Wondering if anyone has this experience or if there is any science behind why.

First, my anxiety is the worst in the morning. I try to stay asleep as long as possible because, of course, I don't feel anxious while asleep.

But I often feel much, much better late at night. between 1 and 4am is when I am the most calm, have the least amount of fear, and feel almost "OK".

I have suffered an episode of quite severe anxiety since April of this year and while I have improved a lot, I now feel totally dead inside and no longer have any interest in anything. Has anyone else experienced this? I just feel like a walking corpse and see no point in even existing any longer. What made me...,. me, has gone.

I feel so bad when people say, "I never dealt with anxiety or had anxiety." It makes me feel terrible about myself and so jealous of them. I really don't like the concept of jealousy, but I think that's actually how I feel.

Hello all. I used to be completely care free. No worries, no issues, could switch jobs left and right with no concerns at all. But at some point around 31-32, I had a big anxiety attack, never had one before, lasted for a few days. And it's been downhill since then.

I'll spiral for weeks about my heart, cancer, tumors, strokes, etc. you name it, I've worried about it. I'll be fine for months at a time, then outta nowhere, it's back in full swing.

Just wondering if anyone else knows what the hell im talking about??!!

I am 47F. Single and child free. I like to dress up for office. I have nice dresses, suits, skirts, tops, some jewellery pieces and shoes. I like to mix and match -sometimes monochrom, some times contrasting. It is tasteful.

But that's me. I don't expect others to do the same. I am very free with my compliments. Even to strangers. If I like anything in their dress. I compliment them right away. But I have never looked down or made fun of any one for the way they have dressed.

Today, two separate people commented on the way I dress. One said that they don't like wearing suits and they feel it is a bit much. Another one commented why I am so dressed up today?

My anxiety just up since then. How am I hurting anyone by the way I dress? I never asked them to dress a certain way. Every one have their own choice. I am just so stressed about what to wear tomorrow to office at this point.

One joy of my life. They had to take that away...

EDIT: Thank you all for taking time to comment. I was literally in tears last night. Thanks to all your encouragement, getting ready for office this morning with a smile and, of course, one of my nice dress (TBH, I don't have any thing else to wear in my wardrobe, unless I wear my pajamas to work!). You all are very kind. Sending positive vibes from my side...

At random times of day, I suddenly get the feeling that I'm alive, conscious. Like "I Exist", which makes me very anxious. Does this happen to anybody else?

i’m having a hard time typing this my hands are shaky and my limbs don’t feel attached to my body. my mouth feels numb and i can’t swallow or breathe easily. it happened in seconds. i was fine, laughing with my mom watching tv and then i scratched my head and i couldn’t feel it. then my head instantly felt tight and like full of fluid. then my vision got weird and i couldn’t focus on the people in the show. i heard their voices and what they were saying but i didn’t feel right. my stomach is in knots and i feel like i have to throw up and im shaking uncontrollably and having a hard time thinking and speaking. i’m terrified and i can’t calm myself down i am contemplating going to the ER but i really don’t want to cause it’s embarrassing. i took a xanax but it’s not helping much. i’ve never had a panic attack like this and it’s so scary idk what to do. i can’t distract myself with social media or tv because the images are distorted. any advice?

I used to think I was just being prepared. Thinking ahead. Planning tomorrow. Trying to stay organized. But lately I've noticed something. Somewhere along the way... preparing slowly turned into worrying. I don't even notice when it happens. One thought leads to another. Then another. Until I'm mentally living through problems that haven't even happened. It's strange how similar those two things can feel. Has anyone else noticed that line becoming blurry?

I feel like I don’t know how to be human and it’s really frustrating.

I had to make a phone call earlier and it was important and I was putting off. I made it but then it went to voicemail when I got put through to the department. I didn’t prepare for a voicemail message so I completely messed that up and just left my number lol not even my name or what it was about ??? Why can’t I just do things like normal people do? Now I’m just upset and frustrated because I hate being like this and it’s only really gotten bad in recent years.

I feel so anxious about being anxious? It’s absolute misery. I don’t know how to be normal or how to live a normal life while trying to deal with it. Why am I so out of place?

The only times I can act or pretend (maybe even sometimes feel) like I’m not anxious or socially awkward are when I’m drinking and/or high. I can make friends then and sustain conversations and not do weird shit like managing to fuck up leaving a voicemail. But I can’t keep drinking all the time forever. What do I do? What do you guys do to help you at least pretend to be normal?

How do you stop feeling like an alien? Or stop that feeling like there’s friction between you and the other person when talking? How do I stop this?

Every morning I wake up weirdly "too energized". I don't need to drink coffee at all. I have a headache and little nauseous.

By 10 am I feel energized, maybe even having a short fuse.

