Health Anxiety disorder

[raskolnikov]

I suffer from mild anxiety. I'm a teacher and every morning I get anxious about my classes. I'm fine once I get in there. I hate having a spare first period because the anxiety just lasts a big longer.

 

[QS]

That would be awful crownie, i really feel for people who have panic attacks out of (what seems like) nowhere.

It's an awful thing, especially when you've never heard of them nor experienced one. Everyone remembers their first one.

 

[TheFreshBanana]

I suffer from mild anxiety. I'm a teacher and every morning I get anxious about my classes. I'm fine once I get in there. I hate having a spare first period because the anxiety just lasts a big longer.

Is there anything specific as to what makes you anxious about classes?

 

[raskolnikov]

Is there anything specific as to what makes you anxious about classes?

I don't think there is anything specific. When I first started teaching I used to be anxious that I wouldn''t have enough for the students to do and I used to prepare ridiculously too much material but that's not the case these days. Just a general anxiety.

 

[Shuestar13]

Thank you TheKanga for starting this thread, whilst it is terrible that others too experience this dreaded issue, it is reassuring to know you are not alone.

I too am a sufferer of anxiety. I have always had anxious/nervous tendencies, as a young child I was quite shy and introverted (I still am) and I can recall a period of anxiety around age 7. This would come and go throughout my childhood years. I first recall taking medication back in 2007 when I started full time employment. After 12 years of schooling and two years at TAFE, working full time was a big change for me and I did struggle initially. I do think I was on and off medication for several years until about 2010 when I stopped completely for a while.

In 2012, 6 Months into a new job, the pressure was getting too much and I re-commenced taking medication. This took me through to the end of that year when I made the worst mistake ever - I did not go back to my GP... By March of last year, things were out of control. I had been working overtime every day for many many months, pushing myself to extremes at work. I was obsessing over my health (for years I have constantly thought that I am going to have a heart attack one day), my families health, everything under the sun really! I went to a GP in the city where I work and I was prescribed medication.

Well the damage had been done... A week later, Friday 22 March 2013, I went to work and experienced the most awful burning sensations and nausea. It was so bad, I walked from my office in the city to the main hospital and from there I spent the afternoon in the emergency department being assessed. It was the worst experience of my life, I seriously thought I was going to die, it was horrific. I was diagnosed with a simple condition - Gastritis and sent home. It was not until the next day, I realized that in addition to the gastritis, I had actually experienced a full on Panic Attack. The next night was the worst of my life, after struggling to watch my Eagles in the first game of the season against Fremantle, I went to bed. I only got a couple of hours sleep, for the whole night, my heart was constantly racing, I had flashing pain all down my arm, it was just awful An appointment at my GP on the Monday confirmed the anxiety and stress issues that I had been under for so long had simply exploded, I now came to realization that I have an anxiety disorder.

Since then, things have been a struggle. I have been on Medication but after another (thankfully smaller) panic attack in October, I finally reached out for help with my (then) employer and I started seeing a psychologist, whilst taking medication.

Talking has helped me so much, my anxiety has been with me for many years resulting in me withdrawing from the world so to speak, I have not gone out to parties etc, my circle of friends is small as I kind of isolated myself after finishing school. I am only 26 years old, I should not feel like this! I am now working on trying to control my anxiety and working to improve my life, find hobbies, things that interest me (besides footy! , start being more social etc. It is really hard, I often feel so selfish, like there are people out there with real and serious problems and yet here I am dealing with (what seems to be trivial in comparison) - anxiety. I also feel envious and jealous at times, I look at random people for example and think - Wow, they look so perfect, they probably don't have these issues, it's not fair!

