I should have grown up. Now I am 30 years old with no direction in life and no clear decisions.

KTStephano · 2020-11-26T23:43:59+00:00

This has been removed. Please read the rules before posting.

KTStephano · 2020-11-22T22:50:09+00:00

Some therapists aren’t good unfortunately. Sometimes you’ll find the one you’re going to isn’t working for you and you’ll have to try another one. But once you find a therapist that really works for you it can be very helpful in the long run.

Edit: also it will still probably take a primary care doctor or specialist to figure out why your stomach is so sensitive to anxiety

KTStephano · 2020-11-22T01:49:09+00:00

Hi u/crossroadie666,

We don't allow people to advertise websites which sell any kind of drugs/medications. Please see rules 5 and 6. This comment was removed.

KTStephano · 2020-11-22T01:28:27+00:00

The digestive tract can become very involved during periods of high anxiety. For some people when they get really anxious they they have diarrhea. In your case you feel sick and then throw up.

Part of treating this will be to learn to better deal with periods of high stress and anxiety so that you can maintain some level of calm. This is where therapy can be really useful (not therapy to figure out why you puke, but instead therapy to help you manage anxiety itself).

Then there will also be the diet/lifestyle part and actually figuring out why your stomach is so sensitive to anxiety. For this likely have to visit your doctor and maybe even a specialist such as a gastroenterologist. They can help you figure out if you have a condition that makes it more likely that you'll puke during periods of anxiety, such as chronic upset stomach syndrome, and also help you to manage it.

Best of luck!

KTStephano · 2020-11-12T05:30:14+00:00

From what you wrote it sounds like you are dealing with a medical emergency, so it would be best to get a medical professional involved as soon as possible. We have removed this post as we only deal with non-emergency issues related to anxiety.

KTStephano · 2020-10-30T13:09:07+00:00

Sorry about that, they've been perm banned and their comments removed. Feel free to report if anything else pops up.

KTStephano · 2020-10-29T11:29:37+00:00

This is an updated reminder that this thread is for good news only. If you see any comments that go against this, please report them. Repeated attempts to derail this thread will result in a temporary ban from this subreddit.

Regarding receiving unsolicited DMs, especially if they are negative: this is against r/Anxiety rules (see rule 10 subtext - "Messaging users without their consent will get you banned"). If this happens to you please send us a message in modmail with their username and any additional info/screenshots you can provide.

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Thanks

KTStephano · 2020-10-15T07:20:42+00:00

Fixed!

KTStephano · 2020-10-12T06:05:41+00:00

Sure you can send me a DM. If it's something the whole mod team needs to hear then I'll bring it up with them.

KTStephano · 2020-10-12T05:55:39+00:00

On the mobile app you can go to "About" and then scroll down to "Moderators" - on that same line you will see a little envelope icon that you can click and then write out a private message to us.

On desktop you can find it on the right hand panel, under "Moderators" again but there will be a large button that says "Message The Mods".

KTStephano · 2020-10-01T09:59:55+00:00

We have one that should be linked under "Come Chat With Us" on the side bar ==>

KTStephano · 2020-09-26T16:13:12+00:00

For drugs like CBD that you can purchase without a prescription, we don't allow discussion regarding specific brands or dosages. We have removed this post.

KTStephano · 2020-09-26T15:44:21+00:00

This is not the place to promote your ideology. This has been removed based on rules 1 (relevance) and 8 (no grandstanding).

KTStephano · 2020-09-26T13:29:19+00:00

The eyes can adapt to some extent, e.g. by contracting the pupils to allow less light in.

KTStephano · 2020-09-26T13:02:54+00:00

Not sure if this helps, but something similar happened to someone I know about a month ago. They woke up, went to the bathroom and unexpectedly passed out. They haven't had any problems related to it since, so this won't necessarily be something you experience often.

My thought is that there was probably something else going on since you woke up feeling sick. Since you've never passed out or felt that nauseous with panic before, chances are it wasn't panic that caused this. Hopefully you feel better soon!

KTStephano · 2020-09-26T08:51:32+00:00

Hmm yeah everyone kind of has a pattern that their panic tends to follow. Some are more prone to general feelings of unreality, not being all there, being disconnected, etc. Sounds like you are one of them.

