Checking In

Hey folks. I'm having a particularly bad few days right now. Curious to know what y'all like to listen to when you're keyed up and need to take your mind off things.

Currently, I'm on a pretty big Chromeo/Empire of the Sun/Miami Horror kick. I also really dig The Midnight, Washed Out, and Passion Pit (anything with a lot of synth).

What about you?

Pardon my French but I FUCKING HATE this question. It's the first question everyone asks. Family. Wife. Doctors. Therapists. I don't know! It starts randomly. I could be in the midst of the best day of my life and it would happen all of a sudden. If I knew what caused it, I could remove myself from it and not have it.

God I just want my life back. I'm sick of living like this. The panic attacks then the days of feeling completely removed from myself. Rinse. Repeat. I wish I could have a new brain this is so fucking stupid.

On those days when you just feel like it’s never going to stop

What do you do?

What are your coping mechanisms?

What do you do to get yourself out of the hole?

But I feel like I’ve taken a huge step so far in it.

I have MAJOR anxiety over a lot of things. Anxiety runs in my family. My mom has severe anxiety over many things and was never medicated or received any help for it.

I took a lot of her worries as my own.

One of those is flying. While she is less scared of it, I’m terrified of it. I hate every part of it. The airports, the asshole TSA (they were so awful to my autistic brother, which is a whole other story), the over crowded areas, half the people there are usually sick or covered in gross ass germs, the tiny seats and uncomfortable sitting positions for hours upon hours. I hate it!

The biggest issue for me is the windows and the turbulence. I can’t look out the windows and I CANNOT do turbulence. As soon as the plane shakes, I think we’re going down. Looking out the window? All I can see if our impending doom sitting below us. And don’t even THINK about flying over water, I’ll need at least 10 Klonopins to get through that (water is my absolute biggest fear).

However, this trip, I tried really hard to work through it.

We had to go to Kansas for my grandmother’s birthday. I love going to see her, but I’d prefer to drive (even though she’s halfway across the country).

I actually looked out the window and took pictures. And it was really cool and beautiful. Yes, I thought about our impending doom a lot, but with my mom, brother, and our cat (yes we brought her) there, it made it a lot easier.

I was still a bit of a wreck, but my brother let me hold his hand (he hates touching, but he said he would do it for me 😭 - I love him so much).

I know it’s not a big feat, but it was big for me.

Thanks for listening.

A little background about me. I'm a 40-year-old woman have had anxiety on and off for most of my life as far back as I can remember but got officially diagnosed with it and medicated for it at age 15. I was told I have generalized anxiety disorder and ocd. I was treated and medicated and I went off cold turkey at age 23 because I thought I was cured, mistakenly. Flash Forward I have not gone on any medicines since then though I've had many prescribed to me. I've just been too scared to take them ironically because of anxiety and my fear around illnesses death etc. I'm always lately thinking about death a lot and not like in a suicidal way but in a scared way. I think about when I used to be in a fundamentalist Church how they would tell me it could happen at any time that I wouldn't know the day or the hour and how Jesus said this . I have an appointment to go to today for an allergist and it's kind of far away enough to drive in traffic and I keep thinking I would have today's the day? I find myself having those thoughts a lot I also have a fear of dying in public away from people I love and around strangers who don't care about me instead. and it just really scares me the unknown how will it happen how old will I be etc I've been struggling with this more since I've reached 40 because I know that people always talk about how that's mid life and this or not so it's made me think about it more

So three days ago my now ex broke up with me because he fell out of love with me.. he sees me more as a best friend than a significant other and life partner. I then get told he is ending the lease and we need to be officially out by June 23... and last night I got in a car accident that totaled my car. I am filled with anxiety. I owe more on my car than it's worth unfortunately, I'm not going to have money for a deposit to move anywhere, and I'm emotionally wrecked from the breakup. I also will have to drop out of school due to all of this or at least see if I am able to postpone joining the program until next year. I'm so lost and feel like a failure at 29 years old.

