Anxiety experiences and support

same story really, I've had anxiety since my early teens and I abhor social situations. A few nights ago I was invited to a party and it was great, everyone was having a really nice time and were very friendly... I ended up sitting on a chair on my own for three hours and ignoring my friends, they think i'm a bit weird, even i think it is weird. I do this alot and it is incredably inhibiting, It once took me three months to open up a bank account because i dreaded the thought, i'm also far too scared to seek medical attetion an the perlong simptoms are really starting to show.

I have always managed to get by and force myself to do things but it has made my life a bit of a misery and I often get the 'fed-up' feeling. My girlfriend has mistaken my bad stress for me being 'childish' and I really can't get her to understand, she is threatening to leave me and it is heart-breaking.

It is probably some kind of fruedian complex (lol) But I have always had a serious problems with showing emotions, I can hide this well but it is noticable, with people often mistaking me for being conservative when i'm really not. One major problem is that my parents/ friends don't understand it is a genuine medical condition, they think that they 'somtimes feel a bit down' and tha i am just a moaner and it is incredably frustrating. I have noticed that people judge the symtoms all wrong, they think i can be unsocial... but i'm actually I am on the verge of a panic attack!

It is seriously preventing me from living my life to the full extent, although i am well aware of what is wrong with me I have difficulty discussing it and it makes it no easier to fix. The problem itself i think is a chemical one, as no lifestyle chnges (i've tried) help at all. equally i know that because of its difficulty/lack of understanding, people tend to post the "just cheer up" option lol. But I am commited to trying to change and anything people have found that helps them will be highly appreciated.

I should point out that I myself have found nothing that helps.

i sort of went to a doctor once because I literally thought I was having a heart attack (this is before I knew what was happening to me) so my friend drove me to A&E and i spoke to a doctor and he offered me some tablets but I didn't want them because I don't want to become reliant on medication and think it may be better if overcome this without them. I have considered counselling but I'm still not sure.

Thanks for making this btw for ages I felt like I was the only person who was like this

WoW! This thread is proof that I'm not alone!!

OCD, social anxiety, general anxiety, depression.

Best relief? Talk to someone.

x

Oh, hi! I'm not dead (not that that was a worry, apart from siberian drivers being in-sane)

Just wanted to share an awesome leap forward: holding hands and dancing round a campfire with people I barely know (some summer camp game). I didn't flinch or try to back out at all I was so happy about that that I stayed way longer than I meant to at the party thing

i have anxiety about death :L
over christmas and my january exam period i had it really bad and i had a fair amount of anxiety attacks as a result. it was scary and horrible cuz i panicked about it all the time and started to become anxious about going out - although i never let it stop me.

recently its been a lot better but its never fully gone.

its not a nice thing to experience but anxiety runs in my family :/

and the weird thing is you always seem to think that no-one else suffers from it too :L but thats so wrong :L

I hope people manage to cope with their anxietys and dont let them prevent you from living your life

Woah, I didn't know such a thread existed it. Hi everyone. I've been having problems with anxiety since May 2010 but it was getting gradually worse since February 2011 and the last two months have been pretty much unbearable. I don't even go to school any more. ;/

Also, I have to go out tonight to the school's law society dinner. There is no way that I can get out of it and I am FREAKING OUT but trying to stay calm. xD

Post above has reminded me a bit, I've suffered from performance anxiety for absolutely years. I guess it's a very situation-specific problem so not seen to be as serious as some things but I'm a singer and it held me back from doing anything in front of anyone for so long, if I had to go on stage even with a few other people I'd be a quivering, crying, inconsolable wreck beforehand and I'd get up there and do nowhere near as well as I know I could, which only reinforced it all over again. Even thinking about it or talking about it made me tense up and panic loads, even went for hypnotherapy to no avail.

However, just done 3 nights of a show in which I had to sing on my own every time in front of about 400 people and it went without a hitch and I didn't even get the usual massive nerves or anything. Which is definitely a very good sign and it's only just hit me what significant progress that is don't think I'll ever be able to do it without being scared or to the best of my ability (nerves absolutely ruin my voice) but at least now I can do it, I was so close to quitting completely so many times!

Congratulation! I'm not brave enough to do that, I dropped out of my amateur drama group show where I was supposed to do a singing solo

So well done!

