Sarah116
09-12-2014, 08:52 PM
Hi, my name is Sarah and I'm 16, soon to be 17. I'm new to these forums and I've never done anything like this. I've never really posted in forums with other people and this is the first time I'm speaking up about these issues I've been having so I'm the tiniest bit nervous but I hope someone could help me figure this out?
Okay, to start off, I think I might have building symptoms of anxiety. I didn't actually notice these symptoms until July 2014. I had gotten sick for a week, and everyone thought it was because of my period because the sickness started at the same time as my period. My main symptom was constant nausea and sometimes it would go away but it would just return the next day and it was just awful because I absolutely hate being sick and feeling sick. That week was the worst seven days I've ever had in my life, and that's because my mental status was under a huge amount of stress.
I think that's when it started. Every day I felt nauseous so all I could do was lay on the couch and take short naps every now and then. Sleep was pretty much the only relief I could get. I had thought that maybe it was my period, but it was strange because I had never gotten sick from a period before. I kept wondering about why I might be sick all of a sudden and this lead me to researching all kinds of conditions that related to my symptoms and I started having these fears and worries that it was something more serious than simple things like a stomach bug. I started getting constant worries that it was some kind of rare cancer or that it was some kind of lifelong condition that would force me to be hospital bound and unhappy for the rest of my life. I kept picturing scenes of me saying goodbyes to my family and friends and I felt dread because of it, like what if it actually happened? What if this is the ending of my life? I'm not ready to die yet.
This constant fear and worry only got worse and worse throughout the week. I kept researching even though it only made me more scared. And all of this worry was making my nausea worse. Sometimes these worries were so bad that I felt like crying so I would get off my phone (where I researched) and try to sleep. Sleep was the only way I could get a break from the worry.
So for about seven days, I felt terrible and all I wanted was for everything to stop. I just wanted to not be sick anymore and to stop worrying so much. It was tiring, so so tiring. It had only been days but it felt like months.
Eventually I knew I had to see a doctor because I knew putting this much stress on myself wasn't good. My dad took me to a nearby clinic and they thought it was just indigestion so they gave me some nausea medicine and another one (I think it was for acid reflux?) and sent me home. The nausea medicine actually helped and it made me feel better, but the worries never stopped. I got scared again and asked my dad if he could take me to the hospital this time and he did. I could calm down there because being around caring doctors made me feel safe.
We discovered that my sickness was caused by dehydration. I was glad that someone finally found out what was wrong with me and although I was nauseous on the way home, I felt much better mentally. It took almost another week to feel completely normal again, and the sickness went away, which was really great.
It's been about three months since then and I'm doing alright, but I noticed I still have these worries that are out of proportion.
For example, let's say my dad and sister are out somewhere and they told me the time they should be home beforehand. If it's time, but they're not home yet, I just guess that maybe traffic is busy or something. But let's say ten or fifteen minutes pass and they still aren't home, and they haven't called me. I start getting worried and constantly look at the clock. The more time passes, the more worried I get and I'll start picturing them in a car accident and being pulled into ambulances and I wouldn't even know it's happening, like in the movies. That makes me panic a little and I can't concentrate on anything else. I'm only able to relax if they call and/or finally come home unharmed.
Another thing I noticed a while ago is that I might have a fear of storms/tornadoes. I used to be fascinated by these things when I was younger but now they make me uncomfortable. Where I live, the summers are really hot so there's a lot of thunderstorms.
So we went through a period of constant storms. Everyday it would get grey and rainy in the afternoon. I love clear skies and sunshine, so I hated the rain. This is when I started noticing that I began having this weird little obsession over the weather. I would constantly look out of the window to make sure there wasn't grey clouds. I always hoped it would be a nice sunny day. My dad and sister noticed this and teased me about it and I would just joke with them. I started having more interest in storms so I researched them and learned about how dangerous they actually are, especially because of lightning. This made me scared, and every time it stormed I would get worried that lightning would hit the house and kill us somehow. Whenever there was a storm I would turn on the weather channel because I also got constantly worried that it would develop into a severe thunderstorm which could produce a tornado.
A good example is once when I was reading on my laptop and it was storming. There was a lot of thunder and I remember it being quite windy outside. I started getting worried that it was a severe thunderstorm because it looked bad outside so I turned on the weather channel and made sure to check it every few minutes. But the worry wouldn't stop, and it only worsened and made me feel nauseous so I couldn't keep reading. My heart was pounding. I kept picturing myself having to get my cat and into the closet as a tornado hits the house. I kept imagining myself calling my dad and saying things like "A tornado is gonna hit, I love you dad" and thinking of just the worst like my dad and sis having to see me dead and attend my funeral. I still get anxious when storms hit.
I wouldn't say I get anxiety all the time because there are days when I'm happy and feel good, but I still have times when I get dramatically worried over things that aren't a threat.
I've researched anxiety disorders numerous times and they all say that the symptoms have to last at least six months to consider it a disorder? So I don't know what to do. I don't know who to talk to because it feels like nobody would understand me and if I don't have anxiety, it would probably make me feel worse because it'll make me feel like I'm just being over reactive to everything and that I'm being stupid but the worry and fear is real when it happens. I do experience feelings of dread and doom and I notice I get headaches sometimes from worrying so much and getting stressed over things.
