To think about anxiety is utterly shit?

[ItalianRedParka]

Lifelong sufferer. Its been made worse by things that have happened. Im on ADs and paying for private counselling. I remember being anxious as a child and feeling like I was going to pass out alot. I will be having a good time then suddenly anxiety starts and it's shit

Yes, it's awful. A constant state of heightened awareness. Wishing you all the best. You're doing something proactive about it so that's good. Try and get out walking in nature. I find it helps relieve things for that short time.

It’s really horrible and because people assume an anxiety disorder is the same as just feeling a little bit anxious (worried) about something like losing their keys, other people can be very dismissive and cruel about it which can make it very isolating, which just makes the whole thing even more shit.

My life is unrecognisable/ruined because of my anxiety disorder.

I dont know how people don't catastrosphise over everything.

My shoulders are up by my ears right now and I'm slightly trembling. I've no idea why. It is anxiety as there is a lot going on in my life and I find it hard to rationalise things. I do catastrophise a lot. Having a child has been particularly anxiety inducing, so much so I can say I haven't enjoyed my life at all, from childhood to adulthood I don't remember any period where I can say I felt at peace (let alone happy). So, yes, it is utterly shit as ItalianRedParka says.

Completely shit! What annoys me most is that it feels like a complete and utter waste of precious time. Solidarity. Hate it so much. The ONLY benefit I’ve found is that I can spot the signs in one of my dc and try and say the things that I wish had been said to me.

Yes having a child has worsened mine considerably.

I have it diagnosed as severe. It's shit! Sometimes I have things going on and it skyrockets. Other times like now, nothing is going on and just one silly stuff went wrong which was fixed but its triggered it so bad.

I've been sooo scared for the past few days. What am I scared of? I don't know.. nothing! Absolutely nothing. But try telling my body that. Try telling my brain that! I just ignore it and try to do whatever I need to do as I live my life but it's so shit feeling like you're aware you're about to be murdered any minute now! Shoulder tense, jaw tense, teeth clenched, heart beating fast. Sometimes triggers my IBS. I calm myself down and I understand it's stupid but I just can't help it till it passes. Then I'm back to my baseline of just a heightened state of awareness again like I'm watching out for any danger.

Anxiety isn't just feeling worried you missed a bus like many people who've never suffered from it think! It's debilitating. It's your nervous system constantly frazzled and pinging like it's in danger when nothing is going wrong. Then when something does go wrong no matter how small, it's screaming like a banshee!! It's exhausting.

I’ve never suffered with it, then perimenopause hit and it’s horrific, i can’t even keep food down when it’s really bad or eat because I feel so sick… it took me a year to work out what was happening, I am frightened all the time…

Ive had it my entire life.

Springtimehere - no medication or therapy. I was on prozac in my 30s. I feel better off it. I thought I was functioning until this thread lol. Functioning as in this is the only way I know how to function - with anxiety. I do have a lot on, though. I think I'll relax a bit when a few things are sorted in my life.

mrstambourinewoman - I have tried with my son but I do wonder how much has rubbed off on him. I have allowed him to travel alone though (on fairly long train journeys since 12 or 13 and a flight to a far off destination when he was 17) so I haven't been too stifling, although the safety talks I give him beforehand of things that could happen might have not helped.

ItalianRedParka - yes, someone else to worry about, not just yourself.

Yes it's utterly shit.

As is being the child of parent(s) who suffer from anxiety.

My mother's anxiety made life very limited for me and my siblings.

We eventually learned to lie really early on about where we were going and what we were doing.

Even when it was as normal as popping over the park or going to the library with friends.

I'm sure she thought she was doing a good job of hiding it, but we could see her whole demeanour change as the thought of it crippled her.

Anxietydisorderisshit - you've totally summed up the effect it has on my body too. I had severe diarrhoea for about a year two years ago due to the stress going on in my life at the time. All sorted now those stresses have gone. I wear a mouthguard at night to stop me grinding my teeth. One dentist said she'd never seen such bad effects - a couple of teeth worn into a straight line like a cut diamond - people telling you these things don't help as you then have something else to worry about.

I do talk to myself to calm down. I'm not a royalist but I remember thinking with all the scandals Queen Elizabeth didn't seem that fazed so perhaps I need to take a leaf out of her book. I always tell myself what is the worst that can happen too. As long as my son is ok then I can survive anything.

theiblis - when I sold my house the estate agent, an older man, said he found women in their 60s selling their houses seemed to lose their confidence and worried about things a lot more and I think menopause does have something to do with it. We have to keep fighting against that to keep our confidence.

Sorry, I seem to have taken over the thread.

I’ve had years on end of it in the past. It’s so upsetting, it takes over your body and mind. I spend lots of time with full body shakes and stomach cramps. My eyes were always watering. Sometimes my vision went strange. I feel a lot of empathy for people who have it.

Me too. I only learned as an adult that this is what it's called when I got diagnosed.

Hypnotherapy helped me enormously. Sending hugs xx

I wear a mouthguard too! It awful, isn't it?

Diagnosis helped me to learn to manage it by not putting myself through triggers if known.

This disorder isn't the kind that "exposure therapy" treats (for me). Exposure has actually made it worse because the constant exposure I had all my life is what got it to be so bad for me that I had it diagnosed as severe in adulthood. Talking it out with someone doesn't help because I already know what's wrong and that it's all in my head. It's just the way my brain works.

I have anxiety and OCD and when it flares up it's the worst. Just your own brain constantly torturing you and not allowing you any peace.

I've had it since I was small thanks to my mother but was brought up not to "bother" anyone with my problems & ended up thinking I was the problem.

When it's that ingrained it's harder to fix and I haven't yet found any meds that touch the sides or a therapist who's helped except in a small way and by chance.

The worst parts for me are worrying about my (adult) DC and crippling social anxiety; not only do I struggle to do things other people can do without batting an eye (call a stranger about fixing something in the house, eg, or putting petrol in the car)—there's no one I can ask to help with those things. And the loneliness is unbearable.

Anxietydisorderisshit - your posts really resonate with me. I don't think I'd benefit from therapy. I manage it, although the past few weeks it has been bad. I can 'escape' sometimes by seeing friends or my son or going for a walk in nature (although often there is a running commentary in my head about current problems). I do think I can get it under control in time but it's external factors (stresses of life) that seem to hit me more. My mother always said my father's mother was 'neurotic', perhaps an old-fashioned term, and my father had his own issues that did affect me as a child. So, it runs in the family. Although I haven't been diagnosed as having OCD I have strong tendencies towards certain things that take up a lot of time that I'm trying to control. These things take over when life is stressful. Sorry you've been diagnosed as 'severe'. It's awful. I do tell myself things could be worse though. Wishing you all the best.

GhostInTheWashingMachine - I was just thinking the other day it would be nice to have a man to take over for a bit, sometimes, especially things you have to do alone as a single woman like dealing with tradesmen or getting the car an MOT.