???...Safety and Anxiety

[PhoenixStorm]

Does anyone else do things when anxious and nervous?
I avoid eye contact and usually only speak when spoken too in public because I think way too much about what I'm going to say before I say it and usually give minimal responses. I don't ask for help even when I need it. I always try and look like I'm too busy to talk to people and look around like theres something else I should be doing..

How about avoiding situations that make u nervous? Do you do it intentionally or did you realize you were avoiding it after you knew more about your anxiety?
I see myself now making up excuses to avoid doing something that I know will be a problem for me. I also see now other times that I avoided things without knowing why ( I know now)

What situations give you anxiety?
Almost everything give me anxiety.. Lol Driving, Going to the store, pumping gas when i do drive, speaking to people I don't know, answering the phone even if it is someone I know, speaking in groups.

Do you have a safety person/people?
I have my husband, when hes around it makes things a little easier to do. I still have about 50% of the anxiety and worry and racing thoughts going through my brain. But half of the anxiety is alot better than all of it for me. Half of my anxiety is probably still more than normal peoples anxiety levels.

Do you have physical symptoms of your anxiety?
I feel myself blushing but I don't know if I really am, I sweat, my hands get clammy, I get tongue tied, I shake nervously even in my voice

I know I worry about people seeing the physical symptoms of anxiety but do they really? I've always wondered...

What do you do when your overwhelmed? What calms you down?

I use a couple breathing techniques but I also go to something that doesn't give me anxiety, for me I like art and being on computer, i enjoy photo editing and quotes and posting on Anxiety websites. Music really helps sometimes too

[AlyMHill]

Things: I tend to check my pulse, my pupils, my breathing. I cough to make sure I'm not bleeding internally, I open and close windows. This is all borderline OCD.

Avoiding: I had begun to avoid highways, being alone, being with too many people, being near fire stations, anywhere that I had had an attack.

Situations: Driving on the highway, sitting in my car, the grocery store, and being alone are all situations that make my panic go crazy.

Safety: My Husband is my number one but he is in the Navy so many times I rely on my Mother or Sister in law or my own family.

Physical: I feel internally nervous a lot. I feel as if my insides are shaking. I also get the very rapid heartbeat as well as sweating, clammy hands and feet. My voice becomes very dry and cracky when I'm having anxiety.

Calm: I just started meditation and yoga. They are oh so relaxing for me. I sometimes resort to using Xanax only when the nerves are really bad. For some reason deep breathing makes me more nervous. Unless I'm meditating.

[bamboosh]

Lately I check my eyes alot , cough and spit to see what colour it is , inhale for really long to see if I can get a breath ok , check my pulse with some app LOL , blow my nose to see if blood comes out " have did this since it got broke in summer" when im having a full attack I hate being alone cause I think im going to collapse and no one will be there to get me help and ill die :/ , but at same time dont wanna be round ppl incase they wonder why im acting weird, also I avoid eye contact when feeling anxious and think ppl are constantly wondering why I avoid it , when im in a crowded public place I tend to play with my my phone alot to avoid eye contact

[Sentinelle]

Oh my and I thought I was the only person doing these things!!! The spitting to see if I'm bleeding and the eye contact are all the same. It's incredible how an anxious mind works!!
I also get scared when I'm alone afraid of having a panic attack and will die without anyone noticing but I am also afraid to have a panic attack in front of someone! I think we are very aware of what people think of us and how others look at us that it increases the anxiety. I would like to try yoga and music helps sometimes. I am also a video game freak I play everytime I can to try and put my mind to something else! Hope you feel better

[ann007]

I get really bad when I'm alone and it feels 100times worse cause I have 3 little ones with me.

I also have IBS so tend to get really bad diarrhea every morning but have to take my kids to school that usually triggers anxiety, because I have to leave the house when my tummy is upset and I worry about accidents. It's one thing to run into a public bathroom alone but getting kids to come along quickly is very hard.


It's nice to find a place where others are going through the same stuff. My husband and mother are very supportive but I hate impacting their work lives to much!