Recently, things have taken a good turn, I am out of the toxic environment of my old job... I was made redundant, however (and I feel bad for saying it) but that was just amazing as I was barely a day from actually handing in my notice as I was close to securing a new role... It is funny how life works sometimes, this job (and organization, primarily some of the people) which had brought me a lot of anguish and pain (that is a whole other huge story) in the end gave me such a great parting gift... I am now looking forward, to starting my new job, to the promise of better times. But I still struggle with my anxiety and I know this is something I need to continue to try to manage and deal with as best as I can! Sorry for the extremely long post, it does feel good to share and I hope others can take heart, knowing that there are those out there that understand what you are going through!

 

[HBF]

Not myself but my Wife has some pretty full on anxiety attacks. Crowds and times where she is the centre of attention are the worst triggers. I actually did alot of reading on breathing techniques and how to talk to her to get her to to regulate her breathing so she won't hyperventilate.

The ironic thing is she herself is a Psychologist!

I knew a girl who was a counciller/social worker who suffered from high anxiety and even mild OCD.
She expained it to me that part of a reason she wanted to work with people who also had mental issues was to try and understand what she was going through. Apparently she had been on medication for a number of years.

Probably not as un-common as you think.

 

[HBF]

She also said i would probably have anxiety for the rest of my life.

I've accepted that i'm very likely to have anxiety for the rest of my life as well.
A little phrase I say to myself when I feel an anxiety attack coming along is always find a way

This is more coming from the fact that I have had anxiety/panic attacks for some time now, and i'm still here and living a very normal life.
Should something set me off, I usually find a quiet place to go, think through the situation logically and repeat always find a way.
It helps me regulate my breathing and I start to settle down.

 

[TheKanga]

I've accepted that i'm very likely to have anxiety for the rest of my life as well.
A little phrase I say to myself when I feel an anxiety attack coming along is always find a way

This is more coming from the fact that I have had anxiety/panic attacks for some time now, and i'm still here and living a very normal life.
Should something set me off, I usually find a quiet place to go, think through the situation logically and repeat always find a way.
It helps me regulate my breathing and I start to settle down.

Yeah i know what you mean, i've accepted that panic attacks/or just general feelings of anxiety are part of my life now.
I've learnt to cope with them and analyze these feelings rationally.
In some ways it can make you a wiser and stronger person.
I'm also like you in that retreating to a quiet safe place works wonders

Last couple days i seem to get one while driving to work, not sure why really but i calm myself when i arrive.
My girlfriend and daughter have been away in queensland for the week so maybe that's why.

 

[WCErevival]

I suffer this and have for a while but its only the last 12 months I've learned how bad physical symptoms can be from anxiety. Nausea, dizziness, muscle pains and aches, severe tiredness, tingling in the extremities etc. Very hard thing to deal with when it comes out of no where on a regular basis.

 

[HBF]

Yeah i know what you mean, i've accepted that panic attacks/or just general feelings of anxiety are part of my life now.
I've learnt to cope with them and analyze these feelings rationally.
In some ways it can make you a wiser and stronger person.
I'm also like you in that retreating to a quiet safe place works wonders

Last couple days i seem to get one while driving to work, not sure why really but i calm myself when i arrive.
My girlfriend and daughter have been away in queensland for the week so maybe that's why.

This can certainly happen when you have a large change to your life.
As you said, having high anxiety can make you wiser as you find a way of analysing issues in a more logical way.

 

[Yidaki]

Good thread TheKanga. These types of threads can be really helpful for people to finally reach out and get some support. Yes it's technically a footy forum, but at least it gets people talking about their struggles with anxiety/depression. It removes the "shame" of the issue.

On a personal note, I struggled with anxiety for at least 10 years. I did the medication route but now my life has changed dramatically courtesy of some great support and helpful information which I will talk about later.

Now I know I will get a few remarks about the following but once you realise the truth, then there is no turning back. I was under the idea that medication would cure me or better still, make my worries disappear. Well I was lied too. The truth is that no medication will make your worries disappear. Sure they might subdue them, but the moment you stop the drugs, they come back with a vengeance. Two to three years ago I was heading backwards again with my anxiety struggles. The drug was beginning to fail. I switch medications, however, it was during this time that I began to think about the long-term ramifications of using psychotropic drugs. Additionally, I began to search inwards, deep within my being to see if there was a sanctuary where I could find peace and calm in the midst of my struggles. To search within meant that I had to let go of many things mainly my control on life. It was the most amazing thing I have ever done. Along with the guidance of a counselor and self-help material, I was on the road to recovery. I am now free of my anxiety struggles.

