r/Anxietyhelp

I’m on a low dose of 100 sr once a day. Currently on week 4

How long did it take for your anxiety to subside?

So i had a pretty bad bought of anxiety for 4 days straight, couldn't eat, couldn't sleep well but constantly tired, pit in stomach, body tensions. I'm starting to feel some relief, able to eat a little and manage daily tasks, but I'm still constantly exhausted despite napping during the day. The only thing I can compare it to is a hangover. Anyone have this after an anxiety bout?

So for context I have always suffered with extreme anxiety and depression. When I was around 5-6 I thought I was always going to die soon or if I did not do something in a certain time I would die. Once I got older and in my twenties it kinda slowed down but then I had a very very traumatic event involving an immediate family member and ever since seeing that the thought of someone around me dying has never left my brain. It feels like I wired it to remind me at least every 5 minutes that something bad might happen. I always have impending doom. I am on Zoloft and it has slowed down my anxiety and my heart racing but my thoughts consume me and what I witnessed consumes me. I feel crazy and I’ve tried therapy in the past and I just can’t get behind just speaking to someone it does not change my brain chemistry.

Tv show and the sub of gilmore girls really triggered me.

In the show the girl Rory becomes infatuated with the bad boy type boy named Jess and then he cheats on his long term secure boyfriend named Dean.

People say on the Gilmore girls subreddit that she couldnt break up with Dean because but she should have because the relationship isnt on passion, chemistry or in lovey. They say Rory is a people pleaser, anxious attached etc.

This really spiked me because Im dating my bf for nearly one and a half year now and we didnt experience honeymoon or passionate fireworks it was a calm and secure relationship and I love him for who he is. Also I never want to break up with him because firstly he is everything Im looking for and adorable and secondly yes I dont want to hurt him because I love and care about him. Does that mean Im a people pleaser?

Isnt love supposed to be a choice? But this thing doesnt go parallelwith that İdea.

So yeah, I've been feeling it build up for days and right now I feel great, aka I'm having a panic attack and I can barely type on my phone but let's do this!

The I feel great was sarcasm obviously but hey, whatever helps. Anyway, I'm in need to distract myself and here I am trying to do that. Whenever I have a panic attack is like my mind shuts down and I forget everything that has helped me before (oh yeah, I just remembered to breathe lol.)

Note. Typos will happen because a) I'm feeling like utter you know what and b) English is my second language. Still, hope this helps somehow.

Also... Wait I forgot... Elevator music playing ... Yeah I actually can't remember what I wanted to type, might remember later) oh yeah I remembered! Sometimes I'll shorten panic attack to p.a

Ok, here are some things I've found helpful. (Additional info I'm AuDHD so it changes/affects some things):

-breathing. I know, it's obvious but until you make the effort to pay attention to your breathing you realize how shallow and quick it can be. I don't force myself into any method because it just doesn't work for me. Like box breathing method (4+4+4+4) inhaling, holding breathe, exhaling etc because it just makes me more anxious I can't even breathe properly. So I just focus and getting some air in however I can.

-sigh. Usually when you sigh is involuntarily, but it often means you're letting some extra energy or stress out, so I try to sigh a few times in purpose, telling my body it's ok to relax.

-sitting down or lying down. Some people move, some people even say they run to get rid of the excess energy but honestly? I get so dizzy when I'm having a panic attack I feel like passing out just from existing at that moment. So I just lay in my bed or sit on the floor and I think, well, if I pass out at least I won't hit my head, and if I pass out on my bed, at least I will be comfortable. So I'm just trying to take something scary as a meh thing, a minor inconvenience. Yup, in the moment is really scary but that's the point. Accept it might happen but also take it lightly to be a little less afraid.

-water bottle on my chest. I usually keep water around because for some reason when I'm having a panic attack I either feel nauseous or my mouth hm gets really dry, so it's good to have water on hand. And I keep a water bottle instead of a glass of water because I can press it against my chest and the cold sensation helps bring my body back to reality just a bit. If you're too sensitive to big temperature changes water is better than ice, however...

