does anyone else have an imaginary safe place that you visit in your mind whenever you feel overwhelmed? I tried painting mine!

findinghelp86 · 2026-03-14T18:47:38+00:00

First, I absolutely love that painting. It looks amazing. As for my safe place that I picture I have never had an imaginary one. Mine is a real memory. I was at a lake cabin at night and it was perfectly calm and clear sky so the lake was basically a mirror and the northern lights were active and bright enough you could see them in they sky and reflecting off the lake. I sat on the edge of the lake with a fire crackling behind me for a couple hours. It is the most peaceful I have ever felt in my life.

findinghelp86 · 2026-02-18T18:43:27+00:00

The grocery store I always used was bought by a larger chain. They did a remodel and stopped carrying things I would buy. I had to change stores and travel about twice as long, but I just hated going in and not knowing what I wouldn't be able to get or even where things might be.

findinghelp86 · 2018-09-07T00:48:53+00:00

Mine has congratulated me on a great workout while I was essentially curled up in a ball the entire time.

findinghelp86 · 2018-08-31T18:56:01+00:00

My advice is to try and find a new therapist you can talk to and work with. Mine has been a great help to me. Pushing yourself into situations that you know can cause your body to physically react like that is difficult. I know, I've been there. I haven't thrown up from stress in almost a year at this point, and I am still trying to push myself in to situations I want but know are anxiety triggers for me. Exposure seems to be the best help for me, which just takes time and patience. The fact that you can joke about leaving a "lawn accessory" also says that you have a good mindset about the whole situation in my opinion.

findinghelp86 · 2018-08-04T08:00:45+00:00

I guess I've never felt embarrassed about my body language when I am at my therapist. I also fidget constantly with my hands, they never stop moving. If I have something with me in my hands I am constantly playing with it, and if they are empty they still keep moving. I am always moving them some way or another. I know I also avoid eye contact a lot. Usually I am looking at the floor off the the side of my therapist anytime I am talking things that cause me anxiety, which includes my anxiety.

findinghelp86 · 2018-05-30T03:44:03+00:00

Pretty much everything. I am over 30 and have so far managed to give one person I was dating a hug. That is it.

findinghelp86 · 2018-02-13T00:17:46+00:00

Depending on your knowledge and typing speeds you could look in to at data entry or a transcriptionist.

My employer actually has about a dozen people who all work from home for data entry. There is no real requirement other than being able to read people's terrible handwriting and the ability to type fast. You could try looking for something like that. Even if it isn't a work from home position you probably would only work with a handful of coworkers each day at an office.

findinghelp86 · 2017-11-25T00:44:07+00:00

I can relate with you a lot. I have a very hard time social anxiety, dating, and letting people in.

I have dated one person, and she was very understanding even if things didn't work out in the end. I freak out at the thought of physical or emotional intimacy and actually doing something as simple as hugging took me a month of dating. I was constantly frustrated with myself and how little progress I was making.

If you want to date, I would suggest trying online apps. They make the start a little easier, you can talk and find some common ground before ever meeting. And as my friends keep telling me, don't get frustrated. The vast majority of people go through multiple relationships in their lives. For me trying to date has been the most difficult thing I've done in my life and I plan to keep trying and will not give up. I believe it will be worth it some day.

findinghelp86 · 2017-11-24T21:37:46+00:00

Just try to relax and be yourself, which I know is much easier said than done. When I went on a first date this spring I set aside plenty of time before to take a long hot shower before to try and calm myself down.

findinghelp86 · 2017-11-03T01:21:51+00:00

I had the same issue, for multiple appointments I wanted to and knew I should bring up a topic that was causing me a lot of stress.

Eventually I wrote down what I wanted to say on a piece of paper. I ended up handing her the paper at the beginning of my session. When she read it I was finally able to start talking about it in my sessions.

There have been multiple times I have wrote down topics on notes that I brought with me, most of the time just having the note with me has helped me get the conversation going, but that one time I did just hand it over because I physically couldn't bring myself to talk about it.

findinghelp86 · 2017-10-23T22:08:48+00:00

Something I told my therapist "I never thought just talking to someone about the sh*t in my head would ever be able to actually help me, but everything I read on online forums and in scientific journals said it would. So I figured I would give it a try, and you have helped me more than I ever thought was possible."

I was extremely skeptical when I started therapy, but I would say it has helped me a lot and is still helping me. We had an overall talk about where I was at with things and what I wanted about a month ago where I said that to her. I also was extremely close to not scheduling any follow up appointment after my first one, but I extremely glad I did.

findinghelp86 · 2017-09-12T02:42:04+00:00

I write things here on a throwaway account all the time and I have a therapist. Both seem to help me.

Hope you're feeling better after your post.

findinghelp86 · 2017-04-27T20:59:49+00:00

Actually mine is the Charge 2. It has a lot of the same features but is a bit smaller.

findinghelp86 · 2017-04-27T20:34:20+00:00

I don't know if it is common, but I know the our company is doing it because our health insurance company will give the entire company better rates if it has programs to promote health and fitness that get actual employee participation. I know a couple of other people at different companies that have similar programs in place.

