falling apart

[chloe girl]

Hi,
I am new member. All I can say is that I feel like I am falling apart, but must stay put together. What is so strange is that I feel physical symptoms of my anxiety, but don't realize I am mentally anxious. Other people tell me that I seem anxious all the time, am I just so used to being anxious that I am not really aware of it. I don't think I come across that way but apparently I do. I don't know if this makes sense to anyone?

[james007]

This has happened to me too. People thing that I am overly anxious all the time. I never really paid attention because my anxiety had become a natural part of me. I have noticed signs however that I tend to try to over analyze or perform tasks to quickly due to my anxiety.

[chloe girl]

That is exactly what I do. Overanalyze and try to do things too fast. I also am so distracted by the physical aspects of my anxiety and keeping them in check that I often miss important verbal information that is being relayed to me. This really sucks for me because I am in nursing school and I am rushing through my skills because I am anxious and have unrealistic expectations of myself, (like I should be able to start an IV with the snap of my fingers when seasoned nurses can't even hit the vein on the first shot). I just hate the sweating, the racing heart, the flushed face and the shaking hands. A couple of times I have neared complete panic because the physical symptoms scare me and then the anxiety from that heightens the already existing anxiety. Viscious circle!! Do you feel anxious in social situations too?

[james007]

That is exactly what I do. Overanalyze and try to do things too fast. I also am so distracted by the physical aspects of my anxiety and keeping them in check that I often miss important verbal information that is being relayed to me. This really sucks for me because I am in nursing school and I am rushing through my skills because I am anxious and have unrealistic expectations of myself, (like I should be able to start an IV with the snap of my fingers when seasoned nurses can't even hit the vein on the first shot). I just hate the sweating, the racing heart, the flushed face and the shaking hands. A couple of times I have neared complete panic because the physical symptoms scare me and then the anxiety from that heightens the already existing anxiety. Viscious circle!! Do you feel anxious in social situations too?

Absolutely!!! In certain instances my anxiety can get really out of control. It sort of feels like that part in the movie Vanilla Sky where Tom Cruise had all those people staring at him before he ran out of the bar. I find myself wondering if people are talking about me and then my anxiety really flares up. What is odd, is that when my friends and I discuss hypothetically what we would want to do if we were in the medical field. I always select a position with the least amount of social interaction. Being a nursing student have you found a way to calm down?