Is this anxiety? Panic? Or am I just annoying?

[mononoaware1907]

Posting here for traffic. I haven't even changed my username, though this is a sensitive topic for me. Here I go, please bare with me:

I panic/stress over ANYTHING. Literally anything. It can be my hair, my job, literally any single aspect of my life. I'll try to give you some examples so you can actually see the extent of this (the examples are quite embarrassing actually):

• I panic a lot about what people think about me

-I panic about my weight (1 stone overweight, and recently noticed cellulite on my inner thighs-full blown anger)

I can't even explain the feeling but it's panic combined with anger. What the hell is it? I've been like this for as long as I know myself. It's affecting me and my loved ones.

I also seem to have no motivation lately. I can't eat healthy therefore I can't lose weight, I promise myself to exercise then I don't.

Anyone been there? Any tips on being calmer? Taking things slowly and easy?

Go and see your GP and get referred to talking therapies.

A hormone imbalance maybe?

I'd go and see your GP

Not a hormonal imbalance, I check that (for different reasons though)

Checked sorry

I panic/stress over ANYTHING. Literally anything. It can be my hair, my job, literally any single aspect of my life.

Can you give a bit more detail?

I have GAD and I do this, and I get the angry panic that you describe. It’s when it gets too overwhelming and I jut need to scream and run away, a crap description, it’s like a computer crash.

It’s extremely annoying!

@BlairWaldorfsHeadband yes, it's a bit like you describe it. It's basically irrational worries. If I think now about what I worried in the past it just seems ridiculous

I sometimes wonder if it could be the birth control pills?!

I sometimes wonder if it could be the birth control pills?!

I sometimes wonder if it could be the birth control pills?!

Multiple comment, sorry

Yes that’s exactly what I get. Things I’ve worried about

• I have leukaemia every time I get a cold (never have had it, thank god)

• getting a contagious disease that will eat my flesh from touching public door handles

• speaking on the phone

• dying in a train crash

• health visitors taking my children due to me not having done the ironing that day (obviously irrational)

• my son getting kidnapped while I look away to get something off the shelf in Tescos

• touching someone’s hands in case they pass a disease to me or my dc

• getting knocked in a crowd will cause a miscarriage (I have had miscarriages so not entirely irrational given the circumstances but entirely disproportionate)

That’s jut a sample, there are loads more. You can see how utterly stupid those statements are but at the time it feels real and really scares me.

I would try talking therapy and a gentle yoga class or meditation class may help.

Oh, I can’t take hormonal contraception because it makes my anxiety so much worse OP! Definitely worth considering if that’s doing it.

Sounds like a tier mixed with ocd. I have this. Had CBT last year and it made a huge difference to understand it and see the signs. And then see why I react as I do.

My cbt was through nhs, had to wait 5 months. But was well worth it.

Really recommend reading bryony Gordon's mad girl too, she is also an antiexy / ocd sufferer and it mad my understand I'm not alone

The imp of the mind is another good book. It really helped me understand myself and why I get those thoughts.

Thanks both for your input. @BlairWaldorfsHeadband Mine are not going that far, I worry about more mundane things😂 but still drives me nuts!

I will soon pay for a gym membership and some yoga classes to try that. Any suggestions for guided meditation online/youtube?

I found the pill gave me awful anxiety but I was very much ‘Fright or flight’ and wanted to run away. I am an anxious person - medication and counselling help.

@MirriVan no, but considering therapy soon and see what a therapist will say. Jesus, I start to feel crazy

Mine tends to centre around illness and related issues due to me being ill a lot as a child. It also focuses on my children because obviously they are important to me and it’s natural to worry about them. Just not to that extent!

I’ve got an app called Antistress, it’s free and has a variety of calming sounds which is good for when it all gets too much.

Do you think constant exercise/hiking can help anxiety?

It's sounds like anxiety and catastrophising. CBT for Dummies is very good for explaining and giving coping strategies for both,if every little thing makes you worry or is the end of the world. It could also be mild depression. I'd see your GP, but expect a slow process re getting Counselling.

@BlairWaldorfsHeadband thanks for taking the time to talk to me and for the app suggestion. I have downloaded it just now!

@CSIblonde looking for the book just now, thanks!

You’re not crazy

Many people have anxiety, to varying degrees. Mine is quite bad at times, but you learn ways to manage it.

You’re not crazy, or mad, or broken or anything else you might be feeling. It’s not a character flaw to have anxiety. I used to be worried that by talking about it, they’d think I was crazy but it’s incredibly common!