Anxiety Disorders

[PhuturePriest]

I've had one all my life, but it goes in cycles of nonexistent to bad. For instance, when I was a really little kid, whenever my parents left, I was afraid they were going to die in some car accident. This is typical of most small children, but it came back when I was eight and continued until I was twelve. I had to call my dad all the time to make sure he was still alive, and if he didn't answer his phone I would break down because my logical conclusion was he died. :P I would literally beg him to let me go with him to everything, from work to simply driving just across the street to the convenience store. It's thankfully not this bad anymore, but occasionally I'll worry about the same thing if one of my friends doesn't talk to me for a few weeks. It definitely strikes me the most these days in school, which is why I'm always so stressed about if I can get a 24 on the ACT or not.

 

Anyone else have an anxiety disorder of some sort? It feels really nice to talk about it, especially to people who understand, because people who don't look at you like you should be in a psyche ward. :P A good outcome of this will be that people who don't have anxiety disorders will be able to understand, because as previously stated, a majority of people are completely ignorant of anxiety disorders, much like they are about things like depression. "Dude, stop worrying about it!" is just as effective as saying "Just cheer up!" to a depressed person.

Edited May 23, 2014 by FuturePriest387

[Lilllabettt]

I don't have an anxiety disorder ... when I was younger I think I did have one. Major catastrophizing. I've mostly turned off the spigots with aggressive mental hygiene. the sad panda part is that over time the subcortical structures in my limbic system got hyper sensitive to negative valence in whatever environment I find myself-- which is irreversible.

Your twenties will be an important time for you, young grasshopper. A lot of junk from childhood/adolescence can "burn out" in the twenties. But a lot of nasty stuff tends to "present" for the first time during these years, too. If you can make it through the next decade with most things in relatively good working order there's a good chance you're home free.

[maximillion]

I have intermittent bouts of severe anxiety too.

 

Over the years I have learned how to cope and how not to give in to it and I have a plethora of tricks and techniques at my disposal now when things are bad - fortunately not so often these days.

 

Seeking reassurance is not a good idea as I am sure you already know, because the relief it brings does nothing to alter your ability to cope and you will just have to run after even more reassurance in the future.

 

Positive self talk coupled with calming breathing techniques are very good friends and work most consistently for me. Not running from the situation but taking myself to a calm place physically or inside my head and telling myself my fears are that and nothing more, and staying in that calm place while refusing to run away or seek reassurance has 'fear proofed' me for future occasions.

 

Free floating anxiety is a b***h!

 

Simple CBT stuff seems to really help.

Edited May 23, 2014 by maximillion

[Ice_nine]

yep. . I had social anxiety so bad that just talking to another person, even that I knew fairly well, would usually result in me feeling like I was standing on the edge of a skyscraper about to jump. That's how much my body would freak the **** out. Kinda fun the first time, but multiple times every day drove me into a soul-crushing isolation that lent itself to fantasizing about my violent end.  Started early adolescence and came to a head my second semester in college.

 

 

antidepressants stopped the extreme panic attacks and the wanting to crawl in a hole and die, I didn't know that life could be actually enjoyable until then, but I'm still a bit of a case

 

I often worry about everything I love being ripped away from me in an instant. I just think I'm realistic. It could happen. Not that worrying does a damn thing about it.

 

It really sucks right now because I need to find a job and my interpersonal skills are so stunted (although I've gotten a bit better) but that it's proving to be a challenge. I wasn't able to make use of some of the opportunities I've had, half because of laziness, half because I lack confidence in meandering the professional world. It suuuuuuuucks.

 

Also I think a mosquito bit me on the face.

