*Insert Title to entice people to read about my anxiety here*

[Zeffy]

Hey guys,

First time posting, feels weird doing it actually. I've never really spoken about the topic much, but its gotten to the stage where I needed to put my thoughts 'to paper' per say. I'll get the formalities out of the way, I'm in my mid 20's and I seem to be experiencing some sort of anxiety. I don't know where to start, I suppose the beginning will suffice. Years ago I remember experiencing bouts of dizziness and general nervousness for no good reason, this was quickly dismissed and all seemed to go back to normal. However over the past year I've noticed a real change which seems to be getting worse.

My symptoms include:

- Occasionally small panic attacks but not frequent

- Often scared of dying/losing what I have,(My cousin recently got diagnosed with terminal cancer which may have been a trigger)

- On a similar note to above, I'm often thinking I've got some sort of disease. This started off as a passing thought but is becoming more frequent and concerning. Also the dreaded 'what if' e.g what if I do have cancer and every mere second that passes my body is being overcome by a horde of murderous cells.

- Finally the one that disturbs me the most is a sort of detachment from reality. I've always been a bit of a thinker, but my thoughts seem to overwhelm themselves, I don't feel completely 'present' for lack of a better term. I'm rather worried I'm going crazy.

With this being said, I can still function day to day and try to maintain a good sense of humor. However I work in a job where Mental Health issues may be a set back, due to the type of work I do. I suppose I don't really want to talk to friends and family as I know they've got their own problems and they often look to me as the rock and I don't want to rob them of that. I also feel quite guilty/ashamed, as I mentioned earlier my cousin doesn't have too long left and here I am worrying about myself. I guess I'm worried because I don't know whats happening, how to fix it or if it will even get better. Argh, such hard hitting questions haha.

As I said I think I needed to write this down so it makes more sense to me, but if you have any advice or even your own personal story, it would be awesome to hear!

[kanga_brumby]

First Zeffy welcome to BB forums. Most people have seen me as a rock as well. Always there the one to call on when the chips were down. If they knew the stuff that was going through my head. But eventually the crash happened. It was me that needed the help, that's when I found who my real friends were. Luckily I already had my silly sense of humor to fall back on. To help get me through the relay dark days. Because of my situation they keep coming in really thick and fast these days. But I know that there is always hope. As long as you draw breath, there is always hope. Something will turn up, someone will say something do something. The problem then gets fixed.

To help I have found that meditation helps. Just concentrate on breathing, thats all just your breathing. You dont have to do a mantra, just concentrate on breathing. It takes time, thoughts will come in, that's fine. Just begin again eventually it happens. It can be quite calming.

Kanga

[happyannie]

Hi Zeffy

Im sorry to hear you are having a difficult time at the moment. If you dont mind me asking have you seen a Dr about any of your concerns? Im not a professional but it seems a good place to start. Also do you have any family members who can offer you some support, or a good friend you feel comfortable with. I know what its like to feel like the rock of the family, but trust me once you tell one close person, you feel like a weights been lifted from you. I find writing very therepeutic I write down my emotions, my thoughts things I did for the day. Maybe you could start using a journal. My anxiety is so bad I dont want to leave the house or go anywhere.

Just remember you are not alone

Annie

[geoff]

hi Zeffy, we tend to overthink because there is so much going through our mind as we can never find a solution or an answer that sits comfortably with us, because we doubt everything and then have to ask ourselves another question hoping it maybe the answer, but it never is.
It can happen that somehow we are able to function on a daily basis, but is that just pretending and if so it can't last forever because we can't keep kidding ourselves that all will be OK.
Obviously what your cousin has, which I'm terribly sorry for, could be playing a huge part to all of this, but what it will do is start this feeling for you in many other issues, and so the process is going to continue.
I wonder if you could google 'intrusive thoughts' or instead google this 'OCD/intrusive thoughts/Beyond Blue' as this is a huge part that has terrified people.
It would be great to hear back from you. Geoff.