First time speaking about my anxiety

[Confused_joel]

Hey I am a 25 year old male and have been having severe crippling bouts of anxiety for a few weeks now.

 i first dealt with anxiety when I was about 10 years old and it was just as bad as now from memory, no appetite, shaking, constant worrying about my health. However in time it passd (maybe a few month) 

i have not not had a relapse since then but out of no where they have begun again and have come back with a vengeance.

i feel light headed, twitchy, worried about my health, nauseous, and lost my appetite.

someone please help me with their own stories of triumph or anyone that suffers something similar.

thank you 

[Zeal]

Hi Joel,

Welcome to the forum, and thanks for posting.

I am a 22 year old female, and have lived with some form of anxiety since the age of 13. At 13 I was diagnosed with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), but I believe I showed some signs of anxiety years before. My OCD was most severe in my mid teens, and disrupted my life. I didn’t reach my potential in high school, but completed Year 12 fairly well in the end. I have been taking the same antidepressant medication for almost three years now, which helps me. My brain doesn’t naturally produce enough serotonin, so even though I no longer have depression, I still take medication for this.

I urge you to see your GP about this anxiety. Getting help is really important, so that you can start to manage your symptoms. Is there anything that’s happened to you recently that could have caused this return of anxiety?  I understand if you don’t feel comfortable responding to this question, but it’s important to ask yourself this.

When I had severe anxiety in my teens, I would get nervous and sometimes shaky before doing things such as public speaking, answering questions in class, walking into a crowded classroom or assembly, ordering food, etc. I can relate to feeling lightheaded, nauseated, and being worried about personal health. Describe these symptoms to your doctor.

Try to keep a few friends close. Alienating yourself socially is really problematic – that’s what I used to do. Having caring friends is so important. If you live alone, consider moving in with family or someone else close, if possible and practical. Having severe anxiety and living alone could be an issue.

Hopefully someone else will respond with their own story of triumph and with different advice for you. Try checking out some other responses to posts on the Anxiety forum, as there will be useful advice here.

Best wishes,

SM

[Onion33]

Hi friend

What you describe are symptoms of anxiety. It is an illness, just like having the flu or a broken leg. Nothing to feel ashamed of.

I had severe anxiety after having a baby. Like you, I had loss of appetite, shaky, panicked etc. I went straight to the doctor because I couldn't waste any time. I had to get better for my baby. I went on medication and it worked. 

My trigger was having the baby. Can you think of anything that might have started this again?

I also like using the Smiling Mind app. It is a mindfulness meditation app. Download the recordings when on WiFi and let me know if you find this helpful.

[Beltane]

Heya and welcome to beyond blue.

im wondering if there's something that's happened recently to cause all of this? Any recent changes in your life, or new stress, say stress at work or something? Or has it literally just happened randomly?

im asking because knowing what's causing it might help you finding the solution.

i used t have all that you have. Infact I had it for years, honestly, everyday I woke up feeling nauseous and sick, I'd get cold sweats, heart palpitations, stress headaches, I'd stop sleeping and eating when something particularly stressful happened.

in my case I'd had it for a very long time- most of my life in one form or another, so I got therapy (your doctor can organise 10 cheap sessions to a psychologist) and I went on medication. You can try just having therapy without medication if you're not comfortable with medication- therapy is very effective, and might be particularly useful to you as your anxiety is only a recent and new thing- you haven't been stuck in that anxious state for years. 

You could use google to find a psychologist in your area- many have websites where they have their photos and a short introduction about themselves, you might find one you like. Or you could just let your doctor choose one for you.

i have completely recovered from mine. I no longer have severe anxiety or any symptoms like nausea, hrsrt palpitations, or any of the other symptoms I had for so long. Hey actually went very quickly after going on to my current medication, but the therapy was enormously helpful to, and I still see my therapist sometimes to talk about anything that's stressing me out so that it doesn't cause me anxious issues.

good luck and keep in touch with how you're going. And remeber, I ivercame decades of this severe anxiety, I really think you have a good chance of beating it quite quickly since it hasn't ben around too long, remember also that you've overcome it before!

