I am new to this.

[flosssie]

I have had chronic Generalised Anxiety/ Panic disorder/ Eating disorder most of my life, the earliest memory of panic/anxiety i have is when i was about 8 years old. I am now 25. I am still affected every day. Sometimes in small ways, sometimes in big ways. When i was 23 i was hospitalized because i had stopped eating and could barely function. I spent the next 6-8 months recovering. The worst part about it was, all my life, especially in the latter stages pre-diagnosis, i kept it all to myself. No body knew a thing, until one day i was in hospital.

I decided to turn my life around, which was the hardest thing i have ever done but worth every second of pain and heart ache. There were a lot of lonely days and nights, Christmases and birthdays etc. and only after 2 years of persistence did my hard work begin to pay off. i work in Aged Care now and i love what i do, so much more than what i did in the past, sitting behind a desk and being a slave to the corporate world.

I want to know that there are people out there like me, people that would much prefer a night in on the couch watching a movie and having a chat, over a night out on the town. I don't drink alcohol so i am cut off from most of the socialising that people in their 20s do.

I'd love to hear from people like, because i know they exist, and sometimes when every minute of your day is a struggle, it would be nice to have a little ray of sunshine to help you smile again.

[Zeal]

Hi Flossie,

Welcome to the forum!

I am a 23 year old female, I was diagnosed with anxiety (OCD) at 13, and had mild depression in my teens.

I am so sorry to hear that you've had panic and anxiety since you were 8, and that you suffered in silence. Being hospitalised with an eating disorder must have been a shock for you and your loved ones. I am so glad you have put in the hard yards to recover, and that you are now pursuing a job role you love! If you don't mind me asking, did you see your doctor (GP) after your hospitalisation, while you were working on recovery? Or a psychologist? Do you see someone now about how you are affected on a daily basis?

Eating disorders are horrid. At 19 I was admitted to a mental health ward as a voluntary patient, because I was suffering from Anorexia. My psychiatrist diagnosed me about 4 or 5 months earlier. Because my eating disorder was actually atypical, I initially thought I didn't belong there and that I wasn't sick enough. I still ate several "meals" a day, though they were very healthy. Going to a naturopath was how my restricted eating had started. I took his suggestion of cutting out gluten, dairy and sugar too seriously. At first I wasn't able to cut out all gluten or sugar, as I wasn't used to it. Slowly, I felt I was able to master it and felt I had control over this aspect of my life.

Anyway, I was in hospital for two months, and regained the weight within six months with a lot of close support. Recovering mentally took longer. Having to gain the weight back involved eating large meals and plenty of snacks, and I started binge-eating during this recovery period and continued doing so for months after I was at a healthy weight. I felt so guilty about this. I had lost control. In reality, losing control was an almost inevitable side effect for me, but it was more than worth it to reclaim myself. I am healthy now, and eat normally.

My OCD has been bothering me recently, so I had my first appointment with a new psychologist this morning. Before today, I hadn't seen anyone but my GP in almost 3 years. Anyway, I thought it might help to share my "story". I can relate to feeling unlike a typical twenty-something year old. I don't drink alcohol at all and never have (bar one bad tasting drink at my best friend's 18th), and don't like clubbing. Staying in or doing something with a few friends is so much more relaxing!

There are definitely others like us 😄

Best wishes,

SM​

[lookingforme]

Hi,

I'd just like to put my hand up as well. I am 27 now, I have only recently (last year) been diagnosed with major depressive disorder and trauma-based anxiety (whatever that all really means), but I know I have had it since I was about 13, and it became more obvious more crippling at 16.

I do like my alcohol but I don't enjoy going out to parties or clubs. I would much rather sit at home with a book or a movie with a couple of drinks. If I have to go out, I prefer to do it with just a couple of people, and over that prefer to go to their homes or they come over, so I can really listen and talk, or going for a picnic if I'm feeling different.

I don't like the forced small talk that comes with large groups, over loud music that I wouldn't normally listen to, and dancing...I feel ridiculous when I'm dancing, I feel awkward around a lot of people and I get drunk to numb all of those feelings. Which definitely makes me ridiculous.

So you are definitely not alone 🙂

[Sportsnut89]

Ill put my hand up too, im 26, and my anxiety has just exploded recently, ive never dealt with things like this before and its scary me. Im glad to know there are others out there like me. Being a young man and a mechanic theres not alot of people you can immediatly turn to in my working enviroment, it helps to know there is always somewere to turn!