Would any one like to join in an anxiety support thread?

[Heatherandmoss]

I’ve seen lots of posts recently about people having a bad time with their anxiety and I thought an on going thread might be good do people can bob on and offer and receive support, share tips and just generally empathise with some one going through the same thing.

I’ve had anxiety since I was about ten ( I realised after my psychiatrist was able to help me pin point my earliest memory of it)

I think there is a bit of misconception of anxiety as some people think it’s just general worry - but it’s not.

When my anxiety rears her head it’s so physical. I sweat, my face can go numb, pains in my chest. I have a feeling like some one is kicking my front door in and I’m scared for my life and I could just be hoovering. Anxiety jolts me awake when I’m asleep and it rolls down my body like thunder. It makes me catastrophize at 3am and my feet start rubbing against each other ( weird) My anxiety makes me walk in to the kitchen with my kids empty dinner plates and suddenly feel so so over whelmed I struggle for breath and tears leak out in a gasp of raw emotion - all done silently so my kids can’t hear me.

I’ve had to give up drinking alcohol because Jesus the anxiety the next day was shocking and lasted days until I suddenly stepped out the anxiety room.

My anxiety has been bad since November as I’ve got some things going and I’m worried my heart is going to pack in because of the extra ‘thud thud thud’ overtime it’s being doing!

Exercise does help me take the edge of sometimes. I nearly went to the GP the other day as it was rotten but at this moment of time I need to be switched on.

Today has not been to bad. I’m considering it a win.

So I’ve you’d like to join in or have some where to say ‘holy fuck it’s bad today’ hopefully more people will be here and you will know some one knows how bad your feeling.

Sing, my work coach was very critical. Nothing I did was enough. I was doing agency work at the time and she was really funny about me having to cancel a appointment, when I got work on that day. Also didn't want to give me financial help with travel, which I desperately needed. Luckily, someone else at the job centre sorted out a reduced travel card for me.

That’s awful loki! And you were actually working at the time FFS!!! 🤦🏽‍♀️

I’m worried about stuff like being sanctioned if I refuse a job I guess. I don’t want them to mark me out as workshy and stroppy if I set limits on what I can actually do. I’m not assertive at the best of times, but I need to protect my health. The problem with my conditions is that they’re invisible and variable - they can easily argue that I am capable of say working in a shop. And yes, I would manage that on a good day, but I’d be unable to move for the next day.

Luckily I remembered my lovely autism work coach (more like a mentor - she’s from a charity nothing to do with DWP, I found her myself and she’s been helping me plan etc) also knows a charity who do similar but for physical disabilities. I hadn’t bothered yet as I wasn’t actively looking for work but I’ve made a note to ask at our next catch up as if I do have to start looking soon I’d rather have support from someone who understands the physical side too!

I feel so unsettled at the thought of all this change. It is a good thing in many ways. Last time I was looking for work I had no choice either, DH had to stop work for an injury for a couple of years and it led me to the library job which I loved so much. But it all feels very scary and out of my control etc.

I’ve also had to push my therapy appt back another week because of the self isolating, I don’t want everyone in the house while I’m having my first session in months! I can’t relax. Still at least that’s after this mysterious UC appt so I will be able to talk through any anxiety arising from what they say. I’d planned to mainly talk about future/career etc anyway.

Can I join please? I'm really struggle with anxiety...

Hi meezer welcome :)

Hi Meezer, the more the merrier 😊

Are you having a good day?

loki I struggled with sertraline for about a month the worst was the dry mouth. But I’m doing okay now I still have night sweats but it’s all manageable. I was on citalopram before but that was awful I just felt numb with sertraline I feel a lot better.

rosa I’m glad you’ve also found sertraline helpful I was a bit nervous trying it first as I know some people don’t get on very well with it but it’s been brilliant for me.

Thank you wild☺️

sing I hope universal credit support you with work. I had to get my GP involved as they were pushing me too hard and it was detrimental but we’ve found a decent solution I hope the same happens for you. I’m not working at the minute but am working towards it and they’re happy with that, hopefully they should be with you to!