Welcome

Sounds tough What kinds of things make you anxious? (if you don't mind saying). I dropped out of school at the worst times too, I'm really sorry to hear it

Have you considered (or had) any kinds of therapy or medication? I think it could really help.

Good luck with the dinner this evening - what is it that makes you anxious about it?

Well, when I first started getting really anxious was when I was starting to do my GCSE exams last year so that definitely set me off, I've always been a high achiever and expected to maintain that so there was a lot of pressure. Throughout the year I would get anxious about my studies too because I've been having problems with my stomach too which I saw a few doctors about and nobody had any idea what was going on until recently so I missed a lot of school throughout the year and was anxious about falling behind and just anxious about like being a failure I guess hah, I don't know how to explain that just general anxiousness about everything!

The last few months though I have had all of that stuff about AS exams etc but also an increasingly social phobia type anxiety. I get really anxious about being outside on my own, about going out with friends or going to parties (I always intend to go but get too anxious and cancel at the last minute), about being in school etc etc etc. The last few weeks I've not been going anywhere except when absolutely necessary for example violin lessons (I have an exam in it next week), opticians, once I went the shop to buy bread otherwise my brother would have no lunch etc. Argh.

I was in counselling at school this year for depression and self-injury from November until Easter when the counsellor left. I had two sessions with a counsellor outside of school (for the same reasons) in May but then that had to go on hiatus for various reasons and I'm not due to start again until the first week of August. I saw a doctor yesterday about the anxiety but she said she didn't want to give me medication and told me to just hold out for the counselling.

Thank you and at first I was anxious about where exactly it is but that's sorted out because I'm meeting a friend who is also going. I'm anxious about getting ready and things...it's a formal and I have to wear a dress and I'm really sort of...gender-queer and hate wearing dresses. Really self-conscious about my appearance. Then there's all the small talk with the speaker as I'm on his table and also the fact that one of my teachers will be there and I haven't been in school for like two weeks so I'm scared he'll comment about it and I'll be like D;

This is a really long message, I'm sorry for that!

This seems really tiny in relation to what you're all going/have been through, tearing up here and I'm sorry you're having such a tough time, really hope you can find a remedy or way of coping with your anxieties. It's a big ol' scary word and being anxious is sometimes just part of it all, it's understandable, natural and you're certainly not alone.

Generally incredibly confident; or rather everybody thinks I am. Better actress than I think at times. Scared of lots of things, but can manage that fear. The one anxiety that can be almost debilitating is this utterly irrational panic that sets in when I'm in my local shopping centre. It's just opposite my old school, and I'm fine when we're there in a big group but when alone or just with my mum I get really panicky. The first time was about a year and a half ago, we were just wandering around and suddenly I needed to get out, heart was pounding and I couldn't think about anything else but how to get out of there. But couldn't make myself walk out the front door and the only way I could face was getting the lift downstairs into the basement. It was really odd and happens quite often now, I’m ok being downstairs and sometimes I can push through getting scared upstairs, but more often I just panic, it’s so unlike me. The only rational I can see is being anxious about there being so many people around, but it's truly only in this one shopping centre (well I've gotten anxious in other places, but it's every time I'm in there at the moment and can face other places better, can’t face sales in any shop, well unless it’s really quiet) sometimes I can't face walking around on the floor that opens out into the main walkway and to get from shop to shop I go to the bottom floor and walk in the underground bit. It's really odd and whilst seemingly minor it gets me down. I'm not overly confident about my weight so perhaps it stems from that, just being uncomfortable in clothes shops, or not wanting to be seen by people I know since it's just opposite school. It's so silly, but it gets me all upset sometimes. Just wondered if anyone has this same anxiety or if you have any ideas about how I can control it better? Thank you in advance (:

That's OK

I understand you being anxious about achieving - I totally know what you mean, I get the same thing - it's like the only 'thing' I have is being smart, and if I don't do really well (like the best out of everyone) then I'm worthless... Doesn't make sense but... Well I know how you feel anyway

It's annoying that you've been having such trouble with counsellors disappearing and cancelling, but hopefully when you start back again it will really help

I guess by the time you read this you will have already been to the dinner... so hope it went well!

It wasn't soo bad, thank you I didn't even wear a dress in the end, I couldn't bring myself to xD I wore a top and skirt instead and was the only girl not in a dress but whatever. At least it's over with now and I feel proud that I went and stuck it out plus it was nice to see some of my friends too who I haven't seen in a few weeks now.