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newzie
09-11-2013, 06:07 PM
Hey All,

I am new here and wanted to say hi. I am a 30 y/o male who suffers from anxiety/depression (sometimes). Here is some background information.

I guess in general I have a little bit more anxiety than most others, but it usually not debilitating or a hinderance on m daily life/relationships. In my whole life I have had only a couple experiences where my anxiety and depression put me in a bad place. The first time was almost 5 years ago. I hated the job I had and dreaded going there. One day on the bus I had a panic attack and had to get off at the nearest exit. I got off, took a breather then went to work. I ended up leaving the job after 2 months from the panic attack but going in everyday after that gave me severe anxiety. Once I quit I felt pretty fine. Didn't take any meds or supplements for it; just sorta powered through it all. It wasn't fun.

The second time was 3.5 years ago. Someone close to me died. I got depressed and then it evolved into irrational/general anxiety. It was different from the previous anxiety because that was specific to a situation. When I wasn't going to work I was fine. But this time I just got generally anxious and feelings of depression. This really kicked my ass. For about 3 months I battled with it. Everyday taking small steps towards improvement, and even some days taking steps back. Eventually I got through it, but I felt like I had to 're-learn' a lot of what made me happy and how to cope with stress. Once I got out of that episode, I started working out regularly, eating healthy, going outside almost everyday for something active (when it wasn't raining). That kept the depression/anxiety off for 3.5 years. Again this time I got through it without going to a doctor or taking medications (although I fully support both medications and doctor visits; in reality I probably should have gone as I was in a really terrible place).

That brings me up to my current situation. I had a panic attack a few weeks ago that put me into a depression, which then eventually morphed into general anxiety about 1.5 weeks ago. I thought I had this stuff beat, but over the past year I got lazy and thought I would never feel like 'that' again. I stopped exercising (partially due to a 3 months injury) and stopped eating well. I seriously think this has played a huge role in my current condition. Although I am not exactly sure the 'cause' since when I had the panic attack on the onset of the symptoms and days apart, but I think it is somehow related. I am also in a pretty stressful time in my life so perhaps it all lines up. Anyway, this time I went to a doc to get some blood work to check my vitamin levels and everything.

Im hoping to get through this the same way I got through it last time. Small steps everyday to eventually recovery and then to get back into the routines I had when I kept it away for so many years.

Anyway Nice to meet you all! Sorry for the long post:D

NixonRulz
09-11-2013, 06:16 PM
Nice to have you here. Not that you wanna be here!

Your story is pretty typical. Generalized anxiety started with me by just waiting for the next panic attack to come.

Then I developed health anxiety since I was sure every thing I felt or thought would cause me to kick the bucket.

But when you start avoiding things and places to avoid panic and you develop agoraphobia, that's when the real fun began!

Good you were smarter than I and came here looking for answers early in the battle.

Lots of good people and discussions here.

alankay
09-11-2013, 09:21 PM
I always feel less anxious when I take care of myself with a clean diet, exercise and good sleep. Makes sense. For many plain stress does trigger anxiety, Alankay