I fear my anxiety is getting worse...

[gcyorks]

Well basically, I have had social anxiety from an early age and I still have it today because I panic and worry when some strangers are laughing at me in public. I also worry about being rejected and not accepted. This has been a regular thing for years but now things have escalated and I am worrying about almost everything I do and everything I see e.g. I worry about my health, family health, money and also things that other people do i.e. if I hear on the news about racism or discrimination I will worry. These thoughts are very irrational and I'm not sure how I would diagnose myself but basically I worry about everything and not just social stuff

[hedgecrone]

Hi gcyorks,

You must be suffering a great deal. My daughter has social anxiety amongst other things and I know how debilitating it can be. I am wondering how old you are (roughly!) and whether you have confided your anxieties to anyone else - family, friend or GP? You are right in recognising that your fears and thoughts are irrational, though understandable too in some ways, so you do have some insight that things aren't right and that you need to take some action.

If you haven't already done so, you really need to make an appointment soon with your GP. There is no shame in this and no need to continue suffering alone. You need something other than medication though - I suspect counselling or CBT might well benefit you. It probably stems from things that happened years ago and were never dealt with or examined properly so you could work them through and you really need to have some kind of therapy or counselling. You can't do it by yourself, though you can help yourself once you have had some help from someone else.

If your GP is dragging his/her feet about putting you on the waiting list for counselling or CBT (and PLEASE don't be fobbed off - make sure your GP knows exactly how it affects you and whether it's got worse. Don't minimise your suffering. ) - you should also phone Anxiety UK to ask about their counselling scheme. You can pay a different membership rate and qualify for some low cost counselling or therapy dependent on what's available in your area, and you will probably not have to wait so long either. Give it a try, but do see your GP as well. Don't suffer alone any longer. You deserve better.

[Hidden]

Hi there. I guess there are many people who worry about one thing or another but you appear to worry about everything as you have stated. I suppose more medical information from a professional body would be better and the CBT which they do may be very beneficial to yourself. I use to worry about a lot of things but you know something i only worry about myself now because i can assure you no one else will be worry about your or the things you worry about so why should you. I hope this makes sense and something good comes along to help and guide you through this. I cannot comment on it further as i said i use to be a bad worrier but i worked out in life that our own personal self is worth far more than just going through life worrying. It gets us no where, it makes us ill and there is nothing we can do to stop the things from happening so i asked myself, ( what is the point any more in worrying, i cannot do anything about it ) it being whatever it is we are worrying about so just get on with life and only worry about something of importance. Good luck and i do hope things get better for you. Debs