New to the forum and looking for answers..... feeling very scared...

[mandamum]

Hi
Just found this forum and hoping to find some answers... the kind the doctors cant give you because unless you are someone that has lived with an anxiety disorder I dont really think you can understand it... I just feel this relentless sense of fear that I cant get rid of... I get lots of physical symptons with this and less of the actual panic attacks and the worst is getting chest pains.. just cant help but feel something is terribly wrong and Im going to die or something. When I am in a good head state I realise this is irrational, but when you in the moment its hard not to think it and sometimes that feeling can go on for hours and hours... do other people suffer from bad physical symptoms too? the worst time for me is night time as I get so anxious and get really worked up and then cant fall asleep... often it takes hours and hours to fall asleep by which time I have convinced myself something is wrong... any advise really would be appreciated..

[tailspin]

Hi mandamum, Welcome to the site. I have a similar kind of anxiety to you in that I don't get many panic attacks anymore but I do still have a lot of generalized anxiety which manifests in unpleasant physical symptoms, as well as a frequent sense of doom. Like you I realize that many of my reactions are irrational, but, as you say, when you are caught up in the grip of it, rational thought goes out the window and the horrible feelings are overwhelming. Night time is often the worst for me too.

I am finding it difficult to really make much progress with this. For the most part I'm just trying to continue to do things as far as possible even if I feel anxious and/or unwell. But it's draining! I do take medication - an anti-depressant - and I have seen a therapist. Both these things help somewhat. Are you able to look into either of those options?

In the meantime, it's great you've joined this site. There is a lot of useful info here and I know you'll find plenty of support too!