Help, Suddenly crippling anxiety and nervousness? (GAD?)

[fearfear]

hi there, I'll be honest here, I'm not really a forums person. I haven't really ever joined one before so if I'm doing this wrong, I apologize greatly.

Well,onto my problem, lately I've been having horrible anxiety and no matter what I do I can't get it to go away? I'm a teenage male and I guess it would probably help if I explained what happened.

I've known for a while, I have a fear of being away from home, being more than a 15 minute away from home is very hard for me and greatly stressed me out. I was okay with this though as I was working on it and getting better, at least until my problem.

About 3 or 4 nights ago, I had a horrible panic attack at home. The whole focusing on my breathe, feeling dizzy, feeling unreal, just general pure panic. I was home alone as my mother and father were at work, and explained to her (my mother has had horrible panic attacks since her teenage years as well, so she knows how to handle them pretty well) and she came home and tried to help. The problem was is that my house was my only "safe place" if you want to call it that?


Now since I had that panic attack, I dont feel safe anywhere anymore. At home I just feel like i'm waiting for my neck panic attack, which granted I haven't had since 3 or 4 nights ago. I just in general feel extremely nervous and constantly on edge, and I've had to start going to work with my mother every night in order to stay with a person who I feel can help me if I did panic.

I'm somewhat okay during the day, as I feel like if I need help I can get it with neighbors around, but at night everything gets horrible. I used to have a horrible sleeping schedule, staying up until almost 6 am due to homework. Now I can barely stay up til 2 am without feeling like the world is closing in around me and I can't find help. ATM It's just starting to get dark and I'm very scared at how I'm gonna make it through the night.

My biggest issue is that it's even starting to affect my eating.

Here's where a problem comes in. Can anxiety give you chills, hot flashes, upset stomachs/gagging on food, and general acheyness and tiredness. I'm always worried, but I don't think those symptoms match up with anxiety?

I'm starting to believe I have the stomach flu or something, because even when I'm not that nervous (when I actually manage to get my mind off of the anxiety), I still feel incredibly sick to my stomach.

No fever or anything, which is why I can't tell if I'm actually sick or not? Are these symptoms something that match up with anxiety, or? As weird as it is, it would make me feel so much better to be sick, as that at least gives me a reason why I've been feeling so bad lately.


I just need help, I need to know how to turn my house or something back into a safe place so I can stop worrying for once. I don't know how I suddenly created my house to be a place of fear, but now I can barely sleep through the night.

The past 3 or 4 nights have been living hell, trying to just avoid panic attacks until the morning. I feel like I'm just waiting for the clock to turn to 6 am.

Help? Any type of help would be appreciated.

I believe I probably have GAD? But I just don't know how to get rid of it. I'd prefer drug-free methods, but this has ruined my life for the past few days ,if it keeps up I will be trying anything.

Thanks for the help

[drs2489]

Hi the re!
Our stories seem similar. Although I am female, my anxiety really started to rear it's ugly head in my teens as well. It was the summer after high school ended for me. And i was waking up from sleep abruptly, feeling like I couldn't breathe, all the whole taking artificially deep breathes that were(now I know) not helping me at all but actually tightening my muscles and making it worse. This first bout lasted about a week before I had convinced myself there was something wrong with me and I needed to go to the ER. So... I went... even after my mother (Who has severe anxiety) Told me nothing would be wrong.And after tests and tests they found nothing wrong and there I was diagnosed with Anxiety disorder. It went away for a while but never 100%. It came and went and came and went. Doctors have done more tests and still nothing (which I am thankful for) Here I am 8 years later... with more knowledge than before but still falling for the tricks of the mind called Anxiety. I to have trouble at night for some reason, maybe because that was when my symptoms first started to appear. What I do is find something to get my mind off of it. Rather it be reading or TV or a game on my phone. I know some people say technologies make it worse, but it helps me. I'll play a game that involves a lot of finger movement so I'm focusing on that instead of my breathing. Or watch a comedy that makes me laugh out loud. You're laughing... you're breathing! Lol and it may put you in a better mindset. :)

[fearfear]