Around 10 AM I have the worst symptoms for me:
\-dpdr (I can’t focus, blank mind and clarity of thinking goes away - that’s scary for me)
\-back of my head, jaw and head hurt (sounds like a tension headache)
\- very unpleasant sensation in my stomach, like mixture of physical terror(?) which makes me think I am either to pass out or something terrible is happening to me, scared of "going crazy"
\- nausea

In the afternoon, I am usually fine. Just having tension headache and short fuse. Little things make me furious

I have already been diagnosed, my psych told me it's somatic anxiety and they gave me ssri (I am into 3rd week of fluoxetine - a higher dose (20) since last Friday. )

Despite being told by the psych that it's anxiety, I really can't somehow convince myself it's anxiety because usually my mind is not stressing about something particular. But the symptoms are really physical. Is here anybody who has/had similar symptoms? Could you please share your experience with me?

Let them fucking look at me

Let them judge me

Let everything fall apart if it has to

If I die then so be it. There's nothing wrong with me. I've never once tried to bring anyone down, I've come far. I'm an adult and pay my bills. I am a good person. And so are you. And yet I worry if I'm doing things right. Well FUCK IT. I don't a give a shit about the demons. Just let it all go, if this is life-- living in a state of agony and constant fear and sorrow, worried about what will and won't happen, then just let fate take me. Kill me, smite me down. When my time is up then so be it. Try and make me quit. Try and destroy me. I don't care, world.

Anyone else have sleep anxiety? Like something happens that kept you up at night and that makes you anxious and then it’s this horrible cycle of keeping you up at night?

I get flares of ectopic heartbeats (PACs and PVCs) that are scary but benign. Usually when I’m trying to fall asleep if I’m in a flare. And then I ramp it up by stressing about it and it’s this horrible cycle.

Has anyone else dealt with this? What has worked for you? Mediation sort of works but not 100% of the time.

I do have Gabapentin for emergency medication but that doesn’t work great. Idk looking for advice.

For starters I have read what other people have said online about Strattera and it made me nervous about starting it 5 days ago. I was just diagnosed with ADHD and Anxiety at age 22 and never taken meds for anything before.

Let me tell you something. This morning I woke up with no knot in my chest, no anxious thoughts about work or the day ahead for the first time in years. The crazy thing is that this is first thing in the morning so the last dose I took was 12pm yesterday. The clear head was a reminder to me of how much I have been impacted by anxiety over the last few years of struggle. I teared up this morning.

Strattera over time is supposed to provide 24/7 coverage as it rewires your brain to keep a stable baseline. The other thing about it is that it takes 4-6 weeks for the full range of effects to take place that impact focus/cognition.

I understand that it may not work for everyone but this is the first med I’ve ever taken and I’m so encouraged by the results that I wanted to share in case it can help anyone else along their journey. Mine is far from over and I am happy to post an update as I navigate Strattera.

Had a nice chill day today due to the long weekend and was getting ready to head to bed early for a long day of work tomorrow. I turn the lights off and try to head to bed and BOOM it’s like a flip switched and I have a headache, and a stomachache, and my throats itchy, and I’m sweating like crazy, and my hearts pounding and I’m starting to get frustrated because I NEED energy to get through the day tomorrow because my work days are so long and it’s annoying how I recuperated this long weekend just for this annoying little thing to happen. Im sure this frustration is probably exacerbating my symptoms ✌️. It literally feels like FOREVER but nope it’s only been three hours. And unless I’m getting physically sick or something, I fear this might be my anxiety but whyyyy can it just go away plsss it just feels like my body is attacking me for existing and the frustration is just continue to pile up. 😔

I feel like I’ve been stuck in a weird loop with my anxiety and I’m not sure how to get out of it. I wake up anxious, I’m anxious throughout my whole day about any and everything, and then I go to bed worrying about tomorrow. Anxiety is something I have struggled with my whole life, but I’ve really been hitting a wall these days and I feel like it’s started pushing me into a depressive spell.

I’ve seen a lot of positive posts on here about “accepting” your anxiety and choosing not to keep thinking about it / analyzing it. But I don’t understand 1) how to even begin that process 2) how it would help.

I’m not trying to discount this method, if anything I want a better understanding so I can try it myself. I am currently on medication, which has certainly helped some, but I am still struggling every day. I always thought that thinking through things and understanding the “why” behind why why something happens is the first step to gaining control of it- but with my anxiety and obsessive thoughts it seems to only magnify it.

Maybe I am taking it a bit too literal, but I don’t want to “accept” the awful way that I feel, I want to change it. But maybe I’m thinking about it wrong? I don’t know.

Any and all tips, advice, or stories is very appreciated! Thank you. ♥︎

I didn't find a version of it that could be played on my phone, I played it on my PC. If I found one I will share it here in an edit.

What I will be saying will probably be spoilers for the game, so you can play it and come back when you're finished, it's 30 minutes total.

https://ncase.me/anxiety/

!!​SPOILERS!!

