Hello! Introduction and my story

Hey everyone, I'm Zoe. I'm 17 and I'm pretty sure I've had anxiety my whole life. When I was little I would have panic attacks at night and I would breathe into a paper bag. My mom took me to the doctor because of it, and he diagnosed me with asthma. I didn't have asthma, lol. It was manageable when I was younger, but my mental health started deteriorating when I was 12. That's when I was diagnosed with anorexia and depression. It was pretty bad and I struggled with that eating disorder up until I was about 15, although I still have a weird relationship with food and a bad body image. But the biggest issue has really been anxiety. That started flaring up around eighth grade, I would obsess about my grades and I would have a panic attack if I got an A- on something I studied really hard for. This ironically led to me withdrawing from school after freshman year. (I would dread school and I would have constant anxiety about every little thing. I'd cry in the hallways and freeze up during tests. We tried everything. We tried having me stay in the Nurse's office and doing my work there, but that didn't help. And we tried online school but I was still obsessing there too.) I got my High School Equivalency diploma when I was 16 and it's been pretty hard on my self-esteem. I've missed out on a lot. I recently tried to start community college but I had a really panic attack on the second day and then withdrew. It makes me feel like crap, honestly. I know I'm going to try again someday, but I'm scared. My panic attacks are horrible. There was a time where, when at home, I would lay on the floor and scream and cry. When I'm in public I freeze up and excuse myself and go cry in a bathroom. I'm currently in therapy and taking prozac and risperdal, but I'm not sure if it's even working because I'm not really exposing myself to stressful situations right now. I feel lonely a lot of the time, so I'm hoping that I could connect with some people on this forum that have gone through similar things. :)

Hey zoe sorry to hear about your troubles.

I struggle from general anxiety and often find myself way more stressed than I need to be. I have had some bad panic attacks too. I promise if you stick with it it gets better, you won't will feel like this forever :). Also remember if you don't think therapy works there are tons of other therapists who may be better suited for you so don't give up.

You came to the right place this is a great forum from what I have seen in my brief time here. You will find lots of support

Thank you so much for your reply. And I do really like my therapist, I just don't think I've had much of a chance to put what I've learned into practice. If that makes sense. I hope to see you around. :)

Thats great! You too!

Hi Zoe and welcome :)

Sounds like you get it pretty bad. I was drinking heavily by your age to cope. I managed to finish high school (with good grades) and do the first year of uni but it was during the start of second year I had constant panic and had to defer. I ended up finishing the degree (Marketing) but never got far because of my anxiety and addictive tendencies. It would have been good if someone had've pointed out that I didn't have the right temperament for business but this was in the early 1990s and people were even more clueless about psychology than they are now.

Anyway, hang in there. I have a 15yo daughter and she gets anxiety but not as bad as me thank god - I like to think my intervention has helped her whereas I had zero emotional support from my parents. From what she tells me anxiety and depression are REALLY common among her age group. I'd have anxiety if I was your age too, even if I wasn't an anxious type, because the future isn't looking too great to me (climate change, consumerism, Donald Trump..).

You'll always find some support here though :)

Gypsy x

Thank you Gypsy for you your thoughtful reply. I'm looking forward to seeing you around the forums. :)

You're welcome! And I'm always lurking around here :)

Hello Zoe! It’s good of you to share a little about yourself. I’m sorry to hear about the struggle you’ve been through from your childhood, and I can understand how difficult it has been for you. I really hope you find this forum helpful. Sending prayers your way and wishing you the best. Love and hugs to you, friend!

Good for you finding this site at 17.. I wish when I was 17 I had something like this to refer to .. I thought I would never live through it.. 40 yrs later... happy to see you here

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by donna0099

Good for you finding this site at 17.. I wish when I was 17 I had something like this to refer to .. I thought I would never live through it.. 40 yrs later... happy to see you here

---

Oh same here.. I'm 43 so I didn't even have the internet at 17. When I first had anxiety so bad I couldn't function (at 19) I well and truly thought I was headed for a mental institution.

Then again, I think the internet can add to people's anxiety in that social media sites like Facebook and Instagram tend to only show good things happening in people's lives. They also add a lot of pressure to look a certain way and most of it is fake, with people using all sorts of apps to edit how they really look. So in some ways I'm very glad we didn't have the internet when I was 17.

Yes I agree with you about the internet ! My biggest fear was that I was going to be in an institution .. simply because I had no idea what was wrong with me.. I still have that fear on bad days.. even though I have worked all my life and raised my family. Somedays were truly Academy award days , nobody around me knew what was going on inside me. It is so good when you hear other people felt just like you and were riding the wave at the same time as you . There were probably people working with me , going through the same thing as me but because back then nobody talked about it out of fear , because of stigmas we kept silent and suffered . Today I don't care who knows I have an anxiety problem , if I can help someone by sharing my story , it makes me feel good.