Anxiety & Panic Community

I know exactly what you feel like and you are not alone, because alot of people go through what you are going through. Let me tell you, it does get better. Having irrational fears and thoughts is NORMAL when you have anixety and panic. and yes it is normal to be afraid that you might be stuck like this forever but i'm here to tell you that you will not be stuck like this forever. You are only 18 years old, you have the REST OF YOUR LIFE, everyday is a new day, you have so much in your life to look forward to. DONT let anxiety rule your life, its not worth it. i know its really hard but you can't let your mind and your thoughts get the best of you. you have to always think positive. think about the way you think about things when anxiety comes on and you start to panic.. what goes through your head? you think horrible thoughts and you think that you are going to die and be stuck like this forever. do you notice what your doing? your making it seems way worse than it is. i know its very hard to control what thoughts come across your mind but let me tell you, you CAN control how you react to your emotions and your thoughts. anxiety WILL make you a stronger person. don't give up on yourself. Anxiety is treatable and alot of people can go on leading normal great lives. Have you ever considered going to see a doctor to get on medicine or see a therapist to talk to? That's the best thing you can do right now. If you like reading, I suggest you go pick up an anxiety workbook, it helps ALOT. There are many things you can do to help your anxiety. Exercise, Medicine, Talking with a therapist.. just one of many things. I know its also hard when your family and friends don't understand your anxiety, they don't know what it's like if they havent gone through it. Please don't give up on yourself. there is HOPE, trust me. you just have to be positive and have hope in yourself. you are not too young to take medication, trust me. but let me tell you, medicine doesnt work for everyone and there can be side effects but that's something you have to decide for yourself. get out there and live life. just be thankful, there is nothing else wrong with you, that you don't have heart disease or cancer, your a healthy person, be thankful for that. and yes anxiety can be scary but its not gonna harm you. your mind is your worse enemy, you just have to learn how to control it. please know that you are not alone and don't rely on the internet to give you answers about anxiety, because there people who complain about their anxiety and never get better but there are alot more people who have the strength to live despite their anxiety. Good luck, please let me know if you need anything.

Dear katey,
Thank you so much for your words of encouragement, I really appreciate your help.

This is my 2nd day having anxiety attack in a long time so that's probably why I'm having all these irrational thoughts and fears. Words of encouragement don't help me as much as it used to at the moment, but I know I will eventually get over it. I hope I will. I just hate these thoughts. If only I can get rid of the negative, hopeless, and pessimistic thoughts, then I guess I would live just fine. I just can't handle them. I could handle the physical symptoms more than I could handle the mental symptoms. It drives me crazy. It also makes me more anxious thinking that I'm losing control of myself, that I'm losing my sanity. It freaks me out more and it makes more very anxious. It's shinny outside and the weather is amazing, but I'm stuck here in my house fearing of the incoming attacks. I don't want to live like this and I do want to seek help.

How do you think I should try to seek help?

your welcome. im glad i could help. i've kind of been feeling like that lately too. it's really weird because i could be fine for a long time then out of nowhere i have anxiety and sometimes i can't figure out why. when i'm bored or have nothing to do or if i'm going through something stressful then i notice that's when i have anxiety but if i could just get myself out of the house and my mind on something else, it goes away. i've been thinking alot about the reasons why we have these thoughts too.. but ive tried to realize that its just my mind, and i have to think about positive things. the more you think about going crazy or that your losing your mind, it makes it worse. try to remember that's its only your thoughts and how you react to them. i think maybe you should try to talk to a therapist or a psychologist, just someone to talk to that understands. you really should go out and buy the anxiety and phobia workbook or some type of anxiety book. some people don't like reading and i don't either.. but this book has ALOT of helpful stuff in it. did something make your anxiety worse like have you been at home alot or not getting out alot? because my anxiety started after i was sick for a week and all i did was stay home and worry that something was wrong with me.. then i had anxiety about other stuff and it just turned out a big cycle. try to find someone to talk to, whether it's your doctor or a therapist. i think thats the first step to take. you really aren't going crazy though, trust me. people with anxiety are way too much in contact with reality to go crazy, we overthink EVERYTHING and worry about the dumbest things and sometimes we just have to realize that even though its hard. like when i have negative thoughts, i have alot of what if thoughts that i hate.. but i know its just my mind wondering. right now i'm trying to get out of the house more and get a job and hopefully i think that'll help because when i have nothing going on in my life, my anxiety gets worse.

I experienced a full-blown panic attack almost a year ago, and want to share what has helped me a great deal: Acceptance and a refusal to let anxiety control your life. Just because you have this does not make you crazy, unhealthy, or unable to do anything a person without anxiety can.

It's been a work in progress. In the same aspect that your brain has this odd power to convince your body it's under a dangerous situation (=the anxiety), you also have the power to manage it. Mostly symptoms are physical (feeling faint, slight chest pains, etc. My first thought is it's a dangerous situation, but now that I understand why they're happening, I am able to tell myself it's just anxiety and will pass. For me, this has truly helped, accepting that I have anxiety.

I think it's realizing you have more power in this than we usually realize. You have the power to either dictate anxiety will control your life or you have the power to not let it stop you.

I have tried what your talking about and it really does work. it's all about how you react to your emotions and feelings and not letting them empower you. just because you feel anxious, doesn't mean you have to let that take over you. life can be completely normal with anxiety. I think this is better than medicine. Medicine works sometimes and sometimes it doesn't.. but most importantly it's how you mange it. We defiantly have power over our feelings and our anxiety. I actually bought an anxiety book, its called the mindfulness and acceptance workbook for anxiety and its great, it explains how to recontol your anxiety and take charge of your life. thanks for sharing your story because I had just posted a discussion on here on how I was tried of seeing people complain they have anxiety for years and never get better and i was asking people they need to share their success stories. I was tired of people always seeing negative things on here and thinking they can never get better and when people post things like this, I think it can help us all.

I have the same book! I understand... I used to post a lot here too. But when you're under the grip of depression and/or anxiety, it's hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

For me, my anxiety is mostly physical symptoms. I didn't know I was having a panic attack til I went to the ER for feeling faint, dizzy and my hands being numb. I wasn't under any stress at all, but that's the funny thing about panic, it can happen even when you're not anxious. I used to sit out the faintness or pull over on the road, but now that I understand it's like this miswiring in my brain, I know I will not pass out and be ok. Plus if I continue with my activity, it's more likely to pass faster.

Another tool that helps me too, is making a list when I'm feeling mentally anxious. One column is my perceived fear/threat, the other is the actual fear. Most times I have no concrete evidence to list in the actual fear column, so this helps me acknowledge my anxiety as it is.

Hi. Like most people on here I can completely relate to your problem and your concerns. I can tell you for certain, that having anxiety and panic is horrible, but it is not hopeless. It can be overcome.
It is something that you have conditioned in your mind so you need to "uncondition" it. You get into thought patterns and therefore need to break the thought patterns. It's work, but it most certainly can be done.
I can honestly say that I wish I would have know what my problem was when I was 18. I just thought I was going crazy then. But you should be glad that you know it is anxiety and that means you are perfectly sane; you just have developed a bad thinking habit.
I highly recommend you check out:

http://www.stresscenter.com/mwc/

Their program is great. It covers all of the areas you need to focus on to overcome anxiety. If you use torrents, you can find it out there.

Don't lose hope. I personally know how down you can get with anxiety and panic, but again this is something you have developed and conditioned yourself with so that means you can certainly "undevelop" and "uncondition" it.

My strong advice is to work on it NOW. Don't put it off. The longer you do the more you will condition yourself to be like this.

Stay positive.

rrcooper