>!I loved how it demonstrated anxiety as a troubled ​shelter dog that wants badly to be a guard dog. It's a dog that has very maladaptive skills to its troubles​!<

>!​​It tries to protect 3 core aspects of you, your need for safety, your need to belong and your will to be good. And the game gives space to explore that by "accepting" anxiety, it is meant to make space for it and be patient with it like you would be with a traumatized animal. You don't fight them or flee them, you sit down kindly with them and listen and acknowledge what they want to protect​!<

>! Naming those 3 aspects like that and the interactive way the game shows them made me be able to name those 3 in my own constant fears and know how to work with them! I will be bringing them to therapy next time for sure!<

I was prescribed buspar 1 time. And I only took it a few times. Because it would give me these absolute DEMONIC panic attacks. I wish death would of came when it happened I remember laying flat on my bed and my arms out and everything was throbbing. I was sweating m, burning up and had these horrible muscle contractions that were very painful. I dont believe in anyone had ever had an attack as bad as what they cause. So has this happened you &, does anyone know why that happens. Since its literally an "anti anxiety" medication. Thank In Advance!

KeepPanicOut

I posted here recently and want to thank everyone who replied to me when I was really struggling, your compassion and kind words really mean a lot. I am still very sensitive at the moment and trying to navigate some very dark thoughts.

I’m really overwhelmed and trying to make sense of this. I probably sound like I am spiralling in this post and I apologise. I just hope what I’m about to write is coherent, at least.

Does anxiety and trauma just surface one day and then hit you at a certain age? For example, I’m in my early 30s and my anxiety is at peak state. It is causing recurring disassociation, paranoia, amplified grief, self-doubt and panic.

This last week has felt like a regression into myself and the child that lives inside of me. The very sensitive, very hurt, very neglected child inside of me. It’s like I’m reliving all the things that caused trauma and what led me to being stuck in survival mode 24/7. It has all translated into physical sickness and chronic pain.

What I’ve realised is that I never felt safe. I never felt acknowledged. I had to shrink myself down, alter myself or control the things around me in order to feel safe and heard. I had to become someone I am not and hold myself together to ensure others were comfortable. I started noticing a pattern after a while.

Another thing I noticed is that I go into deep problem solving mode, where I feel like I have to fix everything instantly. Otherwise I’m doomed to live like this forever; in this obscure existential dread.

This is all way too much for me to process and it feels like I’m losing sanity. I feel like I’m facing trauma head on in a way I could have never possibly imagined. It keeps pushing me into an overwhelmed state.

Lastly, I want to touch on how lonely it feels to go through this and to try and understand it all by yourself. It feels like everyone else has it together and has life figured out except me. It makes you feel like the only one who is truly lost.

If you got this far, thanks for reading and I’d be interested to hear your thoughts on this.

I’ve been laying down on my right side cheek i guess but my whole entire face is flushed. i was snap chatting my friend back and just noticed both cheeks and nose chin and forehead are red and warm. now that i noticed it feels a lot more warm. i’m freaking out does this mean anything bad?? my ac was turned down but it wasn’t super warm until i noticed it.

I got prescribed 150mg Zoloft eventually, then that wasn’t doing everything the doctor and I hoped, so we decided since I’d already tried Prozac (which is an SSRI) as a teen, and that didn’t work either, that since Zoloft was also not working, we’d try an SNRI. I ended up finding the 75mg Effexor and 150mg Zoloft made me feel incredible. I took prozasin for nightmares as well.

I felt great mentally, but everytime I missed a dose of either, which was becoming easier through my new idgaf mindset, I’d feel like I was falling off the earth sometimes. Like sudden vertigo and loss of motor control. I of course became more organized, but eventually that didn’t matter.

About 3 years into the combination I started getting severe episodes of unexplainable hypoglycemia and hypothermia. I went to the ER with blood sugar levels between 50 and 20 a few times, while I was also hypothermic and required heating to get my temperature to register on ER thermometers. My A1C was 4.7 at the time.

I had read a publication on jstor about a woman who had taken venlaflaxine and experienced the exact same side effects as me. So I decided I didn’t want to wait till the doctors did a million test to figure out why I’m getting the exact same reaction to venlaflaxine another woman about my age had. I quit cold turkey knowing there would be dangers. I had night sweats and recurrent nightmares for years, but that seems to have stopped now.

It took about 5 years after going cold turkey to realize I’m free of the night sweats and hypoglycemia now.

specifically when i try to sleep, ive been getting this rush of extreme paranoia in intervals throughout the night. it doesn't even have to be super quiet – sometimes I'll just be listening to music or watching a show and suddenly i get like these auditory hallucinations of something bad happening outside my room. usually I stop what im doing, take out my earplugs or headphones and listen closely to see if those sounds are truly there or just my mind playing tricks. but because of this, it really interrupts my sleep and sometimes even leaves me waiting until everyone wakes up safely so I can finally go to sleep myself.

its usually accompanied by that stomach sinking feeling and my heart racing super fast for at least a minute or so.

im not sure what to do, ive been really struggling to sleep these past few weeks because of this and its starting to get to me.

any advice would be helpful! thanks :)

Public speaking triggers severe performance anxiety for me. My heart races, my voice trembles as if I'm about to cry, my eyes water, and my mind goes completely blank during Q&A sessions. Even though I hold a high-level position and practice beforehand, I feel like public speaking could sabotage my career. I'm nervous about whether my pres.cribed 10 mg of propranolol will be effective against these symptoms.

I have quite bad anxiety and depersonalisation. I thought caffeine always made anxiety worse but for me, I actually feel calmer and more level headed when I drink a redbull?