Possible anxiety thingie

[overburn]

Hello,

I have a small problem that after a little research i managed to connect to a possible anxiety disorder.

Well, first of all, the so called health issues.
Sometimes I feel like I'm suffocating because I forget to breathe. And I really kinda forget to breathe. This happens mostly when I get overconcentrated on something. On rare occasions it also happens spontaneously. Even though in the past months or so I haven't been getting these episodes for more than 2-3 times i'm curious to what I could do to get rid of them. They are kind of annoying. Especially the part about thinking "Oh I'm gonna die blah blah" , and then "phew, false alarm.".
And please don't direct me to a professional. I'm more the kind of a DIY guy.

Also, something that probably isn't connected to anxiety , but I still felt like asking:
I'm terribly shy around people that I don't know. And by terribly shy , I mean i crawl in a small box and am terribly tense. Even though that happens around most people, it gets worse when I'm around women. Think it's gotta do something with a fear of being rejected. The thing is , that before things went awfully bad in my last relationship (1 year ago ffs) i've been having this last paragraph of problems. Any tips except "go to a proffessional" would be great :).

P.S. I'm not asking for dating advice. Just asking for advice on avoiding being so tense all the time. And I'm really looking for some real advice, not stuff like "be yourself" without any explanations on how to achieve that state of mind.
The problem with the "Be yourself" piece of advice is that everywhere it's taken for granted , but nowhere anyone explains how to achieve that equillibrium. Which doesn't really help. :(

Anyways, I'm eagerly awaiting your input. :)
Cheers.

[dimspace]

Certainly sounds like it could be anxiety, but the great thing is you seem to have noticed it very early, most of us dont.

Others will no doubt suggest other things as well, but a few tips that may help nip it in the bud early.

Things that will aggrevate it:
Caffiene
Nicotine
Alcohol

Do what you can now to try and start cutting back on any of those that you indulge in, certainly caffeine really isnt good (and theres so many caffeine free teas and coffees it isnt needed). Nicotine as well really inflames anxiety.

Things to try:
Have a good look at your diet, make sure youre getting the essential proteins and everything that you need. Consider as well Vitamin B complex and Magnesium, and fish oils. These have loads of links with anxiety and a supplement now could make a massive difference in the future

And Relax
Try to find time each day to either listen to relaxation tapes, or calming music, read, or do breathing exercises.
(heres a relaxation mp3 i listen to daily to calm myself it really works)
http://www.dimspace.net/Anxiety/Unknown ... FEMALE.mp3 (http://www.dimspace.net/Anxiety/Unknown%20Artist%20-%20Relaxation%20CD%20-%2001.%20Full%20Relaxation%20FEMALE.mp3)

It could well be early signs of anxiety, and if you work now on learning to relax, avoiding stimulants, and supplementing where needed you could well stave it off before it gets any more progressed.

[danstelter]

The forgetting to breathe and thinking you are going to die sounds like symptoms of a panic attack. My wife suffers from these, and she has gotten them so bad in the past that she has lost consciousness!

Being terribly shy could just be shyness or it could be more intense, perhaps social anxiety disorder, from which I suffer.

There are many things you can do to reduce your anxiety. While you don't want to see a professional, that is probably the most effective method, but you can certainly recover from anxiety without the help of a professional. Basically, all I did was avoid anxiety-causing foods, take a small amount of medication for a short period of time (I don't take it anymore), exercise regularly, journal, talk about it with friends, and then take risks like talking to new people and trying new things. My anxiety isn't gone, but it is a heck of a lot better and I just got married last fall, got a promotion at work, and am finishing up graduate school.

The choice is up to you; I'm just letting you know what worked for me.

[ThePhoenix]

Ah yes the "i am going to forget to breathe" thing, I have had that before, it can be very stressful but realistically you arent going to forget, your body breathes on its own unless you physically stop it and you cant hold your breath until you die because you would pass out first and your body would just resume breathing!

I find distraction helps the best, if I have those thoughts I just tell myself I am being stupid and I go about doing something else and I will always forget about it all.

As for ways to overcome anxiety, I think plenty of people have listed some good ideas above!