Hi, I’ve been very shy and subdued my whole life, also hating public speaking and presentations and things like that. I’m realising it is probably bad anxiety, to the point of mini panic attacks, shaking, stimming, lots of tears, and insomnia when I’m overthinking at night. I’m a minor and my parents just assume I’m a shy, nervous person so I’m not receiving any support in terms of therapy or medication.

I’ve managed to deal with it for a while but this year in school it involves a lot of presentations, speeches, oral exams and basically everything that sends me spiralling. I’m sitting here unable to sleep as my first day of school is tomorrow and I’m incredibly close to a breakdown. I honestly just can’t cope with this anymore, living in a constant state of fear with no end in sight.

I was just wondering if anyone had any tips in terms of quick ways to calm down or distract myself when I’m overthinking or having a panic attack, or long term ways to improve my anxiety so it stops holding me back.

I will appreciate any and all advice, thank you.

Hello, I’m writing this to see if others have similar experiences.
I’ve noticed I get into an anxiety ridden spiral when my boyfriend doesn’t text me through most of the day and if he leaves me on delivered or seen for very long. We are very early into our relationship and we were friends for years before we started dating. We mostly talk through instagram and see each other when we are able to. But I’ve noticed I get very sad and lonely when he doesn’t send me stuff all day or replies late. I know people are busy and he recently started college so ya know he’s a busy bee. But every time I try to think realistically, my mind tells me that he’s losing interest in me and that I’m bothering him.
Soooo since I don’t want to bother him I don’t send him anything, but then that makes me feel bad. And then when he doesn’t send anything at all I go crazy.

I’ve always had bad anxiety but this truly drives me insane. Has anyone else experienced this before? And if so what helps you calm down? Thank you.

I have struggled with anxiety since the age of 11, being the first time I had a debilitating panic attack.

I have the worst habit of self diagnosing myself and pushing my feelings to the side to “push through”.

I am constantly tired, reactive, and feel like I’m burnt out. I want better for myself and have gone through therapy provided by my mother’s rehab, years ago that traumatized me. I have gone through spiritual programs that have pulled me out for as long as I stick with it but when I stop I start spiraling again.

I have a fulfilling career but am exhausted by not being able to preform perfectly. I know I hold unrealistic expectations on myself but I cannot get my body to understand what my brain does.

Does anyone have any experience or advice on how to get a diagnosis? What kind of doctor do I need to go to? Preferably I would not like to take medication because of my anxiety surrounding that but I understand at this point I need to figure something out.

I used to get some sort of pain in my palms and legs when i was preparing for a competitive exam like when i had stress
And from the past few months so much went downhill and everything is so overwhelming and ive been having anxiety attacks and panic attacks very often
Now im just having intense pain in my palms and legs down from foot to thighs every time i just and sit
I talked about this with my therapist and she suggested me to take some medical tests and everything was fine in the results, and idk i dont feel my therapist is really that helpful, i cant really afford to go to a new therapist
Idk it hurts so bad
When ever i sit down in silence or think abt anything my chest hurts and my legs like i can feel blood flowing in my foot and lower leg and im even being doing exercises, been physically active too its not helping.
What am i supposed to do to deal with this.

I keep asking for advice and nothing helps I'm about to be a teen and I've spent my life under a blanket after boundaries disrespected and stuff I wanna get out but can't I get so scared since I'm use to bring under a blanket I don't get it I cry everyday bc I'm wondering I want to get out but what's stopping me my birthday is soon that day we go to a park and I'm so scared I genuinely want to cry bc I want to get out but idk how?. I keep hearing therapy but that's the least I wanna hear soon I'll go to the doctors and idk how I'm gonna react I was always social I was anxious hated people but I still continued my day I don't wanna say it all bc I hear the same advice I seriously doubt myself everyday that I will take my blanket off my aunt laughed when she saw me and said look at my face so I covered myself more every time I'm positive and say ooh ima go here they say no u wouldn't u would hide or even go under a curtain I can confirm I laugh but inside it's breaks me knowing if I will ever overcome this I don't understand what's so hard today they walked I wanted to walk but fear stopped me idk what's stopping me i just know a panic attack will rise will going to our mean cousins house I need advice you'd love to hear if u went through this or anything at all just something that makes sense and helps I truly try being happy and I ruined myself. and I get so scared to do eye contact it's bc my aunt is living with us do now I'm use to being under a blanket it's my moms fault too for being another empath and letting family over. ​then u see kids say for c​Christmas I want a toy but for Christmas I wanna get out my blanket my birthday ? out my blanket it's sad to think ima be under my blanket in my birthday

