Fear taking over my life

LegacyUser

Hi all,
I'm writing this to see if anyone else has gone through or is going through the same thing. I'm a 31 year old guy with a lot going for me, a girlfriend whom I love, a home of our own, and a public service job that I know is about as safe as you can get these days. Despite all this, I find myself consumed by feelings of anxiety at times. A lot of it seems to revolve around work-related situations but it can come up over anything. The symptoms are unpleasant: shortness of breath, dry mouth, pounding heart... a feeling of terror grabs me. For a long time I have worried about making mistakes and the consequences of making mistakes. I feel like I'm in a state of constant alertedness. It also makes me quite irritable, something which the most important people who least deserve it have been put up with, not least my girlfriend. It has been getting a little out of control in recent months, some days I'm absolutely fine, but other days are not so good. I found myself weeping it a cubicle in the bathroom this morning, just felt like I couldn't cope. When I went through a bad spell last year I went to see a doctor and got put on a small dose of Lexapro and went to see a counsellor for a few weeks. It didn't really seem to help, I didn't notice any changes from the tablets and the counsellor seemed to just be interested in my family (nothing tragic there, I had a very happy childhood for the most part). I can't go on living like this though, I hate to think what its doing to my health. Does anyone have any thoughts?

Stu

Anxiety usually stems from insecurity of some sort. If the anxiety is mainly work related then it maybe performance anxiety thats causing you to feel tense. Is the anxiety only a recent problem or has it always been there to some extent? You need to try and zone in on why you feel tense and try to figure out exactly what triggers it then you can start working on overcoming it possibly with the help of a psychologist.

Denimgirl

your going to have to keep on telling yourself that assumptions are not facts! you are worrying about things that have'nt happened and are unlikely to happen, you are thinking irrationally and you need to change your way of thinking and it really can be done!i was like you worrying about every thing and makings stuff a reality in my head then i start to panic! what if this happens? hope so and so did'nt take me up the wrong way?all negative thinking I was a little worry wart! i'm a lot better at relaxing and rational thinking now when i start getting like that i can snap myself out of it very quickly.

Denimgirl

Fearful wrote: »

Hi all,
I'm writing this to see if anyone else has gone through or is going through the same thing. I'm a 31 year old guy with a lot going for me, a girlfriend whom I love, a home of our own, and a public service job that I know is about as safe as you can get these days. Despite all this, I find myself consumed by feelings of anxiety at times. A lot of it seems to revolve around work-related situations but it can come up over anything. The symptoms are unpleasant: shortness of breath, dry mouth, pounding heart... a feeling of terror grabs me. For a long time I have worried about making mistakes and the consequences of making mistakes. I feel like I'm in a state of constant alertedness. It also makes me quite irritable, something which the most important people who least deserve it have been put up with, not least my girlfriend. It has been getting a little out of control in recent months, some days I'm absolutely fine, but other days are not so good. I found myself weeping it a cubicle in the bathroom this morning, just felt like I couldn't cope. When I went through a bad spell last year I went to see a doctor and got put on a small dose of Lexapro and went to see a counsellor for a few weeks. It didn't really seem to help, I didn't notice any changes from the tablets and the counsellor seemed to just be interested in my family (nothing tragic there, I had a very happy childhood for the most part). I can't go on living like this though, I hate to think what its doing to my health. Does anyone have any thoughts?

i suggest you you go for a walk on your lunch break for 10 or 15 minutes and evenings maybe for 30 mins.it great for your mind and easing stress.don't worry i know what your going through,and your not alone everybody has stages in their life like this. self help books are great too that where i got the techniques from.good luck

Daftendirekt

OP, it sounds like you could well have a medical condition. I know of at least one person who suffers with major anxiety problems and your case sounds kind of similar.

I know you said you've been to see a doctor already, but I'd def give your GP or whatever another visit and let him or her know just how badly this is affecting you.

Best of luck!

elbee

OP, I'm not a doctor (and you should go and talk to one) but it sounds to me very much like you are suffering from panic attacks. They're incredibly scary and can be debilitating but they aren't dangerous.

I get them (different triggers than yours but similar effects) and I found the book When Panic Attacks by Dr Aine Tubridy very helpful (Mods, I keep plugging this book but I have no affiliation to the author or the publisher, I just liked it!). But your first step is to see your GP - Lexapro didn't do my anxiety much good either, and your GP may be able to recommend something else. There are a lot of non-medicinal tools you can use too, like deep breathing and meditation that work for a lot of people.

I hope things look up for you, OP. Take care.

LegacyUser

OP here again. Thanks for the thoughts guys, I'm not sure it's full-blown panic attacks that I'm having, but I'm going back to my GP tomorrow, and I'm going to order a book on CBT and look at the possibility of getting some counselling. I'm determined not to go on living like this!