First off, I would really appreciate kind replies as I am feeling so fragile and am looking for some hope/comfort.
Having a really difficult time with my mental health, it's really interfering with my life to the point where I am struggling with work and parenting and I am finding it hard to just feel okay.
This is a very drastic change for me. I am an anxious person but it is usually very situational. Up until a few weeks ago, between anxiety I was a very happy and sunny person. I just enjoyed life and felt happy and content, my days were focused on what I was doing and life was lovely, if a bit stressful with 3 young kids.
I started to develop issues with food after a meal triggered a panic attack due to sensory issues. I took that pretty hard and it was the first panic attack I had in a long time. Now I seem to have spiralled where I have a constant feeling of being unsafe, ungrounded in the world, cannot relax, struggle to feel joy, calm or happiness, cannot do most of my usual passtimes as literally everything feels too triggering, and I spend most of my time getting through the day.
I have had better days but I seem to have one good day at a time where I feel better, and then the next day is inevitably much harder.
I notice a correlation between eating and digestive issues and panic too.
I am convinced there is a physiological element, as the last time I felt like this (almost exactly the same, terrified of everything, constant sense of dread, frequent panic attacks, frequent periods of bursting into tears) was when I was on hormonal contraception. It took me a long time to realise it was the pill, but once I stopped taking it I got my life back within a couple of weeks.
I just can't do this. I have blood tests booked but I've been going through this for weeks and I am really struggling.
I would be so grateful if anyone who has been through this could share. I am interested to hear if you had particular vitamin deficiencies and what your levels were, or if lifestyle changes helped. To be fair, I am currently overweight, dont exercise and dont have a great diet.
Sorry this is so long, I just wanted to provide as much relevant information as possible!