New To The Anxiety Support Community? Introduce Yourself Here!

@Guilhem Im wishing all the best for you and sending positive vibes. Youll get through this.

Hi I'm Anne. I've been dealing with anxiety for 9 yrs and now I've started having social anxiety and have been feeling really lonely lately.

@clearflower2016

Hi, Anne! Sorry to hear that you've been struggling with anxiety and feel lonely. Hopefully you find companionship here at 7 Cups!

Hi, im Lucy. Im happy to have found this community because sometimes all i need to know is that im not alone.

I think i have a lot of anxiety since i was a child. Life at home wasnt bad, but there were tense things here and there, and ive always been very sensitive. My anxiety dropped for many years and now its back with total strength. It gets worse because i put a lot of pressure on myself to accomplish things and always believe that ill be happy when i achieved my goals, but truth is that the excitment dies out after a couple days..

Anyway, i need professional help, but for now i cant afford it, so ill get by feeling embraced by all the support i find here.

Best of luck to all of us!

Hi,

I'm warmheartedHuman2014. The comouiter picked that name for me when I signed up and I loved it and kept it.

I've been rreally anxious about a lot of things since my ex broke up with me two years ago. Not because I need him in my life, but because I felt so at home with him and his friends and family. We lived together in another country. Now, I'm back in my home country and my childhood friends don't want my friendship anymore. I work on a cruise ship so I am constantly changing surroundings. Some contracts, I find one friend to keep my head above water. Others, I feel so left out. This one, old colleagues who I thought were my friends are tsalkjong about me behind my back. I am a performer and last year had guest leave bad comments about my singing abilities. I had always been confident in them and never heard anyone say that in all my life. Now, I'm conscious all the time if I am on key. I sit I'm the bathroom stall during our set breaks so I don't have to pretend to be ok. I have a friend I met a few years ago. Started as a fling and we just clicked. Worked together again and dated. He has his own issues. I love him and am anxious he will stop contacting me so I end up pressuring him without wanting to.

That is my story. Lop hello, all.

Hi everyone. I have been treated for anxiety on and off for rougky 7 years. Medication changes here and there. Quitting when I felt nothing worked. Finally, one doctor tried to diagnose me as bipolar. And prescribed me lithium and xanax. I only took the xanax as needed. The lithium kept me at a semi-happy balance but the side effects from the medication were too great and my husband and I had decided to try for pregnancy. 6 months later, we are still trying and my anxiety is out of the roof. I believe trying it making it worse and making me lose my mind. Anger sets in when the ones who don't try get pregnant like its just so easy. Basically, I am trying to learn new ways to cope and keep the anger at bay. I hate not being on control and feeling like life is just spinning away from me. If anyone has any ideas, I'm all ears!

Thanks everyone. This is a huge step for me!

@GAMA1010 I too sometimes feel like I'm not in control... what help me is to connect myself on someway to the environment... walk in the grass with shoes off, breathing and guided meditation works you can get some nice meditation guides on YouTube search guided relaxation anxiety.. and find a quite calm space to try it out.

Good luck hugs

New to the board. Trying to find some answers and support. I've had anxiety and panic disorder for 19 years (first panic attack at 15). Was well controlled for quite awhile this last time. My daughter was caught in the crossfire of a shooting in April (she wasn't hit thank God) and two months later we found out she had planned on killing herself that night and instead cut herself all over with a razor. She's now in counseling and bringing up all kinds of emotions I guess I buried. My anxiety has gone crazy. I have lost 40lbs in 4 months.I have now developed lower back pain and sciatica and have convinced myself that I have cancer...oh yes I also have health anxiety. Major health anxiety. This is ruining my life. I am so close to losing my dream job with no safety net. Tomorrow I am finally going to see a back specialist but I am terrified. Depression has set in due to the pain and fear of losing my job and I'm stuck in a cycle. Not good at introductions :)

@AnxiousinGa

I too have bad health anxiety. It's actually been a crappy week full of me googling and having major anxiety :/ it's the worst!

Hi. I'm new here. And I have Anxiety... im new chronic worrier.

@Noonabie chronic worrier here too. Hi :)

@Noonabie Hey there.

I hope you can find the support that you're looking for here at 7 Cups :) There are a lot of great resources available too.

Hi, I'm 26 and although I do not have any diagnosed disorders, I am currently struggling to keep feelings of excess worry/stress/social anxiety in check.

I believe these things are holding me back in both my career and personal life. I am currently going through the motions of quitting what should have been my dream job because of the issues above.

I feel dread at the idea of meeting new people (or even reconnecting with people I haven't seen in a while) and constantly find myself awake at night worrying about things that happened a long time go.

