Hi! New girl here :)

[citygrlathart]

Hey everyone! I joined this site because I've never admitted to my anxiety to a large group of people. I've told people here and there, more now than ever before, but I thought it would be nice to have a support group. :)

I'm 26 and the anxiety was really bad when I was 17, it passed and I thought it was gone for good. But no no...here it is, in all its glory...

I've struggled with the fear of fainting, which created a social phobia, and then it was getting better but then I fainted again not too long ago, and it's been back since.

So it pretty much sucks and I'm trying to keep my head up. I get panic attacks pretty much all the time and they're exhausting. I'm a counseling major ironically enough, so I've done plenty of reading on the topic. But no matter how much you know, it's scary as hell when it's being experienced.

I'm going to see a counselor next week about it. There's one thing I won't do which is give up. I'm absolutely determined...anxiety will have to take me down kicking and screaming.

I just want to feel at least a little better than I am now. It's been bad these past few days, starting to creep into every part of my body.

It's just hard because I'll be all determined, and the attack comes anyway, and it fogs up my head and messes up my performance at my job. I can't lose this job because I absolutely love it. I meet with college students on a regular basis, and I feel the symptoms now with each meeting, it is very tiring.

Ok, I'll stop rambling now...you get the drift...I'm dyin here, haha. Help! Encouragement Please! :)

[dsaintp]

see a hypnotherapist..... i know it sounds bizarre but it will change your life

[citygrlathart]

oh yeah? what has your experience been with that?

[tottenhamhotspur]

Welcome! I am new here myself!
It's certainly one thing to study and one thing to experience. One can't do their own doctor work in my own experience , anyways.
All the best :)

[Ratzinger]

Hey there!

I'm 26 as well, so it's encouraging to see that there are other people of our age going through something similar and dealing with it. I know what you mean about it being scary when it happens, even though you know its nothing. I know 100% that what I suffer from is anxiety, but whenever my heart starts racing I think "Oh my God what if my heart stops!" and then after I immediately think "Well, that was stupid to think that!"

The limited advice I can offer is - look out for what relaxes and settles you down, and then cling to them! Find things that make you laugh and that stop you focusing on your anxiety. I have found that I can make my anxiety ten times worse just by over thinking about it! One of the things I used to do when it was really bad was, everytime I felt anxiety coming on, I put a DVD of a comedy show like Friends or the Big Bang Theory on, and watch it until I felt better. It sounds silly, but it stops me from stewing on it. I often find that within a few minutes, I couldn't remember what I was getting so upset about! Obviously I'm not saying this will solve it, but it might be a little tip that helps!