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View Full Version : My Cycle - What Is Yours Like? - Comment Please



Christheanxiousone
07-21-2015, 03:18 AM
Hey guys, was wondering if anyone out there had an anxiety cycle like my own. A little background on myself: I'm normally an anxious person but it is usually on the back-burner so to speak. I can control it, I can live with it, I can cope with it. I find enjoyment in things, I live life, I have my good & bad days, BUT, I'm living. However I have "episodes" where the anxiety really pokes it's ugly little head up and takes over. These "episodes" come on for no reason and usually last a month or two, coming in waves, but always constant. Anyway, here is the cycle I am starting to notice, if anyone at ALL can relate, please leave a comment bellow, or if you just have some helpful advice, encouraging words, or knowledge to share, feel free.


-The "episode" comes on randomly
-I freak out, like my world has changed, like I've entered a new life that revolves around my anxiety, it starts to consume me.
-It becomes all I can think about, 24/7. I fear that I will go crazy because of it, I fear panic.
-The physical symptoms of anxiety start to set in. I become constantly shaky, my legs are like jello, I feel detached.
-I start losing sleep because of it, I stop eating almost completely, joy is gone, hopelessness sets in, I begin spending my days Googling like a mad man.
-It consumes me to the point where it's all I can think about, I feel like I'm on the verge of a break down from the moment I wake, to the moment I sleep.
-The "seriousness" of it dies down, but only a little. Acceptance starts to kick in.
-I start seeing some days/moments of improvement and hope.
-I notice the fear of panic and going crazy starts to somewhat subside, the psychical symptoms die down, I start eating and sleeping a little better.
-My triggers and fears still linger over me like a cloud at this point, they're still there, but psychical symptoms are close to gone.
-Slight depression kicks in from the battle, it brings with it some anxiety, like a mix of the two. I now feel it lingering 24/7.
-I now worry over things that I never would have before, I now live in the future, no longer being able to take it "day by day"
-Improvement comes, then quickly leaves, hope comes, then leaves, I am being pulled back and forth.
-Now my days go from improving, back to the anxiety, back to the strong depression. I spend my days now worrying over everything.
-I start seeing a little hope and feeling it in the pit of my stomach, my triggers now come in waves, as does my anxious worries.
-Slowly, I start feeling normal, but not because I did anything in-particular, it just, happens. Even though it is still lingering, it comes in waves now.
-Out of no where, for no reason, as quickly as it came on, it leaves, and I'm back to life again, with no fancy bells or whistles, even though it felt so hopeless.

My first "episode" was a few years back, it was awful, but I survived it. It was slightly different from this one in ways. It was centered mostly around derealization/depersonalization, where as this "episode" seems to be centered around worry.

Currently, I am in that worry/depression stage, that is coming in waves. Can anyone relate AT ALL to my cycle? This is based off of years of experience with anxiety and my understanding of my cycles. I have them like every other year it seems, for roughly two months, and I always think it will never end, but it always does, but it feels so real during, it's truly a fight for survival. How in the hell does all my fears and worries that seem SO real, just disappear, how does my brain literally just get rid of this? I'm not complaining, but it's confusing. ANYWAY, can anyone relate? Please, I would love some comments.... thank you!


A little side-note. I am agoraphobic, although now I can travel mostly "freely" around my town and that general area. I was, at a certain point, agoraphobic to the point that I didn't leave my grandma's house for nearly 2 years... but yet, even though that was the case, I wasn't depressed! That proves to me that I am normally not a depressed person, that also proves that this "episode" is the reason I am, which gives me hope! It's just all so random, considering I am normally an okay person that can cope pretty well. I saw somewhere that these "episodes" can come on from being generally anxious and it kinda just building up and up and up until you explode into an "episode" then you gotta fight through it, although I swear each time I trick myself into thinking "this episode is different" it is surely the one you won't be able to handle, ya know, the basic anxious thoughts.

Christheanxiousone
07-21-2015, 03:18 PM
Anyone? Thank you.

mrslizzyg
07-21-2015, 04:26 PM
I can relate to you a little bit..

Being a girl, my anxiety seems to cycle with my hormones throughout each month. I have 2 weeks that are crazy bad anxiety, 1 week that is just kind of eh, and one week where I feel super great.

Symptoms during my weeks where its bad are:

-lack of sleep
-constantly feeling on the verge of panic attack
-Procrastination, due to not wanting to handle any extra stress from other things needing to be done
-lack of enjoyment with day to day life
-physical symptoms like upset stomach, headaches, sweating
-getting upset about stupid things
-can't concentrate on anything

Those are just a few.

Christheanxiousone
07-21-2015, 06:11 PM
Thank you for replying. Yeah, I guess everyone with anxiety has their good and bad days, but I have my good and bad months, lol. These episodes are rare but damn they are tough, constantly changing until I'm able to slip back into the "normal" me. That feeling of impending doom and lack of joy are real assholes...

Christheanxiousone
07-22-2015, 09:44 PM
Anyone else?

superchick22684
07-22-2015, 11:11 PM
I'm kind of similar to mrslizzyg, sometimes my anxiety and depression correspond with the cycling of my hormones. I used to have a cycle of being anxious, then depressed, then anxious and depressed etc. Now they kind of come and go without warning and sometimes experience them both at the same time with one of them being a dominant. I'm currently in a depressive cycle but my psych tried to take my ad down and after I had side effects we took it back to the original dose late last week. I figure that's probably partially to blame.

Anxiety symptoms that I usually get when its bad:
-loss of appetite
-checking behaviors (checking locks, that certain items are turned off)
-inability to concentrate
-physical symptoms: upset stomach, headache, tightness in chest,nausea
-excessive worry

Christheanxiousone
07-23-2015, 05:47 AM
I want to apologize for posting a couple times, asking if anyone else had anything to say, I guess it's just the first time I have ever been able to sit down and put my "cycle" into words so accurately, so I became really excited knowing that maybe now I can find someone who can relate. I guess everyone's anxiety cycles or episodes are different, but they usually are made up of the same concept. Worry, worry, worry, and more worry seems to be what this stage of the cycle is made up of now, the worry leads to depression, seeing as the worry causes anxiety, and the anxiety depresses me. I am worrying out the a** about things I normally never would. Everyone worries to a healthy degree about things such as their future, but with life being so unpredictable, most people can take it day by day (I usually could) but not during this cycle!

Christheanxiousone
02-24-2016, 02:42 AM
I am going through this again, excessive worry about the future, thinking I'll never be happy, feeling like I got to get my life together RIGHT NOW, even though I am only 22, just feeling hopeless and lost, very worried about getting, what I will do in the future, what if, what if, what if.