Thank you tea I’m having a boy💙 I’m glad to hear you’ve took to the vaccine well

Hi meezer I’m new here too☺️

I have a question, do any of you have panic attacks that are almost like fits?. I’ve had them since I was about 15, I’m still conscious but I convulse and can’t control myself, it looks like a seizure. I’ve told my GP and they haven’t really done anything, just not sure if it’s common? I’ve never come across anyone else who has it

Oh and thank you all regarding the abusive relationship. I’m still in contact with his family due to the kids, but I’m in that stage where everything is much harder than when I was with him (moving house, money stress etc) so I haven’t been feeling that confident about it but you’ve all made me feel a lot better :)

Hi Rainy, glad Sertraline is working for you.
Moving house and money stress is awful. Hope your feeling less stressed soon 💐

I had a bad night yesterday. I felt really cold all day. Just couldn't warm up at all, even with duvet and heating on. Then I felt really low late in the evening, so didn't sleep well. Just muddling through the day today.

Hi rainy 💐 well done for reaching a solution with the job centre people! I guess it may be that they’re happy with me studying etc but tbh I do want a job now too... as long as it’s not too much for me physically.

I’m a stuck mess today, haven’t done anything other than mindless scrolling and reading my book really. I have lots of admin tasks I have to do and even though most aren’t particularly scary it’s like I can’t face any of them.

Ohhh Rainy is dry mouth a side effect then? I've been really thirsty/ dry mouth since I upped my dosage and I was starting to worry there was something else wrong with me (family history of diabetes). Phew. Sorry you've got it too, it's so annoying isn't it? Glad it's working for you though.

Ughh nausea again, been really sick this afternoon. I hope it is just the setraline and nothing else!
Loki and sing sorry you're both having a bad day, hope it improves soon

Thank you loki as long as I’m sorted before baby boyo comes along then I’m happy. I’m sorry you didn’t have a good night last night💐

sing I’m doing 2 courses that will hopefully mean I can get into some sort of teaching role when the little ones are bigger, so I have proof that I am working towards something and they’re happy with that. But if you want to work that’s great, make sure you’re completely honest though, don’t let them force you into doing something you’re uncomfortable with!.

rosa the dry mouth is awful! Chewing gum helped me a little bit, but I’d drink pints of water and it wouldn’t help!. I hope the side effects start to ease for you soon💐

I’ve been feeling crap today. I had a bad night last night, lots of anxiety and just feel drained today. But I am hoping tomorrow will be better!

Morning xx

I can't believe I'm wide awake at this time. Stupid brain! It's going to be a very long day. Looks like we all had a bad day yesterday.

Hope today is better for us 💐

Morning!
Here's hoping to a better day for us all xx

Morning! Also been awake since 5 I’ve had a really odd sleep schedule as of late, woke up at 3am yesterday and I put that down to the vaccine though it seems to be a regular occurrence now I used to have that happening this time last year with the aftermath of my trauma when I was having nightmares, seems to be the case again now

Good luck with the courses rainy, I’m too doing a course. Is yours online? I’ve found things to be a bit of a double whammy, in that I love being at home to do my work and on the other hand I hate it and likewise with going into my college

Hope today’s better for everyone

Morning everyone :)

Rainy that’s brilliant about the courses! I wanted to teach, I ended up doing part of a maths degree with the OU with the aim of teaching but when my physical health got too bad I dropped out. I am now wanting work in something MH/autism related so I’m back to the psychology degree as I’ve gone full circle really. A lot of the more positive/pragmatic work I’ve done with my therapist has been related to my values etc and it’s really helped me work out what I want.

