This is probably a universal experience for those with anxiety but I seriously just wish my brain would be quiet for once. I’m so tired of the overthinking and panic and fear. It just feels like my mind is constantly attacking me.

I recently learned "ergophobia" (fear of work) is a thing, but it doesn't feel like that.

I'm not inherently afraid of working, being at work, or doing my job. In fact there are plenty of times where I love my job. I enjoy being there, doing what I do and hanging around cool coworkers. Throughout my 20s (early 30s now) I was always told I was a hard worker and had a great attitude and work ethic. I feel like I used to be able to do anything despite the anxiety. I just somehow pushed through it without realizing it and I thrived.

These days, the past few years, it's all taken a turn. I've gone long stretches of time where I'm not working; often they start out as "mental health days" here or there where I wake up with this weird flavor of anxiety that's more like dread--about leaving home, about work performance, about the social interactions, about the unknowns in all of these things--and I call out, saying I'm "sick" or "not feeling well" or that I have a "personal" or "family" emergency.

Then I get even more anxious about going back the next day and having to confront the absence ("Where were you yesterday?" etc.) and next thing I know I've taken 3 days in a row off. Days turn into weeks turn into months. Most recently I was off work for 9 months and just returned a few weeks ago--and this was immediately following 3 months of PHP/IOP treatment--yet here I am, right now, on a Wednesday morning, where I called out both Tuesday and Monday, where I should be brushing my teeth and packing my lunch and getting dressed, but instead I'm sitting on the couch trying to stretch time out so I don't have to leave, or send another "sorry boss but I'm still feeling sick" text, repeating this unsustainable lifestyle pattern once again.

Can anyone relate? I'm not just talking "Sunday scaries" or Monday morning dread here, I mean anxiety to the point where you're like paralyzed at home and constantly fucking up your employment status because you can't for the life of you consistently show up. Also, what do you all do for work?

I feel like no one talks about how difficult it can be when your life seems like it should be great and yet it's not.

I feel so guilty sometimes because honestly I'm pretty privileged. Loving, healthy family. Upper middle class and plenty of opportunities for my future. And yet I'm constantly struggling and hating my life.

And then when you try to talk to people about it, they're looking for reasons when there really are none. It makes me feel like I'm being overdramatic and attention seeking. I have to remind myself that these are real struggles, that I'm not just making them up to paint myself as the victim.

I’m too poor for medication.

I slept couple hours (midnight to 2 am )I get up, mate got tea, take melatonin, watch tv.

Curl up and cue the anxiety spike. The nerves buzzing in my arms, toss and turn, breathing trouble, etc.

I can’t fall asleep. I am on my period so idk but still

Fuck you anxiety. I didn’t wanna end up sleeping all day ..

Got some prescribed on an online GP for anxiety. Some people say the grogginess is massive and lasts days, some say that you hardly feel anything on it.

I’ve taken Benadryl plenty of times for hay fever. Don’t particularly remember it making me feel groggy.

Has anyone taken hydroxyzine for this purpose, either as a one off “pill in the pocket” or preemptively for days to weeks? What dose did you take?

Hoping I won’t need to take it. In the event that I do, how zombified does it make you? Can I still function on a short day trip of museums, sightseeing, food etc?

For a long time, I kept telling myself that staying up late wasn't a big deal. I'd scroll on my phone, watch random videos, or just keep thinking about work.

The next day, I'd feel exhausted. I'd overthink everything, get irritated over small things, and have no energy to deal with normal life.

A few weeks ago, I started making one simple change: going to bed on time.

It hasn't magically solved all my problems, but the difference has been bigger than I expected. My mind feels calmer, I have more patience, and I don't feel as overwhelmed during the day.

We spend so much time looking for complicated ways to improve our mental health, but sometimes the basics matter the most. Sleep isn't a luxury—it's something our brains actually need.

Has anyone else noticed a big difference after fixing their sleep schedule? Or is there another simple habit that helped your mental health?

i struggle with social anxiety, but i recently decided that i want to break free from it. so ive been deliberately putting myself into situations that make me anxious, like going out more often, and also ignoring the anxiety when texting people etc.

however, i feel like my fears are actually real about messing up social situations because after the event, i realize that i did end up saying and doing weird things that even i cant put anywhere..

and at this point, its not overthinking, because others do actually feel weirded out about me..

how am i supposed to expose myself and fight my anxiety if its the thing that actually help me not embarass myself??

It honestly feels like a death sentence risking saying or texting something that would make them think less of me.

I’ve always had GAD. lots of anxiety. a lot of it is existential and manifests physically in certain ways.

One is teeth grinding. Ive ignored the advice of my dentist for too long and I’m staring down crowns.

I know that my issues with teeth grinding are because of my anxiety (not for all people just me!) and thinking I’m doing better has caused me to neglect my mouth guard.

My tip is that even if your anxiety physical symptoms are managed and you’re doing good with everything youre supposed to do, ignoring a symptom like that can zap your progress. Its a constant battle to manage it.

