Anxiety

[xx00]

Hi all,
Im new to this but for the past few nights I have been reading discussions on anxiety and knowing I’m not alone on how I feel within myself. 
Anxiety is probably one of the cruelest things for a person to go through and I’m here today to discuss some things that I feel with anxiety.  
I found out I was pregnant and I’m only 6 weeks in, unfortunately due to circumstances I won’t be continuing as a personal choice. I have been black mailed already to get an abortion by this person and to be fair it is cruel but I already knew I wasn’t going to continue. 
since this pregnancy, I have felt more anxious then ever. I do suffer from anxiety but not this bad, it’s to the point I’m not eating. 
usually I can pull myself into line quick smart when I feel an anxiety or panic attack coming but unfortunately at this moment I can’t seem to do that. 
I overthink the worst scenarios in my head that I know personally aren’t there. Lately I’ve been turned off food, and every time I eat I get the sensation as if I’m having an allergy attack and I’m talking to everything I eat which is insane. I usually get the sensation of a lump in my throat that feels like food is jammed there and there’s nothing it’s my mind playing tricks on me. Im not sure if it’s because I have increased hormones or I think about it to the point my mind says something is there or something is wrong. 

At night time when I want to go too sleep my throat becomes incredibly dry, feels like I can’t really breathe and I shake my leg to calm me down to know I’m here I’m safe everything’s fine. 

does anyone else feel this way? If so, how do you cope with it? 

[Mark Z.]

Hi xx00,

Welcome to the forum.

I'm so sorry for what happened to you. I can tell that you have good awareness and strong resilience. But what happened to you recently is just too much, too heavy. Feeling very anxious is a normal response, I would feel extremely anxious as well if I were you. It's not your fault at all.

I think yes, you're impacted by mental challenge as well as increased hormones, which means you need to take care of yourself both physically and mentally. So I think it's very important to keep seeing your doctor and make sure you have timely professional support. 

Mentally you need understanding and support from your family and close friends. Do you have someone you feel comfortable to talk to? It's hard to speak out but you do need support from people who love you.

Moreover, calling beyond blue hotline and having a private conversation is a good idea. You can have some professional advice immediately.

Regarding the fact that you're black mailed, have you considered reporting to the police? Such behavior should not be tolerated.

Mark

[Bob_22]

Hi xx00,

Welcome to the forums and thank you for posting your story. As Mark mentioned, you sound incredibly brave and resilient. I'm sorry to hear that you've been dealing with such anxiety as well as the other stresses in your life you mentioned. 

When it comes to anxiety that presents in physical ways such as yours, as Mark mentioned, it is best to check in with a professional. Ideally both your GP and psychologist. If you don't have a psychologist, your GP can refer you to one for 20 sessions under a mental health treatment plan. It would be good to check in with your GP to make sure there are no underlying problems and to make sure your symptoms aren't taking a toll on your body.

It is also important to check in with a mental health professional as they can use cognitive behavioural therapy to help you learn techniques to manage your anxiety. This is something I have done which has been life changing. I used to also experience similar symptoms to you as a result of anxiety but after reframing my negative thoughts, learning to problem solve rationally as well as relaxation strategies I got things under control. As an example some of the relaxation techniques I learned are listed here: https://www.beyondblue.org.au/get-support/staying-well/relaxation-exercises 

As Mark mentioned, it is important, should you ever need to talk to someone immediately or are struggling/in a crisis that you contact one of the counsellors here over the phone or over webchat (or any of these other services). Links provided

Beyond blue

Lifeline

Please keep us updated and I hope things improve for you shortly. Thank you again for bravely sharing your story and I hope you know that you don't have to handle things alone. 💙

Bob

[smallwolf]

hello, welcome and thanks for sharing your story.

firstly, I agree with the comments of the other posters. The only thing I might add or ask is ... what you do just before sleeping. Do you have something to help you to relax? I used relax melodies (think it has a different name now)to play relaxing sounds - it helped me to not think about work or what was going on elsewhere in my life.

Regardless of that, checking in with your GP is best.

[tmas]

I agree that counselling or at least talking with a GP is super important! 

Hormones can definitely cause heightened anxiety. More significantly, you are in a stressful situation and any person would experience increased anxiety with or without hormones. I've read this is super common, and you might consider aversion to food as partially hormonal too which is exacerbating the lump-in-the-throat/anxiety feeling when you can bring yourself to eat, creating a feedback loop - I know 6 weeks is very early on but these symptoms like nausea or lack of appetite can occur then as well. All of this in a very anxiety-provoking situation, and with an added history of anxiety/panic attacks. It's important that you discuss this with a professional the best course of action in handling the anxiety, such as counselling - I am so sorry that this person has tried to blackmail and pressure you in this situation, hopefully a professional may also be able to counsel you in that regard. Once the hormones settle, ideally the anxiety symptoms will be a little easier to move through.

I had very bad anxiety for a long time and am very familiar with the "lump in the throat" when trying to eat - I used to just eat small bites at a time, if I was stuck chewing the same thing for too long and felt like I couldn't swallow I'd take a super small sip of water to try to wash it down. Even if you're eating the same meal for a whole hour, it's important for your mind and body to eat regularly, so I urge you to persevere.

I used to chew sugar-free gum/mints/lozenges when I felt anxious as well as it helped the dry throat and calmed me down a lot. For sleeping at night, I would have some water nearby, and maybe having some soft music/background noise, and something sensory that's calming (like a heavy blanket, something to fiddle with, etc). Maybe only I do this, but I would breath under the sheet so that the air was warm and humid - other deep breathing techniques could help as well, it sounds like you're already doing some progressive muscle relaxation techniques. Best wishes x