I deal with a lot of work stress. Unrealistic expectations at work and my response is anxiety and rushing. I start rushing, worried that if miss something at work I'll lose my job. During my therapy appointment today with the help of my therapist we realized I have a a fawn response when I am stressed. Have any of you found yourselves rushing as a fawn response?
On Sunday (3 days ago) I was in a rush, forgot my brain and used tap water in my neti pot. I am now worried about dying ..... Am I going to come out of this one? 🫠
I woke up this morning trying to test my memory on songs that I should remember I couldn't remember and it freaked me out! I remember 99% of them now but I'm so scared I'm developing Alzheimer's or dementia
Does anyone deal with nerve pain from anxiety? I have tingling in my right jaw that is very unpleasant. My family doctor couldn't find anything wrong but she sent me to a neurologist who said there wasn't a physical issue and that it was because I am super anxious. Gradually the pain was 90% better until last week when I faced a major stressor that is ongoing. Now the pain is as bad as ever. I'm 98% convinced it's from anxiety but it's still been hard to manage. I'm just so frustrated right now. Does anyone relate or have any advice? Thanks.
Recently I've survived a life-threatening event, but in the last weeks I cannot look at the news without having panic attacks, feeling totally powerless under the weigth of the world (politics, ai, diseases, etc.). Everything now feels just like the end of the world, even if in the past none of this made me scared. How do I manage the panic without keeping myself ignorant about what's effectively happening in the world?
I feel crazy . I dont know what to do . And cant really tell anyone .All my life I’ve struggled with constant worries about my own health and the health of my loved ones. I was convinced everything and anything could kill me or my family. Eventurally I broke down sobbing to my parents at the age of 8 that I thought all of us were going to die. My parents weren’t concerned and told me i was being a dumb kid . I struggled through all these thoughts which would lead to odd behaviors such as me throwing away my moms earring because I believed that they would give her salmonella (long story but looking back it makes no sense ) Eventually i sorta grew out of them . Then end of sophomore year I was hit full force with crippling anxiety . I kept having panic attacks and then these thought came back even worse . They seem to cycle through different things I worry about . I worried about getting drugged and would constantly wash and empty my water bottle worried It would be drugged. I know all of this is unreasonable but I cant help it and If i dont I get incredibly anxious . I also would constantly check my breathing which would lead to light headedness and only made things worse. Then another one was floaters I became incredibly worried and would keep count of them .The health worries have kept up as well . I thought I would have a heart attack and went down a horrible rabbit hole of searching things up . I know now not to do this because I made things horrible . Mind you I am a healthy teen who has no heart problems . My latest thing is seizures . I have a massive fear of having one though I ve never had one . It started when I witnessed a person having one in a store . I unfortunately read a book where someone has one and learned the symptoms and then unfortunately fact checked it and learned more . Now when I have really really bad panic attacks I think im going to have one . I begin smelling gasoline (a symtom ) and get only more convinced . I have a choir performance coming up and am terrified . What if i smell it and freak out ? what if i have one due to massive anxiety ? I hope not . Then also my huge fear of passing out . what do I do im so stressed, feel hopeless, and dont want do to anything except hide due to my fears . IS this anxiety? OCD ? somthing else entirely . I dont even want to get started on these weird colored orbs I’ve begun seeing . Any Help would be amazing as My parents aren’t gonna do anything and just get mad at me . I tried asking for help and was told im being dramatic .
I’ve had this feeling for as long as I can remember but it’s never bothered me this much. it’s so hard to describe. it’s like my body and my brain and my consciousness and my feelings are all different “me’s” that i control. my brain gives me thoughts that i don’t like, and i can’t figure out if those thoughts are the real me, or the “bad” me. i often look into a mirror and associate myself with the person i feel like, and the person i look like, and this causes these feelings to happen. it’s involuntary awareness that happens in my body and i hate it.
it happens out of nowhere. i’m trying not to think about it, and then i end up thinking about it, and then BAM: i’m suddenly no longer one person as a whole.
i’m going about my day and then suddenly i become completely aware of my body and my thoughts and then BAM: now i feel crazy and all the different “me’s” are telling me different things.
