….to think that anxiety is an evil fucker and if we all share hatred for it….

[BabbleBee]

….then I’ll feel better?

I’m having a flare of anxiety. Not coping with illness and minor change. I’ve started taking propranolol, all the usual coping mechanisms. That horrible knot in my stomach and nausea is refusing to budge.

I fucking hate anxiety. Anyone else want to slag it off and help me feel better about how fucking inconvenient and horrible it is?

Hi I once tried this but it made me eat and sleep I had zero energy except for constant eating and was sooo sedated!! Have you found this or had it settled down?

Not to brag however I did really well last night. Woke and a certain topic that always sets off my anxiety popped into my head (normally then awake for hours) but instead I remember thinking it’s the past it’s only ruining tomorrow and you are going to be tired. And then fell back asleep, I was so proud of myself!

I hope the anxiety stays quieter today and talking has helped.

Acknowledge it, listen to it, reassure it and let it know you're in charge and it can relax. It does work!

I would say the first couple of weeks I had a bit of a sedated feeling. It does make me eat and sleep more that not taking it, but I desperately needed to, I had huge deficits in both those things. After a couple of weeks the feeling of being tired in the daytime went away. The only minor adverse side affect I've had is sometimes after I take it I get a weird tense feeling in the muscles in the back of my legs. It doesn't hurt, it just feels odd, and is relieved if I flex and stretch them out.

My life situation is also better now, but overall, it is a very good and helpful drug for me.

Having severe anxiety has truly shown me just how powerful our brains are. I spent a year not being able to leave the house it was that bad. I’ve had therapy every week since and I got myself to a really good stage where I actually enjoyed leaving the house, in fact I spent more time outside than I did at home. Then 2 months ago I started feeling unwell and on top of that I have an autistic DD that really struggles with the school holidays and her behaviour has been awful the last 2 weeks. It triggers and overwhelms me so much that I feel physically frozen with anxiety and fear again and can’t relax even when I’m at home doing nothing. I know I’ll eventually be able to get back to the good place I was in but equally I know how awful the journey is of doing that over and over again. Anxiety sucks and I really envy people who have never suffered from it.

As my teenager would say - SLAY!

As well as slagging the anxiety demons off we absolutely should celebrate all the wins.

Well done 👏🏼

Have you considered you might also be autistic? The freeze is one of the symptoms that came up in my pre-assessment for ADHD.

Thank you. I had considered hypnotherapy for my BP phobia but wasn’t sure of costs and efficacy. I’ll have a look at your AMA.

I use the Dare method, both book and app, and it has helped considerably with everyday situations…I was at the point of not wanting to leave the house a couple of years ago. I had a panic attack in my daughter’s school hall when we went for a meeting about exams! No one knew though. I also use it in medical settings.. even just going to the docs for something routine can set me off, as does going to the dentist. And the annoying thing is these things never used to bother me at all. I was never scared of the dentist or the doctor!

I’ve paid for 3 different therapists over the last few years and I’m still no better in terms of the anxiety. I’m currently having sessions with one now who is lovely but I’m not sure is doing much good.

It was only when I got my autism and ADHD diagnoses that I realised that no, not everyone feels like this all the time. I was doing really, really well until my mum died just over a year ago.

I only leave the house to go to work or the local shops, with the occasional visit to family. I just want to be a hermit!

Currently on 40mg of citalopram, using propanol as and when needed, and also having therapy. I think I may need a tweak in medication somewhere.

It's bloody awful, the catastrphising is a killer. I have found that venlafaxine has made it more manageable, here's hoping it continues to improve.

Apparently I can't have propranolol because I asthma.

Ahhh... found my people. The brave ones acknowledging anxiety and showing it the middle finger!

I've been struggling this past year with anxiety, with a lot of work and personal stress. Had a mini break down week before last, and hauled myself to the GP for a sob and advice. She's put me on a course of setraline. I should have done this months ago, as I could barely go half an hour without crying, heart racing, clammy hands, and catastrophizing. So, I had pre-booked annual leave last week, and starting to feel marginally better on the sertraline (first few days were really hard), but really struggling with the thought of working tomorrow.

Can't decide whether to just grin and bear it, or whether to self certify for a few days.

Lots of great posts here

anxiety is horrible. I acquired it thanks to menopause. One thing I find helpful is writing it down. Seems to clear it from my mind for a bit.

Sometimes it is overwhelming. At the moment mostly focusses around DS1 going off to uni in September. Over a year I have had awful anxiety about this

nor me, so was put on amitriptyline which actually suits me really well as a sleep aid and antidepressant

I tried mirtazapine and it was wonderful for sleep but made me eat and eat and eat. I really dont need to eat any more than I do!

