Finally facing anxiety problem -- please help!! How are YOU coping?

[quest4peace]

This is my first post to this forum! I have been a worry-wart as long as I can remember, but within the last 2 years it has become significantly worse. I think I have GAD, and I believe it is genetic (from my maternal grandma). I ALWAYS have to be worrying about something.. and I really have a wonderful life with nothing to stress about. Panic attacks occur every so often. It's like my mind will simply not allow me to think positively or to feel as though I'm not presently facing an impending doom. I have accrued a massive amount of doctors bills from physical symptoms (chest pains, pains throughout entire body) that I could swear to you were from deadly illnesses (heart attacks, embolisms, cancer, diabetes) but have been dismissed as stress everytime. Here are some of the thoughts I'm referring to, in order from most common to least common. Any advice on how to combat one or more or all of these thoughts would be very much appreciated!!

- Hypochondria - fear that any chest pains/body pains are a serious disease
- Fear of heart attack & blood clots (I'm a skinny, active female in my 20s with no risk factors besides stress)
- Afraid of loved ones dieing
- Afraid of being home alone and suffering a heart attack/ dieing alone
- (along with above) afraid of being away from boyfriend and something happening to one of us
- Afraid of being assaulted/attacked
- Afraid of taking medications (simple things like ib profin- worried about stomach bleeding warning!)
- Afraid of losing control of my anxiety/ going crazy
- Afraid of boyfriend not wanting to deal with my anxiety/hypochondria
- Afraid of activities I once enjoyed: scuba diving, travelling
- Afraid of hurting someone I care about (I'm a very loving person so this thought terrifies me when it pops into my head)

I think my anxiety became a real problem after graduating from college two years ago. I'm not sure why. Again I have no reason to be so anxietal. I have a wonderful boyfriend who's the love of my life, I have a job that I absolutely love, I have good family and friends that care about me, and I am young and healthy (despite not feeling so). I have moved several times in the last 2 years and am far away from my family, but I was also far away while in college and didnt struggle like this. I have made good friends in my current location. I am currently working 4 days a week, and problems seem to arise within my three day weekend so I am searching for a second job to distract myself. So what can I do to put an end to this unneccessary thought process??? I currently can't afford therapy, and I want to try to conquer this without the use of medication. I've tried some herbal remedies, improvements to my diet ( I am a vegetarian for 3 yrs but have been tested multiple times for deficiencies and everything is normal), increased excersize, lots of yoga... but nothing seems to be helping. Yoga helps a lot while I'm doing it but the effects aren't long lasting. I can't do yoga all day long. Some days are perfectly fine and I wonder why I was ever worried about anything, but then there's days like today where I can't shake the feeling of impending doom and every possible negative thought pops into my head. I'm hoping discussing with and getting feedback from people who understand what I am going through will help. Am I crazy? Can I beat this without medication? Or will it just get worse? If anyone could please share their own self-help remedies that seem to be effective I would be so gratefu!

[vonnhelsing]

hey welcome quest4peace,

the symptoms you described are absolutely identical to my symptoms.
I've had anxiety for 4 years and every day i've thought that im dying or having some sort of deadly disease.
but nothing has happened. I haven't died and i've never fainted from it. what you need to develop is a kind of 'whatever f*ck it' kind of attitude towards it. don't let anxiety rule your life. i know it's hard but when you feel anxious dont get sucked into it cause then it'll never go. you need to let it come and go without being scared. when your brain finally understands that you dont have fear of anxiety itself it'll slowly die down. distractions are very important but you dont have to find a new job just for that. you also need to relax a lot because anxiety does wear us out.. you do yoga which is great. try meditation as well though. it's helped me sooo much. i'd say herbal therapy works really well but if anxiety gets very bad to a point where it prevents you from doing every day activites (work, going out etc) then you might need to move on to meds and cog therapy..
also visit your doctor and get a full body health check-up so you won't stress out over heart problems. the heart worries are really scary i know i have them every day but thats what anxiety causes. really realistic and painful physical symptoms.
you will find peace :)
take care! xx

[quest4peace]

Thanks guys! I am definitely going to check out the workbooks and try some meditation. I am also starting a journal to keep track of my thoughts/emotions throughout the day. After joining this online community I already feel much better about coping and far more hopeful about reversing my thought processes. Now everytime these thoughts pop into my head, or I get a pain in my chest, I can say F* it- it's just my anxiety again and I'm not alone. I am still searching for a second job.. but the primary reason is financial.. not from anxiety. It has not yet affected my professional life, and I still have a good social life despite not always feeling completely comfortable inside while I'm out, but I'm definitely working on it and we'll see how it goes. If all these changes don't work I will have to look into some therapy. Just knowing there are people out there who understand what I'm going through makes all the difference in the world. I'm sure I will be frequenting this site throughout this process. Thanks again!