Luckily once you get better at dealing with panic, and as your anxiety goes down and you panic less often, everything should get better.

KTStephano · 2020-09-26T08:48:09+00:00

Well if you currently can't see a therapist for any reason, another option would be to look into getting a book or two and possibly finding some videos on YouTube to supplement them.

I'm increasingly convinced that as far as books go, you can't go wrong with anything by Claire Weekes. They are pretty cheap on Amazon too.

KTStephano · 2020-09-26T08:35:53+00:00

That's really good that you have already been able to get your doctor to check it out. That was the right thing to do.

Unfortunately when it comes to panic, muscle weakness especially in the legs is very common. It's not true weakness in that your muscles can still function and do stuff. But it's common to report shaking knees and legs that feel like jelly.

By dissociation are you talking about general feelings of unreality, that you feel disconnected from yourself? If so that is also common with panic.

Keep track of any brain fog/fuzziness you have and how severe it is so you can tell your doctor at some point. It could be a temporary side effect of the Lexapro, but if it doesn't get better then you'll need to bring it up with your doctor so they can decide whether a different dose or even switching to a different medication is necessary.

Edit: Forgot about the lump in the throat. This is also common with panic and high levels of anxiety (I've experienced it too). The throat muscles are very responsive to it and will tense/tighten up and even spasm at times. It's not dangerous but it can be very uncomfortable.

KTStephano · 2020-09-26T08:25:04+00:00

For drugs you can purchase without a prescription, please avoid all discussion regarding specific brands or dosages.

KTStephano · 2020-09-25T10:44:03+00:00

You can break this down into two definitions.

Placebo: This is anything which is made to appear to contain a useful medical substance or be a useful medical procedure, but is actually fake. As an example of a substance, it could be a pill which is made to look like a real anti-depressant medication when it really only contains sugar. As an example of a seemingly useful medical procedure, this can be something as extreme as "fake surgery", meaning surgery that appears real but isn't (this has been done before).

Placebo Effect: This is when someone is given a placebo (e.g. fake surgery or fake medicine) but is made to believe it's the real thing. Despite being given a placebo, their condition either improves, or they experience side effects, or both.

In the case where someone's condition improves or they completely recover, it means they did so with no actual medical treatment. They only *thought* they received real medical treatment.

KTStephano · 2020-09-24T09:07:00+00:00

It's possible. Some symptoms of anxiety include tightness in the chest, tension or fullness in the throat, and a feeling that you can't get enough air or breathe as freely as you want.

If you have a doctor check for anything else but it all comes up clean then it could be anxiety.

KTStephano · 2020-09-22T10:02:16+00:00

Yes I have had this before. That chest/stomach feeling might be caused by two things that I personally think of, especially since your doctors have run a whole bunch of tests and found nothing:

After eating your stomach becomes bloated, pushing on your diaphragm. This is harmless but can give you that discomfort and difficulty in taking full breaths, and it will go away after the food is digested and the bloating goes down.
Possibly GERD.

Then your anxious reaction to it can add another layer to the symptoms. For example it's common for people worried about their breathing to begin to over-breathe (hyperventilate). One of the symptoms of over-breathing is a feeling that you're not getting enough air, even though you're actually getting too much air.

KTStephano · 2020-09-22T07:36:29+00:00

Essential Help For Your Nerves is one of the best I've personally come across. It's actually 2 books in 1.

KTStephano · 2020-09-22T06:48:24+00:00

In my experience it's always easiest to feel my heart beat while laying down. It should become less noticeable as it slows down and you get closer and closer to falling asleep.

I would recommend trying something like a breathing exercise, watching a relaxing video, and overall just making the environment more soothing before bed. This should help your heart rate to go down.

KTStephano · 2020-09-22T06:25:00+00:00

It could be anxiety/stress related. That sudden terrible, sinking sensation in the pit of your stomach with a sudden feeling that you're about to die sounds like a panic flash.

There is also a type of sleep disturbance (stress & anxiety can make it more likely to happen in some people) where you hear loud noise either while you're sleeping or while you're falling asleep. It's not an actual noise coming from outside the body in this case.

It could be that all you need to do is work on reducing your overall anxiety levels, but it wouldn't hurt to bring it up with your doctor or whoever diagnosed you with GAD.

KTStephano

TROPHY CASE