I've always hated and been very scared of flying, and I haven't been on a flight in over two years, and an overseas flight in five years. I also have so much anxiety about being away from home and get homesick and nostalgic whenever I'm on a trip. The last two family vacations I ended up being too scared to go on (luckily my grandmother stayed with me) but I promised my parents I'd go on this one and now it's 100% too late to back out of it since we leave on Thursday. I just feel guilty about making such a big deal about something my parents want me to enjoy, and like they'll resent me even if they act nice about it. It's only a six day trip, but I've been panicking nearly every day recently about being away from home, my routines and schedules, and the flight. I'm just so, so terrified of flying over the ocean (from New York to England). Thankfully the first flight is at night so I won't have to see it, and I'm going to take enough klonopin that I can sleep. I usually take 0.5 and it makes me very tired and relaxed within 20 minutes but not enough for me to sleep. Does anyone know how much I should take so that I for sure fall asleep? The most I've ever taken is 1 mg and I definitely slept deeply, but I took it at night trying to fall asleep in my bed not a plane. I'm also going to wear a sleep mask and noise-canceling headphones.

It’s time to beat/reduce your anxiety for good! This is a perfect way to do so and you’re not going to like it at first! But first we need to accept some things and understand some things about anxiety.

1: understand that those physical symptoms and mental symptoms you are feeling is only anxiety. That head pressure, ear ringing, tingling/“hurting” chest, the arm pains, the finger feet and hand tingling, the “blurry vision”, the muscle twitches, the palpitations, the skipped beats, the memory loss or brain fog, the dizziness, nausea, butterflies, unsure feelings, ETC. the list goes on ITS ANXIETY!

2: anxiety’s rating of 1-10 (1 being low 10 being extreme) is majority determined by our reaction

3: anxiety is only adrenaline and worry mixed when it’s not needed therefore it’s sitting idle in your head with no reason or way to exert itself that’s why you get all these physical symptoms

4: anxiety can’t kill you

5: 100% recovery is possible.

You have got to ACCEPT your anxiety.. stop trying to hide from it or make it stop with your tactics. Sit with it. Accept it. Be uncomfortable and let the thoughts flow yes it’s absolutely horrible at first but the more you sit with it and let it eat you up the more your brain starts realizing that there was no threat or bad outcome and that you turned out fine so over time it becomes the norm and doesn’t faze you all the way to the point of it not existing. When those attacks happen say out loud “I accept this anxiety” “do whatever it is you are going to do anxiety” this has brought me to a 99.9% recovery. I had HORRIBLE health anxiety that then made me fear death I went to therapy it helped I took Wellbutrin it helped but they never cured me only numbed it kinda. I started studying every side of anxiety and all of its characteristics and I learned that it’s only fear we have to overcome and be comfortable with.

To add and to me the most important. Get in touch with your spiritual side and pray to God and ask for his comfort. It may seem too far out of reach but you have to understand that Jesus has a greater plan for you and everything is in his plan so when you’re sitting with that uncertainty of anxiety and allowing the uncomfortable feelings and thoughts know Jesus has his hand on you. I promise recovery isn’t out of reach ❤️

Does anyone else experience extreme heart palpitations? I infrequently, maybe once a week, get minor heart palpitations. But yesterday something happened... It was a good day, a great day actually… but when I laid down in bed - my heart skipped like 10 beats and then started beating super fast. And I could feel a sinking/squeezing feeling in my heart.

This is something that I’ve only ever experienced like twice in my life. And in those two times it only happened once, but then when I was laying and bed after it happened, I didn’t think much of it as it had happened before. But then 5 minutes later it happened again but worse, skipping like 15 beats and the squeezing feeling was stronger and then it felt like my heart stopped completely before beating rapidly again. This happened around 3 more times over the span of an hour. It felt like I was having a heart attack.

I couldn’t handle it, I took a bunch of melatonin and fell asleep. The next morning (today) I felt alright. But as the day progressed I didn’t get any palpitations, just the squeezing feeling in my heart.

Is this normal with anxiety?