-ice packs. I have one, it's usually reserved for after working out. Ok not mine, it's my sister's, but I borrow it when I'm having a panic attack. I usually get it beforehand when I feel I'm heading there because when I'm in the middle of a panic attack I'm not leaving my room or the place I'm currently at, because you know, the passing out thing, so moving or walking are mostly off the table. I wrap the ice pack in a t-shirt or a towel and press it on my chest. If I'm feeling too oversensitive or cold, I stick to the water bottle.

(Wow I'm typing so fast for no reason, well, it's more like I'm trying to keep me grounded... Moving on.)

-listening to my body. How do I feel? I don't question it, I just do a quick mental scan and that's it, because if I linger on any particular feeling I'm just asking for it to get worse, especially when I get a tingling sensation on my limbs. So, checking how I'm feeling and moving on to focus on my breathing. Just, connecting to my body and reminding myself I'm still here even though I feel like sh.t.

-acknowledging what it's happening. I basically tell myself. Yup, I'm having a panic attack, it sucks, it sucks really bad and I feel like I might x.x say bye bye but I've survived it before, and I'm not the only one. It has passed before, and it can, and will pass again. I feel terrible, I feel out of control, but it's momentary. Just hold on, hold on and keep breathing.

-do what your body needs. You need to look at cat memes? Look at cat memes. You need to splash water on your face? Do that. Basically don't judge yourself for doing strange things like needing to lay on the floor or drink a bottle of water in one go. Or write Reddit posts idk. Just be careful and keep your safety in mind.

-if you have meds take them, but don't over do it. Sometimes I get too scared and I just want to take more of my anxiety meds to make the p.a. go away faster, but there's not a quick solution. We basically just have to wait it out, whether we like it or not. Don't try to rush feeling better, you're just basically telling your body your actually in danger and that's why you need to fix it asap which brings me to...

-accept your anxiety. Yup, it's there, yup it's incredibly overwhelming and scary but it's there, it's your body trying to adjust itself after days if stress or a scary situation. You can't will your body to be ok just because it feels bad. I wished. The main thing is patience. It will pass, and in the end it's your body trying to keep you safe, even if it isn't exactly doing it 100% right. Honestly? I thank my anxiety and I try my best to let it do its thing. I don't rush it, I don't make myself feel bad about it, I try to let it run it's course.

(An uncle of mine, a doctor who has been through p.a. told it's like getting a shot of adrenaline, you can't force it out, but your body will run our of it eventually, just let it do its job. Let it fade away on its own.)

-don't overthink it. I was so scared of p.a. I had like ten things around me just in case. Cold water, the ice pack, a stress ball, my meds, you name it. But again, it just reinforced the idea that a p.a was the worst possible thing and that I should do anything in my power to avoid or make it pass as fast as I could. I realized I had to stop because I was creating a cicle of fear. So yeah, right now I just keep my meds and the water bottle at hand, that's it.

-surrender to it. This one is the hardest, because your body is literally telling you this is it, this is your final day. The last thing we can do is be logical when you feel like your whole self is shutting down in the scariest way possible. But seriously, don't fight it. I rest, let my head fall to the side and I tell myself, whatever happens, happens. It doesn't work magic, but you challenge the fear, which is what keeps the adrenaline keep coming. So welcome it as best as you can, let it be and let it pass. I used to think (and I still do sometimes) that it can only get worse, but by that logic, then it can also get better. It can go both ways. So again, be patient. Seriously, it's the most important thing.

-call someone if you can. This is kinda my last resort since I feel like I'm bothering people. Yup even when I think I'm close to x.x I still think I'm an annoyance. But if you can, just call someone before it gets too bad, because usually I wait until I'm crying so bad I can't even speak properly, so feeling connected helps ground you. Tip, you can also write a post in here if you have no one to talk to. People are usually nice and very understanding. I even had gotten messages a day or two later asking how I'm doing and I just feel seen. It reminds me people care, and that I'm not alone. Props to anyone being nice and caring when someone is having a difficult time, you help more than you know.

