Does Anxiety ever improve?

[BoxRoom]

Hi everyone, I'm new here, you can refer to me as BoxRoom if that's okay.
I've experienced anxiety since a few years back, but on and off the first time was when i used to think i didnt feel well when i was fine but it played on me and i stopped going school and cried when i was there and just wanted to be at home, was so weird and i began to associate school with feeling unwell, that was a few years back it was like being a differen person. Also at that time i went to b&q with my mum and i suddenly felt weid and started crying an asked my mum if we could leave, it just hit me whatever it was and i just wanted to get out of there. I've narrowed it down to anxiety. After a while i improved and its only happened now and again. But lately i feel it again, just simple sitations and i feel funny, its hard to explain. But sometimes i begin to find it hard to breathe, and have to remove myself from the situation. I'm going on holiday with a friend in summer, and i need to be better for when i go and not worry about every little thing and think about every little thing and the dangers and what could happen etc. If i don't sort it, it could be a bad holiday for me and i don't know how i could cope. Aaaah, i hope this makes sense to you guys, i don't know how else to explain it.
Anxiety seems to make me want to stay in rather than go out, as it's 'safer'.
Thanks for reading.
BoxRoom.

[miss_mac666]

i know how you feel. i feel safe when im home, i dont like being out in public at all. almost everytime i leave my house i have a panic attack. its really hard to look forward to things because you dont know if you will be able avoid a panic attack. your mind and body get so used to its alarm system... being fear and panic. we just have to let go and find out why this is happening to us. finding the underlining causes of panic

[anxiousmess]

hiya. i know exactly where you are coming from as i am agrophobic and my home is my safe zone. i only leave when needed! even then i try to avoid it.
you could try meds. i know in the past, there have been meds that have worked wonders for me but i had to stop due to pregnancies. if you wanted to try that path, and you found the right meds, then you could very well be better by then :)

[BoxRoom]

Thanks for the replies. I don't know if i've had a panick attack before? But i have had times i've had difficulties breathing. I'm only 16, so not sure docs would take me seriously let alone put me on meds :( But i do need to sort it out.

[miss_mac666]

im on ADs but they arent working for me. i think i need a diff med. i hate it............ ugh

[vonnhelsing]

Agoraphobia. A pain in the ass! It took me a few weeks to fight it and let me tell you, staying at home in your comfort zone might seem like the best place to be but if you keep avoiding going out in public it'll never go away. You need to face that fear of not wanting to be in a public area because you feel you might faint or embarrass yourself. I would force myself to go further and further each day and in the beginning it was hell. I'd get full-blown panic attacks as soon as i stepped outside but after a couple times i realized hey, this isn't so bad! and eventually i was able to go to all the places i used to. I haven't completely recovered, like i still get anxious when i'm in public transport, like buses and i don't know if i can get on a plane anytime soon but it just takes time and understanding. You can pretty much train your mind to think anything. Just do what i did, venture outside more and more every day even if it's scary.
Take care!

[alankay]

Box, have you seen a GP and told him all you dealing with and how your feeling? Alankay

[PanicCured]

I found that when I was able to calm my nervous system down the agoraphobia began to fade. As I continued to do calm breathing exercises such as Buteyko, continued with natural supplements to relax me and to help rebuild my nervous system and brain chemistry, be very careful to NEVER hyperventilate or overbreathe, my nerves were not on such a high alert. Little by little I was able to maintain a normal life until leaving the house or being in crowds no longer affected me. I used to get panic attacks from walking out of my apartment building. In addition, there needs to also be a, "If I die I die, if I collapse I collapse, no matter what, I am going out and I will be around people, and I'll just let it ride. Fuck it!" attitude. If you think about it, in public around lots of people is actually realistically safer than curled up in a corner at home where people could help you. Think of it that way.

Good luck!

[BoxRoom]

I do go outside, i'm not as bad as i once was. It's just sometimes when i'm say in town for example, or on the train or the bus, i feel a bit weird especially if it's busy and i'm crowded with people. Even if it's a hot day i panick incase i faint, or feel ill or something. I always worry, i cannot help it. The advice is great though and i will try take it on. Last week I was in asda and an old man must of collapsed and an ambulance was rang, even seeing the paramedic come into asda made my breathing go a little difficult, maybe i need to put myself in more of these situations so i can figure a way to get through them.
Panic cured, i like that attitude, it seems positive.

[jessed03]

"If I die I die, if I collapse I collapse, no matter what, I am going out and I will be around people, and I'll just let it ride. Fuck it!" attitude.

I actually have a similar philosophy myself.

"If I leave the house, and I happen to bump into Panic Cured, then F**k it... I'll find a way to somehow get over the experience... " ;)

...But yeah, that's solid advice, as always from panic. I think those phrases are the beginning of it losing it's power. "If it happens it happens" "I'll leave it upto fate" "I'm doing this regardless of what happens..." "It is what it is" etc...

I always like to add a little humour to posts and treatment. Anxiety desperately needs everything to be serious. The best way to remove fear from something or somebody, is to laugh at it.