my anxiety is out of control.. HELP!!

[Shazza25]

Hey, this is the first time I've used beyond blue forums so i don't know if I am doing this right. I have had anxiety now for 7 months and it is seriously ruining my life. It's gotten so bad that my mother has now banned me from driving myself anywhere incase I freak out( again) and get into a car accident. I have been such a strong and independent person and suddenly I am not. I don't know what to do. I have serious travel anxiety and am moving house in 3 days!!! I am so scared, the feeling is unbearable. My parents are trying so hard to e supportive but I can see I am just draining what is left of thier positivity out of them. Please help me! I feel like I'm at the end of the line and can go no further. 

[white knight]

Hi Shazza25, welcome here

You dont mention medication or therapy in your post. Yet you have had serious symptoms for many months?

If your symptoms are that serious that your mother banned you from driving why havent you seen a doctor?

Anxiety like most mental illnesses are long term in regards to recovery. Mine took 25 years to vanish after therapy medication and relaxation.

Visit a doctor, attend relaxation classes, take up recommended therapy and treat this illness with respect in that it is serious!.

Good luck

Tony   WK

[TheSteve]

Hi Shazza,

Thanks for sharing your story. Let me say that White Knight is spot on with his advice - see a doctor, learn to relax, do repeated therapy, and respect the anxiety.

I will add however, you do not need to fear it. You, and millions upon millions of people daily, experience varying levels of anxiety in their lives. This anxiety is very uncomfortable, sometimes it is all-encompassing, and it effects our lives in many ways.

Anxiety itself is a perfectly logical and normal response to, and manifestation of, certain things in the real world and the world of thought. "Something" is causing you to feel this way, and that something can and will be discovered if you go through a process of elimination, mindfulness, and dedicated solution seeking with the right professional help. You can AND will make a full recovery, if you follow the right steps.

- Anxiety is a primal response, having evolved in humans (as well as almost all animals) to create an efficient system to react to "danger" whether it be real or perceived

- Anxiety follows a logical chain of events --> thought --> feeling --> behaviour and so on, it repeats and repeats and becomes habit.

- Our thoughts and worries feed our anxiety, and our anxiety feeds our thought and worries. Think about how much of a laugh it would be if we could worry and worry and worry, but feel no physical response in our bodies? Now, think about what it would be like to feel the physical anxiety, without the accompanying scary/negative thoughts and worry! They are one and the same.

Freaking out and panic attacks are also caused by the same issues that cause the anxiety. Often, it is just the fear of the anxiety itself or the panic itself, that creates the panic/anxiety. A completely self-fulfilling turn of events! If we can get our mind and thinking under control in a mindful manner, we can eliminate the habit connection between thought/feeling, and thus change our behaviours over time.

Given you have likely "learned" this anxiety, you can also "unlearn" it. Go and see a behavioural therapist, see a doctor, leave no stone unturned and get on the track to recovery. We are here for you whenever you need us.

Steve