Anyone else have physical symptoms that seem small but are hard for you to manage because of bigger ones (like panic attacks?) like I haven’t had a panic attack but because of my teeth grinding I need to be more mindful of my strategies for my underlying/baseline anxiety.

Ty for reading 💜

Has anyone developed anxiety that seems centered around leaving home?
I’m a 36-year-old guy and I’ve dealt with anxiety for a long time, but over the last 6–8 months it’s changed into something I don’t really recognize.

It starts before I even leave my apartment. By the time I’m on the subway, it’s at its worst. Crowded trains make me feel overwhelmed. My heart races, my breathing gets tight, my thoughts start scrambling, and I feel like I need to get out. The second I’m out of the station and back in open air, it eases. It’s still there, just not nearly as intense.

Busy stores like Marshall’s or TJ Maxx can do the same thing. Sometimes I’m completely fine. Other times it’s like someone flips a switch. I get overwhelmed, start scratching at myself without realizing it, and just want to leave.

The other part is home.

I miss my wife and my two dogs almost the entire day. I find myself checking my Ring camera constantly just to see them because it calms me down. Home is the only place where my nervous system really feels settled.

This has gotten progressively worse since my Australian Shepherd, Oliver, died last December. Losing him changed something in me. Since then I feel like I’ve lost about half of my happiness. I’m far more sensitive than I used to be. I don’t enjoy horror movies anymore. I don’t like watching violence. I hate politics now. I deleted almost all social media because it just makes me feel worse.

The strange part is that I have a good life. I love my wife more than anything. I love my dogs. I own a business that I genuinely enjoy. I have reasons to be happy, but it’s like anxiety is sitting on top of all of it.

I’m talking to my prescriber tomorrow because this keeps getting worse.

I’m not looking for reassurance that everything will be okay. I’m curious if anyone else’s anxiety evolved into something like this.

Did it start with crowds? Did home become your only place that felt “safe”? Did grief seem to change the way your brain reacted to the world?

I’m interested in hearing experiences from people
who’ve actually lived through something similar and what ended up helping.

​

I've dealt with anxiety majority of my life. I've been on alprazolam in the past. Doctor wants to try clonazepam 0.5mg daily as needed. I know i need to stay off Google because I keep seeing negatively & it makes my anxiety worse. I just want to be able to function with my life without anxiety. I've tried other medications, but nothing helps & the side effects were horrible. Does anyone have positive results with this medicine? If you have anxiety like I do, new medicine just makes me spiral & I overthink everything 😪

Hello everyone!

I’m an 18-year-old woman, and lately I’ve been thinking a lot about the fact that one day I’m going to die. These thoughts have been coming up ever since I did an internship at a retirement home a few years ago.
Whenever I think about it, I feel really uneasy. I start wondering why I exist in the first place, and I keep coming back to the idea that after death there might simply be… nothing. That thought is incredibly difficult for me to accept.
How do you come to terms with something like this? How do you deal with thoughts about death and mortality? Have any of you struggled with this as well?
Also, if anyone has any book recommendations on this topic, I’d really appreciate them.

To clarify: i am not religious and would appreciate people answering me without the mention of god.

Thanks :)

We’re both 18 he recently ended up in hospital for 15-ish hours due to his anxiety and found out he had slightly enlarged heart. Not a big deal, he lifts heavy in the gym so that’s relatively normal. Since then, (and a week before the hospital) he’s been having these anxiety attack where he’s convinced he needs to go to the hospital again. Yesterday for example he woke me up saying he has no pulse and we need to call an ambulance. The way he figured it out was because he was really tensed up around his neck/shoulder and that it must’ve messed something up bc he couldn’t feel his pulse. Obviously he had it, just didn’t know where to check. Then he had few more paranoic thoughts about his health which were in all honestly all in his head bc all the symptoms he thought he had he just didn’t (like swollen shoulder or droopy eyelid). Personally I never had anxiety this bad and although I’m somone who stresses a lot I have my ways to deal with it like breathing or just watching something that lifts my thoughts off the certain issue so I don’t approach it with anxiety. This is so much more different though and I just don’t know what to do to help him. Hes very logical so I try to propose an explanation to his symptoms that wouldn’t make it so severe like needing to go to a hospital. Because yeah obviously he’s tense and he’s more tense because he’s more stressed about the tension. It just breaks my heart to see him like this, yesterday he hugged me and was just trembling so much I don’t think I’ve ever seen him like that before. Today he apologised for waking me up so often in the past week because this happens almost every night and I every night need to calm him down. Obviously I don’t mind, he’s my boyfriend, I love him with all my heart, obviously I’m going to try everything in my power to make him feel better but I just want to know if I can do something to try harder, to make him feel even better because simple “keep breathing” obviously isn’t helping. Any advice would be very much appreciated, thanks everyone in advance

Weight loss, loss of appetite, bloating, diarrhea, constipation, heart palps, bad tiredness, dizziness, occasional numbness, chest and throat pressure, really bad nausea, difficulty walking w out being dizzy

🥲🥲I’ve had anxiety for a long time but this stuff didn’t pick up till the last 2 months

My heart is completely healthy (went to the er)

Female 21 yrs old

Having depression and anxiety makes everything so much worse. I feel both depression to do anything but so anxious I’m doing nothing.