I feel like I don’t know who “me” is anymore. are the bad thoughts me? if they aren’t me, then why am i having them?
are the good thoughts me? if so, then why do i have such bad thoughts?
which thoughts ARE me? is my body me? is my brain me? which part of “me” do i control?
i’m diagnosed with autism and generalized anxiety disorder, as well as POTS if these may help understand what it happening to “me”.
i hate this feeling. it’s like im trapped in my own mind, and it tells me what to do. i can’t think freely. i don’t even know which “me” is writing this right now.
please help me
I’m not really good with words so i apologise if I don’t explain this very well.
I’ve only ever had two paid jobs (both part time). And the second one I started about a month ago. To clarify, I do want to work and need to work to support myself financially. At both jobs I have never felt the feeling of dread so much. I really don’t like new things at all, like new place, new people, new environment and experiences. The staff are so moody all the time when I ask for help or just clarification because I really don’t like doing things wrong. I don’t fully understand everything yet but I felt like such a hinderance asking the same questions all the time. When I also get overwhelmed I get really upset, and the whole day today I’ve nonstop thought about having to go to work tomorrow, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. I can’t even explain what I feel I just get so overwhelmed to the point where I feel sick and then just numb. If I try and talk to the manager he just tells me to suck it up, ignores it, or to ask for help even though I do and I just seem to get fobbed off. Also if I ask my family to speak to the manager he won’t even let them because I am my own person which is fair, but I cannot speak to him myself (again feeling too stupid to talk to him). My family work there too but they don’t understand my feelings either. They just tells me to quit because I’m acting stupid (probably wants me to leave so I don’t make her look bad). I try and just keep my head down and just get through but it just goes 10x slower. I don’t know I just feel like no one understands and it’s really overwhelming and I’m just exhausted with it :(
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WHAT TO DO
(In no particular order)
1. Get prescribed clonidine and propranolol. For Clonidine, start at 0.05 to 0.1 mg (low doses do wonders with clonidine for blushing). Take it PRN (as-needed) or every day depending on what your specialist says, or break the rules and do it on your own terms (be safe though). Clonidine works 10x better than propranolol for blushing, but in saying that, propranolol can still do wonders—it just isn't as direct for stopping blushing as clonidine in my experience. For propranolol, I'd take any dose starting from 10mg (again, see what your doctor recommends).
2. Cut out the acids and active ingredients in skincare products. They destroy your skin barrier and make flushing worse. Stick to a basic, gentle moisturizer.
3. Get a medical-standard camouflage cream (makeup). This is usually used for vitiligo or birthmarks. It has insane coverage and works miles better than standard "high-coverage makeups." I use Dermacolor Camouflage Cream.
4. Get a green concealer. Put this on your bare skin and blend until it's not green (green visually cancels out red). It makes the skin appear whiter, or for more coverage, don't worry about leaving it fairly green on your skin and then layer your regular makeup over it. I use Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Colour Correcting Concealer (Green), and I have also used Life Proof Camo Colour Corrector.
5. Drink coconut water and avoid salt. Coconut water has a lot of potassium, which actively flushes out excess sodium. Too much salt increases your blood volume and dilates your blood vessels, meaning more pressurized blood surges to your face, making your flushes twice as intense and red.
6. Get Excel-V or Vbeam laser. Though they cost a bit and usually require multiple sessions, if you're serious about controlling your blushing, this is something to consider. These lasers can significantly reduce the severity of a blush and other redness metrics for most people. The settings matter, and if a clinic doesn't use the correct settings specifically for treating flushing, they may give weak results. It is incredibly powerful if used right and can be life-changing.
