[franz kafka]

My mood is euthymic at the moment, but my anxiety rages out of control. I'm on the verge of a panic attack right now.

I get the most anxious when my mood is stable. When manic, no anxiety. When mildly depressed, moderate anxiety, and deeply depressed I'm too far gone for anxiety.

[HALLIEBETH87]

I am anxious mess most of the time but its significantly worse when I am depressed or I have a lot of stress in my life like right now.

[cashart10]

When my mania gets out of control and my mind spins and races faster than I can manage, anxiety hits and eventually turns to paranoia. At times, I have also had anxious depressions (usually if psychotic). Otherwise I’m not generally an anxious person.

[~Christina]

If I’m mixed I’m just a ball of rage and anxiety

I'm also most anxious during mixed states and stressful periods. My anxiety also skyrockets when I need to perform certain types of tasks. Only certain tasks.

Franz, I hope your anxiety eases soon.

[Gabyunbound]

When driving!!

I am very very anxious driver. I don't know how many times I've described to my therapist how I feel when changing lanes, and what's that's like second to second. Ugh...

She has given me great tools, which have helped over time, but I still have some anxiety, sometimes very high, most especially when I have to drive to a place I don't know. I've never had a good sense of direction, and when I get anxious, that only increases. I have a GPS, of course, and I know it will eventually get me to where I'm going, but I still get very anxious. I'm also afraid that I'll get so confused when driving to a new place that I won't be paying enough attention to the road/to other cars, that I'll get in an accident. I've had plenty of near-misses.

I have some social anxiety, but driving is the worst!

Gabyunbound, I am anxious about certain drives, too. Especially new routes and high-speed highways. I'm OK driving places I am very familiar with, but try to take back or less stressful roads.

[Sunflower123]

My anxiety is, by far, the worst thing I battle and there is no rhyme or reason to it. It comes and goes and can be tied to anything. I’ve been anxiety free for several days now and I’m grateful for that.

I hope your anxiety clears up soon.

[roller]

Hey there,
for me the anxiety is I guess the worst symptome. It keeps me away from life.

As I am getting out of the depression the anxiety fades away. As I used to see hypomania as my true self, anxiety was not present in the slightest. For that I had no problem to motivate myself to do things.
So I guess my true self has parts of anxiety and I need to accept that, instead of waiting that the hypomania comes around, cause I know where I end up. And with shame after the hypomania comes anxiety for example just to meet my neighbours, go shopping, effing live... Cause I am a total different person in the phase I am right now, I just don´t feel genuine and for me this is related to the anxiety.

So the anxiety is like a fog surrounding me and makes it pretty hard to enjoy to live in general.
But it will pass...

[depressedIRL21]

Originally Posted by Gabyunbound

When driving!!

I am very very anxious driver. I don't know how many times I've described to my therapist how I feel when changing lanes, and what's that's like second to second. Ugh...

She has given me great tools, which have helped over time, but I still have some anxiety, sometimes very high, most especially when I have to drive to a place I don't know. I've never had a good sense of direction, and when I get anxious, that only increases. I have a GPS, of course, and I know it will eventually get me to where I'm going, but I still get very anxious. I'm also afraid that I'll get so confused when driving to a new place that I won't be paying enough attention to the road/to other cars, that I'll get in an accident. I've had plenty of near-misses.

I have some social anxiety, but driving is the worst!

I am very anxious driver too! I am constantly worried about getting into a accident or getting a flat tire or breaking down. I also get anxious when I am depressed or I get anxiety when hypomaniac when I am not doing anything.

[*Beth*]

I am anxious almost constantly. The exception is when I am in a euphoric hypomania. Then I'm least anxious, which is one reason why I feel resentful about medication taking that state away from me.

Right now I feel bitter because I lost my "good" hypomania over the warm months, but now the same old miserable depression is slamming me down. Why do I have to give up the good only to be overwhelmed by the bad? I still don't understand that. I know; it's because the wonderful hypo will morph into "crazy." Still, it seems extremely unfair.

So, yeah...I'm anxious because something bad might happen during the next 4 1/2 hours until I can actually and respectfully go to bed at 9p.m. Rinse, repeat

I am most anxious early morning. well, not early early, but like 8/9 A.M. same with the evenings.. I get anxious about 6 PM, and honestly I think a lot of it has to deal with abusive things that happened to me at those times (it was the same abuse for over a year), and I think my body just knows to start getting anxious at those times.

I also get really anxious watching women contestants on quiz shows. I really don't know why, it's annoying

[Blue_Bird]

I tend to get anxious in the late afternoon. Not sure why. But in general, when I'm not doing well it's all the time because I'm an extremely anxious person by nature and also have Panic d/o and GAD. The anxiety I have during mixed episodes is a little different, it's more agitation.

[Moose72]

When big changes happen- like my daughter moving out in January/February 2020. Even the year being two 20s makes me axious for some reason. Time flies I guess. I dont know if my son and I can make it alone. Its a big adjustment. Even the smallest mishap can throw things into chaos-like feelings.