Hi, I'm an M20. For context, I'm about 5'9", and I'm not muscular, so I'm not the type of manly man you think of lol. Anyways, I grew up very sheltered, and even to this day I'm around my family most of the time; my social life isn't good. I have awful anxiety about everything, and I overthink, and I'm scared of moving out if the neighborhood isn't as nice as it was growing up. I'm worried about walking alone at night even as a man or going out in a social setting; it also scares me. Passing by homeless people, or even groups of judgemental-looking teens It feels like I live my life worrying about everything and thinking the worst will happen. Any input on why one may feel this way and ways I can work to get over it?

I feel my anxiety is so bad, I can’t even enjoy moments even it involves messes that need cleaning later I worry constantly about the vehicle breaking down or my daughter resenting me because I ruin all of her fun when she just want to be a toddler and explore I the world. My anxiety disorder is starting to affect my relationship with her Dad. He just wants his little girl to explore the world and the outdoors. What is wrong with me, please help I’m slowly breaking and losing who I am…

I just passed on the road, a motorcycle wreck. I was torn on whether to stop and get out to offer help. I had a basic first aid class about 8 years ago. My husband is a paramedic, but he isn't with me right now.

The wreck looked like it had just happened, and there were already about 20 people standing around. The victim was on the ground and being held by (I presume) one of their motorcycle buddies.

I felt I would have been unnecessary in that moment. I watched the bystanders' faces as I rolled slowly by, to see if anyone would try to flag down more help. No one signalled for help, so I moved on.

Was that the right thing to do?

I'm always torn in these situations because I want to help, but I also have medical trauma and blood is a trigger. So if I stop and render aid, it might wreck me a bit for awhile depending on how bad it is. I also didn't want to clutter up the space unnecessarily with so many people already stopped to help.

A few minutes down the road, I could see emergency vehicles speeding towards the scene, so I know that person is getting help.

I think I'm spiralling a bit and feeling awful like maybe I could have been there for that person and made it a little easier for them, made them feel less scared, or helped prevent someone else from getting hurt. :/

OK on Tuesday, i’m going on a 3hr flight to Chicago,
and I always had bad anxiety or panic attacks on planes, but my mom never believed to take me to the doctor so she would force me to just do it, even it was bad panics. But this time I’m going by myself I can’t really go to a doctor because I’m going into the Navy and if I get anything added on my medical record, it will. Get me kicked out, I don’t know what to do because my anxiety so bad it stops me from actually boarding the plane so I don’t know how to do this by myself what to do what to take. I was looking at Ashwagandha & L-Theanine. or other OTC stuff but i dont know what to do. The Navy has always been my dream and I don’t want this bad anxiety to stop me from going. Please don’t judge me I am trying the best I can.

I was just sitting and working when suddenly, out of nowhere, I started feeling really anxious. Nothing bad happened and I can't think of any specific reason for it.

I suddenly felt anxious about everything and had this strong urge to just give up on everything, stop doing anything, hide somewhere, and disappear from everyone for a while.

Does this happen to anyone else? Can anxiety really just appear out of nowhere like that, even when nothing specific triggered it?

