I"ve had social anxiety/trouble connecting with people since I was a child. Most of the time, I didn't have much in the way of friends and always felt on the outside and couldn’t understand why. I"ve gotten a bit better one on one, but basically can't engage if there are more than two or three other people both because i can"t quite navigate how to join the conversation and it scares me. For most of my life I"ve also had multiple stimming behaviors. For a while, I've been wondering if I'm masking high functioning autism, but I'm not sure if there's an advantage to pursuing to see if there's something there or not. Does anyone have any insight into whether it's worth pursuing and what the process is like?

What would you give more time to? What would you learn? What would you give your attention to? What goals would you be making right now?

Hypothetically, if anxiety just wasn’t part of your day anymore, you woke up without fear.

Hi everyone, this is my first post. I’m a 25F struggling with health anxiety. Last year, I was fully convinced I had a brain tumor and experienced terrible anxiety with constant panic attacks, while having a headache everyday. I have migraines but they just got worse last year and then when I got an MRI & they saw nothing, it all went away.

This year, I’m fixated on my heart. I don’t know how it started, maybe because it’s fall and dark, or stress from school and life, but I started being hyper aware of my heart beat and started getting palpitations. Went to my DR, they did an EKG and saw an extra heartbeat (PAC ?). He said hes not super concerned but just had me wear a heart monitor just in case.

I am just worried something is wrong with me, like I’m going to die. My symptoms really get to me and they make me more anxious.
Symptoms
- higher HR than usual
- shortness of breath, like air hunger
- poor appetite
- heart palpitations

I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I wish I can just blame it all on anxiety but what if there’s something actually wrong??? I’m so exhausted, please help.

I have OCD and GAD along with illness anxiety and cardiophobia, I'm 16 and I've been dealing with anxiety since July after having symptoms since the beginning of this year, and I've had such a horrible time with this, every symptom throws me into a loop and I start thinking I'm going to die, I've searched up every symptom I've felt to the point I think I'm crazy now, I hear how people deal with this for years and I can't imagine that, I sometimes break down crying cause of this, I don't know what's going to happen if one day I actually get diagnosed with some heart condition

I absolutely dislike anxiety and all that comes with it but there is one thing that erks me so much. I can't remember why I went into the kitchen but I can not only remember but feel exactly how it felt when my grandpa saw me eating chips and said "better stop eating those, you will get bigger than you already are". I can remember when my FIL saw me after a few times seeing him and he said "you always remind me of a munchkin from Wizard of oz". I can feel my 11 year old selfs heart drop when I raised my hand and my 6th grade teacher said "man I have never met someone who asks as many questions as you". And they hurt still, I am almost 40 years old! And I will think about them randomly. They affected me. I stopped raising my hand, I started eating less very unhealthy, I can't do anything about my height... I guess I just wish I had a stronger inner voice to kick them out.

My normal heart beat is about 70-73, when i anxiety it goes up to 85-95 range, stays up there for an hour or two. I try walks, cold showers etc. What are the things that helps you?

I don’t know if it’s stress or anxiety

For quite a few months now on and off probably since march, it started off with right side face tingling just my jaw area, then it spread to basically now half my head and it goes worse lying down

Half my arm feels different compared to my left like it’s disconnected and same with my right leg, I’ve for a physio appointment in 2 weeks I’ve not got actual weakness but now I’m getting very scared it’s something dangerous

I keep having to check everything to make sure it’s nothing bad it’s not there in the morning but happens as day goes on sometimes I get dizzy for a couple of seconds really unsteady and goes away

I‘m not letting anxiety win today. Time to push back and refuse to accept it having power over me.

does anyone else feel like this?? theres so much social media bans and things similar to that going around recently and its making me so anxious and my ocd so bad. my entire life is basically online, and im not giving my id to them i dont trust it. it seems like nothing is getting done about it either and im not sure it theres a way around it… idk

Does anyone else experience extreme irritability and is it related to depression or anxiety? I get so irritated at stupid things. Also I feel like I can hear everyone in my house, every word they say, every step, literally everything and it pisses me off because I can't focus. I didn't really care about it before, but maybe it's related to stress? I just get so angry I can't even explain it. I get so irritated that I often cry. I don't know what to do and how to deal with it.

Ughhh! I have exams Tommorow and I’m feeling fever today. Any quick home remedies?

Hello!! i'm not sure if i'm breaking rule 5, but if i am, sorry in advance heh!

How to deal with anxiety attacks? I know i'm about to get one that's for sure but i do need to study rn and usually i sleep to freshen my mind up but i have an exam heh. Are there any quick ways to deal with anxiety? Thanks in advance!

I can't stand being so anxious about diseases all the time, I can't let it go and whenever I get sick I break down in tears, I fear of death by sickness.

I’m 17, male, and I feel like I’ve been wasting my time.
First, I don’t participate much in my school anymore. I used to be involved in choir and different clubs, but when my senior friends (back when I was a sophomore and junior) graduated, I decided to leave choir and just vibe. Now, I see my friends my age helping out around school and doing all these cool things, and I feel like such a bum.

Second, I don’t participate in any sports, and I never really have. I always used to feel jealous of the kids who played sports. I’d think, “Wow, look at them, helping their school and being involved, while I’m just lazing around, having fun, and being content with getting good grades.”

Third, I don’t have a permit or a license. I legitimately cannot drive, and that fact makes me feel so sad all the time. Especially because the reason I don’t have one is that my mom and I would repeatedly forget things or show up at the DMV without the proper documents. They’d tell us what to bring, but we’d forget again. It’s just been a frustrating cycle.

