Constant Anxiety

Hey, this would probably be considered general anxiety disorder. It's "normal" and i've been there myself. It's super daunting when you just don't understand why you're suddenly just feeling anxious all of the time, but the good thing is you at least realise you are feeling anxious and you have a social worker.

I at first didnt and it took being stuck on a train for two hours in permanent panic attack state to realise what was going on. You're brain is stuck in constant fight or flight and it's horrible. A lot of people do have specific anxieties but a lot of people also have GAD. I don't know what you see the social worker for, but the best thing you can do for yourself is learn to recognise your triggers and also what help calm you down.

I find recognising the panic and using coping mechanisms before it turns into a full blown attack is the best way to get over it a little bit.

@Loreilee

I also suffer from this form of anxiety. Anxiety has many different forms and it affects everyone differently. Experiencing anxiety constantly with seemingly no cause or trigger can be very overwhelming. For me, it is something I deal with daily. I am constantly in fight or flight mode. My heart rate is elevated, sometimes I experience tunnel vision, my muscles stay tense constantly, my mouth becomes dry, I get clammy palms and begin to sweat and feel very overheated. All of these changes are part of fight or flight. It is your body's natural reaction in preparing you for an immediate reaction. It is preparing you to flee, freeze or to fight. All of these responses are designed to keep us alive in case of danger. And because they are so important to our survival, they occur quickly without thought. They are automatic responses.

To those of us with anxiety, we are stuck in perpetual fight or flight mode. The feeling of anxiety and fear exists for a reason, but when you have an anxiety or panic disorder, it is difficult to control it. Medication has helped me greatly with this because more often than not, perpetual and constant anxiety is a result of miscommunications in your brain. But how do I deal with it? Honestly, there is no "perfect" way to deal with this type of anxiety, as it is always there to nag you. For me personally, when I am caught in a situation that is making me feel increasingly anxious, I try to stop and think of the situation in a rational way. Doing so has helped me stop some panic attacks before they happened. When I feel myself about to break down, I try to remove myself from outside of the anxiety box and shine the light of logic on my thoughts.

As for the daily, I focus on calming activities. Currently, I'm in college so about 80% of my "free" time is spent studying or doing homework. The other 20% I spend on activities that I enjoy. Using this website is one of them. I also really love yoga. I do gentle yoga that focuses more on stretching than doing crazy positions. It allows me to focus on my breathing without worrying if I'm doing the right stance, etc. This is also how I practice mindfulness. Focusing on my muscles stretching and imagining the tension leaving them. It helps me feel physically less tense. I also really enjoy listening to music, seeing as I am a musician on the side. I spend a lot of my time writing or singing. If you enjoy art, painting, reading, taking walks, exercising, crafts, anything like that works great. Distraction helps A LOT with anxiety, especially when it's constant. Getting your mind out of that anxiety box and onto something that brings you a moment or two of happiness makes all the difference.

I've been on so many medications now for the past year. They've changed the types and dosages more times than I can even recall at the moment to be honest. Ive had life events happen that have also add to my stress and am now on clonazepam along with anti depressants and anti anxiety meds. I see/hear so many negative things about it that I'm scared to take it. The first week it helped greatly. Then I started googling it and lowered the dosage on my own. I've been a mess. I don't know if I should keep taking it or not. I see my psycharist again next week and am going to talk to her about it.