Possible anxiety??

[Fillicks]

Hi

im not too sure how to articulate all of this accurately but I may (possibly??) Have anxiety. I’m just going to list a bit off the top of my head.

I don’t want to see a GP or school counsellor or anything as i’m scared that I’ll be wasting their time and then they’ll hate me forever.

basically,

I can’t catch buses, everytime I try I feel sick to the stomach and my chest feels tight, I always miss buses as I’m afraid to signal drivers in case there’s too many people and I get kicked off. I wake up really early (3-4ish) in a cold sweat if I have to catch a bus the day after. Idk I just generally sweat a lot whenever I get on a bus/go to work or school. This has caused me to walk over an hour to get home (on multiple occasions) rather than catching public buses.

I have the same feelings (tight chest and nausea) throughout school and in literally any situation that I’m alone. I overthink e v e r y t h i n g to the point that my mum laughs at me, i guess it could be funny but it just makes me so angry at myself.

I’m so scared of other people?? I just avoid leaving my house unless it’s absolutely necessary, whenever I go out I can feel everyone judging me and it’s just so terrifying. I don’t like talking to other people because I get really nervous and start to ramble and I can feel their annoyance which makes me even more nervous because I know they don’t like me. I get claustrophobic In crowds of people, i get panicky and can’t breathe right.

On the way to work the nausea is a lot more intense, I try to distract myself with music but the feeling is constant. I cant talk to managers at work without tearing up bc I’m so scared of what they’ll think of me, (I don’t want them to think I’m weird or anything)

i always rehearse everything I need to say regardless of the situation, and I spend so much time worrying about what I’m going to say or do that my fear of doing it just builds and then suddenly I’m breathing really fast and the tightness has increased and I get this rush of cold.

this is all so incredibly frustrating, i try to get over my fear and act like a “normal teenager “ but I Just can’t do it. I don’t know why I can’t just do a simple task like asking a teacher a question (still building up the courage for that though) or making small talk to a classmate without sweating and rehearsing everything over and over again...

im not sure if these are symptoms of anxiety or if I’m just being dramatic about everything lol

[BoltRog]

I suffer from anxiety. Not formally diagnosed yet, but being treated. I’m not going to tell you you have anxiety cause I’m not a psych. But the general rule of thumb is, if what you are experiencing is causing interruptions to your life and daily functioning. I.e. having to walk an hour to or from the bus station, or not being able to talk to people, avoiding people, difficulty breathing. Then that alone is worth seeing someone about and then someone with qualifications can give you advice on where to go or what to do. I knew just from reading your second paragraph that it would not be a waste of a professional’s time to have a chat to you to help you. They won’t be mad, they won’t hate you forever. Promise.

[romantic_thi3f]

Hi Fillicks,

Welcome to the forums and thank you for post. I am absolutely qualified to tell you that you have anxiety! Most of us do! What none of us are qualified to do here is to tell you whether or not you have an anxiety disorder.

I'm sorry that you're really struggling with this, and it sounds like your anxiety is having a big impact on your life. As someone who has a lot of anxiety I can absolutely relate to what you've been going through. Rest assured it's not you being dramatic haha

Here's a bit of a list of what anxiety can look like (just scroll down a bit) -

https://www.youthbeyondblue.com/understand-what's-going-on/anxiety/signs-of-anxiety

Getting some help from your GP or counsellor can be a really good idea. They see lots of people with anxiety because it's very very common. If they get mad and hate you well they have some serious problems!! But I'm pretty sure that they will do their very best to help you.

[tpl]

Hi there,

i hope I’m in the right place as I am new to this. I was hoping someone could help me to work out whether I actually have anxiety or something else.

over the past few weeks I’ve been feeling weak and lethargic all day long even though I get plenty of sleep. I feel like my body is jittery/shaking on the inside and I get daily headaches and sometimes a tight chest. I don’t feel as though I am worrying or stressing about anything to bring on anxiety though.

Thanks for taking the time

[Here_I_am]

Hi tpl,

Caught your post here, and thought I'd chime in - hopefully we don't hijack Fillicks' thread too much! 🙂

Anxiety is a complex subject, and in my experience of going through a recent series of anxiety attacks and related thought patterns, I have learned that the nature of anxiety is often in its over stimulation of our senses. For example, my anxiety makes me feel like I am under some form of threat even when I am not. My body responds by preparing for some kind of life/death situation, and I have the usual symptoms of racing/pounding heart, dry mouth, tense muscles, no ability to think rationally, and several other physical feelings of being under threat. But the important aspect I would raise here is that this occurs for seemingly little reason; I may simply think of an unpleasant conversation I had, or think about an upcoming stressor, and then the anxiety causes this response.

So, without diagnosing, I would suggest that the symptoms you describe are consistent with an anxiety like process.

I don't have the links, but there are several 'tests' you can do here on Beyond Blue and on many other sites that will assist you with working out what might be going on for you, but the most definitive and helpful way to get some clarity is to chat with someone about what's going on for you. The more able that person is to help - the better! So a GP is a great starting point, or a counsellor or trusted friend/family member. You've made a great first move by reaching out here!

Hope to hear back from you. Let us know how you go with connecting with someone who can help a little more with getting some clarity on what's going on for you.

[tpl]

Thank you for your input, I really appreciate it.

i have organised to see a GP and get some professional help and hopefully it helps me to understand more and help me.

thanks again.

[Here_I_am]

Great stuff!

I too hope you get some clarity and peace of mind as a result of your GP visit.

Don't be a stranger - Please check back in and let us know how you get along! 🙂