People will always tell me "do what you love" or "do what helps you relax" but... those don't exist. Everything increases my anxiety, and nothing except weed helps me relax, and even that can make my anxiety worse at times. I've never in my life looked forward to tomorrow, and life feels like a constant waiting game.

So I ask this community full of people with presumably the same issues... how does one truly actually relax and feel fulfilled doing so?

Labelled NSFW out of an abundance of caution, since I mentioned weed.

On Tuesday, I was was working at a coffee shop (two toddlers in school twice a week so this is my usual routine). I had a cup of coffee (normally I have more) then went into a meeting. I noticed I was shaky so I bought a muffin and water. The feeling didn’t subside so I went on a walk in the parking lot. 1.5 hrs of my HR between 120-160bpm, numbness, tingling, panic, etc. Eventually I called my husband to pick up the kids and the barista to call 911 bc I thought my thyroid was going wacko.

The EMTS wanted me to practice boxed breathing which made me mad and I kept asking them to help me. They agreed to take me to the hospital and gave me Versed which helped a lot. Many EKGS, X-rays, labs, and Ativan later I went home.

Anyway, now I’m so scared of it happening again that I can’t even go to a coffee shop. I’ve been on antidepressants for over a decade but never had anything like this. I’ve stopped coffee and switched to a cup of tea a day. I have a prescription for Ativan now. But I’m so scared of this happening again.

i dont know if this is just me , because i've heard a lot of other people (especially with anxiety) talk about the same thing , but i constantly feel like something bad is going to happen to me and i dont know why. Its like whenever i question those thoughts and if its true my brain blocks it out.

Hello, stranger.

I'm 36, and I feel like I'm no longer capable of doing anything. I was diagnosed with depression two years ago. At that time, I took the medication my doctor prescribed. To be honest, my doctor helped me a lot, especially by giving me someone to vent to. I had never cried that hard in my life until I talked to him.

I eventually stopped taking the medication. First, it was very expensive, and second, I didn't think it was helping me that much. That was also two years ago, when I still had my business and my day job. But now, I've lost everything. I lost my business, and I lost my job.

My wife is now the only one working for our family. I've completely lost my motivation. I even deactivated all of my social media accounts. Reddit is the only platform I still use.

I also forgot to mention that I had suicidal thoughts two years ago. I thought I had already overcome those thoughts, but today they came back. I'm so lost.

At 36, I feel old, especially here in the Philippines. At this age, people expect you to already have a house, a car, and an established career. But me? I have nothing. Absolutely nothing.

What makes everything even harder is that I have a wife and children who depend on me. They're the only reason I've stopped myself from acting on these thoughts. I keep thinking, what will happen to them if I'm gone?

I just want someone to talk to someone who's going through the same situation. I just want these thoughts to leave my mind because I know it would be unfair to the people I'd leave behind.

Please, just talk to me. I don't have the courage to tell my wife how I'm really feeling. My parents have abandoned me, and my so called friends were only around when I had money.

That's why I need a stranger right now.

Thank you, Redditors.

I’m stuck at work and having a panic attack my heart is pounding and I can’t calm down😩 idk why this is happening or what to do right now since I’m at work. Please give me some tips or something

I've noticed this for like a year now, I can't bear with stresses. Like when I'm tasked with something with a due, I can't do it. I'll do it later, tomorrow, the morrow day and the procrastination goes on until the deadline approaches. In the meantime, i am stressed bout the work and struggling to start, at once. And at last, I lose my mind.

Similarly, this persist in everything nowadays. I can't perform tasks because I just dont have to motivation to start at all. But I'm fully stressed about not completing it and my stomach starts acting up. I feel like there's no purpose in living anymore if I'm just idle and do nothing about the things I need to.

And even if I actually force myself to start, I can't sit down for long. I get caught in a loop. The simplest of tasks become a maze I can't navigate to the exit of. These stresses me even more and I get distracted easily. I skip it and think I'm at peace. But it only piles up more cortisol for later. And repeats.

I'm immensely worried about the future, but I can't do things to prevent it before late. I feel crippled. What's wrong with me?

I’m a 26-year-old and I started having panic attacks at 17 years old.