The biggest thing I learned during my recovery was that I had to take responsibility for my thoughts/behaviours. I never liked the traditional "swapping a negative thought into a positive thought crap" that most CBT therapists offer. Instead, I used the technique of "choice" and "mindfulness". Whenever I was getting anxious and the negative thoughts would start to kick in, I would remind myself of the choice I had: the choice to chose an anxious path of thinking, or the choice or choosing calm and its benefits. I never swapped thoughts; I just swapped behaviours. Having choice empowers you and this was a huge realisation for me.

To reach this decision making stage requires a foundational knowledge on how the body operates during stress. So for instance, how does the body react during a panic attack? Or, what symptoms do you get both on a psychological and physiological level during a stress response? Knowing how the body works and how it becomes affected by anxiety is crucial to recovery. I gained this knowledge through anxietycentre.com. I highly recommend that anyone who struggles with anxiety/depression visits this site and becomes a member. Membership is extremely cheap for the amount of quality information they provide.

Simply, an anxiety disorder is uncontained worry. Uncontained worry means that we haven't taken ownership/responsibility for our thinking and behaviours. Uncontained worry leads to a stress-stimulated body. Overtime, the body lets you know it is becoming stressed by giving you a whole host of symptoms. Then, we react to this as if they are a potential threat and we become more worried. Eventually we get stuck in a fear cycle.

So recovery comes in the following steps:

1. Knowing how the body works and how it reacts to anxiety.
2. Implementing recovery strategies such as: healthy eating, moderate exercise, cognitive strategies (i.e. choice decision making) and the big one, meditation.
   
3. Working on the roots of why you developed anxiety as a disorder.
   
4. Letting go.

You can definitely recovery from anxiety. Other than uncontained worry, it is just simply a mismanagement of fear and stress and there are ways to learn how to deal with both.

It takes a whole heap of courage, but you can get there. I always think that people who go through any type of neurosis and come out the other side really deserve a medal of bravery and courage. It is not easy.

Oh and one last important....learn how to befriend your anxiety. It really isn't your enemy.

 

[Shuestar13]

I suffer this and have for a while but its only the last 12 months I've learned how bad physical symptoms can be from anxiety. Nausea, dizziness, muscle pains and aches, severe tiredness, tingling in the extremities etc. Very hard thing to deal with when it comes out of no where on a regular basis.

This! The physical symptoms can be so debilitating and overwhelming... What makes it worse is the fear/panic that comes with the symptoms, the feeling that something is seriously wrong, everything is out of control It is hard, but you just have to try and tell yourself it is just the anxiety!

 

[grizzlym]

Well i just wanted to make this thread to see if there was any like-minded people who have had anxiety problems and how you got through it? As i understand it's probably one of the most common mental health issues along with depression.

Just to give a bit of background, i have always tended to be a worrisome person even as a child.
Only i hit my late teens and especially my early 20's it become a problem though and more intrusive to my life.

Over the last two years it seems to stem from certain triggers whether it's

My health/my own mortality or mortality of loved ones
I almost felt like a hypochondriac at times...as I'm quite healthy.
- My grandfather (at 87) died last August, never had to deal with death much before.
Crime/fearing of me or my family becoming victims to crime
- It's normal to be cautious, but i was taking this to far
Other reasons
Eg. (Stuck in heavy traffic, getting on a plane, performing general daily activities.)

I have become better at coping with this and finding techniques to distract myself & live in the moment and get out of my head for awhile. I stopped smoking weed and made other lifestyle changes to help with it.

