Hi! I'm new. Looking for input, help, and support

[Kak0827]

Hi everyone,

I am new to this so I thought I would just share my story and put it out there. I have never had anxiety or been a hypochondriac before. 1 year ago it came out of nowhere and has never left. I have gotten a reprieve for a couple months here and there but it seems to come back.

I lost my dog shortly before my first bought of panic attacks. I have since been able to control it to not have panic attacks, but the anxiety is almost always there. At the time I attributed the loss to my anxiety but that still didn't make sense. I am baffled. I have since began to concern myself that it is something physical and medically wrong that caused it. now I am constantly worried I have something wrong and if I don't catch it early it will be too late. Of course this leads down the rabbit hole of life questions and have I don't enough in life and how do I accomplish more before it's too late, etc, etc.... see a rabbit hole.

I have always been pretty outgoing but enjoy my time alone. I am usually a pretty rational person until this takes over and I am not who I normally am, which is also scary and leads to me being afraid it will never go away or searching to see if it's still there. It's a vicious cycle and I try meditation, have done tons of research (may or may not be a good thing), bought a lot of self help books, and have even seen a therapist a few times.

So that's my story, Im hoping to get some good input, help, and support.

[Alexx191]

Hi there! Very similar story myself, though I'm a few years further down the path. Was a sudden onset and has been a journey since, I can't believe it has been more than 5 years (I was 23 when I had my first anxiety attack). Was my first time employed full time living in a new city, but I wasn't particularly stressed and had been feeling positive about everything.

Anyways, if you have any questions in particular, let me know. I'm new to this forum, but if there's anything that has maybe done the most for me in these years, it would be sharing experiences with others. At first I didn't have anyone, and it took a bit to find people who have had similar experiences. So I'd say this seems like a great resource.

[Kak0827 in reply to Alexx191]

Thank you. It's nice to know I am not the only one.

[91342]

I believe that anxiety i triggered possibly by

A virus. Too many victims state that it simply presented itself out of the blue. Theraphy and meds are simply bandaids. This desperately needs

Medical research,

[Kak0827 in reply to 91342]

I agree. I my dr even said it is strange for it be all of sudden with no history of it in my family or not caused by stress. I honestly don't feel stressed. I really only get overwhelmed when I am in the middle of an anxiety bought, which seems to last a few days unfortunately.

[Mrworrymaster]

Hey Kak,

While I can't say my issues came out of nowhere, I know it sure felt like they did. Honestly, my problems were rooted to the fact of burying emotions and not dealing with my feelings. I'm working on that, and starting to see some results.

As far as advice. The best I've had (from experience of what is starting to work for me) is to stop fighting it. You fuel the anxiety cycle, especially health anxiety and anxiety about if you've made the most of your time here, by fighting it. Comparing yourself to others, analyzing your every move/breath/thought. Heck, that just leaves you exhausted.

One of my favorite ways to think of long term anxiety that starts to impact your body:

Imagine you're out for a run. You start off strong, but after 20 minutes your legs start to ache. Instead of stopping you just keep pushing though. Soon, your chest burns, your back is straining, your heart is beating hard, your eyes sting from all the sweat. But...you don't stop. You just keep running, completely ignoring your body. Finally, you break down and collapse, your body simply cannot take anymore. It takes you days to recover from this.....this is what non-stop anxiety is like.

Your body is begging you for a break. Your thoughts are running non-stop, and not listening to the signals begging for some relief. That's why anxiety starts to physically, and mentally, break you down. It's exhausted from all the non-stop sprinting, and chemicals surging throughout.

So stop running and take a rest!

Of course, it's all easier said than done. Overall, you have to find something that works for you to relieve the anxiety. There's no easy fix. But, I do know you have to stop fueling it for it to calm down. How you get there is up to you.

I wish you all the best, and feel free to message me anytime.

[Kak0827 in reply to Mrworrymaster]

That is a great analogy. I know that I bury emotions and it has caused issues in the past (mainly large arguemwnts with my husband or a family member). I tend to ignore things that bother me. To me that was me finally growing up and letting go, but apparently it just builds up and then I burst. I have tried to work on this (at least with my husband) and it has been positive. However, I have been having an uphill battle with my family and I have been desperately ignoring it trying to push it aside and tell myself it doesn't matter. I am thinking this is perhaps an underlying cause, but I don't know how to fix it.

[Joetianosr]

How old are you? And have doctirs told you you were healthy?

[Kak0827 in reply to Joetianosr]

31 and my dr is in the process of bloodwork to rule out the obvious things like thyroid issues. I have always had low blood pressure until my anxiety began a year ago. Since then (even when I don't feel anxious) it is way high. That's all I know. Oh and my dr thinks it could be my birth control pills but they have changed that like 3 times with no relief.

[Clurking]

Have u looked at what u eat and drink, coffee can trigger aniexty, sugar etc. U can be tolerant to food as well, make a food diary and drink and see what triggers it. Im very good at giving advice but not doing it for myself. I am trying to say good affirmations to myself day and night. Feel the fear and do it anyway susan jeffrries.x

[Kak0827 in reply to Clurking]

I eat pretty healthy- lots of veggies, low fat meat (rarely red meat), barely any carbs, and little to no sugar. I cut my coffee back to one weak cup a day (doesn't seem to be a trigger). I drink between 96 ounces and 1 gallon of water daily. I workout or run at least 4 days per week and stay pretty active. I have been interested in looking into taking probiotics but I need to do more research on which one.