[Confused_joel]

Thank you everyone for replying, I am unsure of what has triggered it I have been under minor stress with a new opportunity that has arisen for me to do my dream job but I can't see that as a negative thing right?!

i am trying to hide it from my wife as we have only been married 4 weeks and don't want to worry her, so I am trying to deal with it alone.

i am having a bad day again today and it's for no reason as I felt fantastic when I first woke up.

i am so confused by this anxiety 

[Beltane]

hey again confusedjoel.

anxiety and depression are often closely linked and go hand-on-hand, though sometimes people get one more than they get the other. also anxiety is a normal part of human life, as are feelings of sadness. it doesnt always mean you have an anxiety or depression illness, but certainly those feelings can be really hard to deal with whether they're "illnesses" or not.

the unfortunate thing about anxiety and depression is that they arent logical, they dont respond to reason. we can help fight them by being reasonable eg when the depression is saying "im a failure" it can be really helpful to fight that thinking with more reasonable thinking "i'm not a failure, i do many things well and am successful, i am just struggling in this one area".

but they dont often respond to logic such as "my life is great, so i shouldnt feel sad" or "lots of good things are happening, i shouldnt feel anxious". i wish they did respond to that, we'd have a lot less people here on these forums struggling with these negative thoughts.... but they dont. i mean, if you have a depression illness, you can be the richest man in the world, with everything you've ever wanted, living on a beautiful tropical island paradise, and you'd still be depressed. cos its an illness, thats just the way it is.

these things that are happening to you recently- getting married, getting this new wonderful job opportunity- i;m sure are wonderful wonderful things. i'm sure they're dreams come true. but that doesnt mean they arent stressful. they are massive life changes. getting married is a huge life change, even if you were living together beforehand. a new job is a big life change, even if its the job of your dreams. so these things can still be stressful and cause anxiety even though they are so wonderful. infact sometimes its BECAUSE they are so wonderful that they cause anxiety- i get a bit of that: you know like "this is so wonderful, what if i stuff it up and lose it?" kind of thinking. so i get the anxiety BECAUSE its so darn good i'm scared i'll lose it somehow.

perhaps you might like to go to your gp, s/he can arrange 10 cheap visits to a psychologist for you, so you can talk to them about how you're feeling and come up with some strategies and learn some new coping skills so you can overcome this anxiety and feel better again. there are plenty of resources under "The Facts" heading in the Menu to help you talk to your Gp or even your wife about whats going on.

[ee]

Hi Joel

 Just want to let you know you're not alone. It's nearly 1am now, I've had half a bottle of wine to try to help me sleep (and that's restrained for me) and I've also had a terrible day due to anxiety. 

I'm a doctor myself, a new specialist, but am currently on sick leave due to my symptoms. I am at least fortunate in knowing the background. I have no past history, but had a really bad cycling accident last October with multiple leg injuries. These have all been improving really well, but when it came to starting a new job I was suddenly in tears for days on end. I put an end to the new job, but now can get completely floored by an email or off hand comment from someone. If someone asks me to fill out a form it can take me a day to do it because I feel paralysed. 

Tell your loved ones. They won't judge. People only judge you if your behaviour changes and they don't realise that something is wrong. I've made multiple phone calls this week to cancel work and people have been nothing but supportive. 

I don't know how long it's going to take to get better, but I think the first step is telling everyone important in your life about it, not being embarrassed and normalising it because it is a medical condition.

I hope this helps. Feeling alone is the worst. 

[Confused_joel]

Hey folks,

bit of an update I am having some good days and some really bad days unfortunately the bad days are outraging the good days.

as I type this I am stressing, feeling light headed and sore chest. There is no reason for me to be stressed as I had a good day yesterday.

this anxiety beast is a hard thing to get under control.

thank you everyone for replying and hopefully continue to hear from you all

[Onion33]

Hi Joel

Have you seen a gp yet? This is a really important first step. You don't have to suffer like this.

Have you told your wife? I'm sure she would be really helpful and it will take the stress out of hiding how you feel.

Also, check if your workplace provides free counselingservice.  Some workplaces will have a setup with a few counselors in the town and it's totally confidential. I did 5 sessions through my work and it was great! 

All the best. Remember, the sooner you seek help, the better