Hate hate hate it

kiddos bday party Friday I was so anxious.

new place, people I didn’t know, I was stuttering my words etc

🖕🏻🖕🏻🖕🏻🖕🏻🖕🏻🖕🏻

I would give yourself a bit more breathing space, especially while you’re getting used to the meds. I know in some situations it’s better to carry on and act ‘normal’ but I think a few days of resting and maybe doing some gentle things you enjoy would help settle your nervous system. I think it’s very draining physically when you experience the adrenaline and heart racing.

My favourite thing to do is to watch comedies. Sometimes it might be a programme like Miranda and I love old ones too, like On the Buses and Are You Being Served? I know they’re totally un PC but I can’t help liking them!🙈 Obviously you may be totally different. I have ME and Fibro and even though I often do far more than I should, there are many days when I am only fit for the sofa or bed and snuggling with a blanket in front of these is so comforting for some reason!

Haven't read all PPs but I also suffer so badly. I can't really remember a time when I didn't get anxious but I think as I've got older its started to take a real toll physically. It feels very physiological to me. Lots of physical symptoms like the thoughts that presumably trigger it are just being bypassed completely. I have no idea how to help it really. I think a lot of it stems from perfectionism and very high expectations as a child. I'm frightened of making a mistake and being completely destroyed somehow.

Definitely! I have anxiety about a certain thing and it's reared its head again this week.
It is completely irrational and something most people get on with without even thinking about it. I actually hate myself for it and my dh is a saint to put up with it. On here it would be perceived as controlling and pathetic and I know that but....
I hate it and I hate that it has a grip on an otherwise perfect marriage

Anxiety can fuck off to the far side of fuck off and beyond. I have stuff to be worried about, but I don’t need the panic chimp to crush my stomach and dominate my every thought. Being perimenopausal and having a teen who has massively struggled over the past few years (autism and ADHD) plus other stuff has really not helped. OP, autism and ADHD have a massively strong link not necessarily to the experiencing anxiety but to the not knowing how to process it. Not sure that that helps me (I’m almost certainly both too) but it does allow me to intervene better to help myself now.

CBT: been the rounds with it both NHS and private and thought it was totally useless until finally finding a therapist through work who explained it in a way that made sense to me, so it can help just not in the auto-regurgitation version that some produce.

Meds: like PP, not allowed propanalol as asthmatic but fluoextine has saved me twice now. Whatever works!

Other stuff: don’t think anyone else has mentioned this but Progressive Muscle Relaxation was/is a game changer for me. It’s a simple series of exercises that are done sitting or lying down and you over tense muscles then allow them to relax. It takes the edge off enough to allow for more rational thought. There are loads of videos on YouTube; the one from the University of Utah, the one from the Epworth clinic in Australia and the one from the the US Veterans’ association are all good. Obviously it’s not a cure but it can give a bit of relief.

It's interesting that so many of you are saying you have autism/adhd. All 3 of my kids have dyslexia and one has diagnosed adhd. We've always joked as a family that we're "not like the others" but never pushed for a diagnosis beyond the dyslexia diagnosis. I have a massive problem with my hearing and have since being a child. Apparently there's nothing wrong with my ears, I have auditory processing disorder. As well as the dyslexia and dyspraxia I passed on to my children.

Is there a benefit in being diagnosed with autism or adhd as an adult? I've always avoided it as didn't want either myself or my children being labelled.

You wouldn't wish it on your worst enemy really.
Does anyone find when they are anxious they start getting obsessive thoughts as well.
Mine comes and goes, usually appears if im stressed, overloaded etc.

100%

I write them down either on my phone on notes, or on my laptop on a spreadsheet, or a notepad. It helps because then I feel I can "let go" as I've noted them.

It depends what the obsessive thoughts are really. That dictates where I write them. If it's "you're shit on excel and you need to get better at it" then I tend to write those sort of thoughts on a notepad otherwise I'd end up doing 4 hours of tutorials on excel and still thinking I'm shit.

I've started another section in my notebook though called "things I'm good at" to try and counter the negative thoughts. Also, I keep reminding myself that no-one is perfect. I think sometimes (always) we compare ourselves negatively to other mythical people that don't even exist.

I was diagnosed with anxiety a year ago and put on 10mgs of Lexapro which luckily, gave me my life back. I am still on it now.

However, it is still there but nowhere near what it was. I can still feel the occasional knot in my stomach, I am just better at ignoring it.

Anxiety is a liar, it tells we are not good enough, not capable enough, it tells us that good opportunities are not for people like us.

It's also a thief and likes taking away the good stuff from us.

I compare Anxiety to those annoying bullying bastards I knew at school and try my best to pretend it's invisible.

Anxiety can cock off, it's taken enough from us.