Every now and then though a panic attack will come out of nowhere and i hate it.
Anyone else been through this?

Yes. It crippled me in my early 20s. The anxiety, and subsequent anxiety attacks, made my world progressively smaller by the week.

And the attacks/general anxiety: unless you've had them you don't understand the sheer terror they induce. How when you're in the grips of them, you think you're dying. When they pass the dread of the next one. And with each passing week, the knowledge the anxiety is infecting more aspects of your life, and therefore will strike in previously 'safe scenarios'.

I used to go to sleep at night hoping I wouldn't wake up and have to go through another day intricately laced with anxiety, twining round everything and anything.

This is the point where anxiety can bring on depression, if it 'aint already present. And down it all goes, seemingly a never-ending downward tailspin.

Yes, I completely understand. And I know how it feels and can shape your life.

I also know that while the medication can be very effective, it can also be a double-edge sword.

What I can tell you, that while you feel completely out of control, or not in control of the anxiety, with help you can devise the strategies and find the answer within yourself.

I know because I did. I learned to deal with them. And by doing that I reduced their power and hold over me. I haven't had an anxiety attack for more than 20 years.

I still recognise myself as an anxious person. I have a stressful job and I do get stressed, but now I'm in control.

My advice: talk to a psychologist. Stay clear of the meds - where possible- and don't self medicate with other stuff.

Good luck.

 

[TheKanga]

Yes. It crippled me in my early 20s. The anxiety, and subsequent anxiety attacks, made my world progressively smaller by the week.

And the attacks/general anxiety: unless you've had them you don't understand the sheer terror they induce. How when you're in the grips of them, you think you're dying. When they pass the dread of the next one. And with each passing week, the knowledge the anxiety is infecting more aspects of your life, and therefore will strike in previously 'safe scenarios'.

I used to go to sleep at night hoping I wouldn't wake up and have to go through another day intricately laced with anxiety, twining round everything and anything.

This is the point where anxiety can bring on depression, if it 'aint already present. And down it all goes, seemingly a never-ending downward tailspin.

Yes, I completely understand. And I know how it feels and can shape your life.

I also know that while the medication can be very effective, it can also be a double-edge sword.

What I can tell you, that while you feel completely out of control, or not in control of the anxiety, with help you can devise the strategies and find the answer within yourself.

I know because I did. I learned to deal with them. And by doing that I reduced their power and hold over me. I haven't had an anxiety attack for more than 20 years.

I still recognise myself as an anxious person. I have a stressful job and I do get stressed, but now I'm in control.

My advice: talk to a psychologist. Stay clear of the meds - where possible- and don't self medicate with other stuff.

Good luck.

Thanks for your post mate, it's so helpful to hear from others who have come out the other side in one piece.

Last year i had a period where like you mentioned life was becoming a real burden with the crippling anxiety everyday.
Not a nice feeling at all when you literally can't enjoy your life because you live in constant fear and dread.

I'm in a much better place now with my anxiety thankfully, it's still very much there but I'm more in control at least.
Think i'll be right long term without meds, as for self-medicating i used to have problems doing that.
Nowadays i just like to have the odd drink here and there, which takes the edge off the nerves sometimes.

 

[QS]

My advice: talk to a psychologist. Stay clear of the meds - where possible- and don't self medicate with other stuff.

Good luck.

Key word in bold. Psychiatrists tend to medicate first, ask questions later.

 

[grizzlym]

Thanks for your post mate, it's so helpful to hear from others who have come out the other side in one piece.

Last year i had a period where like you mentioned life was becoming a real burden with the crippling anxiety everyday.
Not a nice feeling at all when you literally can't enjoy your life because you live in constant fear and dread.

I'm in a much better place now with my anxiety thankfully, it's still very much there but I'm more in control at least.
Think i'll be right long term without meds, as for self-medicating i used to have problems doing that.
Nowadays i just like to have the odd drink here and there, which takes the edge off the nerves sometimes.