-do something with your hands. Draw, journal, make lines on a piece of paper, get a stress ball. It helps with the excess energy and gives you something to focus without giving yourself more stress. Pick one, something easy and focus on it. It really helps.

-breathing. Yup, check again on your breathing, and unlock your jaw, which you might be doing if you're having a p.a

-noise canceling headphones. Sometimes extra noise doesn't help at all, it just piles things up. I have done small earbuds because sometimes the headphones are too much, like yet another thing my body has to process. (The tightness, the heaviness, etc.) Or play some soft music if you can in a very low volume. Meditation or lo-fi or ambient music helps.

(Extra note, I'm on my bed right now and I moved a bit and oh boy I regretted it. I get so sensitive to the slightest changes I feel like my body can't deal with it. Again, super fun.)

-save funny or cute posts. Again, another distraction for when you can stand a screen on your face. I have a ton of cat stuff and funny things here saved on my Reddit account. Memes about anxiety, tips also and reminders about how this sucks but that yeah, it also happens and it's whatever you know? Basically things that make me go aww or chuckle at how ridiculous anxiety or panic attacks are. Making fun of something like this sometimes is the best therapy.

-eat something once you're still feeling better. If you start feeling hungry that's a good sign.

.

Funny phrases I like:

-I'm experiencing experiences over here.

-brain no worky, brain no worky.

(I had others but I forgot.)

.

Last but no least. These are some things that help others but I've found they don't work for me but the might work for you:

-eat something sour. It helps you pull you body back to reality and shut down what's producing more anxiety because your body goes wtf and focuses on the new flavor instead. Sour candy, lemons, etc. (This doesn't work for me because I'm already overstimulated enough and I'm just piling more stuff on top of the other, it might be because my autism or my ADHD. It's personal, I tried several times and it never helped.

-the five things you see, four you can touch, etc. (Same thing as the last, doesn't work for me because I'm already too overstimulated and I'm forcing my brain to work even harder.) Again, this works for a lot of people, it doesn't work for me, again, I tried multiple times, it often made it worse. Silence and quiet and a simple focus, just the one thing works better for me)

-breathing techniques. There are many out there and they help get some sense of control over your body. I already explained why they don't work for me.

That's it for now, believe it or not this post took me an hour to write and I'm just getting over my panic attack. I liked to believe this helped? Idk. My head is k...ing me btw @.@

.

I might add more things later if I remember well, more things that have helped.

.

TLDR. sorry, there's no quick version of this. Just read whatever section interests you.

Hi all, I am wondering for those who are comfortable sharing, if anyone would be willing to share whether they have taken low dose Abilify or just Abilify in general for ocd and their experience with it. My doctor has prescribed 1mg which will hopefully be just a short term thing but I am just looking for others experiences with it specifically for OCD/anxiety.

Most of the time my anxiety is just kind of silently lurking in the corner - always there, but not really doing much. But these last few days have been so bad. I can’t fall asleep, and when I eventually do, I can’t stay asleep. I wake up with my heart racing and then spend my whole day feeling exhausted and disconnected from the world. I talk to myself and try to convince myself that I’m okay and I’ll be okay, but once I feel a bit funny again I start spiraling. I can’t turn it off. Last night I couldn’t fall asleep for hours - I laid there with my eyes closed but it felt like they were just wide open the whole time and now I’m just so tired and feel so weird today, and having seizures (10 years grand mal free) my brain is like “yep you’re going down, tonight’s the tonight) and I can’t stop those thoughts. They’re tiring. This feeling is tiring and I just want it to stop. The butterflies, the tingles, the heart racing, being dizzy, all of the weird shit I want to just come to a screeching HALT and I don’t know how :(