I am so excited to see (on zoom but oh well) my therapist on 29th as it’s been ages and I have loads of news for her on that subject. It’ll be nice to have a positive, forward thinking session while also talking a lot about the anxieties it’s bringing up. For example I’m also now worrying about fitting in with new people. I’m sociable and want people around to some extent but I don’t tend to fit in around neurotypical people and big groups are hard. I’d been thinking an office job would be better physically but then I suddenly realised I’ll have to meet and make a decent impression on a whole load of new people and I am convinced most people will hate me... argh!!! I wonder what it’s like to have confidence in oneself? 🤔

Tea I know what you mean about the double whammy. It’s hard to find a balance between being around people and being at home. Something flexible would be best. With the OU I’m assuming all tutorials will stay online for a while yet, in fact a relative is doing a masters with them and it seems their seminars etc would be online regardless of covid. But my old OU courses had proper group classes once a month or so which was nice so I do hope we go back to those.

With a job it would be amazing to end up with something that was flexible - something that could be done in the office, but that I could do at home when necessary, like if I was heading for a flare up I could stem it by not pushing myself to commute etc. Maybe a lot of businesses will be a lot more flexible since lockdown but I’m still not sure I’d be qualified for anything where that’s likely.

Sorry you woke up so early loki seems extra unfair on the weekend!

Hope you feel less sick rosa

I found a sort of new hobby the last few days - not great timing as I have so much admin to do! But I’ve had a vague premise of a novel in my head for years. Then recently I’ve been writing little snippets and character notes and yesterday I spent ages writing loads, organising notes and getting a proper plot and character profiles etc. Exciting! I’m not expecting it to be any good but it’ll give me something else to do. Having ADHD I get bored really easily and can end up mindlessly scrolling online for hours a day.

How's everyone doing?
Sing that's so cool! It'll be fun to write, and you never know, you might be the next bestseller... I hope you can get some in person classes soon.
Still feeling sick but I've stuck to dry oatcakes and water little and often which is helping (boring though!). I do online tutoring for a couple of kids classes on a Saturday, which I really enjoy, but not so fun when I'm feeling like this. Something to do though. On the plus side I'm quite calm which is nice

Sing - you sound busy. Glad you're enjoying writing. It can be quite therapeutic. Hope you're able to find work that suits you.

Rosa - the nausea sounds like a nuisance. Not surprised that you're bored of the oatcakes and water. I would be too.

I feel rubbish today. I'm doing a sugar detox. I eat way too much junk and I want to make some positive changes. I can't drink tea without sugar, so I am having withdrawal symptoms from caffeine as well as sugar. I didn't realise what a large part of my routine revolves around food and tea. I've felt irritable and found it hard to concentrate. I know from when I last did the detox that I will feel better in a week or two. It really made me more focused and my skin felt so soft.

Hello, can I join please? I've had anxiety all my life I suspect, but only really saw it for what it was/is in recent years. I remember at uni at 18 realising that other people didn't torture themselves like i did. Sadly anxiety made me leave uni, and a number of jobs over the years, however I'm an expert masker and people are usually really surprised when I tell them how I actually feel - although I'm rarely honest about how bad I feel.
I'm going through a really bad patch at the moment due to insane work project stress. Haven't been able to eat or sleep much in weeks. Got a gp phone call booked on Monday.
I tried sertraline a few years back but couldn't cope with the initial intense side effects that made me feel much worse, so am nervous about taking meds again. I really want to ask for some diazepam short term to get past this patch. Not sure how the gp will feel about that.
Dd2 also suffers terribly with anxiety and isn't currently in school, which of course adds to my stress!
Thanks for letting me pour it out here.

Hi all, can I join! Me anxiety is awful right now! I’m really suffering this all started when covid started last year! It’s really affected me I get terrible trembling, heavy tight chest feelings,feel sheer panic! It’s awful! I was started on sertraline and propranalol last year which has helped slightly but not completely taken it away! X

I’ve recently been diagnosed with anxiety- and feel it’s been around off and on for the last few years..I feel worse in the mornings...physically ill in the morning thinking of the day ahead and feeling overwhelmed. Still figuring out how best to help myself so following this thread with interest x

Hello fellow newbies! I normally find that exercise is key to keeping my mental health in check, but sadly that's taken a down turn through the lockdowns and recently because my work has been so full on. I need to cling on through the next couple of weeks then get back to alternate early morning yoga and runs