what should i do?

[rosshazed]

i'm new here & looking for some help. i'm 21 years old and this year i've started getting seriously bad anxiety every single day that makes me feel constantly on edge. it doesn't seem to ever stop. i don't know if this is related at all to it but i have had bad neck pains for years and i started to crack my neck to relieve the aches but one day i cracked it really bad and suddenly got this huge rush of anxiety and had a panic attack which caused me not to sleep for 5 days because i thought i had done something seriously wrong to my spine. ever since this happened i've had really bad anxiety and struggle to sleep every week. i also have constant aches and pains in my back and spine and neck and dont know if this is related to anxiety. everytime i have to get up to go somewhere the next day i have anxiety attacks and dont sleep because of it. it's making me really depressed because it's stopping me from progressing with my life and i feel too young to give up because i really want this all to stop. any advice or anything would be appreciated thanks

[Waiting4themoon]

Hi Rosshazed,

Welcome to HealthUnlocked. You are in a good place with many helpful people offering and receiving kind and useful advice and often just chatting.

It is great that you have reached out here for something that is bothering you. That takes courage!

Your post got me thinking about myself. I only recognised that many of the physical symptoms that I was having over many years were actually a physical manifestation of anxiety.

I had headaches, bloated stomach, irregular bowel movements and general fatigue. I always thought that I was just eating the wrong food (which might also be true).

It was when I was doing a level 2 course in Understanding Mental Health Conditions that I started to recognise that my own symptoms were very similar to anxiety and depression. It was a huge relief for me.

I wonder whether you were struggling with anxiety for many years but being young you never paid any attention to what you were feeling. Often in early teenage years one is so busy that one doesn't have time to pay any attention to things like anxiety. One just keeps on going and there is so much to do anyway.

It may be that even though you weren't consciously aware of the anxiety, your body was and that is the reason for the ongoing neck pain.

I have been cracking my neck for years with no adverse affect other than to relieve tension in the muscles.

It may just be that when you cracked your neck really bad, all that anxiety that you had been keeping a lid on for all those years came flooding up to the surface.

Now that your anxiety has come through, but you may not be addressing it head on, the anxiety is playing itself out in your body in many different areas.

It would seem to me a good idea to embrace the fact that you are struggling with anxiety and to look into techniques, methods, therapy modalities and lastly possibly medication to help you.

It is my experience that anxiety is an energy that needs embracing. It is like a frightened child. When anxiety is present it needs to be dealt with like one would deal with a frightened child. With love, patience and kindness.

Please don't beat yourself up about your anxiety. It isn't your fault. It may well have resulted from early childhood trauma.

Be kind to yourself. Give yourself lots of hugs and tell yourself that you love yourself. You are worthy and essentially a good person no matter what.

It is my experience that anxiety may never go away. I say this realistically. However, it can certainly be managed and can even be a catalyst for incredible growth. A kind of growth and depth of personality that those that don't know anxiety will never experience.

Take care.