The world of general anxiety

Hello all, my name is Brendan and I have been dealing with anxiety for about year now, which I might ad has felt like 10 years. But for me I worry about my heart and terminal illness, it seems all my anxiety leads back to my health. Like most anxiety sufferers I have good days and bad days. My bad day will start right away from when I wake up. During the day I'll feel nausea, depersonalization and generally just feel weird and detached from reality. I often get stomach aches and loose my urge to eat or do anything I normally enjoy. Through my anxiety I feel it's best to hear other peoples stories to feel not alone. So if anyone feels anything like this let me know!
Thanks, Brendan

[tsh1986]

Hi Brendan,

I have been on and off anti-anxiety/anti-depressant medication for quite a few years now.
For me, I believe I have always been anxious, and still am. My anxiety started to become apparent when i began suffering from panic attacks at quite an early age (11/12) but they were not common, they began to worsen when I was 18, and at 21 I was suffering from constant panic and anxiety all day, until it got to the stage that i would avoid areas that I could not easily leave (lecture theatres at uni, public transport etc.) and needed medication after suffering a panic attack whilst driving, (I pulled into an empty carpark and had to call for help). This was the last straw and I was taken to the doctor and put on Paroxetine 20mg (I was on this for 6 months, and then began taking Escitalopram 20mg after another bout of severe depression and anxiety).

I too had anxiety over my health, namely my heart, which I was overly sensitive to the feeling that it was skipping a beat. I was living alone and far from any support so I had the constant fear that, 1. I would have a panic attack in a public place, and 2. that no-one would be there if my heart were to stop - quite conflicting not wanting to be around people but not wanting to be alone.

I believe the best thing that happened for me was being put on a cardiac monitor (when I was finally dragged to the doctor). When the results came back as 'fine' I realised that this was psychological rather than physiological.

To this day, (4 years later), I still have the frightening sensation that my heart is skipping beats, I still hate the thought of being 'stuck' places (you can imagine how much I love London's tube), and I believe I will always suffer from anxiety and depression, but now it is something I feel somewhat in control of.

It's a constant in my life, but I think it's something that I am stronger than. I'm sure you are too.

[lilymoon]

Hi :) I get anxious about anything ad everything really,health,losing people,money etc I find distraction a great thing.

[crysrussell]

I also suffer from anxiety and panic attacks. I'm a 34yr old. I recognized my first attack after i had my son over 19 months ago. I feared of my health and thinking my son needs me what if i'm ill who will take care of him. I am not on meds and choose not to be. once i feel a panic attack coming on i try to change my thoughts and think about something else. Not all the time does this work but at least i try to control the panic attacks for the most part. Good luck and remember you are not alone.  

[rls27]

Welcome to our world Brenden! LOL. There are probably millions of anxiety sufferers in the world who at one time or other have been totally convinced (after self-diagnosing) that they were going to have a heart attack or stroke, have cancer, brain tumor, or HIV/Aids. Those are the big ones. Powerful demons indeed. These anxieties will often be more powerful than a clean bill of health from a doctor after your umpteenth visit to the ER because you had a pain your chest or some other symptom that you just discovered and had to peel yourself off the ceiling to rush to the ER for unnecessary tests. Yes, many before you have been there, and for those who know how it feels and what it's like to suffer through these bouts of anxiety, it is just as real as if you actually had what you THOUGHT was ailing you.

I swore I had cancer on numerous occasions and I handled it worse than people who really were diagnosed with cancer. Fear is very powerful, it overrides our sense of logic and even scientific/medical proof. Sometimes, the harder you try to fight it off, the stronger it seems. Meds help for many (Ativan/Valium etc), but those are only crutches and IMO anxiety sufferers need to learn how to cope and accept their anxiety. It takes work and your anxiety may never fully go away, but if you learn how to live with it you can still live a very full and productive life. There is hope and you are not alone.  

[JGF25]

You have been on here for quite a while Brendan, what have you done to help yourself other than to get reassurance from people on here?  I'm sure somebody diagnosed you with GAD...what did they say for you to do about it?  What did they tell you was the next step?  If this is mean sounding, it is not meant to be.  I'm just curious because it does sound like you are suffering needlessly and have been so for a very long time.  

[crysrussell]

You are 100% right about, learning to realize it's an attack we are having and try to deal with it at the time. I do not take meds and mentioned to my doc that i don't feel i need meds. I want to learn to deal with my problem the time it strikes. it is easier said than done and i start to think happy thoughts. I also have an 19 month old that keeps me busy but the panic attacks still come. I deal with my attacks also by talking to people, this helps me and keeps the attacks awhile until next month. Thank you for posting your post. it has helped me. Side note: i have not had an attack where i felt i should go to the ER, no chest pains, just sometimes feel like i'm going to dye for no reason. it's weird.

[michelle650]

I think if you already have anxiety and you have those fluttering feelings like you just went downhill on a really high rollercoaster. While you are just sitting there and you feel like you get short breath you should get some meds for anxiety. I don't know about others buy since I do have anxiety. I also get very Clostefobic.