I’m 21M, and I’ve been dealing with panic attacks and anxiety for a while now. It all started after a bad experience with cannabis. I stopped using it completely, but since then I’ve been dealing with a lot of fear, anxiety, intrusive thoughts, and especially the fear that I might lose control or go crazy.
At one point, I started understanding what panic attacks actually are, and that helped a lot. The panic attacks became much less intense and for some time they even stopped. But the anxiety still comes in waves, and recently some milder panic attacks have started coming back.
What scares me now isn’t only the anxiety itself. I feel like it’s changing the way I behave with people. I’m not the same socially anymore, and I feel like my relationships are being affected. I’m starting to lose friends, and honestly that hurts a lot because I don’t want anxiety to change my personality or push people away from me.
I’ve also lost a lot of my enthusiasm and passion for things I used to enjoy, which makes everything feel even harder.
So I really want to hear from people who have been through something similar:
Has anyone here genuinely recovered from panic attacks and anxiety without seeing a psychiatrist and without taking medication?
I’m not looking for people to tell me that I’m definitely fine or to diagnose me. I just want to hear real experiences from people who went through this and eventually got their life back.
If you recovered, what helped you? And how long did it take before you started feeling like yourself again?
I really need some hope right now. ❤️

Has anyone done an intensive outpatient therapy program? I am considering one that is M-F / 3 hours a day for 4 weeks. I would need to take a leave of absence from work.

Ive had anxiety attacks in the past. Panic attacks are rare for me. But sometimes I get these weird chest pains on the left side of my chest and it feels like walls are put up in my lungs making it difficult to take an actual deep breath. One of the times that these "episodes" have happened was when I was in the mall. While in one of the stores I had suddenly chest pain, chest tightness, unable to breathe correctly, extremely sweaty, and my ears were popping. Im assuming that was a worse one as it hasn't gotten to that extent again. And once I finally got outside I felt like a weight was lifted. Currently as i type this my chest hurts on the left side. Kinda tight like too. This can last to a couple hours to a full day. Idk if this is stress related or if i should tell my parents and go to the doctor. It kinda stresses me out. Please give me advice on what to do.​

I’ve had a pretty rough month (my mum had major surgery today, I’m in the process of completing my master’s, my period is late, just to name a few), and for basically the entirety of August so far, I’ve had this constant sense of unease that I just can’t seem to shake.
I feel like I want to cry, but I can’t. I have a lump in my throat for most of the day. I randomly tear up at everything. I feel extra jittery and shaky even though I consume little to no caffeine. I’m constantly hyperaware of my breathing, and then because I’m thinking about it so much, my breaths become more shallow. I lose my appetite sometimes and as a result I get a headache for the rest of the day. Sometimes I just want to scream.

I also feel like I keep downplaying what I’m experiencing because I tell myself, “Well, I’m not having panic attacks, so this doesn’t really count as anxiety.” But I feel anxious basically all day. I keep imagining worst-case scenarios and feeling this constant sense of dread.
I’ve tried deep breathing, forcing myself to cry, journaling, talking to my friends, distracting myself, etc. They all help, but only temporarily. Sometimes I’ll feel better for maybe 20–30 minutes, and then I’m right back to this constant state of worrying and unease.

I keep blaming all of this on my late period, which honestly could be contributing to it, but then I started wondering: doesn’t that mean these feelings were probably already there, and the hormonal changes are just amplifying them? I don’t know.

I also feel silly about going to a doctor because I keep telling myself that this isn’t “serious enough” to warrant seeing someone. But I literally can’t think about how I’m feeling without crying. I’m crying as I type this.

I know everything with my mum is probably a huge part of this. We found out about her surgery about six months ago, and I think I’ve been in some version of this state ever since. I just kept ignoring it and pushing it down because I had to function. Now that the surgery is actually happening, I feel like everything I’ve been holding in is finally catching up with me.

