New To The Anxiety Support Community? Introduce Yourself Here!

hello, I'm a woman in my early twenties suffering from anxiety, depression, and PTSD.. it's not the most delightful combination in the world.

I do horribly with being alone, and I spend roughly 11 hours alone at night while my fiance works the graveyard shift. I have routine panic attacks thinking that something awful is going to happen and I am constantly on edge. I already have sleeping problems, and now I am terrified to sleep when I'm alone and it's nighttime. my anxiety has steadily gotten worse, and I'm now considering that I might finally need to try medicine.

I'm not sure how many people will read this, but I just want to feel less alone I guess.

Hi,

I am new to this group and am searching for a community who understands. I suffer from bipolar disorder type 2, anxiety and depression. I really just need help in seeing reasons to get out of bed.

So, uh, I'm Sarah.....I have GAD and slight social anxiety. I really like bands and am learning French. That's uh.......kind of it I guess.

Hi. I have GAD and existential anxiety.

Hello, my name is Hilda, but you can call me Hillie :) I suffer from depression, anxiety, and Borderline Personality Disorder which has been likened to having "emotional burns scars." I am here to talk about what I am working on with these issues overall and my progress on them as well as my day-to-day struggles. I like meeting new people but I often feel rejected easily, I love getting nice messages, but I don't always respond. I like all of you and I'm proud of all of you for working so hard! Keep it up! I hope to make a lot of progress here too!

Hi!

I have a little bit of social anxiety, but I get serious anxiety from watching the news. That probably sounds weird but it's true. I want to help people with their anxiety. I'm here for you <3

My panic attacks started when I was very young, probably around six or seven. I can remember a few of my full blown ones, but I can't exactly pin point when they started, exactly. My earliest recollection was when we were at my family's favorite restaurant. The actual attack is all I can remember; suddenly I began to tear up, and I clamped my mouth shut and covered it instinctively. I started to gag, like when a doctor or dentist activates the gag reflex in the back of your throat, but uncontrollably. Even with these symptoms, I felt like I was floating outside my body, watching myself freak out. The only thing I could think was that I needed to get out, NOW. I ran into the bathroom and began to drink from the faucet (I don't know why, but it helped).

My parents were incredibly embarrassed. They kept asking me why I did that. I didn't know what had just happened, and the only way I could describe it to them was "I'm choking." This happened several more times when we ate out, and my parents never believed me, even if I tried to explain to them what I felt, and that it was real. We would come home and they would yell at me, angry, to "stop it right now," and "You're just looking for attention."

I took the hint. I stopped talking about, stopped telling them anything really. I refused to go out to eat, and if forced, would simply refuse to eat, even if I was starving. I had to leave the annual father-daughter square dances early every year because I would usually have an attack. I just told my dad I didn't feel well and we left. I never went to a full one. My parents were annoyed, but at least I didn't have any attacks in front of them. Later, they would begin to poke fun at me. Even my siblings joined in.

"Hey," they would say, "Remember when you did that thing! Here, they would put their hands up to their necks, a-la universal choking gesture, and wheeze out a "I'm choking!! their eyes rolling back into their heads. "...And then you would run into the bathroom and begin to drink from the faucet!" Cue laughter.

Hilarious.

I would smile and say nothing. After all, they had to be right. Wasn't it all, as mom put it, Just in my head?? I was being ridiculous. No one else had this happen to them. I carried water (the only thing that helped) with me everywhere; until my mom scolded me for "Carrying water around like a baby" Then I kept them hidden. If coat's pockets were too small, I'd soak a tissue with water, and carry that with me. We still find little 'petrified' clumps in my old clothes today.

I suffered through this quietly for years, until I hit sophomore year of high school. By then, I was eating out at restaurants, but had fallen into a routine. Find bathroom, order WATER, get food, pick at it until panic symptoms begin to appear. Stop eating; spend rest of dinner attempting to calm down. I grew tired of my routine. What was wrong with me?? I began to Google my symptoms until I came across a thread on panic attacks. With further research, I began to realize it sounded a whole lot like what I was going through. I told my mom, and while she seemed interested, she still didnt seem to fully believe me.

But it was real! I wasnt pretending. I still struggle with it today; I just learned to control it better!

Oh…okay.

The summer before my senior year, my control began to slip. Water wasnt as effective. I spent some car rides home sipping water and trying not to fall into a full blown attack. The summer before my freshman year at college, things REALLY escalated. I had the worst attack Ive had in years, without going into a full attack, while zip lining. I had to bail on something I had done before and enjoyed, and that my parents had spent good money on. Worse, it didnt follow the same pattern as usual, where it was caused by eating out. For the rest of the family vacation, I struggled. I took several trips to the bathroom at restaurants to try to calm down. I didnt eat even if I was hungry. I couldnt even look at the food or smell it without issues. I was not okay until I went back to the condo. Upon our return, I found I wasnt hungry anymore. I would eat half my meals, and skip breakfast (and sometimes lunch). I had to bring water on my runs because I was having problems. Driving was terrifying- the minute I walked out of the house, it felt like something was pushing on the back of my throat, my mouth was dry, and my heart raced. Enough was enough. I finally discussed my issues with my doctor, and she was able to diagnose me with anxiety. Although she prescribed seeing a therapist, I wasnt able to see one until the very end of the summer. My therapist diagnosed me with panic disorder. We had two sessions together before I had to leave for college, and she left the practice. Outside of my family and former therapist, only two of my friends know that I have panic disorder, and only because they also struggle with anxiety.

Now Im a freshman at college, and while things are easier, they still arent great. Eating in the dining halls is terrifying, but probably good for me. Its like eating in restaurant 3 times a day, every day. I eat by myself, I eat very little, and I eat 2-3 times a day. Its not easy, but hopefully it will get easier with time.

Aw! stupid software won't let me paste what I wrote and copied out of my journal. It's too much to rewrite! 7 Cups finds more ways to frustrate and block a person than... I don't know what!

I'm a 27 yr old supervising counselor inside one of the largest jails in the nation. I do substance abuse counseling for incarcerated men. I'm a child of an alcoholic and I'm just recently starting to understand how that's affected me. I moved from my home town about 3 years ago to go to grad school and ended up staying for work.

I'm dealing with constant feelings of inadequacy & guilt and I thinks it's turning into depression. I've never sought help from someone other than friends, and my partner is of no help anymore for me. He tells me simply to "go talk to someone". I'm not sure what my best option(s) is/are at this point.

Hi,I'm Rob, an Englishman living in Germany with a couple of cats.

I'm diagnosed with Schizoid Personality Disorder, Intrusive Thoughts, and PTSD. Due to these problems, I suffer from social anxiety and prefer to be alone.

I normally go quite a few days without talking to anyone and am looking for a Psychotherapist here in Germany to help me out.

Until then, I thought I'd just say hello here.