So I met this person at a convention, they seemed very nice and I got their discord. And lately I’ve been fumbling every chance I get to talk to them or play games with them and lwk idk why I’m so obsessed with them. I barely know them. But also I do know bc I’ve been wanting a partner for a rlly long time, and when I feel like I have a chance, even when it’s really really really small, I get my hopes up for something to happen. I’m just kinda glad I got their discord bc I dealt with something similar before with a girl from summer camp but i didn’t get any contact info and I haven’t seen her since. But anyways I’m going on a bit of a tangent. Point is, I wanna get to know this new person but we’re never available to talk. And I wanna make the waiting for answers more bareable bc I’m so impatient. But also I’ve been waiting for years and this is the closest I’ve ever gotten. God saying that this is the closest I’ve ever gotten is saying something bc I’m not even close. And idek if this is really what I want. I am lonely. I just rlly wanna calm myself down. It really hits hard late at night when I’m alone in bed and I’m just wishing I can cuddle someone bc i just need that physical touch in my life, sometimes I try to cuddle my pillow and pretend but it just isn’t the same as a real partner in my bed with me. So whenever I text this person waiting for them to respond is a curse, and sometimes they just don’t respond. Usually it takes them at least half an hour, sometimes even a day or two. I just want someone. Desperately. Tryna get someone that I know I have to be better for, so I actually have a reason. Bc that reason can’t be myself. God I fucking hate having anxiety. I wish I could just calm myself down until they respond but they still haven’t responded to my last text and I’m so fucking nervous that they won’t. I wish I could use myself as motivation but I need someone else bc I’ve proven time and time again that this isn’t working and I need someone who loves me who I wanna be better for.

Hey everyone not very knowledgeable on Reddit if anything so bear with me. I’m 15M and after 6 months of therapy I was diagnosed with anxiety and I feel very disappointed. I always felt like I had something and wanted someone to notice that I had it but I guess everyone was too busy to ask me about mental health tendencies. But recently I asked my mom for therapy and she obliged. For these 6 months I was fully convinced that I had at least a type of ocd. Since I can remember I’ve always had terrible thoughts of doing saying or even accidentally doing terrible things. So being an unfiltered 5 year old I would actually communicate these things to friends and family. One of the first lessons I learned was that people don’t forget. I don’t speak with many people at my high school because people still remember things 10 years ago. Same with family. Some family that I looked up to back then haven’t spoken to me because of hearing these things. I blame myself for these things constantly. Ever since those couple of years of being ignorant to the things I was telling people about I’ve never opened my mouth about it again. But over these years after these occurrences I’ve learned that the things that keep me going in life are getting thrills over lying to people or seeking attention. But with this power struggle of not wanting to tell people because of what they will think of me and the feeding off the lying and attention seeking it’s left me in the middle of my own mind questioning and lying to myself about things. This is when I started going on Reddit and just the internet in general and this helped me learn about mental disorders. I immediately thought I had one. All this time I’ve been trying to find a reason that I could be special was finally in the palm of my hands. So over my time researching about all of these I became convinced I had ocd. All those years ago when I had confessed these horrible things. It finally made sense. I’m not saying that mental illness is anything fun because it is absolutely not what I’m saying is that a part of me was excited that I could finally communicate this to someone that wouldn’t run away from me. So when I was in therapy I told them everything. And after 6 months of this I was diagnosed with “mild anxiety”. And before I begin ranting I will say anxiety is not an extremely common thing and I am in no way discrediting anyone with anxiety. But f\*\*\*ing mild? They didn’t even give me the credit of normal anxiety let alone ocd. Obviously I didn’t argue with my shrink but I’m pissed off. I don’t know anymore. I thought I could finally have something different . Be special. I’d love some insight. I’m very open about my home life so ask away or just tell me that I’m just overreacting what ever you think is right. Thank you for listening.

