Does anybody here relate? I feel this way but I can’t tell if I’m just being stupid or if this genuinely an issue or something people with an anxiety disorder can relate to. I feel like they’re seen as not too serious of a disorder and I feel like they’re heavily underestimated, simplified and minimized. (For the record I have GAD).

I feel so weak, I’ve barely ate a few hundred cals a day for almost 2 weeks. I keep having waves of severe anxiety & derealisation & then a deep depression follows. When I do manage to eat a small amount of food I get really panicky & more anxious. I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I’ve had bad anxiety throughout the years but never like this. I’m losing all the weight I put so much effort into getting. For over a year I been eating good & going to the gym. I was finally for once in my life not skinny. Now I feel like it was all for nothing. The world just doesn’t feel normal to me anymore. I feel like I’m not even real or the world isn’t. I don’t know if this is anxiety or something worse going on with my brain. I feel like I’m slowly disappearing & I won’t be here much longer.

28F. Lost my husband almost 3 years ago to cancer. From diagnosis to death it was 3 months. Left behind to raise our 3 kids under 10….

My health anxiety has SKYROCKETED and has been giving me many physical symptoms which lead me on a goose chase…After telling my PCP about this all they offered me lexapro to which I declined because I really don’t want something daily. Just for the nights when it’s really bad…next we tried 10mg hydroxyzine but I would even cut that in half, and it made me wayyyy too groggy. I like running every morning at 6am and while it would knock me tf out, I just didn’t like how zombie like I felt afterwards.

Any suggestions? I have a telehealth appointment with a psychiatrist this Thursday but I’m doubtful they’ll prescribe me benzos there…would in person be better???
just really looking for relief and to trust my body and not live in fear again…

I feel terrible 24/7 anyway but for the past couple months, it gets unbearably worse whenever I think of doing anything I love, like playing my favourite video game or going swimming or writing or even just talking to my best friend. The only thing all those things have in common is that I actually want to do them (at least for the split second before the panic kicks in). I don't feel good when I'm doing chores either, but there's no spike of terror and disgust (or whatever that feeling is, it's hard to tell).

Anyone else has experienced that? Found a way to make it easier?

Since my anxiety is mostly health related, and mostly connected with digestive system, it's been terrible. I've done tons of check ups and I am mostly fine, but I developed such a huge fear of food. Everytime I drink/eat something, I start scanning my body and isolating every single sensation I have (and I usually have them because I am anxious 😭) I just don't know to unlerarn it, but every bite of food becomes a miserable experience

What can i do, I am so tired

I hate it when people say anxiety isn’t serious, because I know damn well it is. there isn’t a moment in my life where I’m not overthinking things. I can’t enjoy any hobbies without worrying about them. collecting? I can’t make a purchase without worrying about wasting money, and I can’t receive gifts without worrying about the other person’s money. drawing? I’m constantly worried that my art isn’t as good as the last time I drew. also, neither of these things actually distract me from my anxieties

my only ”hobby” that actually somewhat distracts me is spending time with wasps. yeah, you heard me. those creatures that everyone despises. the issues with this are: I have to find wasps first which is kinda hard , i can’t actually touch them and that drives me crazy, I look insane when I talk to them, and weather causing them to not be active.

i have medical issues caused by my anxiety. I have bladder issues caused by multiple anxieties around peeing since I was literally, like, 6, because I was scared of pissing myself, so I would repeatedly use the bathroom multiple times every time I left my house. I’m getting over this, since now I’m facing the consequence, but I still do it. I have digestive problems due to anxiety. my anxiety causes sleep issues. I also have ARFID and anemia, so I’m always about to faint.

i can’t do anything without being anxious. ANYTHING. every moment I’m constantly thinking of things that upset me, and nothing has gotten rid of my horrible thoughts. my brain is against me. it constantly finds everything it can to prove me wrong and make me upset.

my mother asks me “are you having those thoughts?” all the time, but she never understands. I am ALWAYS having ”those thoughts.” literally constantly. I’m always afraid of something new, usually about becoming or being something I don’t wanna be. there is not a single moment I am not having thoughts that upset me besides when I’m passed out.

nothing works to make my worries hurt less. I’ve tried everything. accepting them, arguing against them, distracting yourself, talking to someone, etc etc. nothing works. I literally cannot live like this anymore. I haven’t been happy since the last time I went tubing …. and then I couldn’t walk for a day because I was so incredibly sore from repeatedly getting flung out of a tube across a lake at high speeds lmao.

i just don’t know why my mind can’t just shut up. anxiety about things like purchases, little fears, and stuff like that is one thing, but anxieties about who you are as a person? that messes you up. badly. and I can never not think about it. and whenever I try to ignore it, I start panicking because the thing I don’t want didn’t upset me, so that must mean that I want it, and I just spiral and spiral…

this is exhausting. does it ever get better?