I look around my room and I get so upset. My room needs to be cleaned out. My entire room needs an overhaul especially my closet and I just can’t do it. I don’t even do my hobbies anymore

My weight is getting out of control. I can’t eat anything without my mom or really anyone telling me how much I’ve gained! I just wish I was skinny and then no one would judge me for what I eat or what I wear.

My hair used to be so long but my anxiety made me pick it out and it’s short and stunted and I’m trying to get it back to what it used to be.

I want to leave island but I have no clue what to do. With how expensive things are I don’t know how I’d find an apartment and what state do I go to. I want to go back to school but I can’t do it here it’s going to hell. I don’t know if I should study abroad or just stay stateside. I really don’t know what to do in that regard.

Same with getting a car! I swear it’s been hell and everyone keeps telling me I need one already but no one helps. I need someone to sign my insurance because I’m under 25 but no one will! No one! So I just….i feel so pathetic at 22

hey guys so yesterday i crashed out really bad over a minor thing, i am a very bad person my little brother was nagging me and i absolutely went crazy i started yelling at him and hitting him, i couldn't control myself then i started crying uncontrollably then hit my head mulltiple times against the wall i was diagnosed with anxiety but i don't this is what it is i keep lashing out on people i love, i apologied to my little brother i feel so guilty bc this is not the person i want to be i even called out of work mid day today bc i felt horrible and had panic attacks i even threw up later on, i always feel guilty and scared idk where to go or what to do i have been in therapy since i was 17 and im 24 now i stopped going to therapy about two years ago and stopped my meds cold turkey about 6 months ago i am really scared i think i need help or i need to be punished idk i just want to get better

Dear Everyone-I often find when I have a sudden anxiety spike that I have a pain or an ache in my chest and under my arms and armpits. If I may ask, can sudden anxiety cause these symptoms, or is there some other explanation?

I have a history of anxiety and panic attacks but I never had a nocturnal panic attack before, I'm wondering if this is what I experienced last night. I was feeling fine last night before I went to bed. Then I suddenly wake up and have shortness of breath and this sense of impending doom. It freaked me out because I thought I was dying. My heart started racing and my body felt like it was burning. After a while I did start to calm down and ended up feeling fine again. I took a small nap because I was still tired, but now I'm kind of scared to sleep after that.

I’ve been anxious all day. Taken 2.5mg bisoprolol at lunch. Just boarded a 2hr train journey and HR is hovering round 150bpm, shaking, nausea. What can I do please help!?

Hi guys so just to make things clear ive always had anxiety and i was pretty much selfmedicating with weed since i was a teenager to cope but last year something happened and my anxiety was through the roof and so 2 suddenly 2 days in a row i had the craziest panic attacks ever i was literally shaking on the floor not being able to breathe,so i went to the ER stayed there for 2 days and they told me i pretty much have GAD and panic attacks induced from smoking weed,so i got prescribed sertraline,stopped smoking and took the sertraline fo 4-5 months weaned off and then i stopped it and honestly i felt really good while on it and even after i stopped it like i was feeling really peaceful all the time but i went through a really rough breakup(ik its not an excuse for what i did)and so i binged for a month on pregabalin on very very high doses for a month,stopped cuz i realised what was happening i was getting addicted again and went through THE WORST WITHDRAWALS EVER LIKE I CANT EVEN EXPLAIN IT NO SLEEP,NO FOOD,NO WATER,AND THE WORST DEPRESSION IVE EVER HAD,so a month went and i got better but but my anxiety came back at all time high and now 6 months passed since i did this stupid shit but i still get anxiety attacks and they arent provoked by anything like i literally sit at my home and start feeling tense,my jaw locks,my face muscles get tense and my heart start beating fast asf,i think abt going back on sertraline but i really didnt like the fact that it gave me sexual side effects and hair thinning a lot,so do you guys have any suggestions on other medication or something i can reduce my anxiety with,im sorry for the long post i just needed to vent honestly and here i do it the best in the comfort of my home,i hope you guys have a great day ;)

For over a decade, my mom and I flew to our home country every year with no problem. Two years ago, I experienced extreme turbulence on a flight during a stressful period in my life. The last time I was in an airplane since then, I had a panic attack and even got over my shyness and told the lady next to me that I'm scared, she was very kind and we talked the whole flight to distract me but I could still feel my heart beating fast and every sound made me extremely anxious.

The worst thing is knowing I can't leave even if I want to until the plane is on the ground, not just the fear of heights... I also stopped using elevators during that time, and funny enough the first time in 6 months I used an elevator, the lights went out and I got stuck with my friend and I also had a panic attack.

Because of this, I didn't even bother planning to visit family this year with my mum and now I'm stuck this summer in our boring small town when I could be at the beach back home. Simply because I am too terrified, and sometimes I imagine flying and get anxiety just thinking about the next time. What are some perspectives and tips to help me get over the fear of flying?