It’s so frustrating because I feel stuck. Part of me keeps telling myself, “Maybe everything will feel better once my period comes,” but then I stress myself out about my period being late, which probably makes me even more anxious.
I just want to feel normal again. Has anyone experienced this kind of constant, low-level anxiety/unease rather than full-blown panic attacks? What helped you?

Getting out of a 6 year abusive relationship (I’m 22) where he cut me off from everyone. I had 0 friends the whole time and even wasted my college years being a recluse bc he wouldn’t let me speak to anyone but him.

I spend all my weekends inside building my brands and working on robots to reduce daily frictions (pointless in theory but lots of fun) / optimizing my life. I also WFH so that’s great... I don’t go out, don’t watch stuff most girls my age do, but I studied fashion and optimized my look for fun, (love shopping) now I’ve been described as a 9/10 so I have the looks thing going for me (I swear if u saw me you would think I have loads of friends, like I rly rly studied how to optimize my makeup, hair, and style. I got cosmetic procedures done, latisse, permanent straightening, nanoblading, Botox etc etc after simulating countless looks on a facial model of my own face and picking the best lol)

I need some girl friends in my life, but idk how to speak to people at all. Idk where to begin. I feel like as a guy it’s more acceptable to go up to random people and talk to them, as a girl it’s just weird.

I have cool hobbies, 6 figure tech job, and goals but this is a HUGE gap in my life. When I get invested in something I get INVESTED, so Ik if I put in the effort and studied this I’d be fine, I just need to ensure I’m putting my effort in the right places. Thanks !

Yo I'm 18 in college 2nd day So me and my mom have been hiding my grades for years from my father

But since she had me lie for years and years it made me anxious and hide tons of stuff from him

Now he wants my college log in information and I lied to him about my classes and my gpa so he wouldn't get mad at me

He doesn't know I'm neurodivergent so I had to have fundamental classes first and he will flip the hell out if he finds out and possibly dis own me Wich I wish I was lying about that but I'm not

College has put so much anxiety and stress on me to the point I can physically feel my eyebags every single second and my face feel like it burns and my stomach is constantly nauseous

I fear he will find out and this much anxiety is going to start effecting me, I get sick very very easily and I may have an episode Wich normally means I get very dehydrated and malnourished along with passing out and disassociation for id say a week since that's how long it was last time

I just need a way to keep my dad from knowing or to not give him that log in information because he has demanded it by the end of the week

I've never had a job interview because I was born and raised in my current job and its been 20 years-i need to move on. Well I have an interview tomorrow morning and im terrified! Im the type of person that cries when nervous so would there be some OTC thing I could take? I do have Lorazepam for racing thoughts at night to help me sleep-would that work?

Hi everyone. The past 4 days I have delt with severe nausea and anxiety. I had to deal with this same issue back in December but there was a reason. Buying my first home, got in a car wreck and had to put my senior dog down within a 2 week span. And on those days the nausea and anxiety would go away mid morning and turn into extreme hunger. The morning I woke up in my new home the anxiety and nausea automatically went away.

Right now the only thing that has changed is we got a new puppy last Thursday and it started Friday morning. This is the first time I've been around a dog since we had to put our other one down. I have also noticed that I am feeling nauseous and anxious the whole day now.

Does anyone know how to make the anxiety and nausea go away naturally as I am against pills for the most part? Also can anyone explain to me why this has popped up now?

Does anyone else’s anxiety cause brain fog? It’s so bad to where I don’t want to go to work because I don’t feel like I’ll be able to do my job with how dissociated I am. I just started taking propranolol for my heart issues related to my anxiety, does it help with the brain fog too? I hate the feeling so much. Does anyone that experiences this have any suggestions on how to snap out of it and come back to reality?

So, I’ve noticed that whenever I have an exam, presentation, or whatever, if I get nervous beforehand, I usually perform better than when I do it without feeling anxious beforehand. Does this happen to anyone else? Which is weird because I have always heard that anxiety fucks up your performance, but why is it the opposite for me?