Pleasure. I actually posted before I had read Yidaki excellent post. That sums it up very well.

What I will say, is that once you develop the right strategies, managing it becomes more automatic and ingrained, to the extent that it effectively goes away.

 

[grizzlym]

Key word in bold. Psychiatrists tend to medicate first, ask questions later.

I found that a psychologist made me realise what it was, that I wasn't going to die, and guided me to the space I could deal with it myself.

Because, and as cliched as this sounds, you are the only one who can work it out. You just need help in getting there.

Yes, a life spent on Xanax (or the like) aren't one you want to entertain.

 

[QS]

I found that a psychologist made me realise what it was, that I wasn't going to die, and guided me to the space I could deal with it myself.

Because, and as cliched as this sounds, you are the only one who can work it out. You just need help in getting there.

Yes, a life spent on Xanax (or the like) aren't one you want to entertain.

Exactly, psychologists approach it a little differently. I liken them to tafe (practical) and psychiatrists to uni (theory)

Also provide tools to allow you to reach your goals of management of it. The key I found is once you work out 'it's not that bad' and it may take someone 1 year, or another 10 years - that seems to be the real kryptonite of anxiety and panic.

 

[QS]

At the same time don't be afraid to pop a Xanax if that's what you need. Just don't make it a habit, the shit is super addictive (and effective...) so be careful.

Re: Anxiety, good luck. This might sound patronising/stupid but trust me, it will get easier. I know a lot of people who suffered anxiety in their early twenties, but by the time most of them hit 30 they'd found a way to manage it (medication free). Your mind can teach your body to control the symptoms, so that the symptoms become less troubling and eventually go away. Takes a little while though, but you'll get there.

I've been through it too. My "trigger" so to speak was having the absolute shit belted out of me a handful of times. Got king hit in Frankston (of all places!), smashed my head pretty hard but not quite so hard that I couldn't remember the stomping/threats with a knife that came afterwards. That was just once incident though, there were others. Kind of made it hard to have a life for a while. Eventually I rationalised that I could go out and get pissed with my friends and the chances of being pummled were low, but then the chances of having an anxiety attack where pretty much a sure bet. And then when I did go out I'd end up drinking 10,000 beers to cope with the anxiety. Try avoid that if you can; xanax/valium etc. + excessive drinking can end up pretty damaging, and I'm not talking about the hangover. That was pretty bad too.

1 or 2 valium + 6 beers = feels like you've had a carton

 

[grizzlym]

Exactly, psychologists approach it a little differently. I liken them to tafe (practical) and psychiatrists to uni (theory)

Also provide tools to allow you to reach your goals of management of it. The key I found is once you work out 'it's not that bad' and it may take someone 1 year, or another 10 years - that seems to be the real kryptonite of anxiety and panic.

Hahah I'm not sure how our psychiatrist friend would like that analogy, but it certainly rings true with me about 'the practical' of how a psychologist helped me.

In short: they provided me with the ability to recognise what is was, and then steered me towards gaining the skills to solve the problem.

Yes, 'wroking it out' is something you have to do to conquer it.

Looking back, it seems so simple: accept that it won;t kill you; realise that you are generating it yourself; and that if you're generating it, you have control over stopping it. And, above all, realise you've probably lived with it your whole life (to an extent).

Strangely enough, after working all this out, the thing that pushed me completely clear, was a dream. And I know it was my subconcious working it out, contextualising it.

I dreamed one night I was standing at the entrance of a massive shopping centre. Like Chadstone. The sort of place in real life (and dreams too) the mere thought of entering sends an agrophobic/anxious person into a panic attack. So I dreamed I was standing there and my grandmother walked up to me (she had died a few years earlier) and she took my hand and we walked through that place. And I remember feeling the terror, the uncertainty, but we kept walking through the shopping centre, which was like some nightmare Escher place teeming with people, and no exits. I had the feeling that the only way out was through the door we entered by, or some far off exit right at the end of the shopping centre. But to get out, I had to keep walking.

