Longterm Generalised Anxiety Disorder Sufferer

[xhypervigilantx]

Hi everyone I'm new here :), I just thought I'd create this thread to chat with people who have had similar experiences so we can help eachother through!

I'm a 19-year-old female who has been living with anxiety for as long as I can remember. It was quite obvious from around the age of 8 years old I had anxiety and as I got older it advanced and developed into the physical symptoms, which was absolutely terrifying for an 11-year-old as every day I thought I was going to die. It came in severely destructive stages which was almost immobilising for me and it stopped me from doing things I had always loved and transformed me from being a usually very cheerful and positive person into someone extremely fragile and different. As I got older the physical symptoms always popped up again in stages and I saw a psychologist after it got extremely bad one time but I didn't think it was working extremely well for me and I eventually grew out of the phase as time went on. What also really affected me is that no one took it seriously or understood why a kid who had a good life was behaving this way because no one expected me to have anxiety. However I was lucky because even though my parents didn't completely understand they tried to get support for me and help me! But for a child who had no idea what was happening to my body, panic attacks at that age was one of my scariest experiences to date! Although I wouldn't change having it from a young age as it taught me so much and allowed me to help others as I got older.

However, as I became older and was aware that it was anxiety after being diagnosed, came an excessive amount of anger and frustration when another phase started because I knew nothing was wrong but it was out of my control, which I think a lot of people have misinterpretations about this element of anxiety because you can not simply "calm down" or just "get over it."

It still always comes in phases, especially if it concerns health as I definitely suffer from health anxiety or hypochondriasis which often rules my life and still refrains me from doing some things which I want to go and seek some type of support from!

So if anyone has had similar experiences or just wants to chat please feel free to do so! Or if anyone has any recommendations that would also be greatly appreciated! Thank you and I hope everyone is well! 🙂

-H

[Bennyboy10]

Hi

Wow your experience with anxiety sounds very similar to mine. I am a 22 year old male and have always been anxious even as a child. However my life was flipped upside down after my first panic attack about 1 and half years ago. I now deal with health anxiety on a daily basis and cannot control my worries. It is nice to know that you are not alone in dealing with anxiety as it makes you feel isolated and alone. Im really interested in what physical symptoms you experience.

Cheers.

[xhypervigilantx]

Hi Bennyboy10!

Thankyou so much for responding!

Yes, I am definitely very similar! It is really comforting to not be alone in this as people around me all the time have trouble understanding and I often just make me feel so stupid over something I cannot control! Health anxiety in my opinion is so destructive so I completely understand and empathise with you!

I know how scary panic attacks are they are truly awful! Over time I have become better at managing them but sometimes you just can't, and it never gets less scary! The most common symptoms I usually get is my chest tightens to the point it feels like my throat is closing and I cannot get any air. Also, dizziness and feeling completely detached from reality is another main one. But honestly, the symptoms vary every time! Sometimes my heart also feels like its skipping a beat and nausea (which is the worst one for me because I am a emetophobe).

Thanks for reading! Happy to have a conversation anytime! 🙂

Many thanks