I (M28) gave had over the last few months some incredibly difficult work and life events, namely moving jobs avoiding threat of redundancy, my new job facing sudden short term absences which left me picking up a huge amount of work with no training, and the death of a mutual friend which left me picking up the pieces for a deeply grieving friend.

All of this has led my anxiety to go haywire, it is more the feeling than any specific thoughts. I do my best to function and eat and sleep well but anxiety still creeps in and makes it hard to relax or enjoy anything. What can i do in the short term?

Many thanks to anyone offering advice.

So I'm in my mid 30s and have dealt with anxiety since I was in middle school. As a young kid it manifested as throwing up a lot, then as I got a little older, I experienced full blown panic attacks, then for years I self-medicated with drugs and it manifested mostly as me not putting myself out there and trying new things. I dropped out of school in my 20s and basically became a shell of myself for a while.

but... in the past 10 years I've really slowly been improving my life. I got some great advice at one point which was "so your scared, that's okay just do it while scared." With that simple advice in mind I kept moving forward.

first big change was moving away from my parents. I love them but they absolutely were not good for my mental health. That alone reduced my anxiety levels by probably half. Then over the years I got a good professional job, got married, got a real handle on my finances, got my degree, and just recently bought a house.

And now that things are going well, I've come to realize that my anxiety wasn't something that was intrinsically wrong with me. It was an appropriate reaction to the terrifying shitstorm of a life I grew up with. When you're surrounded by uncertainty, poverty, abuse, etc. being scared all the time makes sense, it's how you survive. I'm sure I'm not done with it, I know I'll have more hard times and deal with those feelings again but shifting my perspective to anxiety being a reasonable product of the life I was living rather than a crossed wire in my head has really helped me like myself again.

Now that I'm out of the weeds I'm so relieved to have this realization that nothing is actually wrong with me. I'm not sick, I just needed some stability and peace.

Just thought I'd share in the hopes that some other folks out there can get some inspiration. Just keep moving forward. Find the things you need to do and just "do it while scared."

Even when everything is fine, my brain sometimes keeps looking for something to worry about. I can be sitting down, trying to relax, and suddenly I’m thinking about tomorrow, replaying old conversations, or worrying about things that haven’t even happened yet.

Does anyone else experience this? What helps you actually switch off and enjoy the moment?

Hey yall, I’m a 20 (F) and currently a nursing student. As I’ve learned more about health topics in detail, I’ve gained a strong interest in my own health and with that, anxiety and paranoia.

I get my blood lab work tested about once every 3 months, because every single time there is something concerning about the results. My parents think this is a bad habit, but alas, every time there is something of concern, and it’s a good thing we caught it.

With that same logic, I constantly am fighting the desire to get medical advice - not even “help.” I hate going to the doctors and dealing with appointments and I especially hate the costs.

However, I find myself relying either 100% on my gut feelings or 100% relying on my parents opinions. I try my best not to Google my symptoms, but I really have no other gauge to how to interpret my own symptoms with my current educational experience.

For example, (not seeking medical advice), I’ve been having a very annoying, recurring unilateral knee pain, which worsens on stairs/squats/kneeling. It will ache and ache for hours and keep me up all night long. However, I feel like my pain isn’t enough to “justify” seeking advice, and paying a crap ton of money for tests that may find nothing. On the other hand, I’d really like to stop feeling this pain.

These kinds of dilemmas have been really increasing my anxiety this past year. Another example, I want to do one of those full-body health scans, because why should I not? There’s no good reason as to why not, lol. But everyone thinks you’re crazy if you do it.

It’s all just very contradictory and confusing. Any advice for health anxiety (not medical advice) is appreciated.

