Is it anxiety?

[Bbed]

Hello everyone I am new here and I have a few things to say and questions to ask.

i have always struggled with nervous belly aches that obviously lead to me heading to the toilet. Three years or so ago this turned from belly aches to nausea, I was nervous over silly things and it would get to the point where I would almost be sick going places. There would be random situations or actions that a person would do that would trigger my heart rate to increase and for me to feel faint, I would also get the tightening in my chest. I always assumed that this was anxiety but I never got around to seeing someone about it much due to the fact that everyone seems to have anxiety these days and I felt like I was just self diagnosing and being silly. I would always be nervous going places and I would laugh it off like it was nothing even though a lot of situations I don't know whether I am going to end up crying or vomiting.

I cry a lot more then I should but I have always blamed it on hormones and just being a teenage girl and what not but I'm 19 now and there are still nights where I cry in bed for no reason.

I have a friend who was diagnosed with severe depression and social anxiety a few years back and she's still working through it and I speak to her about it and she seems to understand what I'm telling her and this makes me believe that yes I do in fact have anxiety because she goes through the same stuff but I don't want to see anyone about it. I don't know if it's because I am scared I will be diagnosed or whether I'm just being silly.

most of the time I work through it by over exercising my body and working myself to the point where I almost make myself vomit. I'm comfortable at work because I work in a kitchen by myself and don't have to communicate and I distract myself by working hard. All I ever seem to want to do is distract myself from what's going on in my mind because I get upset from overthinking and honestly what I'm trying to say is I don't know whether I'm being silly and paranoid or whether I do actually have a serious condition which brings me to my final questions

Do I have anxiety, should I go see someone about it and does anyone have any suggestions for me?

Thank you

[blondguy]

Hello Bbed

Welcome to the Beyond Blue community

I understand what you are going through as I have had anxiety/depression for many years. The first few years are a pain..I still remember the symptoms that you are experiencing.

Tightness of the chest...racing heart..nervous going to different places...nausea.....They are usual signs that there is some anxiety present. Even though I am not a doctor, I have accumulated a fair amount of knowledge on anxiety since 1983 when I had my first mega-attack.

First things first though...I hope you can visit your GP and let him/her know exactly what you have described in your post. Even print a copy and hand it to your doc. If it turns out you have some anxiety the good news is it can be treated and the anxiety itself does lose its severity of time.

Seeing your doc will also stop a lot of the 'over thinking' and worry too.

You are smart by using one of the best coping mechanisms which is the power of 'distraction' this can be a huge help where recovery is concerned. Distraction is much more productive than 'fighting' or 'battling' anxiety. Fighting anxiety can sometimes exacerbate the symptoms and make the anxiety even worse.

Anxiety is similar to a physical illness. If you had a virus or broken collar bone you would see a doc....I hope you do see your doc for your anxiety/feelings that you are going through now.

If you scroll down the page you will see the header 'The Facts' ...then click on Anxiety & Depression Checklist.
The topic Anxiety just underneath the check list is also a great help too

Please do write back and let us know how you are going Bbed 🙂 You are very welcome to post as many times as you wish!

My Kind Thoughts

Paul