7. Use a skin barrier repair cream. I’ve personally used and recommend La Roche-Posay Cicaplast Baume B5+ Balm Cream.
8. Use CeraVe SA Smoothing Cleanser every night (that specific one). This may look contradictory to rule number 2 since I mentioned cutting out all active ingredients, but this is the lone exception. This was recommended to me by a laser clinic that specializes specifically in skin redness and flushing, and I can confirm it has made a massive difference to my skin.
9. Overall, try to stay fit and healthy. Intense cardio has helped me immensely (I like to go on the treadmill until I'm dripping sweat). It trains your heart not to beat as hard during stressful moments, which helps when you are in situations that trigger a blush. The calmer your heart stays during triggers, the less intense the blush will be.
10. Use a sunscreen every single day to protect your face from harsh UV rays. UV radiation creates intense thermal heat on the skin and triggers systemic inflammation, which dilates your blood vessels and makes your face an absolute magnet for flushing. For blushers, sun protection isn't just about avoiding sunburn, it is a critical shield to stop UV rays from supercharging your vascular reactivity.
WHAT TO AVOID -----
1. Never try Rhofade or Mirvaso. These are unfortunately commonly prescribed topical creams that constrict facial vessels, resulting in no redness for 4 to 10 hours. Though they "work" temporarily, they will eventually give you the most intense, horrible rebound redness you have ever experienced—it will make you feel grateful for your normal blushing, seriously. This is a widely known issue in the community and I am speaking directly from personal experience. Trust me on this one.
2. Never try the trends using vasoconstricting eye drops or nasal sprays on your skin. This has become popular on social media but it is virtually the same nightmare as Mirvaso and Rhofade. It will permanently damage your skin barrier and make your baseline situation 10x worse.
3. Don't get ETS surgery. This surgery is absolutely not worth it for treating blushing. The side effects (like severe compensatory sweating) are life-altering and do not justify the risk. While you will see rare people online who had it successfully done, it is simply not worth the gamble. This surgery is much better suited for people with Hyperhidrosis (excessive sweating) and has a much higher success rate for that issue than it does for facial blushing. There are so many other options to treat blushing that don't involve literally snipping a nerve in your chest.
4. Don't waste money on products that claim to cure blushing. Sure, there are some valid baseline tools out there (like the things I listed in the "What to Do" section), but the vast majority of skincare products are just marketed maliciously to make you think they'll cure your flushing. As someone who has tried all types of expensive creams and chemistry products, it is almost all BS.
5. Don't rub ice directly on your face. While ice can temporarily constrict facial vessels in the moment, the extreme temperature shocking your face worsens your skin barrier over time. It makes your skin significantly more sensitive and irritated in the long run, leading to more permanent baseline redness.
6. Try to avoid nitric oxide boosters (beets, pomegranates, spinach, dark chocolate). They wide-open your blood vessels, making it physically effortless for a massive, burning flush to take over your face. You can still have foods that contain nitric oxide, but just be aware that they will usually cause you to flush and blush a lot harder if you get triggered afterward.
7. Reduce high-histamine foods (aged cheeses, cured meats, wine, fermented foods). Histamines trigger internal inflammation, directly dilating your facial blood vessels and flooding your skin with intense heat.
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I hope this genuinely helps out! At the end of the day there are 100 more things i could have added, but for this i wanted to add the main things ive learnt from experience and research.
(mostly my own experience, im not just writing down things im not experienced in. i understand the importance of being authentic and not misleading)
As time goes by i may wish I added some more things to the essential list or maybe I come to find something isnt as important as I thought. But for the time being this list is full of things that have genuinely helped me significantly.
My goal here was to put toegther one big post that can help people who need a no bs list of things to do, not one or two things but a big blueprint to help guide them.
Been through panic attacks and i’ve get rid of them fortunately , my problem now is that while laying in bed after every few breaths i feel the need to take a deep breath😵💫😵💫and it’s kinda annoying and it’s giving me anxiety🫠i’ve been seeing an pulmonologist and everything was great🤷🏻♂️the only thing is that i have sinus tachycardia😩and i need to lose some kilos, any advice or tips would me highly appreciated🙏🏻