[OnlySunshine]

I was diagnosed with panic disorder and agoraphobia at age 16.  I was also diagnosed with PTSD and major depression.  This was after a classmate of mine passed away in a car accident and it happened a day before I received my learner's permit (but I didn't find out about it until the following Sunday).  Since then, it's been a battle of survival against my anxiety and I'm winning.  I successfully completed Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (which I highly recommend!) and, although I have anti-anxiety meds, it is very rare that I use them.  But there have been some instances where my anxiety won.  Such as an incident over 2 years ago after I took a full-time job when I hadn't worked in almost 2 years prior.  That did not work out at all and I should have known it wouldn't because I didn't mesh well as a preschool teacher.  I don't have the patience or passion for the job that you need.  It didn't matter that it was a source of income.  One VERY bad anxiety attack caused me to leave after only 2 weeks of being there when I found out the lead teacher of my classroom would be leaving for a family vacation.  I didn't know the kiddos that well but the director tried to force me to accept that I would have to step in to the lead role while my co-worker was gone.  I panicked and started getting physically ill over the next week - so much so that I left early one day.  I mean, I was ACTUALLY physically ill from anxiety.  It was awful.  I'm glad I left that placed, even if it wasn't my ideal way to leave, because it was not a healthy place to work.  The director was manipulative and was constantly trying to force me into uncomfortable situations.  It was bad enough that I wasn't ready to go back to work full-time yet.

 

I'm doing so much better after starting school as a full-time student in Health Administration.  I love the program and I cannot wait to do my internship.  Teaching kids is not my dream job but working in healthcare is and I wouldn't mind becoming a college professor at my university after I gain some real world experience and get my Master's degree.  My confidence has soared and my anxiety plummeted.  I've achieved so much in the past year just from going after my passion in life.  Anxiety CAN be overcome.  I'm living proof.  ;)

Edited May 23, 2014 by MaterMisericordiae

[Fidei Defensor]

I have major depressive disorder and an unspecified anxiety disorder. I take more pills daily than my grandma.

[Credo in Deum]

I've struggled with anxiety my entire life.  I've had pills, therapy, etc.  The best thing I've found to work for me is adoration and prayer.  

[CatherineM]

PTSD, really bad case. I've had cbt and pet therapy with a small amount of success. It's left me with several anxieties. I can't use a phone except in limited situations. I even have trouble being in the room when someone else is using one. I can't be around loud, angry people, or drunks. I can't stand loud noises or bright lights.

[CrossCuT]

Ive had one all my life. And similarly to you fp mine tends to vary in severity. It got really bad at the beginning of college, I was given drugs, hated them, stopped taking them, and suddenly I was fine for 8 years. However its been showing its ugly face again since january. Lame.

Edited May 23, 2014 by CrossCuT

[AveMariaPurissima]

I think I have social anxiety disorder. :paperbag: I was doing research about it for a report at school, and I couldn't help but realize that the descriptions fit me just about perfectly.  I don't get full-blown panic attacks, but social interaction is still a challenge for me.

[AugustineA]

Yep. Didn't deal with my lack of parents well, dropped out of high school and got into the wrong side of life in a big way, serious substance abuse among other things. I think that was a pretty formative period for me. God pulled me up (though I didn't see it that way) at 18.

 

I managed to complete my highschool diploma but became antisocial. I simply did not share anything in common with the other A students. My teachers pressured me into doing the valedictorian speech, but it was taxing. Come university, my professors began pressuring me to present papers, and that taxing feeling grew into serious anxiety around public speaking. 

 

A few years later, it's getting much better. I've graduated now, and I still feel some anxiety over things, but my drive to keep it together pushes me through those anxious moments. I avoid failure and depression like the plague. I have to do well at work, at the gym, have to keep the place clean, have to keep it well lit. 

 

Never saw a doctor, never took pills. Hard physical exercise, prayer, and some types of music help me out. When I'm having bad days, like yesterday, I remind myself that you just have to try your best everyday, that's it. At moments when I feel stressed, I remind myself that I just have to love those around me. 

[Selah]

I don't know? I suffer from depression, and I have had a panic attack before. 

[Semper Catholic]

Protip: everyone suffers from anxiety all the time. That's not a disorder that's normal.

[Anastasia13]

I don't have an anxiety disorder ... when I was younger I think I did have one. Major catastrophizing. I've mostly turned off the spigots with aggressive mental hygiene. the sad panda part is that over time the subcortical structures in my limbic system got hyper sensitive to negative valence in whatever environment I find myself-- which is irreversible.

 

What does this mean?

[OnlySunshine]

What does this mean?

 

:hehe:

 

A lot of it was over my head, too, but she's studying for a Master's in Educational Neuropsychology (?).  This was bound to happen...