I don't know where to go

[Spinx7]

I know I have anxiety. I can feel it, I have anxiety attacks all the time which lack me into long bouts of depression. I am a college student and I don't know where to go for help. I can't ask my parents because they have never understood before and I don't have the money to pay for anything. I don't know where to go or what to do.

[RyanK13]

Hello, being a college student and suffering from anxiety can be a very difficult experience. Juggling classes, homework, friends, family and maybe work can often be overwhelming. I am also in college and suffer from anxiety. I can understand how you are feeling. It's scary being on your own and to feel like you have nobody you can turn to.

I've found for myself that the best way to cope with my anxiety in college is to firstly recognize when you are feeling anxious or a time when you might feel anxious. Maybe it is before a big exam or maybe it's when you get a lot of homework dumped on you at once. The key to lessening the affects of anxiety is to recognize times in your life when you might be anxious.

What I've really been trying to do to get through my anxiety is develop a daily schedule. Wake up at a certain time everyday, eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner at the same time. Planning when and what homework to do at a specific time of day is another great way to form a schedule. Humans are creatures of habit. We all feel the most comfortable when we have habits we follow everyday. This way nothing in a day will surprise us or make us feel stressed out.

Another strategy I have been using to conquer my anxiety in college is to take great care of my body. Eating healthy, drinking plenty of water, taking vitamins, exercising and getting plenty of sleep are great ways to take care of your body. Honestly, I know doing all those things can be hard but when you do them you feel so much better about how your day went and your overall health. Exercising releases "pleasure" chemicals in the brain. It might not seem very pleasurable as your lungs are on fire and sweat bullets are flying off of your face. In fact, you might wonder why your body is betraying you with all this pain! After all, you're just trying to help it! After you are done working out you will feel so much better and satisfied with yourself.

Another strategy I use too conquer my anxiety are utilizing breathing techniques. This Christmas I got a Fitbit which has relaxation breathing techniques. They are simple, short and really help! I like to do them right before I go to bed to help me get to sleep but you can do them whenever. All you do is get in a position that is most comfortable (Lying on your back or sitting down are good ones), relax your entire body, close your eyes and take calm, deep, slow breathes for 2 minutes or 5 minutes.This really helps me to relax my body after a stressful day.

Finally, (my dad helped me come up with this strategy) distraction. Distracting yourself from whatever it is that is stressing you out is a great way to feel less anxious. Play video games, talk with friends, call home, read a book, watch a movie, do an activity at a recreation center. Whatever you enjoy doing, do it. It will help you get your mind off of your anxiety. That is the worst part, when we feel anxious we get even more anxious. We essentially get anxious about being anxious.

These are just a few things that I have used to help myself conquer my anxiety so they might not work for you. Everybody is different and nobody knows you like you do. You know how you feel about anxiety and I don't doubt that it is a serious issue in your life. I know first hand how difficult it can be to have anxiety. I've gone to therapy twice in my life because it would effect how I functioned in everyday life. Learning about yourself and the things that trigger anxiety in your life is the best advice I can give you. You might not solve your anxiety 100%, I haven't either, but you aren't alone. All we can do is try our best to beat it and believe me, you can. You have the willpower to beat it. You came on here because you want to beat it. That shows me that you will do whatever it takes to beat this anxiety. It's difficult, but learning what helps you is the best way to beat it. Whatever makes you feel better is what you need to do. If you feel like you need to talk to someone about it I encourage you to talk to your RA, a trusted faculty member or your parents. I know your parents might not understand what anxiety is like, nobody can unless they go through it, but they will listen to you if you need to talk. Try to help them to understand. You can't help how you feel, there's nothing wrong with how you feel, but your parents love you and do not want you to suffer. They will do what they can to help.

I hope this helped, it's my first reply so I really don't know what I'm supposed to say but your story sounded relate-able to myself so I thought I would reach out to you. You can beat this! You have the power to beat this!

[BonnieSue]

You just boxed yourself into a little corner and I'll bet you feel frustrated about it. Maybe a bit anxious. You described how anxious you are and how you can't go to your parents who have money to help you and then you said you can't afford to get help. What a little bitty corner you've drawn for you to stand in!

How impossible is this situation you've described for yourself! What about helping yourself? How can that be done? Where is the door that will be opened for you to walk through to get the help you need? Something has got to give and we don't want it to be you! I say let's look again and what can be done for you...is there a resource on campus for you? How about that avenue?

[TAPNewEngland]

Your school has mental health/counseling services at no cost to you. Go to them. If you don't know where to find them, seek out the Dean of Students' office.