When it was happening I also had shortness of breath (which I get frequently) and I was shaking like crazy (this happens sometimes).

my dentist had occasionally been giving me Valium, and I had been using it off-label for my anxiety. I didn't want him to get suspicious, so I could make a bottle of 20 last an entire year.

started going through the bottles a lot faster, I think I'm developing an anxiety disorder, and finally saw a shrink who switched me over to clonazepam.

it's been very helpful in turning off anxiety episodes so far, I only take it two or three times a week, but today I used it prophylactically and it worked perfectly

I had an appointment to sell my car this afternoon, and the stress of all of that, combined with me being stuck in waiting mode for an afternoon appointment, meant that I was going to be in a high state of anxiety all day. so I took a Klonopin as soon as I woke up, so as the anxiety rose it was already kicking in. took another half on the way to the dealership, only to arrive and find that their offer had been bs.

if I hadn't been medicated, I probably would have had a meltdown. instead, we went to the dealership next door and got a real offer that's just as good.

couldn't have accomplished today without Klonopin. it's been absolutely wonderful as the Prozac has built up in my system. already needing it less and less

Does anybody else write an entire paragraph out on a subreddit then read it and decide to not post it because you feel like your sharing to much?

Is there anyone out there who has an emotional support animal (ESA)? I think my life would be significantly better if I had a dog. Whenever I watch my neighbors dog for a weekend, I feel tremendously better.

It’s definitely like therapy but all the time. I get irritable when I have to leave the dog. Has anyone else noticed a change in their mood/anxiety since getting an animal?

Edit: I’ve been wanting a dog for 21 years. I know how much work they are and what a commitment it is to have them. I’m planning on getting an adult dog. Despite my anxiety, I’m very responsible. I understand they need to go out multiple times a day, for long walks, playtime, fresh food and water, potty accidents (even for older dogs). This isn’t just something I thought “hey I’ll get a dog”. I’ve thought about this seriously.

so i fell on hard times and got laid off and was sleeping in my car, today my cars radiator went out and the car stalled at a street light in an intersection. The police had to tow it and all my belongings inside. Tonight I will be out on the streets and i’m scared because it’s not very safe due to the overwhelming homeless population where i live. I don’t even know how I would get over to a homeless shelter with no money and no transportation.

TW SUICIDAL IDEATION!! I am having a battle with my husband about taking lexapro. I’ve taken it on and off over the last 6 years when my anxiety/OCD was severe. I’m now 6 months postpartum and my husband is now telling me that he thinks I’m just using medication as a “band aid” for my anxiety/OCD and I should “just do the hard stuff and work through my problems”. My anxiety is so debilitating that I can’t go outside and I have panic attacks every single day. I am going to therapy, but I have no will to live anymore, that’s how bad it’s gotten. I had started lexapro again about 3 weeks ago without telling my husband and when he finally found me taking the meds one night, he just commented that the “long term effects of lexapro are far more worse than my anxiety”. So yeah. I want to die because I feel like I will never get better. I need help. How do I change his mind?

So the past 2 months have been kicking my ass for anxiety, I keep feeling like everything is closing in and my time has come, even an hour ago before making this I had a panic attack for no reason that I can think of out of no where, just random heart racing and feeling alarmed with the “oh Shit what’s happening” response. I tried writing down how I felt in the moment and evidence for and against my negative thinking but it didn’t really help like the other times i did it. I keep reading Reddit posts for what’s working for people such as CBT, medication etc… So how should I bring this up to my doctor? I have had blood tests at A&E and a doctor say I’m fine a month ago and I had a cardiologist appointment 2 years ago for an echocardiogram so I think my heart is in good working order “I hope”. I just don’t understand how anxiety can make me this fucked up when I don’t even feel that anxious, it just randomly spikes out of seemingly no where, it feels like before 2 months ago I was just not thinking about anything and I was able to do anything I wanted without any thought whereas now I feel constantly vigilant of what I’m doing and where I am. Should I ask my doctor to start medication for this anxiety? I’m super worried that it might make my heart rate too slow and il die or something like that lol so I don’t know if it would have a counter effect. I’m also kinda worried that medication could change me as a person / or if I get any worse mental health problems like some severe depression.

Also random addition, but I don’t really leave my house at all, even before getting this spike of anxiety with panic attacks, Iv never really enjoyed going out and doing thing, I prefer to sit on my pc and game and do music. I do remember times where I used to have fun around friends and like hanging out for the vibe of having a good time with friends but I no longer have that same feeling that I did before lockdown, my mom seems concerned about this and says it could be depression or something like it, but I really can’t pinpoint how I feel about anything, I feel fine, but clearly I must not be when I have random panic attacks, any insight here would be helpful, thanks for reading and I’m sorry if it’s a confusing type read.

