See GP about sudden anxiety or not?

[User336]

I have no friends. It's a very long-term situation, counted in decades not years, but the past few weeks, I've been feeling sick, restless and tearful, constantly thinking about being alone forever, not sleeping, and I have a real sense of panic that I need to make some friends right this second.

I have no idea why. Nothing has changed. I am worried that I'm going to feel like this forever, which I know won't be helping but I'm also wondering if there's any chance it could be down to something physical as it's so out of the blue. I do have endometriosis and had some out of range hormone levels on blood tests years ago but not enough to warrant further tests at the time.

I don't want to talk mental health, don't need beta blockers or talking therapy, so is there any point in seeing my GP? Or any other suggestions on how to deal with this? Really feel like I'm going to go mad if I don't stop thinking about my lack of friends on a loop.

It may be worth talking to the gp and get some blood tests done to check that everything is okay. For example, check thyroid levels, or b12.

Regarding the no friend situation, can you do something proactive to counter this. Are there any groups you can join - bookclub, WI, learn a new hobby (tennis lessons, golf lessons), national trust volunteer etc

Hormones can do really weird things, start logging your symptoms and see if there’s a pattern. Perimenopause/menopause?
I’m sorry you’re feeling this way, it’s not pleasant to be unsure of the cause of something.
As you’re getting a strong sense of needing to make friends, as a potential reason for the experiences, that’s a good starting point at least.

Why go anywhere if you aren't willing to explore all options?
How do you know what you need without seeing the relevant people?
Nowt wrong with mental health issues. And if you have awesome nhs mental health support tell me where so they can help me. 😀

Sounds like an anxiety flare up. You could try cbd oil? Why do you say beta blockers and talking won’t help?

I'm in several groups, attend an evening class, and I volunteer. I have a decent enough life. Not having friends is something that I've come to terms with over the years so to be suddenly stressed out of my mind about it, I'm not convinced that how I'm feeling is actually anything to do with that. Definitely don't think I qualify as needing mental health support because I've been feeling anxious for a few weeks. I think it's more likely to be hormonal but I'm mid 30s so would be early for menopause and women in my family tend to go through it very late. tbh, my hesitation in seeing a GP is that they'll refuse to consider that it might not be mental health related.

So the issue is not the friends thing but that you want to go to the GP to explore potential physical/hormonal causes to the anxiety?

My GP tested my thyroid when I had a sudden flare of anxiety as thyroid issues run in my family.

The first obvious thought is peri-menopause