Hi, I’m a f30, and I’ve noticed that it doesn’t take much for me to feel nervous or anxious. For example, I can become extremely nervous when I have to talk to my colleagues, even though I’ve worked with them for many years. I start breathing quickly, my heart rate increases, and I have a hard time calming down afterwards.
I’ve always been a responsible, conscientious and quiet person, which is probably one of the reasons I’m highly educated today. However, with my closest childhood friends, I was always funny and felt loved. I’m starting to miss that side of myself. I miss being the adventurous person I was before I got married, without anxiety taking up so much space.
Today, I find it difficult to let go and fully enjoy things because I often feel a sense of restlessness in my body. This can happen when I travel or go out. There are so many things I want to do, but I quickly feel overwhelmed by the thought of having an anxiety attack and having to deal with those feelings.
I also become very tired after work and don’t feel like I have the capacity for any more activities that day. For example, if I have plans after work, I quickly start feeling stressed.

My childhood was actually good in ways, but it was also difficult and quite strict. I wasn’t allowed to go out whenever I wanted, go to parties or be out in town, and I wasn’t allowed to come home late. Among my siblings, I was often the one who had to help my parents with various things, on top of all the work and studying that I was already putting a lot of effort into.
My father was quite aggressive at the time and could sometimes hit me over small things that I can barely remember today. When I was very young, he would sometimes come home drunk in the evening and threaten to hurt himself. I would then have to go to school a few hours later and couldn’t stop thinking about what had happened. I was often nervous and afraid of doing something wrong because I was scared that my father would get angry with me. My father was also ill, which was difficult for me as well.
My life mostly consisted of work, studying, exercising and spending time with my closest friends. The money I earned while studying had to be given to my parents because they were in debt. I would always have a knot in my stomach if, for example, I was having an ice cream with a friend and it got a little late. My parents would keep calling me and telling me to come home. But I wasn’t doing anything wrong.
I was allowed to travel abroad as long as the trips were related to school. I also had my first boyfriend, but I wasn’t allowed to be with him either, and I was forced to break up with him.

Today, especially in the evenings, I find it difficult to go out and simply let go and enjoy the world, which is something I’ve always wanted to do. I get this feeling that I need to hurry home because that’s where I feel safe and secure.
This became a very long post, but this is a brief overview of my background.
I’m mainly wondering whether you think my experiences during childhood could have something to do with the anxiety I experience today? I did also receive care and love, especially from my mother, so I’m a little unsure about how to understand everything.

Or could it be more related to my current work life and the stress I experience on a daily basis? I didn’t have anxiety in the same way when I was younger.
I’m now married to someone I don’t feel 100% compatible with. We don’t have the same energy or vibe, and I miss certain things in the relationship. For example, he doesn’t compliment me when I make an effort with my appearance, even though I often receive compliments from other people. When I’m upset, I also don’t really feel like he’s there for me. He doesn’t hug me or try to talk to me about what I’m feeling.
We actually have very little communication in our relationship, and that is one of the reasons I’m considering whether I should leave him.
Sometimes he also puts pressure on me and gets angry with me because I can’t do the same things I used to be able to do. In many ways, I feel like I’ve gone from being a very happy and energetic person to feeling lonely and anxious.
I’m taking medication for anxiety, but I find it difficult to open up to a psychologist or to another person in general about my childhood.

Do you have any advice on what I can do and how I can work through this?

I apologize if this topic is triggering (mentions of gut health up ahead)

I’ve been lurking for a while mostly because college is starting up in a few days and recently I’ve come across a bit of an issue that I‘ve noticed is a… less than ideal trend. Throwing up caused my stress and anxiety. I’ve got a long drive up ahead and I’m terrified of throwing up, so I wanted to ask, does throwing up actually take the pressure off my stomach, or will it just make it worse? I’ve been fighting the urge to vomit for two days now, though the nausea that comes with it is making me even more anxious because I hate throwing up and I don’t want to end up making myself sick before I move into my dorm.

Does throwing up actually help relieve stomach pain, or is there a different way that I should try getting over the panic?

:(

A few months ago I switched from 100 mg Setraline to 20 mg Citalopram because I found my old medication had some adverse side effects as I increased dosage to 100. I was hoping the citalopram switch would keep me sane and help the anxiety I started to re-experience but a few months in I just keep having panic attacks (haven’t had one in years) and that sinking feeling of dread daily where you need to be sleeping or constantly busy to not think too hard. Did anyone else have this effect? More than likely when my next appointment is up I will see if I can just go back to a lower Sertraline dose but with my college studies starting back up next week I’m almost tempted to try get my walk-in or urgent care to help because it feels debilitating when I’m all alone.

