What activities/places/events make anxiety the worst for you?

[onebreathatatime]

I've been thinking a lot about my anxiety patterns and what sets me off. While I am at work my heart rate is 80-85 sometimes it will go down in high 70's, but I always feel on edge. Driving... I only feel anxious when I have to drive to work, when it's place's I want to go for example shopping I am okay. Doctors appointments make me anxious all the time, even when just going to have a chat, although those times it's not as intense as I know nothing negative will happen. Not eating at regular times during the day increases my anxiety a lot also.

[frankzito]

All that makes perfect sense

[tailspin]

Thanks for posting this. It's definitely helpful to think about our anxiety patterns.

I seem to have two kinds of anxiety. The first kind strikes randomly. I hate that the most. I'll be feeling fine one minute, and then all of a sudden I'll start feeling "off", or sick to my stomach, or my chest will feel tight, or my breathing will feel strange, or something along those lines, and even though I tell myself it's just anxiety, the physical symptoms don't go away and, especially at night, the symptoms often escalate and can turn into a full blown panic attack. That is probably the hardest type of anxiety for me to deal with because it just seems to come on for no reason and it freaks me out because I just don't get it. I suppose this is what is meant by Generalized Anxiety Disorder because the anxiety is free-floating and appears to have a life of it's own, rather than being tied to specific triggers.

But then I also have the kind of anxiety that is triggered by specific events/situations. Typical triggers are:

- feeling ill makes me very anxious (also when people I love are ill, this makes me very anxious because I worry about losing them)
- going away - for example - on a weekend trip generally makes me very anxious (anything to do with flying has become impossible, but even going away somewhere different for the weekend in the car makes me anxious)
- social situations often make me very anxious
- having to get any kind of dental work done makes me very anxious
- any kind of big change to my daily routine generally makes me very anxious

Honestly, I think I prefer the kind of anxiety that has a known cause because at least this makes some sense to me (even if my reaction is usually exaggerated). The free-floating, feeling-extremely-anxious-for-no-known-reason type of anxiety is the worst for me. And I seem to get it a lot :(

[petrified]

Driving for me too I convince myself something is wrong with my car constantly (my husbands a mechanic lol)
Doctors appointments terrify me I'm convinced every time I go they will tell me I'm dying

Watching my son play football, I always get really anxious for him, he's a goal keeper

Going to sleep I'm sure I won't wake up every night nearly

Having money, really makes me anxious I no it sounds strange I just don't like to have it really stresses me out with bills and things I would rather my husband have it I just can't cope with it right now

They are my main ones at the moment :-)

[jessed03]

Public speaking. I chose a job that doesn't involve very much of it, so I get to avoid it as much as I can. I'd work through it, but I hate it that much I don't even wanna try. Thankfully it's not like social anxiety, or a phobia; something that affects my day to day life, so I'm happy to just go through life avoiding it :P

[NeverToo...Fear]

I, like Tailspin, seem to have two kinds of anxiety as well. One seems to have no trigger and come up at random. I hate that one. Unpredictable and scary. I'll be going along my day and it will suddenly hit me like a brick wall..

As far as for triggers that make my anxiety go wild; being alone..which is kinda a weird one because I've been alone before and turned out fine--it's when I think about the being alone that is terrible. One time I had a bad panic attack just from walking outside to get the mail. That short distance walking with no one around had me freaking out! I was shaking for a while after that one..other triggers would be talking to people. That gets me anxious, and whenever someone coughs (another weird one) --cause I automatically assume they are choking to death.