How do you know if you have anxiety?

[Curiosity18]

I think I'm experiencing symptoms of general anxiety.
I wake up every morning with the feeling of butterfly's in my stomach for no particular reason. The feeling sticks with me all day. It affects my eating habits as well.
I usually feel:

* sweaty palms 24/7
* Constantly worried about someone's opinion about me
* Nauseous (this can last months)
* Afraid to go to work/socialise with friends. ( I freak out over the feeling of nausea and everytime I go out, i suddenly feel sick, therefore I try to avoid going out and I stay home)
* I double check everything I do, even when I know I have what I need
* Avoid eating out as I my waves of nausea return and it makes me feel overwhelmed.

[Croix]

Dear Curiosity18~

Welcome here to the Forum, I'm glad you came. Having to put up wiht those things you describe does not make for a happy life, quite the opposite, and getting to the root of the cause can help to make thinks better.

Not knowing why is a problem, Beyond Blue has an on-line test you can take called a K10. Together, these questions measure how distressed you’ve been recently, by signs of depression and anxiety.

It is a measure of distress commonly used by Australian GPs and mental health professionals to determine what level of support you may require.

After completing this checklist, you can print your score for your records or to give to your GP. . You just answer questions by yourself. They are quite simple

They are not a diagnostic and does not tell you what is wrong, but can be a guide, so I's suggest booking a long consultant wiht your GP, say the symptoms that have been affecting you and show the score results. Then see what happens.

Please let us know how you go

Croix

[Croix]

PS: Silly me, I forgot to give you the address of the test-

https://www.beyondblue.org.au/the-facts/anxiety-and-depression-checklist-k10

C

[anon143]

I personally didn’t know I had been living with anxiety all my life until I saw my Counseller for the first time in November last year. It all made sense. I can remember from such a young age how I would get nervous about going to school after holidays in fear I got the date wrong and would be the only one there lol. I remember I would feel so sick in the stomach, I would have sweaty hands & feet. I would overthink every single scenario in my mind before going to do whatever it was that made me anxious. Then as I got older it occurred often and again had similar reactions to just about everything that involved school, high school & work. It got really bad in high school that I refused to leave my room for anything other than food, a shower or the toilet. In public I often disassociate. For me personally, for example if I am doing a grocery shop & am by myself I feel like time is going by so slowly but as soon as I’m out of the store & on my way home it’s as if everything went so fast & I can barely recall what just happened. Most of the time I feel on “edge”. I feel as if everyone is judging me, even if they are strangers. I feel like I am a burden or problem & in others ways. I feel as if they see how I see myself, which is not a very pretty picture that I paint of myself, so I’ve been told by my Counseller. If I could give any advice it would be to seek help from a professional Counseller. My lovely Counseller has helped me tremendously & I never thought my anxiety was so bad, I’ve lived with it for so long that I thought it was normal.

[geoff]

Hello Curiosity18, and a warm welcome.

There are many questions asked on the forums we'd love to answer, but we have to advise people that we aren't qualified doctors and can only answer from our own experience and make suggestions we know have helped us.

'I double check everything I do, even when I know I have what I need', can happen as it does and has for myself when suffering from anxiety, which OCD may develop, and some of the other points you've made can also be related to this illness, but you can't forget about different types of anxiety may be present.

We'd be interested in what score you get in the K10 test.

Our aim is to help other people who are beginning to or have struggled for a long time with questions they don't know the answers to, sometimes this is to form a connection where you feel comfortable talking to us who have been through exactly the same circumstances as you're struggling with.

Best wishes.

Geoff.

[Guest_4643]

Hey Curiosity18, welcome to the forums.

I'm sorry to hear you're struggling with this. It does sound like anxiety, but I would be going to a GP to get a check, to see if it is anxiety, and take it from there, if you need professionals such as a Psychologist and/or Psychiatrist.

Best of luck.