[Gigabyte]

All my life I've had problems with stress and anxiety. Recently it's gotten so much worse than ever before. There's times where I just lie down for extended amounts of time doing nothing because I can't concentrate on anything because of how bad my anxiety gets. It comes in really intense waves. For a while I feel fine and not stressed or anxious at all. Then it hits me and I can hardly do anything. It's starting to get too overwhelming.

[_solipsist_]

I'm going through this right now, I'm glad to hear I'm not alone. I hope it gets better for us both soon, it's very hard for me to do anything right now and I'm beginning to lose hope a bit.

[CosmicRose]

Does it come out of no where? Is there anything you are particularly stressed or anxious about? Do these feelings occur when you think about certain things or anticipate anything?

[mountain human]

Originally Posted by CosmicRose

Does it come out of no where? Is there anything you are particularly stressed or anxious about? Do these feelings occur when you think about certain things or anticipate anything?

Imo all anxiety is anticipatory in nature, i.e., fear of the future. When I focus on possible outcomes, "what if's", etc, I feel my anxiety levels rising. The answer is being able to be present, focusing on where I'm at now. Easier said than done, for sure. Practicing meditation helps. Even afterwards, I feel more relaxed and calm (at least until I go back into my default mode of stressing about the future lol).

[Iamwho]

Originally Posted by Gigabyte

All my life I've had problems with stress and anxiety. Recently it's gotten so much worse than ever before. There's times where I just lie down for extended amounts of time doing nothing because I can't concentrate on anything because of how bad my anxiety gets. It comes in really intense waves. For a while I feel fine and not stressed or anxious at all. Then it hits me and I can hardly do anything. It's starting to get too overwhelming.

This am after reading your post then doing a routine am thing, I realized the daily routine things (making a cup of coffee) were easier to do. Was slipping into the old mode of being paralyzed and ready to call Dr. for meds.
Thats what stress is doing, making me unable to cope with everything. Health, legal , repairs, and now spouse major surgery etc., etc.
Keep checking psychctrl. it has helped me for years.

[Armadillo Roll]

Do you notice if certain thoughts or situations trigger it? How about your diet? Are you eating well having three meals a day? How about sleep? Are you getting enough and is it restfull? Believe it or not these things can contribute to bouts of anxiety. If you're a woman sometimes weeks or days before your period you start to get mood swings including anxiety. Take care!

[kitkaplan]

I take medication for anxiety and if i have little to do and stay home i'm fine. But who does that? I use supplements, herbs and calming teas. If the anxiety gets overwhelming i fill a large bowl with ice water and put my wrists in. If it doesn't pass I plunge my face in. This jolts the autonomic system back into place.

I also use snapping a rubberband to keep me in the moment when I have to function.

Last resort is over the counter sleeping pills and a long nap.

Hey there. I am going through the same and what helped me a lot was to find the exact reasons for my fear. What do you fear? Why do you fear it? Fear is a mechanism that should protect you, so what are you trying to protect yourself from?

I have relationship anxieties and my fears are very irrational (they don't make sense at all). They always lead to the same core: losing my boyfriend. My fear though is not that he would leave me, it is that I would leave him???? Which is silly.

So do what I do and think your fear through. For example: If I really leave him for someone else or if I do fall in love with someone else, it wouldn't be the end of the world, right? It would mean I didn't love him and that I wanted to be with someone else so why would I fear that?
I do because in the past I never could stay with a man. Every time things got close I would escape because I was not capable of trusting anybody. I couldn't be alone either, so my scheme was jumping from one relationship to the next, mostly after cheating.

Now I have a boyfriend for 3 years whom I really love. My boyfriend is the most loyal person I know and we love each other with all our hearts. Therefore I know the only way I could lose him is if I messed up (AGAIN, since that was my scheme throughout my life)

Then I started researching with friends and a counsellor last year what the backround for all this could be. We ended up seeing that my messy relationship with my mother, bullying in school and an incredible amount of insecurity and one incredibly dramatic breakup were the reasons for this.

I learned a lot about myself. Now I know the reasons for my fear. My boyfriend knows them. I told him everything, all my past and all my fears. He was understanding and loving. Now I have to find a way to tackle these fears so I am starting counselling again.

If you truly want to get rid of your anxieties, find its roots. Talk to a close friend, partner, parent or if you feel like none of them would understand, speak to a counsellor. you are DEFINITELY not alone. These guys know what they are doing.

I wish you all the best of luck. Don't be afraid, you are stronger than you think. xo