Is my anxiety back?

[adrian29uk]

For the last few weeks I have been really stressing about work and I mean really stressing thinking about it 24/7.

Last Wed I walked out as I could not face another 240 mile round trip for a meeting. On friday I started feeling breathless for no reason and feel as though I had difficulty breathing. On sat it came back and also just now.

I am a smoker and I am slightly overweight. I smoke about 30 a day I am 33 years old. Of course I have got to the stage where I am associating this breathlessness with all sorts of awful diseases.

Last year I suffered from real bad anxiety and was really dizzy for and ill for a month, which led to me thinking I had all sorts of illness and diseases. I would keep going on the internet, and just looking at health sites, in the end this worsoned my condition.

I am trying to recognise the symtoms of anxiety before it gets out of hand again. Does this sound like anxiety to you?

[RabidBadger]

Hi Adrian

I have never understood why people have to ask if they have a problem with anxiety.

Anxiety is just another word for fear. If you feel fear when you know rationally that there is nothing to fear then you have an anxiety issue.

Looking at it realistically, a poor lifestyle in terms of smoking, drinking and being overweight is estimated to shave around 14 years off your life expectancy so you might live to see 60 instead of 74 but I certainly wouldn't expect you to pop off at 33.

Of course you could catch some horrible disease and die next week (heaven forbid) and getting rid of this need to be reassured about your health will make for a happier future, however long it is.

Best wishes

Chris

[adrian29uk]

Fair enough. I am changing my lifestyle as from today. Of course I am not helping my situation by smoking.

I just need to learn to control my breathlessness, because again I got it yesterday for no reason. Once I took some deep breath and put things in to some sort of perspective in my head I calmed down and it went. One sure sign of anxiety and panic attack.

I know the symptoms that I got last year I just need to control it, once I have control on it again, it will dissapear. The symptoms I got last year messed me up and because I have had no such feelings for 7+ months it was a strange feeling again.