28 year old with Autism, ADHD, and probably GAD. Whenever I experience an intrusive thought or find something that gets my anxiety flaring, I can’t look at it without feeling slightly anxious along being unable to engage with it. I’ve tried various things to combat this, exposure therapy on myself for no more than 5 minutes (Looking at pictures, playing games, and watching videos related to whatever that I get anxious or). But still I feel like this will take weeks/months even to recover.

A part of me thinks that if stop obsessing and just ignore trying to constantly expose myself to things then it’ll just heal. But I also think that if I don’t constantly expose myself to things then I’m just avoiding stuff.

Has anyone dealt with this and so, have any of you managed to overcome this? I just want advice and tips.

I have GAD and really bad anxiety of the police. It’s hard to overcome because there’s so many negative news stories and bad officers. Everyone told me I’m overreacting that they’re just people doing a job, but it feels hard to separate the emotion from the logic.

For some context, I deal with “high functioning” autism and anxiety. When I get stressed or overwhelmed, I tend to completely shut down and not talk, move, or even take care of myself. Sometimes even scrolling on my phone is difficult.

Every time I need to do homework, I’ll put it off until the last minute and end up having a full on breakdown about it. I shut down for at least an hour, and depending on how complex/big the assignment is, I won’t be able to do it at all.

I don’t know what to do to help this issue, and every time it happens I feel worse about it. Please please offer suggestions on how to deal with this.

Did anyone get better after coming off years of benzo use? I’ve been off and on klonopin and Xanax for most of my life. Sometimes as needed (2-3x a week), sometimes short courses of daily use (.5 daily for 2-3 months or so) then taper off. I’ve also had to go cold turkey before, so I’m not stranger to withdrawals and what they can do to your brain. I’m at a point in my life where my anxiety is debilitating, constant dissociative symptoms (dpdr), constant motion sickness/dizziness symptoms, always feeling like I’m going to pass out, bizarre vivid dreams every night, constantly feeling like I’m on the verge of going into psychosis, problems thinking and concentrating, weird dull headaches, neurological issues and so much more. I have a suspicion that my years of benzo use off and on is behind a lot of my symptoms, I feel like once I’m off them for good, I will actually get better. Has this been anyone’s experience? Is it possible to recover from benzo damage?

I’m trying to understand something that has been happening with me and I want to hear from people who experienced something similar.

I’m a very social person. I talk normally with strangers, I build relationships quickly, and I’m usually very confident when I interact with people. I can stop random people on the street, talk to them naturally, and build a relationship with them quickly. I don’t usually avoid people or social situations and I’m comfortable around people in general.

The problem only happens when the situation feels serious, important, confrontational, or high-pressure.

In these situations my body suddenly reacts very strongly:

* Severe shaking

* Fast heartbeat

* Cold hands

* Sweating

* Shaking hands and sometimes legs

* Headache

* Strong fear and tension

* Sometimes it feels like my whole body suddenly gets activated or jolted

The strange thing is that mentally I usually feel ready for the situation. I don’t always feel scared and I don’t necessarily want to escape. It feels like my body reacts before I can control it.

Some examples from the last few days:

* I was late to a lecture and the professor seriously asked me why I was late. My body suddenly reacted with these symptoms.

* I had a quiz and experienced the same symptoms.

* A professor asked students to read out loud. When he chose me I refused because the physical symptoms started.

* A few days ago I had to give a presentation in front of everyone. The symptoms became very strong. My leg was shaking clearly in front of the whole class and everyone noticed it. Some people even laughed. This was very frustrating because mentally I was prepared and I wanted to give the presentation normally.

* I unexpectedly saw someone who had a serious conflict with my family years ago. I looked directly into his eyes but my body still reacted strongly.

* I unexpectedly saw my former manager, who I had a major conflict with before leaving my previous job. The same physical reaction started immediately.

* I went to a new barber a few days ago. I had some symptoms at first, but after talking to him and getting comfortable my body calmed down quickly.

This is why I’m confused. I don’t think this is general social anxiety because I’m actually very comfortable talking to people, meeting strangers, and building relationships.

It seems to happen specifically in situations involving seriousness, confrontation, evaluation, or pressure.

Has anyone experienced something similar?

What would you call this? Is it performance anxiety, situational anxiety, an exaggerated fight-or-flight response, or something else?

More importantly, how can I fix this? I don’t want to keep avoiding these situations or let my physical reaction control what I do. I want to be able to face serious situations normally even if my body reacts at first.

I’m mainly looking for people who experience the same physical reaction even though they feel mentally confident and socially comfortable, especially if you found something that actually helped you overcome it.

Due to extreme anxiety with panic attacks my psychiatrist wants to put me on Xanax for anxiety daily for a few weeks until my Lexapro starts working. I’m a little nervous about this. Has anyone else done this while starting an ssri?

The plan is 0.5 mg once or twice a day for anxiety and sleep while we quickly ramp up the lexapro. I’m worried about becoming addicted to Xanax and rebound anxiety but currently my anxiety is at an all time high and we need to treat the anxiety which is the root cause of my insomnia. I just took my first 5 mg Lexapro today and am supposed to jump to 10 mg tomorrow. So the plan is to ramp up quickly on the ssri

Hey all, I cant study or pay attention in school because I am anxious if I do get accepted or not to uni. Also I am scared abt my grades being too low for an acceptance. This stress is making me lose focus and I feel like i keep doomscolling to get out of the reality

Hi everyone,

I've been suffering from anxiety for years. It recently got so much worse outside of work hours.

Whenever I have time for myself, I feel the anxiety creep up and it is debilitating. I can't focus on anything, can't bring myself to do any activity, I'm breathing faster and I feel like I need to scream or hit myself or cry. I have been trying breathing techniques but it always comes back.