Currently on here in the hopes of calming these nerves and would love to become a listener once I get to the end of this rocky ride.

@Rooneyc hey! Your post stood out to me i feel i can naybe relate as i also dont really have formal diagnosis (well i went to gp a couple years ago and she said mild stress / anxiety then i gave a half arsed attempt at counselling and work got in the way and i gave up :/) now its much worse and im finally getting round to admitting to myself i need to sort it! I hear what you are saying about worry / anxiety and it messing with where you want to be in life. But i reckon the first and crucial step is recognising its an issue, what it is and then you can start to build up ways to overcome it. I think we can change our brains to shrink this anxiety crap down... guess this community is a very good place to start as well x

@Rooneyc i can totally relate to u. I don't have any official diagnosis neither but my anxieties are drowning me to the point i feel so depressed and sometimes hallow. Idk if it's just a normal thing teenagers experience and hormones must have something to do with it but teens in my class don't seem like they're going thru the same thing as i am every single day. Stress/worries/social anxiety as well/ self-pity/fears/and a hell lot of anxiety shit. It frustrates me and I don't know what to do

Hey, I have an anxiety disorder for over 2 years now. I have therapy and medication and altough I am doing better lately, everyday is still a struggle.

@XAnoukk

Hey! I can understand the daily struggles. Buy I'm glad to see that therapy and medication has helped you out!

@TranquilSkye30 Thanks! Do you suffer from an anxiety disorder?

@XAnoukk I do!

@TranquilSkye30 how are you doing?

@XAnoukk You can PM me if you'd like and we can set up a time to chat :)

Hi all. My name is Chelle and I suffer anxiety as a symptom of a rare connective tissue syndrome which I was born with... but was diagnosed year ago (I'm 33) I have a problem with my collagen which has multiple affects on many of my bodies systems.. causing chronic pain and joint subluxations.. and many other things. Anxiety too

It's not all bad though. Anxiety has its benifits too. It helps me to focus on tasks, do research, practice skills and musical instruments, and be curios enough to learn new things

That's the Ehlers Dan Los Syndrome covered. Lol

I also have suffered multiple trauma in my life and have just very recently been reliving memories and felt really bad.. like really bad.. too much to go into in this post.

Thanks to 7 cups caring and compassionate support and with the help of my therapist I've started my ptsd journey proper (not in denial now) and have found my warrior inside (I practice aikido so I do have a definite warrior side)

I stand a good chance and am determined to stay committed to recovery. My day job is supporting others to make changes in their lives through wilderness intervention... so I should be able to do this right?

Thanks for all those I have chatted with so far... really friendly folks. And I think the live discussions are very helpful.

Much love

Chelle

@helpfulWatermelon5615 Can I ask a question? What kinds of things does your counselor help you do for the trauma? I have bad anxiety and some trauma happened to me before. My counselor knows about it all. But my counselor doesn't seem to really do anything? I can email him whenever I want as much as I want. Then when I see him we talk about things. He is so nice. I like him a lot. But we don't do anything or talk much about tramua things. Just wondering if I'm doing something wrong?

@KLM3278 my councillor is solely online. She has been helping my find and recognise positive strategies... and has started to work on self soothing. I've only gene with her a short time.

My gp has discouraged me from using an online therapist although I'm sticking with her until I wait the 4 to 6 wk waiting list on my NHS for face to face councilling.

I agree with my gp that doing council in online for my ptsd is probably not been the best thing as it has triggered memories and responses from past childhood stuff which has opened up the flood gates for me.

I would recommend you ask ur councillor what method they are using and why they feel it is best for you. And tell them if you feel exploring your past trauma would help you... we as humans have a strong intuition never forget that. Speak with ur councillor and I hope it goes well for you

Hugs

Hi, I'm new to this. I have depression and anxiety.

@Rina890 your not alone here . People are very supportive. Be kind to yourself, and remember a problem shared is a problem halved.

Hugs

Hello.... i am new here and inspired to join when i stumbled across a thread on tips for self care after anxiety attacks.

I have basically just had 4 days of constant being on edge with multiple mini 'attacks' (?) consisting of heart palpitations chest pain, tears and unable to stop crying, nausea and extreme feelings of self hatred! Im now feeling quite numb and exhausted plus ashamed. Its come as a shock because ive finally realised after months of quite a lot of stress and anxiety which ive been (trying to) surpress i had what i can only describe as a bit of a breakdown! Now im determined to work on myself so i can manage this. Ive in the past sought help before in the form of counselling (through gp) then a couple private sessions but i gave up because i felt embarassed that i was making a fuss out of nothing because on the outside people think im.ok because i have a good job and i put a good 'show' / face on :( but now i see i never really dealt with it properly and its worse than ever. I look forward to reading other peoples experiences here and learning and sharing any helpful experiences i have xx

@Lilcranberry

Hello! Welcome to 7 Cups. You've been through a lot it seems, but there are plenty of ways to get help and support here, and I hope you find one that helps you!