Hi the re!
Our stories seem similar. Although I am female, my anxiety really started to rear it's ugly head in my teens as well. It was the summer after high school ended for me. And i was waking up from sleep abruptly, feeling like I couldn't breathe, all the whole taking artificially deep breathes that were(now I know) not helping me at all but actually tightening my muscles and making it worse. This first bout lasted about a week before I had convinced myself there was something wrong with me and I needed to go to the ER. So... I went... even after my mother (Who has severe anxiety) Told me nothing would be wrong.And after tests and tests they found nothing wrong and there I was diagnosed with Anxiety disorder. It went away for a while but never 100%. It came and went and came and went. Doctors have done more tests and still nothing (which I am thankful for) Here I am 8 years later... with more knowledge than before but still falling for the tricks of the mind called Anxiety. I to have trouble at night for some reason, maybe because that was when my symptoms first started to appear. What I do is find something to get my mind off of it. Rather it be reading or TV or a game on my phone. I know some people say technologies make it worse, but it helps me. I'll play a game that involves a lot of finger movement so I'm focusing on that instead of my breathing. Or watch a comedy that makes me laugh out loud. You're laughing... you're breathing! Lol and it may put you in a better mindset. :)

Hi, it does help me to know that someone else has experienced the same feeling I feel.

My biggest problem when I'm anxious is that I focus on my breathing, which makes me feel like I can physically stop my breathing, just making me more nervous. It does help me to play some computer games, but I find that when I'm really nervous not even those help.

Any advice what to do when I'm feeling so bad I can't even focus on easy games? I just need a way to calm down in these advance panic attacks I suppose?

[JustaGal]

Hi, it does help me to know that someone else has experienced the same feeling I feel.

My biggest problem when I'm anxious is that I focus on my breathing, which makes me feel like I can physically stop my breathing, just making me more nervous. It does help me to play some computer games, but I find that when I'm really nervous not even those help.

Any advice what to do when I'm feeling so bad I can't even focus on easy games? I just need a way to calm down in these advance panic attacks I suppose?

Read the book Hope and Healing for Your Nerves- Claire Weeks. Amazon Kindle

[drs2489]

When they're really bad I find some way to cool me down. Even though when I get anxiety I feel cold, I still find some way to cool myself down. I also will find some way to validate my breathing. Singing along to a song, humming, talking... all things that prove to my crazy mind that I am in fact breathing and even though it may be faster or irregular at the moment I am breathing and my lungs are just fine! I'll take as deep a breath as I can and hum until I can't anymore... it helps get allllll the air out and give a good Exhale which is kinda what I realized I forget to do. I'm breathing in and breathing in but I'm not fully letting the air... out! Sometimes I'll just go to the bathroom... splash some water on my face and literally look at myself in the mirror and tell myself I am fine. I am Fine. There is Nothing wrong with me...

[jim79]

Hi
I started "noticing" my anxiety about 2 years ago at home as well. I would try and watch tv or watch a movie and i couldnt stop focusing on my breath (which made me think i couldnt breathe) and on my heartbeat. I would have to get up and go to the toilet and try and sit there a few minutes by myself to relax (I live with my gf and I didnt want her to notice anything).
Ive had my fair share of panic attacks since then, and Ive seen a therapist for a few months.

Now what really helped me to "relax" is read about panic attacks. My sister gave me a book that explained about how panic attacks and anxiety disorder work. It actually described the process of the chemicals in your body affecting your brain (adrenaline/dopamine) so it was quite "technical" , thats why I cant remember it much lol, but it helped me a lot at the time as it gave me some solid information on to which I could hold on during panic attacks!
Now my anxiety made all my normal day to day "symptoms" feel life-threatening...Eeeevery little thing I would think it was something serious. From thinking I have asthma to a heart attack! My body seemed to be in high alert and every little pain somewhere or feeling a bit light-headed was a sign of something serious...but it wasnt. Everything gets exaggerated when you have anxiety disorder. Also it makes you fear that you will have another panic attack soon.

The most important thing I think is to let the panic attack do its thing and not pay attention to it. You have to slowly start showing who is the boss, as you are stronger than the panic attack and it wont harm you in any way. Its just an imbalance of chemicals in your head.

Also my sleeping patterns where all over the place as well. I used to sleep very little and stay up late and then go to work etc etc. since Ive made a more conscious effort to sleep more I feel much better. It might take a while to get used of sleeping more normal times but its worth it i think.

Really, get a book that explains the process of how anxiety affects your brain/body. It will help you a lot!

hope this helps!