital from not being able to breath.

All of the time