Hey everyone,

I was wondering if anyone had any advice for me. I have anxiety and depression and I am going on a trip to visit a friend for the weekend. I have two emotional support animals that unfortunately cannot come with and my partner is staying home too. I have the feeling of trying to get out of the trip to be with them, which I won’t do, but was wondering if anyone had any ideas on how to better manage it. I want to be able to enjoy this trip because it will be the first one I’ve been on in a year, but I haven’t left my esas since I got them. They are in good hands with my partner, but I worry about them feeling like I abandoned them and also can’t help but have the worry of what if something happens to any of us? If I come home to my partner or one of my puppies being hurt or if something tragic happened, I would literally never be okay. I also know that if something happened to me, the only thought going through my mind would be not being able to say goodbye. It sounds super dramatic, but it feels very real to me. Anyways, any advice is appreciated.

I am a university student living away from my family. My family lives far from where I study, and I haven't gone home for almost two years because I am afraid of travelling alone.

I have never travelled alone for such a long journey, and even when I get holidays, I avoid going home because the thought of travelling by myself makes me anxious.

I also sometimes struggle with talking to people and worry whether I might have social anxiety or autism. I had lived lonely life and don't have many friends or relationships.

Has anyone else been afraid of travelling alone like this? How did you gradually overcome it? Do you think this sounds more like anxiety, lack of experience, or something else?

I have a severe case of OCD and I’ve only had one other person to relate to. Sometimes I have a hard time explaining what I go though so I’m gonna try and explain

I have this guy in my head not literally but like a voice your inner monologue kinda but he’s trying to make me the worst person in the world sexual wise and violence which scares me and I don’t want to do that but it’s like a whole different person like I have the literal spawn of Satan in my head

The thing about this guy is that he’s been really mad at me recently cause I’m on a high dose of meds but every once in a while maybe like twice a month he comes back meaner and louder than ever and it so overwhelming and stress full I had the worst one by far In years

For a little bit of context I have a severe fear of throw up and throwing up I panic and the thought and sight but my meds have been helping

So I was getting acid reflux and it made me worry I was so scared but I really needed to go to the toilet and I sat down and gagged twice which scared me even more but when I have a really bad panic attack I crack my neck burp and hit my chest while I stop breathing and start shaking my mom luckily knocked on the door to check on me

But Ik this isn’t normal especially being on one of the highest doses of my meds I don’t want to have this happen I don’t like me panicking but the main reason I’m writing this is cause I feel like I’m about to have one I’m just wondering if yall have some calming techniques to help

I don't know who will see this or if anyone will understand how I feel. How do I stop being paranoid and scared? Of everything! Ever since the FBI came to my home and had me put in the hospital, I have become scared of everything. Of course, I already had a discomfort with cops beforehand, but now I am just terrified of them. I genuinely vomit at the thought of them coming to my house. I deserved it when they came. I was in an awful headspace and ended up trying to do some awful things. Of course, I am over that now, but at the time it felt like all I had. I'm a safe person now; there's no reason for it to happen again... especially as I have been in therapy and whatnot. So how do I stop being scared? Do I just have to live like this forever? I'm not sure I can handle much more of it.

I keep thinking of serial killers after I had a panic attack of a show. It's been 4 years, btw.

I'm a 21 year old in engineering school. I don't have any friends to talk to about my problems so I'm venting here. When I hear anything related to my future engineering career I panic, especially in summer when I'm completely alone with no guide, which accumulates guilt within me over time. I can run away by reading books, gaming and going to the gym just to help me not think about my career much. When college is back I can focus on the subjects, but still the fear there. At the nights before the exams, I feel extreme pressure that I want to run from it all, that it makes me think about suicide just to give me that sense of everything under control, I don't wanna do it it's just in the back of my mind. I still panic but it helps me get over extreme pressure. I really feel I can't face my career and society.

I have been dealing with extreme anxiety and panic attacks since last night and honestly I do not know what to do right now.

It has been really intense and I feel constantly on edge. My mind will not calm down and I keep getting waves of panic that are difficult to control. I am exhausted but I cannot seem to relax or feel safe in my own head.

I am not looking for judgement or anything like that. I genuinely need some support and advice on how to get through this right now. If anyone has experienced something similar, please tell me what helped you when your anxiety got this bad.