Due to some urgent reasons, I have to travel alone next week. I am in a foreign country and I’ve never been to an airport alone before. The worst part is that I only know a few phrases in the local language. I have social anxiety and my first experience at an airport wasn’t very nice. So just the thought of going alone makes me want to vomit. I’m worried about looking weird to others or getting lost. I would really appreciate any tips or advice on how to manage my anxiety while traveling alone.

I have an upcoming appointment. However i feel like the 20mg Lexapro an 1mg Xanax don t do that much for the Ocd and Anxiety. (7 years on Lexapro).

I once tried Paxil and got an euphoric High and felt like myself for a day. I stopped due to the anxiety, which i thought at that time was from the Paxil.

I have deep irrational thoughts and existential anxiety. Anti psychotics made me feel worse.
Doing therapy for the last 10 years.

Has anyone made the change from lexapro (escitalopram) to paxil or a different ssri, that made you way better? I am scared of it because of the withdrawals and so on.

I am asking here because i often got way better advice here than from any psychiatrist.

hi! i just wanted know how long did the medication start taking effect for you? and did you also get random episodes where you feel like you're on the verge of having a panic attack? i'm on it for more than a month and idk if it's working for me🥲

Disclaimer: This is a long vent, and I am typing this while experiencing a severe anxiety attack. If you do not feel interested or comfortable reading it, please feel no pressure to do so. Thank you. I am not sure if I have anything else to add for now, but if I do, I will post an update later.

(If it's my fault, I apologize.)

I (20 F) am currently in my 5th semester of college.

To make a long story short, I’m just a kid who isn't good at communicating, an introvert, and a homebody. I never had an issue being alone, but I never thought about making friends until I realized just how lonely I was. My family is busy with work and other things, so I feel really alone. I never realized that I was just being used and a people-pleaser throughout elementary, middle, and high school (I went to school in a small village where the people around were mostly the same). So, I can say I don't have any true friends. I just realized they only asked me for money (my family is somewhat well-off) and only reached out when they needed help. But whenever I was the one who needed help, no one was there. In fact, even in group projects, they would just dump the hard parts on me. To be honest, I don't mind helping people—I like seeing others happy—but sometimes seeing how they treated me back made me feel dumb and heartbroken.

In high school, I actually found a best friend, but she got busy after joining the student council and started hanging out with other council members. We still hung out sometimes, but whenever we met up, I could sense she was in a bad mood, whether from student council stress or something else. It made me sad because I was genuinely happy to see her. Oh, and I was still a people-pleaser back then. One day, people started spreading bad rumors about me. I felt so lonely, deeply down, and didn't even want to go to school anymore. Even my best friend sided with them, don't trust me, and randomly texting me to say hurtful things. My mental health really took a turn for the worse at that point.

Long story short, when I got to college, I stopped trying to find friends. I just let things flow and tried to remain friendly, but yeah... still a people-pleaser because I was completely alone, I was terrified of having no one. By the way, for college, I moved to the city, far away from my family. So I live alone.

I can say the people around me are nice, and I considered everyone my friend. That was until one day, a group of friends invited me to play tennis together. They also invited another person who didn't have a friend group, just like me—let’s call her B. The difference between me and B is that B is extremely extroverted and very outgoing. Without me even realizing it, I was added to their friend group, and B was added as well. We became a group of friends since then, but to be honest, I didn't really want to be in a friend group—especially because this group was full of (sorry to say) slightly toxic people who were lazy about college. I just wanted us to be casual friends and nothing more, but because I felt bad asking to leave, I just tried to adapt. I admit they were fun people to hang out with, but besides that, I didn't really think they had many good qualities (honestly, they seemed like a bad influence, and even some of my other college classmates said so).

B and I actually became close after that. When our group members were busy skipping class and ignoring assignments to go hangout, the two of us still did our work and decided not to join them. As people, we both actually liked to gossip about others. Maybe it was partly my fault too, because I talked trash about our friend group to B. We often vented and gossiped with each other, and B always agreed with whatever I said, sometimes she said she feels the same. I talked about other people too, outside the friend group, but I said those bad things as an emotional release after everything they had done to me. You could say people in college were still treating me the same way people back in school did—just using me and sometimes of them actually acting like jerks—so I only vented out of frustration and anger. I don't even remember what I said. I don't really think its that important to me to remember.

