Do you ever get this horrible panicky / anxious feeling?

[winelover82]

I would probably describe myself as someone who functions with high anxiety. Generally I can manage it with my anti-depressants but every now and then I have these moments that come out of the blue where I seem to go into panic mode.

I just had one now on a teams call with my boss - my voice shakes, I feel like I am about to burst out laughing / start crying, I can’t concentrate and I try and ask the other person a question so I don’t have to speak. My body goes into fight or flight mode.

It goes away but then I get so worried about being like that at any given moment - with friends just talking, in future meetings etc - that I start to catastrophize.

Is anyone else like me and if so how do you deal with it? I don’t want to access therapy / CBT right now so I need to learn to cope better on my own.

Beta blockers and a tweak to my antidepressants.

@Mabelface what do you take and what is your dosage?

I'm currently on 20mg citalopram and take 10mg of Propananol as and when I need it.

My anxiety is caused by autism and ADHD. Meds for the latter have helped the most.

It's absolutely worth having a chat with your GP. Being so anxious is horrible! If I have to do something that increases anxiety, I take a Propananol 20 minutes beforehand, and it prevents those horrible, physical symptoms.

I know the feeling! A combination of wanting to burst into tears and throw up... With heart beating really hard I haven't a solution other than weirdly sugary pop seems to quell it but it sounds like you might need more medical advice.

• More meds
• therapy (I know you’ve ruled that out),
• change of circumstances (removing the anxiety trigger eg changing jobs)

What age are you? I was never an anxious person but hitting perimenopause put my anxiety through the roof. If you are in your 40s it might be worth speaking to someone about HRT and see if that helps alongside your other prescription

Beta blockers help me too.

I am 30.

The very best thing for me is eating well and exercising properly. I hate that feeling of being super nervous about speaking up in meetings, it’s horrible!

Yes it’s horrible and I hate how when it happens I then worry so much I wind myself up in an anxious state and end up doing it again 😔

Has anyone read the Paul McKenna - Freedom from Anxiety book?

Or has anyone got any recommendations for good books on anxiety?

Anyone?