A bit about me and my anxiety? :)

[melaidon]

Hi, I thought of joining this forum as I thought it would help me to know that i'm not the only one that has anxiety and also if i'm in need of any advice by people in the same situation as I am :).

Well, I'm 20 years old, and i've been suffering from anxiety since October. When it happens, I start feeling dizzy, I feel like my heart is beating way more faster and harder which makes it difficult to breathe, and the worst part of it all...is that i then start shaking uncontrollably. Which I then feel humiliated..First it's my hands that shake, then my whole body.
I just try to avoid specific things that I know will bring on an anxiety attack. Sometimes it's silly small things that bring it on..Like someone watching me eat and drink, if i have an interview...sometimes even taking my mobile phone out to type in a message in front of someone or even handing in an assignment and the teacher looks at me. I try and avoid all these things...I just have a fear of an anxiety attack coming and then being humiliated.
It happens alot at work which i took 3 weeks off by the doctor and he prescribed me anti-depressants which i don't take any more.
I don't know what type of anxiety I have...I haven't really searched much about it.

I go to a therapist which helps a bit.
I'm just living in fear of anxiety attacks and humiliation. I avoid so many things now, even talking to specific people.
It's controlling my life. I wish it would just go away. :/

Anyway, Does anyone feel these things..? Have the same symptoms at me and avoid those small things too?

[shane bevan]

I have been dealing with it too. You are not alone

[Lin]

Being on this forum will help you because so many of us feel exactly the same in situations as you do.

Avoidance is not the answer because it just makes things worse the next time you have to do them - saying that, I avoid. I can't stand noise, so I hate shops or anywhere there are people. So last couple of years have only gone to shops early in morning and stopped going to watch football because hate the tannoy and people.

But this year decided that it has just meant I have shrunk my world to just my lounge and work, and I have to push myself to go out. So have started doing food shopping, but with my husband with me, and this year have booked to go and see England play cricket again which missed completely last year. Also to get myself out into the garden this year we have bought me a swing seat which I have wanted since a child to encourage me to sit in the garden. Even the garden feels too noisy at times because I can hear people in their gardens or walking in the street. So swing seat is on the patio right near the back door, but hoping that gradually during the year I will be able to move it out further into the garden and enjoy it.

Also I have stopped socialising so not meeting friends at lunchtime or evenings/weekends, but decided this year going to try again, so am going to try one lunch a month, and we have asked some friends if we can go round to their house one night for a board games night so that their children are in bed so not much noise and just the four of us, so I should be able to handle it.

I nearly didn't go to my son's graduation two weeks ago because of anxiety and worry I would ruin it for him, but although ruined the first part of the day because stressed, I managed to calm down and the day went OK in the end. So decided this year have to push myself because just sitting on my settee and going to work had not been doing my any good. Also had made work too important to me and I was just working longer and longer hours which has worked out bad because I got so tired and stressed my new boss thought I was showing signs of mental illness and tells me she nearly got rid of me then, rather than just accepting that I was working long hours and trying so hard.

So try not to avoid if you can help it, because once you start to avoid it gets worse and you avoid more and more things and eventually become near enough agrophobic so another problem to get over. So keep trying and just deep breath and calm yourself down in situations and try to do them, even if in a smaller way than you once would have done them.