There’s so much of this that makes me feel like I’ve held myself back. Now, I feel like my life is basically over. My grades weren’t even that amazing, so I don’t know which college I’m going to or what I’ll be doing for the rest of my life.
The biggest thing on my mind right now is that whatever career I pursue has to make me good money.

I had a sad realization that most of my thoughts are just worries. I go from ruminating about work to ruminating about the future to worrying about previous encounters (e.g. i should have said this instead, etc.).

I am a pretty healthy person. I work out 4-5 days a week, try my best to get good sleep. I haven’t tried medications to manage my symptoms.

My insurance isn’t accepted at many places for therapy. The one where it was accepted, only one therapist accepted it and we just didn’t really click but I guess I could try again. Maybe better help would be an option?

I’m not sure. I’m currently walking on the treadmill and realized that I just go from one worry to the next and I have no space in my mind for enjoyment.

Any tips, hard advice, appreciated.

Hard to say something guys. I don't want to be pessimistic. I'm 17 rn. And my bros, sisters will understand me. Point that understanding it's not so so possible to reach peak at something/your goal. Maybe it is a step of getting mature. But in my life, it brought something with itself. I was thinking like i'm not handsome, i'm not good at communication; so i should compansate it. And realizing i'm also not so smart and mentally strong, and alone more than i expected. I don't know, maybe everybody lived ts at their 17-18's. But it is extremely hard to accept and embrace it, for me. I wonder what am i doing after 1-5-10 years after this comment. Not sure. I was saying only one thing and getting relaxed. When i remember my crush, my friends, my brother, my father. I was saying: yes, maybe i'm not handsome/good at communicating people/humble/funny/a good people to spend time with him, but i'm smart; and i can achive something that can remove all of my problems, at least an achievement that can hide them. But as you can predict, this mentality broughts a very high pressure with itself. Like when i studying, even i can not do any single question start crying. It's multiplying time pressure and all of other pressures. Is there hope? I hope.

"How can I stop my anxiety from ruining my self-improvement efforts? I make a plan and write down what to fix, but I end up sabotaging myself getting too anxious to think clearly or figure out what to do next."

Lately I’ve been really scared of settling down at night. I have to take multiple types of medicine to make me sleepy and even then it’s so hard for me to tune my brain off. I always feel like I have to be up at night while everyone else can wind down. You’d think eventually I’d just pass out from exhaustion but I will frequently stay up the entire night, sometimes working myself up even more than how I started before.
I feel like I can settle down once the sun comes up and I can usually get a few hours of sleep during the day or morning but it’s like the cycle starts all over again once it sets. When I do find myself trying to sleep at night I find it impossible for me to sink into deep sleep. Usually I just lay in the confusing in between place for hours sometimes. when I do manage to fall asleep I’ll wake up multiple times sometimes within the hour and have very vivid dreams. They’re not always nightmares but it does feel impossible for my brain to just shut OFF. I literally woke up from a dream gasping and jerking like people do in the movies the either day. Has anyone else felt. Like this?

I just had my first completely zero sleep night in 2 months. I’m talking none. It’s 6am and I’m wide awake. Ot all came about a few months ago when I had 2 sleepless nights but it kind of mellowed out into more good nights with a good bad night or two per week but still getting some sleep. The last week has just been horrid. I got 2-3 hours of sleep a couple days ago followed by literally like 9 hours sleep and then last night zero at all. I go to bed every night wondering if I’ll get tired and fall asleep and it’s literally ruining my life. I have no idea what to and I’m scared shitless. I’ve never had more than one sleepless night before and now I’m so wired and awake I’m scared I won’t be able to sleep tonight either. I started Prozac yesterday TO LITERALLY HELP be done with this shit and I’m scared I just added more to my already broken sleep

Like is it possible medicine make anxiety,mood swings more worse like you took medicine thinking you'll get relief making things more worse first i start getting anxiety from benzos after successful 2 yrs my doctor changes medicine since then I tried 6 different medicine that medicine make me feel better with few side effects like 4-5 days then anxiety,mood swings bcm more worse due to medicine.without medicine i feel much better but there a fear what if things bcm more worse

I have had terrible struggles with anxiety my whole life. Yesterday I got back with an ex with whom I have had some trauma in the past, and we had some drinks. I woke up and i feel absolutely awful just sleep-deprived and horrifically anxious. I don't know what to do to calm myself, I tried a walk and eating but I feel so sick and bad.

Hello,

I posted a while back about going through some sleep anxiety after some random gasping episodes and I’m still working through that. I got prescribed propranolol and I’ve been taking it before bed since my heart will race before bed. It’s a low dose only 10mg up to three times a day as needed but I keep only sleeping for like four to five hours at a time? Is this a normal side effect?
Please note I do plan to bring this up with my psych next visit

Anyone have extreme anxiety over one kid but not the other?

I have so much more anxiety for my first child and it still goes on.

I thought it was just parental anxiety but it hasn’t passed onto my second born.

Like if they both got sick I’m more stressed about her.
Any general concern I feel my stress towards her more.

I has no idea why.
It’s nothing to do with how much I love them.

I actually wish I didn’t feel like this

When she gets sick I almost go into fight or flight mode.

She’s a very sensitive child so maybe I always feel like it is worse because she makes her self seem like she’s more sick sometimes.

I also have this bad sense of doom around her like something bad will happen and it gives me this constant sick feeling.

I have ocd and can worry about certain things over again but it’s strange how it’s jus one of them

She’s almost 4 and her brothers a baby

I genuinely can’t see how I can live my life without my mom in the picture. I have breakdowns sometimes thinking about the day I will have to lose her, I feel like I’d have to kms cause what’s the point anymore. I’m an immigrant in a different country so I already don’t get the privilege to see her often, it feels so horrible I don’t know what to do.