Advice on dealing with anxiety please.

[colt]

I'm struggling with anxiety at the moment. I don't really know where it's come from or why, have been stressed but nothing too bad, it seems to have crept up on me. There's nothing to be fixed or solved, it's just a constant feeling of being on the edge.

I have a constant feeling of tightness in my chest, struggle to control my breathing and my heart feels like it's pounding all the time. Lost appetite and can't really face food, and i can't get to sleep and wake up in the night with racing thoughts.

I'm feeling bad tempered and impatient with the children and dh, just need some space which i can't have.

Does anyone understand what this feels like and have any advice.

I understand colt,I REALLY feel for you..One thing I would suggest is not to give into to it,you WILL not die or faint etc-its just adrenaline whooshing about your system due to stress (and yeah it can come out of nowhere)...

Try www.nomorepanic.comtheres loads of advice and information on there,also Claire Weekes writes excellent informative books on nervous disorders

I would suggest going and talking to you GP also..you may need benefit from a therapy be it drug therapy or a counselling one.

I find when I get bad slowing my breaths down really helps...4 HUGE big deep breathes slowly in and slowly back out.

Wish you well Colt.

poor you, i have been there too it is awful.
first thing to look into might be 'rescue remedy' i find it really works.
at bad times i have taken AD's, just to sort of 'jump-start' me into the right direction, so as GFCC says it really would be worth a trip to the GP.
You are describing fairly classic symptoms and you should not have to suffer like this any longer, there really is help out there.

keep posting if it helps

I think I know how you might be feeling. I've been suffering from anxiety for a long time and it's got worse now I have children. It was very gradual, I don't recall there being a trigger as such. All of the feelings you describe, I have felt at some point. I do deep breathing and talking myself out of irrational fears and panics, and sometimes they work. Now I believe anxiety is affecting my life too much, I am having CBT (cognitive behavioural therapy) - have been going for about 5 weeks, was referred through my GP,not sure if it's working but I'm prepared to try anything just to get a good night's sleep and stop snapping at everyone.

I did have antidepressants a few years ago but I'm not depressed I'm anxious, so I don't think they worked for me.
Kalms herbal remedies sometimes work too, just to take the edge off.
What you have sounds like it might be sort of panic attack-ish (IMHO), so it might be worth asking your GP about that if you feel you can.
For me it's a case of thinking everything is going to end in disaster which is both knackering and distressing. Talking myself out of it can work sometimes - working out the odds of things I've convinced myself will happen, actually happening. Writing down the anxieties helps to put them into perspective sometimes too, although it can also make me feel incredibly stupid.
Hope this helps - don't know if any of it will work for you. Happy to talk about it if that helps.

CBT is execellent for anxiety disorders..theres a HUGE NHS waiting list down here though,same for most parts of UK.

There are anti-depressants that are suitable for anxiety too-they take 4-6 weeks to work properly.

Keep posting-it may help!

Thank you for answering.

Whelsy what you mention is totally familiar. I think something awful is about to happen all the time. It's embarrassing to admit because it sounds so stupid, but it feels very real. I kiss dcs goodnight and think this will be the last time as tomorrow will be the day something bad happens. I am finding it exhausting. Before leaving the house i have to think of every possible disaster that could happen in order to prevent it happening - which just writing it down sounds completely insane.

I really don't feel able to talk to gp, even the thought of doing that makes me anxious.

Colt, the "getting anxious about being anxious" is a bit of a vicious circle, and it's only by stopping and deciding you want not to be like that any more that youcan change it. With me the catalyst for change was my very nice boss telling me that she didn't know why I had such a problem making decisions, why I was performing below my ability at work, without knowing that I had become terrified of taking decisions because I though I would get the sack/end up in jail (yes, really) if I made the wrong decision - and really, my job is not particularly responsible and those consequences are extremely unlikely.
I have the most horrific images in my head on a daily basis about what could happen to the people I love, and yes it is exhausting planning for every eventuality - you're doing twice as much work as most people! Wouldn't it be nice not to be tired all the time?
The person I see for CBT (and it took about 3 months to get referred, think it depends where you live but it can go very fast) says that it doesn't matter how stupid it sounds because if you're (for example) frightened to drive a car because every time you think about it you see a fatal accident happening, that would stop anyone from getting in a car. To you/me, it's real.

So is the CBT working do you think?
It is exhausting, i do want to change it, but don't know where to start.

It's irrational but also so rational. I do believe the fears I have, even when I tell myself that it won't happen, I can see that it could.

I know that where I live CBT isn't available on NHS unless you are very unwell, and even then the waiting list is very long. Friend with clinical depression was turned down and had to go privately.

Hi, That sounds familiar!
Many of us go through these periods of stress overload.

In the short term, I second the use of rescue remedy and get plenty of fresh air. Make an effort to go out and walk aimlessly in calm surroundings and clear your head with every breath you take. Do it everyday if you can (take the children to park during holidays).
Smile and count your blessings. Sounds cheesy but i the end, that's the way to go. We can't control what's going to happen, and may loose control when the shit actually doe hit the fan but in the meantime, There is no point depleting ourself of precious vital energy by worrying.

Now make an appintment to see your GP and discuss. Maybe a short course of ADs. Maybe just a short course of sleeping aid to replenish energy stores?
Fish oils and omega tablets work really well in the long run. As does exercise.

Someone mentioned keeping a journal.
I would add AND reading it evry couple of weeks is also good. In retrospect you tend to think, blimey, was I being negative that day!
Helps put things into perspective.

Take care.