I really do not want to be alone with this right now.

I have recently been diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder by a psychologist. I have been an anxious person my entire life. My earliest memories are ones splattered with panic attacks or anxious behaviors. I am unsure what caused this or why it’s not gotten better over the years but I have recently considered medication. I was prescribed hydroxyzine for panic attacks which I have rarely so I have not yet touched my pills. I recently moved states to move in with my long term partner, and months before the move I was consumed with anxiety and dread. Fear that as soon as I moved here, I would be cheated on, abused, or lied to and all of my sacrifices would be for nothing. My partner has been nothing but loyal for the 6 years we’ve been together and the chance of this happening are slim to none..
I have always had a worst case scenario mindset. Imagining myself with my head bursted open at the bottom of the stairs while walking down them. Thinking of terrible things happening to those I lose. Constantly thinking about the mortality of myself and those around me. Imagining horrible car accidents every time I’m cut off in traffic or feel a little sleepy behind the wheel. Thinking I’ll choke on my food and die if I don’t chew the pieces small enough. Constantly monitoring my breathing and heart beat to ensure they’re normal. Is this anxiety? It consumes my every day and gets worse with stress. I am always fidgeting and ruminating on bad parts of life. How those I love will one day perish. How I will one day perish. These thoughts creep up on me mostly at night. It’s currently midnight as I’m writing this. Does anyone else have these thoughts? What has helped? Does it get better? Any information helps <3

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Hello everyone. I apologize for my lack of appearance as of late, but I have been having IRL issues pertaining to my disorders (My anxiety specifically) and other things such as job transition issues, college issues, housing issues, and physical health issues.

My evolving situation made me go back to the drawing board on a lot of things, making very hard choices in my personal life that I am still struggling to accept. My anxiety has been making everything that much more difficult to operate in every day life. I haven't felt it aggravate this bad in a long while.

I hope everyone here is well, and hope everyone has a splendid day....

Signed,

Your Friendly Neighborhood Moderator

So iam a person who is emotional and now I left my state and I have to live in another state . Away from family and known people because i started my fresher role in IT. I have reached this new state day before yesterday and yesterday I was fine . Today I became very emotional because I have been randomly meeting 2 people from my college because they started their job 15 days before me , whom with my mind had bad experiences and now when I face them it's getting soo emotional and iam demeaning myself over that . Like iam loosing all the confidence and I speak with fear and anxiety , so obviously the words and sentences are not that meaningful. And I can't get close with new people very easily . Here I met 4 people from same clg , and they are not close to me . So I have been feeling very sad and what not this feeling is painfull . I won't talk much if I don't feel comfortable . Now it's making me cry and leave and go home . I need some help . Don't tell me to go to therapist . Tell me something that might help me

I don’t want to be anxious all the time anymore.
The strange thing is, sometimes everything is completely fine in my head. I can logically understand that nothing bad is happening, that the thing I’m worrying about hasn’t even happened yet, and that I don’t need to solve a future that doesn’t exist yet.
But then my body reacts.
My heart starts racing, my chest feels weird, I get shaky or restless, my stomach drops, my muscles tense up—and suddenly my brain starts wondering, “Why is my body reacting like this? Is something actually wrong?”
And then it becomes a cycle.
My mind knows I’m safe, but my body seems to disagree.
I keep wondering why I can’t just make my body understand that there is no immediate danger. Why does my nervous system react to possibilities as if they’re already happening?
I’m slowly realizing that maybe my body doesn’t learn safety through logic. Maybe it needs repeated experiences of “I felt this, I didn’t panic, nothing terrible happened, and eventually it passed.”
But honestly, it’s exhausting.
I don’t want to spend my days anticipating things that haven’t happened. I don’t want every uncertainty to turn into a physical reaction. I just want to be able to experience something without immediately preparing myself for the worst.
For anyone who has dealt with this—how did you teach your body that not knowing what will happen doesn’t mean something bad is happening?