What I’ve realized about anxiety is that the theme of your anxiety doesn’t really matter. Wether you’re afraid to leave the house, take a shower, talk on stage, go through a drive thru, go to stores, drive, afraid of remote areas, afraid to sleep, afraid to socialize, or wherever your anxiety takes you.

What matters about your anxiety is that you’re either exposing yourself to the fear and improving or it’s haunting you and growing because you’re avoiding it.

I recently became anxious to shower. 9 years of anxiety and I never had this happen. I have an idea as to why this fear started but I’m not totally sure. The point is it doesn’t matter why it started, in fact really nothing about the actual context of the anxiety theme matters.

What matters is that of course I continued to shower because I’m not going to stop showering daily and a month later the fear and anxiety about showering are gone. You don’t have to do exposures perfectly; you just have to do them. No matter what stands in your way if you keep pushing into it you will win in the end. 10 short or “failed” exposures are 1000x better than none.

No matter the anxiety or themes if you keep exposing yourself to it, you will win and the anxiety goes away. If you run from the anxiety not only does it stay, but it grows. Never stop exposing yourself to your fears and you will continue growing. All of the themes of anxiety end in the same answer. Exposure.

Hey I was looking for advice. Hopefully someone will be able to give me some ideas. Long story short I've suffered with anxiety and panic attacks since I was a child. I've been prescribed Zoloft which helped with depression but would not help me with my anxiety.

I've gotten bloodwork done and everything looks good. My doctor has only ever prescribed me hydroxizine (basically benadryl) and clonidine which is usually used for lowering heart rate. I have begged my doctor to give me something else for anxiety and they basically refuse to try anything else.

I was told I have treatment-resistant anxiety. She has never tried a different SSRI or anxiety meds including buspirone which is non-addictive. She is refusing to change my treatment plan and I am getting this service through a program for free since I can't afford insurance.

Any help is appreciated..

Hi everyone, I hope I’m posting this in the right place.

I’m from Germany, and for as long as I can remember, I’ve struggled with panic and anxiety whenever I have to sign something or write in front of other people, especially when my boss or supervisor, cashiers, or doctors are watching me.

I’m trying to face my fear rather than avoid these situations, and it has slowly started to get better, but it’s a long process.

The problem is that I’m getting married in two weeks, and obviously, all eyes will be on me when it’s time to sign the marriage documents. I’m really worried about how I’ll handle that situation.

My family doctor doesn’t want to prescribe me any medication for it. I’m currently taking Lasea (a lavender oil-based medication available in Germany), and I’ve been taking it for about a week and a half.

Has anyone here had similar experiences with this kind of anxiety? Have you tried Lasea, and did it help you? I’d also appreciate any tips or techniques that helped you deal with the pressure of writing or signing something while people are watching.

Thanks in advance for any advice or personal experiences! 😊

Im not sure if i just had a panic attack or not. I was just sitting down playing a game with a friend and all of a sudden my head just got flooded with all the issues im facing right now, and i started feeling anlot of pressure in the back of my head. However i didnt react to it, i kist sat there and kept playing, like nothing was happening. Ive had worries pop up randomely before, but never to this extreme, to the point where i was just reactinh to the screen instead of playing. What exactly happened to me? Im fine now, but fuck id be lying if i said it didnt worry me now. I always thought i was immune to anything like that.

hello, this is my first post. I was prompted to make this after seeing someone discuss their experience with "shadow people" on tiktok and it got me thinking. I have a diagnosed anxiety disorder plus a currently unnamed personality disorder and chronic depression. i take hydroxyzine to sleep and quiet my hyperactive thoughts, as well as SSRIs for my other junk. i do have a minor history of manic episodes and major depressive episodes, though primarily these were before i got on lexapro. primarily, my anxiety manifests in rapid brain activity and loud thoughts. before hydro, i was put on like two antipsychotics. they worsened my depression so i stopped them.

all of this is to say, i have a documented and serious history of mental health. and for years now, its been quite a common thing for me to see out the corner of my eye shadows in the shape of people. the best way i can describe it is like they're incredibly out of focus or fuzzy like tv static, and they are distinctly shaped like silhouettes of people. yet whenever i look at them, they vanish. sometimes they actually startle me because i end up panicking over possible home intruders since often when they occur, im alone. and they're never manifesting in dark or dim rooms. always brightly lit, which is why i notice them so well. is this common with anxiety?? or is this a sign of something else? probably a weird question here, but i figured i would make the post. thanks.