[chels127]

I'm anxious first thing in the morning. I always wake up in a panicked state, usually 30 mins to an hour before my alarm goes off. In the past, early morning was my favorite time of the day. But after my diagnosis this year, I absolutely DREAD waking up. Once I get my day started I'm okay. And, like Moose stated, I also get anxious when big changes happen in my life. The holidays make me very anxious as well.

[xRavenx]

I'm constantly anxious. I'm a big-time worrier. It's especially bad during severe depression/mixed mood. Working definitely triggers severe anxiety and irritability. So does projects around the house and general responsibilities (bills, dealing with insurance and phone calls).

[Fuzzybear]

I'm anxious most of the time grrrr. Especially in the mornings. If depression is severe, anxiety is usually also even more severe. The only thing that helps sometimes is salmon and wine.

[roller]

Hey there u people across the Atlantic,

I just strarted a program which I fought for the last 6 Months,
During this time I had parts of times when I couldn´t even get out of bed depressed and this fog of anxiousness around me.
This program is a outpatient program also including the half day of Saturday. I have a good feeling about the place. But to get there it takes me an hour, one way, by train. And this train is packed, it feels as if all my energy gets sucked out of me.

It is like a metaphor for society, kinda survival of the fittest.

So yesterday I couldn´t go, cause I was freaking out, just by the thought on that trainride and these many people.

In the good times I don´t care at all, it just doesn´t bother me one bit.
I really don´t want to freak up this opportunity cause of a packed train in the early morning.

Well anxiety on top of the depression really, really suxxxxxx.
Good night and u guys and gals have a nice evening

[Pookyl]

I suffer from GAD so I’m anxious to some degree all the time. However my anxiety is worse first thing when I wake up and just before going to bed. My anxiety is at its best when I’m in the middle of a manic episode.

[fern46]

Originally Posted by roller

Hey there u people across the Atlantic,

I just strarted a program which I fought for the last 6 Months,
During this time I had parts of times when I couldn´t even get out of bed depressed and this fog of anxiousness around me.
This program is a outpatient program also including the half day of Saturday. I have a good feeling about the place. But to get there it takes me an hour, one way, by train. And this train is packed, it feels as if all my energy gets sucked out of me.

It is like a metaphor for society, kinda survival of the fittest.

So yesterday I couldn´t go, cause I was freaking out, just by the thought on that trainride and these many people.

In the good times I don´t care at all, it just doesn´t bother me one bit.
I really don´t want to freak up this opportunity cause of a packed train in the early morning.

Well anxiety on top of the depression really, really suxxxxxx.
Good night and u guys and gals have a nice evening

Welcome. I hope you're able to overcome the issues with the train for the greater good of the program. I try to imagine I am in a bubble and it blocks out the energy of those around me unless I choose to allow someone in. I realize that may sound silly, but sometimes focusing on a visualization can help calm us when we are anxious.

[Nevuary]

I become very anxious when I have to leave the house especially if it requires me to drive. The level of anxiety seems to triple if I have to drive in an area that has heavy traffic. I do not know why, but I have this sort of poor recollection of places I have been even 100 times. When I am anxious and driving, I can easily miss my turns, because I simply do not recognize where I am. I see my pdoc once a week. It is an hour and a half drive into the city and leaving the house and driving are almost worse than drudging up horrible memories in the therapy sessions.

The other times that I feel most anxious are when I find myself in crowds. Holiday shopping is a horror for me with the stores packed to their limits. I feel as if I cannot breathe and have to get out quick to thwart a panic attack. This is especially true in stores that have narrow aisle that are packed to the brim with merchandise, leaving little room to move around. It is simply too much stimuli at once. I cannot take it all in. It is suffocating.

So, with the exception of driving to my pdoc appointments, my husband usually drives us everywhere and we try to shop at non-peak times to avoid the crowds. I also shop for holidays early and try to avoid the need for last minute purchases. I purchase quite a bit online, too. I continue to challenge myself to work through the anxiety I feel associated with leaving my house and I am getting better (partially due to a recent medication change and partially due to my efforts). Even when my husband drives, I often do not recognize where we are or how far we have driven at times. My pdoc says this is due to dissociation issues.

I hope the best for each of you that has responded to this thread, especially during this holiday season. May your anxieties be quieted and your season be merry. Remember to use the tools you have constructed to cope and try to focus on loving one another as much as you can.

[*Beth*]

Hmm. Well, I'm anxious to one degree or another all the time. But I'm most anxious when one of my cats is sick. Then anxiety turns to terror. I'm least anxious when out on a long country road, music on the radio, nothing in the world but my hands on the steering wheel.

[bpcyclist]

I am most anxious when I am psychotic and I think someone is trying to kill me.

[roller]

Thanks for the welcome fern46
I could manage to go to the program the rest of the week. It got managable as I started to kinda meditate and focus on my breathing,
Still I feel disgust within these crowds, but it feels doable and the anxiety is alotless present.

All the best