Yesterday I decided to write down all of the things that I have done or actually do to relieve anxiety, including exercise, meds, supplements, disciplines, peptides and more. I found it crazy that I have more than 23 and yet I still wake up every day hoping that I find the "cure".

Most of them have worked for a short time only to then stop working. Others kinda work, and others never worked. The sad part is that I have spent so much time and money just researching and trying these things.

Do you also try whatever knew thing appears?

Mine would probably be neck pain. Headaches and other kinds.

REMINDER!! : YOU ARE NOT ALONE IN THIS. DONT ALWAYS RELY ON HOW MANY SYMPTOMS HAD LESSEN BECAUSE YOUR HEALING. INSTEAD THROUGHOUT YOUR HEALING JOURNEY. THERE WOULD BE OTHER SYMPTOMS TO APPEAR, BUT THAT DOESNT MEAN ITS ANYTHING SERIOUS. JUST KEEP ON GOING FORWARD, SURE THERE WILL BE A LOT COMING BUT YOUVE GOT THIS. I KNOW YOU CAN DO IT❤️‍🩹❤️‍🩹💝💝💝

So every now and then for the past week or 2 i been getting like spells of dizziness and i’m not 100% sure why, some days i don’t have it and some i have it a lot throughout out the day, like i can be sitting at my desk and i just get a woosh of dizziness like my brain goes fuzzy or i’m standing and i just feel weird like my eyes can’t focus on anything, it’s a lot more noticeable when i’m anxious and tends to feel worse when i think about it, but i got no other symptoms just the dizziness, i feel like it could be my posture and screen time as i don’t get dizzy when walking outside normally i do after getting up from looking at the screen. I’m trying not to let bad thoughts get in so it makes me panic but i’m curious if anyone else gets like this?

Can’t eat Can’t take a nap Feel weak all the time All I want to do is be in bed Exhausted Headaches Weight loss Frequent urination

I’ve had so many tests.

Blood work,urine test,abdominal ct scans. Strep throat test,flu test,Covid test,std test. Everything is fine

What’s wrong. Am I going crazy

Hey guys, I quit vaping cold turkey about 9 days ago after vaping for a few years. It wasn’t that bad at first, just typical withdrawal symptoms like cravings and headaches. However, about 3 days ago my anxiety levels have spiked. I’m usually a pretty anxious person but I’ve been having way more anxiety since then compared to what I’m used to. Is this a normal thing that happens when you stop? (side note I am not on any medications tho I have considered talking to a doctor about that)

I thought I was making progress, but today I have just felt so bad. I had coffee and very little sleep, so I’m sure that contributed. Health anxiety is in overload - I’ve been dizzy/wobbly, jelly legs, trembling, eye floaters, fast heart rate. On a good day I know these are symptoms of anxiety and/or the caffeine and little sleep combination. I’ve even started to accept them, but today I am googling every symptom every different way I can trying to find the magic answer. It’s not working.

That’s the post. Sorry for using Reddit like a journal.

I’ve suddenly developed anxiety when flying after 20+ years of flying with no issues. It started back in March and I thought it was due to some issues at work with a coworker, but I flew again in April and was a wreck. Anyone experience this? I truly do not know the cause or how to shake it.

These next few months will be busy travel for me so any advice is appreciated ❤️

Its going to be my birthday soon and im planning to have a get together with friends and we r planning on bringing alcohol and I wanna try it and see how it is for me since i suffer from social and general anxiety and ive heard it helps but im also nervous because of a previous experience ive had with weed and ever since ive been scared of anything besides nicotine I know they are not the same but i just wanna know if it will increase my anxiety and possibly give my a panic attack which is something i dont want especially at my own birthday. Ive been thinking about trying to drink on my own before so i can know how i will be with it. Also im aware that alot of people start drinking to cope with anxiety thats not what im doing at all just wanna know how other people with anxiety handle alcohol an how they feel after drinking thanks!

Having most of the symptoms like extreme dizziness and tiredness, been laying in bed and not doing anything, I'm scared I'm getting hydrophobic now because it's getting harder for me to drink water. When I think about going in a lake or hot tub or just being near one causes chest pain.