Does anyone else tense there face so much that they struggle to breath?
Any tips on how to break this cycle

Sometimes I’m eating and I think about this and girl anxious. Do most people that choke recover? Like bad choking I mean.

Context : Last year, I was diagnosed with ADHD, autistic burnout, and depression, along with a hyperactive mind that has been present since childhood. I wasn’t diagnosed until I was 27, following a lifetime of academic failure and difficulty with just about everything.

But this year has been the worst period of my life. I’ve been dealing with stomach pain/gastritis, breathing issues related to hyperventilation, constant fatigue, health anxiety, poor sleep, and one symptom after another. Eating has become stressful because sometimes eating makes my stomach hurt, but if I don’t eat enough I feel weak and exhausted.

A few days ago I tried sertraline for the first time and had an awful reaction to it: nausea, dizziness, feeling spaced out, strange visual sensations, trembling, and feeling completely unlike myself for hours. The medication was stopped after one dose.

Yesterday I had the worst panic attack of my life. I genuinely felt like something terrible was happening to my body, and I ended up going to the hospital.

I hate hospitals, so just being there made everything worse. They checked me and told me my heart and blood pressure were okay, but by then I was completely drained.

I could have spent that evening watching Pokémon, which is one of the few things that still gives me comfort. Instead I spent it terrified and sitting in a hospital. Today I don’t even feel sad anymore. I just feel empty. Emotionally numb. Like I’ve spent so long being scared, tired and in pain that there’s nothing left in the tank.

I’m only 28 and I miss what it felt like to just exist without constantly thinking about my body. I miss eating without fear. I miss being able to feel tired without wondering what it means. I miss having a normal day. I don’t want to die. I just desperately want this period of my life to end. I want to feel like I’m living again instead of constantly managing symptoms and fear.

my psychiatrist just prescribed it for me to use at night to help with the bad anxiety I have all day, but especially when I wake up.
I am currently also on lexapro daily, buspirone twice daily, and xanax only for emergencies.

Anyone in a similar boat? Has gabapentin worked for you?
Thanks!

Yesterday I made a mistake at work. It's something that can be fixed, but I now have to deal with a client who is very sharp and knows how to put people under pressure.

What scares me most is having to face him and deal with his reaction. I keep imagining all the things he might say, how he might react, and how uncomfortable that conversation could be.

I'm also anxious because my coworkers will find out about the mistake. I'm afraid they'll judge me or think I'm not good at my job.

The frustrating part is that nothing has really happened yet, but I'm already living through every possible negative scenario in my head.

Rationally, I know it's just a work mistake. I'll have to deal with it, fix what I can, and move on. But I can't seem to stop thinking about it.

Have you ever made a mistake at work and then spent hours or days worrying about facing the people involved or being judged by your coworkers? How did you get through it?

I could really use some reassurance and hearing from people who have been through something similar.

I have severe panic disorder along with and eating issue that i’m working on.

As in “severe” it’s not like I just get nervous and have a panic attack. My body tenses up and I get dizzy and lose the ability to think. I get a bunch of other symptoms (usually whatever I’m scared of) It can happen to me at any time and for no reason. Makes it frustrating when people frame it purely as a willpower issue. My body freaks out so I can’t control what it does.

Anyways, haven’t been out (completely on my own) for a year and a half. Today I managed to walk 1.5-2 miles alone in the woods, keep in mind my panic attacks don’t allow me to walk sometimes (dizziness gets so bad i can’t stand, also low blood sugar from eating issue does that).

I know this can be easy for a lot of people, but it’s really hard for me. Although I think I’m on the path to recovery. I really missed doing any exercise, and had to stop because it would propel my body into awful episodes.

For anyone else who struggles similarly, don’t compare yourself to people who don’t have your same experiences. People will try to put you down to make themselves feel better.

