topic Exhausted and alone in Anxiety

Exhausted and alone

Living_lighter — Fri, 04 May 2018 07:06:17 GMT

Hi guys,

iv just joined to get some support or better yet not feel so alone with my anxiety and hopefully share what helps me and also and get some advice on what works for others. To begin I’m a 32 year old solo parent with a 10 year old. For the last 5 years Iv been working full time with minimal support and about 2 years ago the exhaustion lead me to extreme anxiety and depression. I quite my job and only work part-time now and find I have a better balance. I got off my medication at Christmas just gone. I’m finding small things are starting to present themselves again with signs of high anxiety and lots of body aces obviously due to stress. Does anyone else get body aces with there anxiety and stress? I’m going back to the doctor next week to get on a mental health plan and also more exercise. I just feel really alone and isolated with my anxiety, I feel like no around understands mental health and those that do I’m to scared to talk to much because I feel like a burden. The ups and downs are exhausting.

Exhausted and alone

ozgirl49 — Fri, 04 May 2018 14:07:58 GMT

I hear you.
I am a single parent too. My marriage collapsed quite a few years ago due to the alcoholism of my ex. I was then the sole carer for four children. About 5yrs ago I returned to uni to study midwifery. So for a while things were goodish. Now my three older children have completed highschool and left home and it is just myself and my 14yr old daughter. I had never been a particularly anxious person until I went back to uni. Suddenly I was having these episodes that were completely out of proportion to events! It was bewildering! Now I am on medication and I feel more normal and don't have those extremes of anxiety. I have no one else to turn to. I am so lonely. I work and go through the motions of living but I have no one to share my thoughts, my achievments my fears.
I find that I am exhausted most days and sometimes the aches and headaches are just so debilitating.
I try to find something in my day that brings me joy. It has been so long since there was unbridled joy in my life. I am trying to change my mindset and part of that is not sharing with people who reply with pat advice' just snap out of it' , 'yeah I feel stressed too' , 'what you need is to find a new man', 'what you need to do is lose weight' and so on.
I am slowly starting to notice sunsets again; how beautiful a particular flower is; joy at finding a dandelion to blow and above all I've started to draw and paint again, something that I haven't done since before I met my ex husband. I don't even have to share it with someone else, as I know in my gut when I have done well.
I just found one thing in a day. It's getting better, but god, in the dark of the night you can feel so alone and unheard. Chin up and put one foot in front of another.

Exhausted and alone

Lici — Fri, 04 May 2018 16:03:17 GMT

Hi living lighter and ozgirl 🙂

I'm sorry to hear of both of your troubles, I'm not a parent at all so I can't add to the conversation in the same way but something you asked living lighter I feel I can contribute to.

Living lighter, you asked "Does anyone else get body aces with there anxiety and stress?" I have gone over 10 years with chronic pain and have only recently been told that it's because of generalised anxiety disorder. Apparently body aches are one of the diagnostic symptoms of GAD which I never knew.

Anyway, I just wanted to pop in and answer your question as it's something I've struggled with for a long time and being told that it was anxiety really made me feel better than "we don't know what's causing your pain sorry"

I hope that your appointment goes well and that you hang around and let us know how it goes!

Kind regards,

Lici

Exhausted and alone

Living_lighter — Fri, 04 May 2018 22:55:16 GMT

Hi ozgirl, thank you so much for this post it really has helped. We sound very alike, I’m a creative also and have started doing more of that. I do find channeling my passion helps and gives me purpose out side of the mind aim lifestyle. It’s hard in the sense that I feel like my fears are endless although I know it’s in head head it’s the constant battle with myself. I am doing a lot better and keep looking at how far I have come.

I wish you all the strength in the world, I take my hat off to you. Having no emotional support is hard and tiring but your not alone we are all feeling it, I do find journaling my thoughts helps and meditation. I also find essential oils help my stress levels. I hope these are some tools you can use also. One day at a time for both of us, thank you so much. Joining this site has been a great step forward for me x