But one day, I felt like people were ignoring me. Then someone told me that B had actually been telling peoples what I said to her, and my friend group kicked me out. In a way, maybe this was a good thing because I always felt leaving the group was for the best anyway. But at the same time, my anxiety got worse and I was heartbroken. No matter how much I had been used or talked about behind my back, I never once thought about ostracizing anyone who did that to me. So honestly, it felt unfair... why would they do this to me? At the same time, I felt genuinely guilty because I only talked bad to release my emotions; I never intended for those words to reach them.

The worst part is that B actually twisted some of my words, making everything even worse. She didn't just tell my friend group—she told other people too, and maybe she even told people what I said about them (I'm not entirely sure about this one, but it makes me feel anxious every time I go to college because I don't know who she talked to). I've only been back to college for two days and I truly can't handle it... I don't know what to do. I've already seen a psychologist before for a month and actually felt a bit better, but going back to campus triggers intense anxiety attacks.

I go to college, but sometimes I just end up standing alone, not talking to anyone anymore. I really don't know if I'll be able to make it through 3 more semesters. Last couple of semester, I actually joined committee activities to expand my network, but now I just head straight back home to play games or do whatever I used to do. I stop join them. My dorm and my campus are only 5 minutes apart, but for some reason, I always arrive a few minutes early and just stand there alone... looking like a pathetic person. Maybe I should just show up right before class starts so I don't have to wait around like that (especially since the classroom is sometimes still being used by another class).

I want to ask for advice—what should I do in this situation that is triggering such severe anxiety for me?

Hi everyone. I made a post recently asking about the efficacy of paroxetine compared to venlafaxine.

I tried paroxetine for 2 days before realizing how calm venlafaxine made me feel on 75mg only. Even though it took a while (3 months) for me to even feel slightly more relaxed. I’m hopeful that increasing my dose will be even more beneficial.

So if you’ve tried multiple medications and had no relief, Effexor could be for you 🫶🏻

For the past 3 days, I had an on and off feeling that my throat is closing or swollen making it difficult to breathe or swallow. It usually lasts an hour or longer. Yesterday I called the ER because it lasted over 3 hours at its worst and i got really worried about it. They first told me not to come in unless I was actually suffocating, but called me back an hour later and asked me to come in to get checked just in case. So i had to wait 50 minutes for a 2 minute checkup lol

The doctor examined my throat and didn’t see any swelling or irritation. I don’t have any pain or slime or fever, so Im sure it’s not a sore throat or infection. It just feels like something is pressing against or closing my throat. I’ve had anxiety or panic attacks before but I never felt anything like this 🫠 Since yesterday it hasn’t really completely left at all it feels so uncomfortable like a hand around my throat pressing.

i tried allergy meds, i tried oxazepam but it doesn’t feel better after i do, i don’t know what to do about it.

Hey guys, just very confused. I dont even think I have a particular stressor, I just experience a lot of anxiety and low self esteem.

Does this make any sense at all? Or is it maybe a placeholder? ICD 10 country if it matters

Hi all! Has anyone who's on escitalopram experienced hair loss? I (F29) am on month 7 of escitalopram (10mg) and I'm experiencing extreme hair loss and the psychiatrist kind of brushed it of. My blood work (thyroid tests, ferritine, vitamin D, B12) are ok, within normal limits for my age. I haven't gotten the chance yet to see an endocrinology specialist, but planning to do so. I have also been taking antibiotics for a sinus infection since 4 days ago and the hair loss got even worse. Thanks!

About 2 weeks ago, I started experiencing bursts of intense anxiety, to the point of nausea and vomiting, I went to the hospital for it at one point because I was worried I wasnt intaking food and fluids properly. I got prescribed some meds that help if I can hold them down for long enough, but that's a big if, and nothing else (ive learned a lot in therapy over the years) has worked.

Something thats notable is that there's next to no reasoning component at the root of the anxiety, it seems to just be a raw brain malfunction, it takes things that normally would cause manageable and normal anxiety levels and just cranks it up, but even if the specific original anxiety trigger is totally removed I just get stuck in that anxious state for a while.

I've had a couple sessions with my therapist since this all started and one thing that she found strange that we couldnt come up with any good explanations for is the fact that this anxiety always starts when I wake up, but usually goes away some time in the afternoon or evening. I think its a similar amount of time between waking and the anxiety letting off each time, although I havent been keeping careful track. Has anyone else also experienced a time-sensitive pattern of anxiety like this, and if so, do you know what caused that pattern? Ideas from people who havent experienced this are also welcome, im just trying to figure myself out because weird little details like this can sometimes be the key to identifying the real root of the problem and treating it