I 19(nb) have horrible anxiety, I've had it since i was a little kid and I've never known life without it. I'm unsure if this would be taken down due to self harm, but i really need advice from other people who are chronically anxious. I'm sorry for formatting, I'm on mobile and i am exhausted bc i couldn't sleep well last night (unrelated issue)

But anyways it's gotten to the point where it's caused physical harm to my body (mostly regarding my gut health),but that's besides the point. For the past 4 years (at least, this is just from what i remember acknowledging it hapoening but i could have been doing it longer) i have begun scratching at my scalp to the point it has scabs all over it, picking at my nails to the point i have hangnail scars (and have accidentally cut my finger doing it sometimes) and i scratch and pick at my neck and chest to the point it gets red. I try to stop but it only makes it worse. I hate it so badly i want it to stop. I wanna be able to dye my hair pink and blue but I can't do that if i keep scratching whenever i get anxious. Does anyone have tips for it? I would get a new squishy but because of the trend of people buying up all the good quality ones i haven't gotten any new ones and i refuse to buy from scalpers.

I never thought I would ever post here, let alone about a topic like this. This coming February will mark exactly three years since I lost touch with my dear penpal. There was no blocking, no ghosting involved; simply the technical limitations of the website we were using cut our connection short. I am intentionally being a bit vague here, because even now, it is hard for me to put the exact details into words.
When I realized that this was almost certainly a misunderstanding—that technology had cut our conversation short, and we hadn't stopped writing by choice—the weight of it really burdened my mind. I knew they were waiting for my letter, a letter they never received. I desperately wanted them to know that there was absolutely nothing wrong with their letters, and that I truly loved reading them just as much as they loved mine.
However, my inhibitions wouldn't let me write even a normal search post. I was constantly overthinking, worrying about how unusual this situation was, fearing people might label me as a stalker, and thinking that nobody would care anyway. I tried multiple ways of putting myself out there online to cross paths with them, but all the while, I tried to remain invisible—I wanted them, and only them, to find me.
But this week, I managed to completely shed my anxieties and make peace with the situation. I had tried creating spaces online to process this before, but back then, I was still filled with fear and ended up deleting every second thing I wrote. By now, though, I have grown strong enough to say it out loud: yes, I am looking for my lost penpal.
While I was still anxious about this topic, I read so many stories of other penpals who lost each other due to similar technical glitches. Many just accepted it, but there are those who still want to find their friend—yet these kinds of posts easily get lost in massive forums.
Now, I can proudly say that I believe in the people who share a similar story. I believe that we need a supportive space for this. A space that doesn't belong to stalkers, but to people who respected their penpals through and through, and simply lost touch due to external reasons.
For more than two years, I was constantly stressed about how I could ever find them. On Friday, I finally found the courage to post a short snippet from the first paragraph of my very last letter—something they would almost certainly recognize. It feels so incredibly good to be free.
Now, even if no answer comes, I won't keep questioning myself. I won't ask if I’m doing the right thing, if I’m being weird, what they will think, or if they’ll find it uncomfortable... No, not anymore. I believe I have done the absolute best I could for both of us. And this could even turn into a greater, noble cause if we can help others in similar situations connect.
Wishing everyone a beautiful week ahead! I hope you all find the strength to step out of your comfort zones. It is an uplifting feeling to refuse to give in to anxiety. ✨

Hey guys! This is going to sound very stupid, but I have a genuine phobia of updating my devices, whether it’s my phone or laptop, doesn’t matter. In this case, it’s my iPhone 11. It’s currently running on iOS 16.2, and my phone has planned a night update to iOS 18.7.8. I’m so petrified that something might go wrong tonight during the update, for example my storage running out, or my wifi suddenly drops, which causes the update to fail or get stuck, and eventually maybe brick my phone. I have created an icloud backup, and I suppose I have enough storage, but something inside me is still in so much doubt and fear of something happening. Maybe it could be because of the fact that I haven’t updated my phone in years, but idk. If anyone has advice, that would be great! (Please don’t judge)