[TheBoredOne]

So, I went to the mall today(I was there for 6 hours with one of my friends I haven't seen in a while). We were walking around in stores and I felt my heart pounding the whole time(it wasn't like that until I was inside the mall) was that a panic attack or just anxiety? Also is this anxiety or does it seem to you, I am being a hyprocondriact(spelling?) I used the bathroom, had to touch a doorknob and me and my friend sat down on a bench at the mall. I'm worried I'm gonna get sick from doing all of those. Does that part sound like anxiety or me turning into a hyprocondriact?

[*Laurie*]

Hi, What you've described sounds like anxiety to me. It has been my experience that sometimes our bodies don't know the difference between excitement and anxiety. For example, you were probably excited about going to the mall with your friends, but your body reacted to the excitement with anxiety.

By 'touch a doorknob'...do you mean you had to touch the doorknob as a compulsion, or??

[TheBoredOne]

Originally Posted by LauraBeth

Hi, What you've described sounds like anxiety to me. It has been my experience that sometimes our bodies don't know the difference between excitement and anxiety. For example, you were probably excited about going to the mall with your friends, but your body reacted to the excitement with anxiety.

By 'touch a doorknob'...do you mean you had to touch the doorknob as a compulsion, or??

I see what you mean. I meant I had to touch doorknobs every time we went into a store to open the doors.

There are different sorts of triggers and symptoms of Anxiety. You've described what I often go through. This wasn't in my opinion an all out Anxiety or Panic Attack. I've had them and honestly thought I was having a heart attack and would die.

My question for you is what did you do and did you find a way to calm yourself down?

My suggestion is to sit down and go over the experience. Was it just the crowd or was there another trigger perhaps (like contamination worries). Make yourself a plan of action for what you will do next time.

For me it is to plan out my outing and shopping trip and stick to that plan. I carry a worry stone. I try to use the same cashier at the checkout. When out with a friend and feeling panicked I use the excuse of suddently needing a coffee or such so that I can temporarily dissappear. I also pull out some of my CBT exercises if I'm worried before I head out.