To ask for help even though I feel pathetic?

[ManchesterBee]

Have NC. I have wrote and deleted this several times because I feel so pathetic and selfish.

I have suffered from anxiety for years but never really asked for help or been fobbed off when I have. I have a B12 deficiency which I know can cause anxiety so just got on with it but since the Manchester Attack I have been a total mess.

I can't focus, I can't sleep, I've had panic attacks when I've gone into the city centre and I feel a complete bitch as I know people personally, friends and work colleagues who lost people in the attack and friends who were there on the night so I have no right to feel like this compared to them.

We were in the arena two days before (as we have been hundreds of other times before) for another gig with my Mum and kids and I don't know whether it is just because it is so close to home but it has just hit me really hard.

So yeah just that really. :(

You're not choosing to suffer from anxiety, nobody wants to feel this way. There's nothing pathetic about having mental health problems.

You say you have friends and colleagues who lost people in the attacks, that makes it all very close to home and it's understandable you've been impacted by it.

Seek help for your anxiety, Speak to your GP about it. It's something people often put up with for years before seeking help but the sooner you do, the easier it will be to tackle. It will massively improve your quality of life. I've had several CBT sessions as well as antidepressants, no regrets. Both saved me.

There is help for anxiety, AD's can help massively (although I get medication is a very personal choice) you don't have to suffer.

Your not pathetic, Manchester shook me I'm northern but not that near and never been to the venue. It just seemed so close to home. I imagine being there a few nights before must be terrifying all the what-ifs.

YANBU

I don't suffer from anxiety and yet this awful incident has upset me badly, not only the sadness for the poor victims and their families but an irrational fear that it could have been anyone if us. I feel scared of city centres and crowded venues.

We owe it to ourselves to seek help and support and get through this together, otherwise the bastards win.

Don't be hard on yourself, what you feel is quite normal, find the help you need, counselling can do wonders.