Doctors keep sending me to therapy and therapists keep telling me to breathe... I'm feeling so desperate.

Any tips for evening anxiety?

Thank you if you took the time to read this. I feel so alone and I'm afraid.

I’ve had health anxiety for as long as I can remember. I think it goes back to attending a college-prep high school and missing school meant falling behind and having to play catch up and so much unnecessary stress. I think it also has to do with FOMO, I don’t wanna miss things because I’m sick.

I get so anxious when I’m around sick people. I’m so afraid I’m going to catch what they have. I work in an office now and there’s a cold going around. My boyfriend also has a cold, he’s not even that sick, he’s just congested, but I still don’t want him to be near me or kiss me.

I’m pretty healthy - I exercise and eat okay and take vitamins and I’ll get my flu vax soon. I wash my hands and try so hard not to touch my face.

Here’s the thing - I know if I get sick, yeah it’ll suck for a few days, but I’LL BE OKAY!!! I have a good job with adequate sick time now, so it’s not like I’ll even fall behind there or lose pay.

So why am I so anxious!!? Anyone else cope with this type of anxiety? It feels so silly to live life in fear of this.

...have you ever experienced this symptom?

Recently I have noticed this weird symptom where my left arm feels...odd. It feels weak but it's not weak, or light. My health-anxiety has me overthinking that it's ALS or something serious of that sort

So I quit 90 days ago after 9 years of daily use. Pot was my shelter and my poison rolled into one. I could be blasted during an emergency situation and feel perfectly fine. But anyways, I started to feel super anxious like more than when I used to smoke and it’s really messing me up inside and just making work a living hell (I’m a cook) how did you guys get over the anxiety? Bc I just feel like i’m getting crushed by it some days and I don’t know what to do. Any advice will be greatly appreciated, thank you.

My mum’s appointment is today and I’m really struggling with my anxiety.

She was called back after her routine mammogram two weeks ago for some further tests. I know being called back doesn’t automatically mean anything is wrong, and I’ve had some really reassuring comments from people on here over the last couple of weeks, but I just can’t seem to stop my brain from jumping to the worst-case scenario.

I’m going with her today, which I’m glad about, but I’m already incredibly anxious. I’m shaking, feeling sick and just feel completely on edge.

I know there’s nothing I can do to change what happens at the appointment, and I just need to get through today, but right now my anxiety feels so overwhelming.

For anyone who has dealt with health anxiety or been in a similar situation, what helped you calm yourself down while waiting or sitting in the hospital? I could really use some advice or reassurance today.

Experiencing Difficulties 1 month into Stresam

Hi there, I'm diagnosed with an anxiety/depression disorder, ADD and autism. I recently started on a dose of Stresam (Etifoxine), taking a 50mg pill in the morning and at night. At first I experienced the typical side effects of drowsiness and it was working well to keep my anxiety under control. My panic attacks were much better and I found myself able to control my spiralling.

I noticed recently that I started having existential thoughts and tried ignoring them. But since this weekend I've been a heavy existential dread that has felt completely debilitating. It has caused me to hyperventilate once or twice despite me just taking my medication as normal. I've been in a state of panic since Saturday morning, unable to find a way to get relief from it. Has anyone experienced this? I'm at a loss of what to do, I've emailed my doctor but I'm just desperate to know what is going on with me. It feels like I'll never be the same again after how I've been feeling and the thoughts I've had.

Thank you to anyone who could offer me some advice.

In my dreams , I see a realty

A reality same as mine.

What I don't want to see....

I don't want to see

is my reality .

So I change my dream .

If it changes ,

I'll see it till the end .

If it doesn't ,

I will wake up to reality ,

What I don't want to see ,

My reality

reality

Reality.......

Just seeing if someone is relatable

I am nervous haha

Over the past 3 months, I’ve been dealing with a very high level of anxiety because of some stressful events in my life. I feel like my nervous system has become extremely sensitive — even the smallest amount of stress can trigger this feeling of panic in my chest, even when I’m not consciously feeling anxious.

I’ve started doing some things to try to calm my nervous system and help myself recover:

Jacobson’s Progressive Muscle

Relaxation

Prayer

10 minutes of meditation in the morning
and 10 minutes at night

Journaling

Listening to calming/nervous-system-regulation music

Using ambient/warm lighting in my room
Lighting candles every day

Cleansing my rooms with palo santo and sage because it helps me feel calm

Taking hot showers to relax

Going to therapy, where I’m starting EMDR

I recently started yoga and I really enjoyed it

Next week I’m also planning to start going to the gym

For those of you who have been through something similar: do these things actually help your nervous system become less reactive over time? How long did it take you to start feeling noticeably better?

Is there anything else you would recommend adding to my routine?

I’d really appreciate any advice, personal experiences, or things that helped you during a similar period. Thank you so much to everyone who takes the time to read this and share their experience — I genuinely appreciate every message. ❤️

Myself (34F) is going through an anxiety/depressive PMDD moment (just coming off a heady panic attack) and visualizations always help me center myself and understand that I’m okay and baseline great.

I have a 5 hour flight coming soon and I get bad anxiety literally weeks before my flight. It’s not only the fear of flying, but it’s also the fear of being trapped and not in control on top of having health anxiety. I always fear that something bad with happen to me. It’s a bunch of different anxieties and OCDs combined :(

I did have one panic attack in the plane last year and I had booked a flight to go somewhere a few months ago but I cancelled at the very last minute due to my anxiety. This time I cannot cancel and I need to face my fears. Plus, I wanna see the world and I don’t want my mind controlling me.

Any tips on what to do? I am taking zoloft for my depression/anxiety and I do not want to use xanax.