So I did, my grandmother held my hand and we walked through the place. And as we walked the anxiety excalated, but started to disipate as nothing happened.

We xited the place. My grandmother vanished. And I woke up. Honestly, from that point on the anxiety was behind me.

I tried to ascribe all sorts of mystical meaning to my dream and how it helped (my grandmother and all), but I realised, after talking to my psychologist, that I had helped myself.

"If you want to believe that a ghost of a most loved person had guided you through your worse nightmare, then that's fine," said the psychologist, "but you're selling yourself short. Because what's happened is you've created a situation to test your anxieties and new strategies out. And you've done it."

She was right. I did it myself. I created the anxieties myself; and I had the power to create the solution, which I did. She helped a huge amount though.

 

[grizzlym]

At the same time don't be afraid to pop a Xanax if that's what you need. Just don't make it a habit, the shit is super addictive (and effective...) so be careful.
.

Oh yes, when you're in the grips of a bad anxiety attack, there's nothing like a Xanas. You feel normal again. The true indication of how strong that stuff is, and how wound-up one must of been, is having an X when you're completely straight. My god, it's strong stuff.

 

[TheFreshBanana]

I'm not devaluing psychiatrists, but when I was dealing with my depression, I saw a psychologist and a psychiatrist.

The psychologist was great, really good, and even though I haven't tried any others (apart from counselors) I think I really got lucky getting her. The psychiatrist on the other hand, was absolute shit. Asked me weird questions, that didn't really make sense, sounded condescending like why did you do this or so and so. Would have absolutely cracked it if I wasn't so depressed. I was also doing Year 12 and never communicated with my then counselor (who was pretty good), in which he promised to. The one that took the cake was, he was ****ing sleeping through one of our sessions. He closed his eyes while I was talking, I had absolutely no idea what to make of it, if this was normal or not. Like, surely a psychiatrist couldn't be this much of a campaigner? Went back for 1 session, although he didn't fall asleep, he was just generally bad. I cancelled my appointment after that.

Glad I got the pills, which helped immensely, but jeez that was a major waste of money.

 

[QS]

Oh yes, when you're in the grips of a bad anxiety attack, there's nothing like a Xanas. You feel normal again. The true indication of how strong that stuff is, and how wound-up one must of been, is having an X when you're completely straight. My god, it's strong stuff.

Never had a xanax, only valium for hangovers.

 

[QS]

Getting off anti-d's is a massive PITA.. The shit sleep, the electric shocks.. ugh.. never again. Citalopram was the worst (Celexa, Cipramil).

Looking back, it seems so simple: accept that it won;t kill you; realise that you are generating it yourself; and that if you're generating it, you have control over stopping it. And, above all, realise you've probably lived with it your whole life (to an extent).

I dreamed one night I was standing at the entrance of a massive shopping centre. Like Chadstone. The sort of place in real life (and dreams too) the mere thought of entering sends an agrophobic/anxious person into a panic attack. So I dreamed I was standing there and my grandmother walked up to me (she had died a few years earlier) and she took my hand and we walked through that place. And I remember feeling the terror, the uncertainty, but we kept walking through the shopping centre, which was like some nightmare Escher place teeming with people, and no exits. I had the feeling that the only way out was through the door we entered by, or some far off exit right at the end of the shopping centre. But to get out, I had to keep walking.

Yep.. thats it. Just takes time for it to sink in and brain to actually believe those thoughts I found.

The shopping centre thing sounds exactly like me. Except now I walk through them and sometimes wonder.. what the hell was I worried about, there are chicks to perve on in here!!

 

[WinmarToLockett]

My advice also is realise that it's not "all in your head"; it's your body as well. If you're having a panic attack remember to breath because you're probably hyperventilating and if you lose oxygen/whatever you're exacerbating the problem. Drinking red bull all day isn't going to help. Eat properly and look after yourself as best you can. Don't let your body deteriorate because that'll just **** you up even more.