Feeling Helpless

[InLaLaLand]

Today has been rough. I have come to the realization that I probably have anxiety. I've been thinking about it for the past few months but I just kept chalking it up to stress (I'm graduating from college in a month). But I can't keep making excuses for myself. It's starting to effect my life. Hell, I don't even want to walk at graduation because I've been so anxious about it. I think my depression has started to creep back in too. I feel anxious about going to see a counselor. I'm just tired of feeling unworthy and awkward. Any one have any advice?

[Robbed]

Today has been rough. I have come to the realization that I probably have anxiety. I've been thinking about it for the past few months but I just kept chalking it up to stress (I'm graduating from college in a month). But I can't keep making excuses for myself. It's starting to effect my life. Hell, I don't even want to walk at graduation because I've been so anxious about it. I think my depression has started to creep back in too. I feel anxious about going to see a counselor. I'm just tired of feeling unworthy and awkward. Any one have any advice?

Actually, the differences between stress and anxiety are pretty negligible. In fact, it is almost always stress that leads to anxiety disorder. And depression can go along for the ride as well. Anyway, remember that graduating from college is a VERY stressful thing. It typically means having to go out into the world and either swimming or sinking in your chosen profession. You also mention feeling 'unworthy and awkward'. This exacerbates matters because it gives you even more reason to believe that the outcome of graduating from college is likely to be unfavorable. I myself grew up surrounded by alot of negativity. So I KNOW how adversly this sort of thing can affect you. As for how to deal with this, I just can't really offer much advice here. Your issues are virtually dead-on with what I have been dealing with for a LONG time. But as I deal more and more with the anxiety itself AND find that I am once again staring right in the face of this MUCH, MUCH, MUCH bigger monster of trying to break into the tough field of mechanical engineering, I am starting to see that pretty much all that anyone can do is try. And NEVER expect that other people are NOT going to try to sabotage that. So be careful.