Hi I'm new to this. I'm 24 and I have suffered from anxiety for as long as I can remember. I never used to understand it so didn't talk about it until recently. It's stopped me doing a lot of things I feel I should be doing. I'm about to start a course of CBT through the nhs which is scary enough along with my boyfriend of almost 5 years basically telling me he's just about had enough and isn't sure he can handle it anymore as I'm holding us back from moving forward. So now I have the added pressure of if this CBT doesn't help I could risk loosing a massive part of my life which will no doubt affect my anxiety massively. I feel quite stuck at the moment and so have ended up here just looking for help I guess.

I'm new here well actually a week new so still new anyway i was searching for 'how to deal with anxiety online help' and found the 7 cups and still exploring this wonderful app I'm looking forward on my growth here and hopefully this may be the help i need

@Pinkskullnroses

Welcome to 7 Cups! It's a great place to get support, and I hope you find what you are looking for :)

Hello everyone thank you to all for sharing its a huge step but were all in it together I would like to share my anxiety story

I've had anxiety for 10yrs now it comes and goes as it pleases sometimes I can get it while I'm at the shops around other people but I try not to let that bother me when the anxiety kicks in while I'm at the shops being forced to go by my partner i get a rash on my neck I get hot and the anxiety kicks in I try to remain calm do what I need to do and get out other times if I'm at home and my partner triggers it off I stay away from him and do my own thing Craft's music movies read book or relax in bed when someone deliberately triggers my anxiety that's when I break down but I always try and show it who's boss good luck to you all and all the best :)

Hi! I think I have an Anxiety Disorder, especially Social Anxiety Disorder. But I've never been diagnosed nor try to visit a doctor. I don't know what I'm going through. All I know is that, I can't control my thoughts. I don't know if it's worry or what. But I always think in a distorted way. I always have a negative in a positive situation. Also, social interaction is my nightmare.

Hola. I've overcome a lot in my life but the anxiety is something that's stuck with me throughout. Luckily it's not constant, it comes and goes. But when it is there it is so intense, and the physical shaking is embarrassing. The worst thing is phonecalls. I totally panic. It's the fear of the unknown and unpredictabiity I think. So yeah, hi to you all.

Mega anxious working mama of 4 teens here.... long history of time in counseling- so I know what to do, but the 'doing' is hard. At a place right now where I am so maxxed out right now that I think there are some purely physical adrenal/cortisol things going on again which make it hard to 'reign' things back in with the tools in my toolbox. Feeling blah most of the time right now, and when I do get up the energy to actualy participate in happy, normal things, it just takes one thing to send me over the edge of anxiety. Sooo frustrating! Searching for a doc in our new town to research some temporary anti-anxiety meds.

@BreatheOnTheWater I have 4 children myself and can relate to the anxiety. Was just wanting to check in and see if you ever found a doc for meds? You can message me anytime :)

Hello All, I've had anxiety issues since the age of 23, I'm now 30. I'm much better now, it all started after a joint I smoked in Amsterdam that gave me a severe panic attack. After that I kept experiencing these attacks on a regular basis, I felt like it crippled me and I struggled to maintain a healthy work life. I tried anti-depresants after a year becuase it was coupled with anxiety but they didn't work for me, they only made me worse. Today, I think I have GAD rather than a panic disorder. I still think I have an anxiety problem since it occassionally interferes with my life and the choices I make (e.g. avoidance). I have read lots of self helps books, tried meditation, omega 3, all of which have helped when I've needed it. I still need support today and I do what I can when I feel things getting worse.

Hello,

I'm not sure if the Anxiety Support Group is exactly the right place for me as I don't suffer from general anxiety as most here seem to. My particular devil is social anxiety. I'm not only petrified at the thought of meeting new people in person but terrified to even enter a chat room. That probably sounds ridiculous, and it likely is, but it's a real problem as I see no way to work my way out of this anxious state without being able to connect with others in real-time conversation.

Having said all that, I hope everyone in this group is making real progress and feeling more confident every day.

@quietThomas

I know how you feel. I wouldn't consider myself an extremely anxious person by any means, but I am nervous in social situations. The thought of being a part of chat is so intimidating to me, though I've gotten better in group chats. I usually observe silently as a lurker, but it's a step in the right direction. I'm still terrified of starting a chat with a listener. It's a bit of a catch 22 seeing as the one thing I really crave is some kind of connection with another person.

@KnotTheNorm Thank you for your comment. It's good to know that I'm not the only one who feels this way.