I do have the symptoms of GAD. Do you think I might have it?
Okay, to start off, I think I might have building symptoms of anxiety. I didn't actually notice these symptoms until July 2014. I had gotten sick for a week, and everyone thought it was because of my period because the sickness started at the same time as my period. My main symptom was constant nausea and sometimes it would go away but it would just return the next day and it was just awful because I absolutely hate being sick and feeling sick. That week was the worst seven days I've ever had in my life, and that's because my mental status was under a huge amount of stress.
I think that's when it started. Every day I felt nauseous so all I could do was lay on the couch and take short naps every now and then. Sleep was pretty much the only relief I could get. I had thought that maybe it was my period, but it was strange because I had never gotten sick from a period before. I kept wondering about why I might be sick all of a sudden and this lead me to researching all kinds of conditions that related to my symptoms and I started having these fears and worries that it was something more serious than simple things like a stomach bug. I started getting constant worries that it was some kind of rare cancer or that it was some kind of lifelong condition that would force me to be hospital bound and unhappy for the rest of my life. I kept picturing scenes of me saying goodbyes to my family and friends and I felt dread because of it, like what if it actually happened? What if this is the ending of my life? I'm not ready to die yet.
This constant fear and worry only got worse and worse throughout the week. I kept researching even though it only made me more scared. And all of this worry was making my nausea worse. Sometimes these worries were so bad that I felt like crying so I would get off my phone (where I researched) and try to sleep. Sleep was the only way I could get a break from the worry.
So for about seven days, I felt terrible and all I wanted was for everything to stop. I just wanted to not be sick anymore and to stop worrying so much. It was tiring, so so tiring. It had only been days but it felt like months.
Eventually I knew I had to see a doctor because I knew putting this much stress on myself wasn't good. My dad took me to a nearby clinic and they thought it was just indigestion so they gave me some nausea medicine and another one (I think it was for acid reflux?) and sent me home. The nausea medicine actually helped and it made me feel better, but the worries never stopped. I got scared again and asked my dad if he could take me to the hospital this time and he did. I could calm down there because being around caring doctors made me feel safe.
We discovered that my sickness was caused by dehydration. I was glad that someone finally found out what was wrong with me and although I was nauseous on the way home, I felt much better mentally. It took almost another week to feel completely normal again, and the sickness went away, which was really great.
It's been about three months since then and I'm doing alright, but I noticed I still have these worries that are out of proportion.
For example, let's say my dad and sister are out somewhere and they told me the time they should be home beforehand. If it's time, but they're not home yet, I just guess that maybe traffic is busy or something. But let's say ten or fifteen minutes pass and they still aren't home, and they haven't called me. I start getting worried and constantly look at the clock. The more time passes, the more worried I get and I'll start picturing them in a car accident and being pulled into ambulances and I wouldn't even know it's happening, like in the movies. That makes me panic a little and I can't concentrate on anything else. I'm only able to relax if they call and/or finally come home unharmed.
Another thing I noticed a while ago is that I might have a fear of storms/tornadoes. I used to be fascinated by these things when I was younger but now they make me uncomfortable. Where I live, the summers are really hot so there's a lot of thunderstorms.
So we went through a period of constant storms. Everyday it would get grey and rainy in the afternoon. I love clear skies and sunshine, so I hated the rain. This is when I started noticing that I began having this weird little obsession over the weather. I would constantly look out of the window to make sure there wasn't grey clouds. I always hoped it would be a nice sunny day. My dad and sister noticed this and teased me about it and I would just joke with them. I started having more interest in storms so I researched them and learned about how dangerous they actually are, especially because of lightning. This made me scared, and every time it stormed I would get worried that lightning would hit the house and kill us somehow. Whenever there was a storm I would turn on the weather channel because I also got constantly worried that it would develop into a severe thunderstorm which could produce a tornado.
A good example is once when I was reading on my laptop and it was storming. There was a lot of thunder and I remember it being quite windy outside. I started getting worried that it was a severe thunderstorm because it looked bad outside so I turned on the weather channel and made sure to check it every few minutes. But the worry wouldn't stop, and it only worsened and made me feel nauseous so I couldn't keep reading. My heart was pounding. I kept picturing myself having to get my cat and into the closet as a tornado hits the house. I kept imagining myself calling my dad and saying things like "A tornado is gonna hit, I love you dad" and thinking of just the worst like my dad and sis having to see me dead and attend my funeral. I still get anxious when storms hit.
I wouldn't say I get anxiety all the time because there are days when I'm happy and feel good, but I still have times when I get dramatically worried over things that aren't a threat.
I've researched anxiety disorders numerous times and they all say that the symptoms have to last at least six months to consider it a disorder? So I don't know what to do. I don't know who to talk to because it feels like nobody would understand me and if I don't have anxiety, it would probably make me feel worse because it'll make me feel like I'm just being over reactive to everything and that I'm being stupid but the worry and fear is real when it happens. I do experience feelings of dread and doom and I notice I get headaches sometimes from worrying so much and getting stressed over things.
I do have the symptoms of GAD. Do you think I might have it?