I was listening to George strait the whole time, love me some country.

Hi!! this is a recent thing, i’ve always loved food, one of my favorite things to do is eat but i recently had trouble. one day i was super tired and high in anxiety and i figured eating would get my mind off it. well i got a scary sensation of choking (i wasnt) but i struggled and eventually gave up on eating bc i almost forgot how to swallow.

then its been an issue ever since then. everytime i eat i cant stop thinking about what happened that one day, i eat anyways. but for some reason my body is fighting the natural swallowing. we dont need to focus on it, its natural.

but for some reason even if i forgot abt it and i start eating, my body naturally fights it and i remember it again.

with past anxieties ive had exposure therapy usually works. but ive been eating despite this fear and it only seems to get worse? i dont take big bites, i chew normally. sometimes a scary sensation happens but its not choking, its my body fighting swallowing my food.

i miss not thinking abt it all the time and eating normally and enjoying my food. now it feels like a chore and i have to think about swallowing and its just anxiety on top of anxiety. i try not to think about it and yes i want to go to therapy for it, but for now this is all i’ve got.

anyone had a similar issue or advice with this?

hello all! it is getting cold and starting to be that time where we need to turn the heater on in my house and I am terrified. I have OCD. I already went and impulse bought a carbon monoxide detector (which I guess isn't that bad) but it doesn't get here until tomorrow and it's supposed to be cold tonight.

I don't want to bother my wife and not turn on the heater, but I am terrified that I'm going to turn it on and it's going to explode, catch on fire, kill me or my wife or something. I know that's unlikely but still. I probably won't turn it on tonight and might delay it because next week it's supposed to be in the 70s but I know eventually this is something I am going to need to do and I am absolutely horrified. I can't just not turn it on and know I need to.

any advice? reassurance? tips? anything?! agh!

Basically I’ve been feeling way wayyy better with my anxiety levels lately but I still get super anxious with new people. I’ve always been a shy girl when I first meet people, always on the quieter side but I can yap your ear off once I know you. I went out with a guy that I met on hinge, it always takes me a while to pluck up the courage to go because I get super anxious leading up to first dates. I pull up to his house and say hi and the first words that come out of his mouth are “You seem super anxious”. Literally wanted to die right there. I ended up getting upset and leaving immediately because it felt rude to me coming from someone I had never met before (even though he was pointing out the obvious).

Does anyone else want to shrivel up into their skin when someone points out their anxiety? I get tremors sometimes and I can’t help but look anxious when I have them, my voice shakes and everything.

I’m just realizing my anxiety has stopped me in so many areas of my life, even though I’m managing it well lately. I’m going to school for nursing but I fear that my anxiety will stop me once again with this career. I’ve quit other paths like guiding and the military because of my anxiety. I’m genuinely ranting my head off but gosh I’m tired of being the most nervous person I know

I feel happy. Anxiety gone, depression lifting. Day 13 and day 14 was rough. I was extremely more depressed than usual as if my brain was rebooting. Today I bought books to read and actually enjoyed reading one of them.

I enjoy small banter now without my heart racing.

On sertraline, etifoxine, etizolam(on and off). I am taking vitamin supplements also, trying to include more fruits and veggies in diet. I was deficient in vitamin D so have taken its supplement also.

Hi all

Did your doctors investigate asthma just to rule it out in terms of breathlessness by any chance ?

Hi friends I’m currently on vacation for a wedding and I’m about to go on a week long cruise. I haven’t been away from my home for this amount of time in a long time and I’m feeling super anxious. I’ve only been gone a day so far and I was nauseous yesterday on the way, fine at the event and now it’s the next morning and I’m up at 5am with an anxiety stomach ache and shaking. This happens every time I go to an unfamiliar place. The mornings are the worst for me I wake up early from anxiety and basically have a panic attack. (These specific panic attacks consist of violent shaking and nausea) I guess I’m just looking to see if anyone relates and has any ways to calm me down. I’m really excited for this trip I’m seeing family I haven’t seen in a while and I want to spend time with them and not feel this way. Any tips on how to calm down in the morning/at night would be appreciated!