My anxiety is starting to mess with my life

[Guest]

Ok I am 18, and I have had anxiety since I can remember. The last time I have seen a psychologist/therapist was about 5 years ago. I just recently moved from Texas back to California where all my family lives. I have been here for about a month and I have been Job hunting, but I cannot get myself to go put in applications in person. I have submitted many by Internet. My family is trying to help me find a job, but they don't understand my reluctance. I was supposed to go down to the employment agency today and instead I was thrown into a panic attack. I have no idea what to do, things seem to be getting worse and worse. The only time I leave the house anymore is to go to the grocery store, and even that has started to become tough. When I lived in Texas I had been doing fine and functioning decently without any type of medication, I lived their about 5 years. Now that I am back home and I have had a month to get used to being able to avoid people it seems I am having so much trouble going out anywhere. I have no job, thus no medical which makes it impossible to see a doctor. I just really need help, I am lost and have no clue what to do.

 

[Guest]

Panic attacks can condition you to have this phobia. You must either stop the attacks, or learn how to cope. I found that reading about this disorder has a positive effect for me. But it was the Xanax that saved my life.


Call social services in your area and ask them if they can help. I don't know how to help you and even a psychiatrist may have to experiment with meds to find out what helps you. Seems that CBT is all that any folks need. It helped me, but not enough to stop the panic attacks. I did learn how to cope with it and use the relaxation response when needed. Your body can produce chemical changes to wind you up, but it also can produce chemicals to calm you down. Learning how to "call-up" these calming chemicals helped me an awful lot. But, like I said, I need medicating also. I inherited this condition and my wires are crossed some where in my brain. Sure wish I could un-cross them. Oh well, I am thankful I am not as bad as some of the patients my Pdoc has.

 

[Guest]

Ok I am 18' date=' and I have had anxiety since I can remember. The last time I have seen a psychologist/therapist was about 5 years ago. I just recently moved from Texas back to California where all my family lives. I have been here for about a month and I have been Job hunting, but I cannot get myself to go put in applications in person. I have submitted many by Internet. My family is trying to help me find a job, but they don't understand my reluctance. I was supposed to go down to the employment agency today and instead I was thrown into a panic attack. I have no idea what to do, things seem to be getting worse and worse. The only time I leave the house anymore is to go to the grocery store, and even that has started to become tough. When I lived in Texas I had been doing fine and functioning decently without any type of medication, I lived their about 5 years. Now that I am back home and I have had a month to get used to being able to avoid people it seems I am having so much trouble going out anywhere. I have no job, thus no medical which makes it impossible to see a doctor. I just really need help, I am lost and have no clue what to do.[/quote']
I am so sorry you are having such a hard time. I suffered for many years from anxiety & finally learned how to manage it. Sounds like life has made a big change on you & sometimes we don't even realize how much it can effect us.


So many things we deal with are habits we have developed over time on how to manage the stress. I would be happy to lend an ear if you ever need someone to talk to that understands.

 

[janemariesayed]

The best way forward is to have therapy. Like you I moved and depression and anxiety hit, although it's always been there. Social anxiety is very isolating so I am glad to hear that you have your family around you. You say you cannot see a doctor because you have no job? It may be best to go down the herbal route as at least you know that they are not as harmful and you can get them over the counter. St. Johns Wort is good and also to listen to subliminal which you can find on Youtube. Subliminals that help anxiety should relieve some of your symptoms but you have to listen religiously every day for it to work.

I hope you manage to get some therapy from somewhere. If you could talk to your family about how you feel, could you ask them to chip in for you to see a therapist?

 

[Decentlady]

It must be an awful situation as you are almost house arrested. How about unwinding yourself with morning walks where you don't necessarily have to interact with people. Your problem looks like you fear interacting with people/crowd rather than going out as such.

Try to go out and make friends with one or two individuals singly and slowly build a rapport. Slowly you may find confidence to talk to more people. At the same time talk to your family and see if you can consult medical help.

You may also want to jot down the exact things that scares you the most.

 

[DanStelter]

Nice work identifying this at 18! That's huge and puts you ahead of the game.

Around your age, I had a similar issue with social anxiety. I landed a couple jobs in spite of it, but didn't last long at each. At the time, I had no coping skills. Just tried to push through, which didn't work.

Studies have found mindfulness and CBT work well to heal social anxiety.

You can try L-theanine or ashwaganda to reduce your anxiety. They're natural supplements you can get cheaply off Amazon. No guarantees on those because everyone is different. But they're worth a try.

Panic attacks are specific and require their own treatment approach versus general social anxiety. Here's a guide for that:

http://www.everydayhealth.com/anxiety/how-to-handle-panic-attacks.aspx

Exercise too. That keeps your general social anxiety levels from day-to-day down.

Avoid caffeine and alcohol like the plague.

Share your fears, thoughts, and feelings with people you trust. It's best in person. This forum works also. However, take the relationship offline. Because that approach takes the most power away from your anxiety.

Just ask around on this forum if anyone would be willing to do that.

Every day, work on letting go of your negative thoughts. Part of that comes from sharing with others. Part of it comes from analyzing what you're thinking, letting it go, and choosing to think something more positive or realistic instead.

It's daily work. And it's not always easy.

But I can guarantee you will notice a lot less anxiety.