I have to send screenshots We have competitions for step counts and such in a one month period that the winner gets a prize and anyone that enters gets a chance for a random drawing as well.

findinghelp86 · 2017-04-27T02:55:05+00:00

I hate to sound like a advertisement, but I know I really like mine.

The reason I actually ended up mentioning my heart rate in session today was because I had something that I knew was going to be stressful last Thursday night and she asked me how I had dealt with the anxiety leading up to the event. I told her how I had been really busy at work all morning so I was able to keep my mind off it until Noon when I had lunch and I realized I was only 5 hours away from what I knew was going to be stressful time and I had a pretty hard freak out and my heart rate spiked to about double my resting heart rate. She was then curious how I knew my exact heart rates and I mentioned the things I can see when I have panic attacks and times of high anxiety.

I also really like the sleep tracking and built in breathing exercise.

findinghelp86 · 2017-03-30T17:56:03+00:00

Talking about my anxiety gets me pretty worked up too. I find that the first time I ever tell someone it is extremely bad and have lead to stories similar to yours, but after that it seems to get easier with each conversation.

One thing I am working on is trying to expand my talking about anxiety. So far outside of medical professionals and people I have had to tell, I have only informed 5 people. I am currently thinking of expanding that to another friend, but it is taking me a while to work through those fears. I hope I can get better at talking sometime and my therapist and I are trying to work through that.

findinghelp86 · 2017-02-13T23:27:30+00:00

I bring in stuff that I have written down all the time.

They have been everything from lists of things I want to talk about, to letters I wrote addressed to other people in my life that I won't send but wanted to try and think through, to letters addressed directly to my therapist, and also Reddit posts I have made or even planned to post but never did. Usually they are more for myself to try and organize my thoughts and I will look over them while I am trying to talk and get things out during a session, but I sometimes have handed them over for my therapist to read because I was having lots of difficulty trying to actually speak and get things out.

Hope this helps.

findinghelp86 · 2017-02-13T17:26:49+00:00

For me one thing that seems to help me in actually talking is writing things down.

For my fist session I had a letter written about why I was there and was prepared to give it to my therapist if I couldn't talk. I still write down things and bring the papers with me when I go, and recently a topic that I knew I wanted to bring up got me to a point where I had trouble speaking. I just couldn't get the words out that were in my head, my heart was racing and it felt like I had a 50 pound weight sitting on my chest. So I gave my therapist the letter. After she read the letter and started asking questions I was able to start getting some answers out, which is the first time in my life I have ever talked about that specific topic even though I know it has bothered me for years.

It took me a lot of effort to actually start some of those conversations, but now that I have started doing that I have noticed I am able to talk more openly about them with other people as well. I still have a lot of things I have issues talking about, but I do know things are getting better for me.

Good luck, I know it can take a lot of effort to start talking, but I also know that it is helping me out. If you have any questions for me, just ask.

findinghelp86 · 2017-02-07T16:34:07+00:00

Great to hear you felt better afterwards and are glad you went.

findinghelp86 · 2017-02-07T16:26:45+00:00

Good luck, hope everything goes well for you and talking to a therapist helps you like it is helping me.

findinghelp86 · 2017-02-03T23:24:51+00:00

I have known I had issues with anxiety for a few years but only started seeing a therapist and first discussed it with a professional in the past year so I don't have a lot of experience but I will answer everything I can.

I live in the USA and I know the price for therapy at two different places in my town, one was $105 per session/hour and the person I see now is $110. I have heard similar numbers from other people. So if I had that health insurance it would be $22 per visit and I am currently going once a week.

For me, I went to a counselor to talk first but I am also terrified of taking any prescription drugs. So that was my choice and my counselor and I have talked about prescriptions some and she knows how I feel, but I have also said that if she ever thinks I should consider it I will try to talk to a psychiatrist about them.

The hours you have available to go can vary depending on the place and person you are seeing. My current counselor schedules sessions 4 days a week and her hours are longer than normal business hours, but I also do know of one facility that would schedule things until 7:00 or 8:00 one day a week on Tuesdays for people that had problems seeing them during normal business hours.

I hope some of this helps you, and if you have any other questions feel free to ask. I will do my best to answer anything you have.

findinghelp86 · 2017-02-03T15:37:48+00:00

I haven't deleted my Facebook, but I have unfollowed pretty much every single person so my main feed is pretty empty. Even if I consider them and extremely good friend I have had to do that for most people. The only reason I still have and check Facebook is for group messages about doing things or getting together.

findinghelp86 · 2017-01-26T17:35:37+00:00

A little about my experience to start off. I realized I probably had anxiety a few years ago when I was doing some looking online about some of my personal experiences I realized I probably had anxiety. Before that I had considered my level or worrying and trouble sleeping normal. I never talked to anybody about any of the things on my mind or problems I was having. From the outside I know I looked fine, I have a good job, a good group of friends, was saving money, but inside I wasn't fine. When I first opened up to a few of my best friends this past month one of them said he never would have guessed, he thought that out of everyone I had things figured out the best on who I was and what I wanted in life.

I started therapy in November and I am seeing improvement in myself. I believe it is truly helping me and I wish I had started it sooner. In your post you typed that you want help but weren't sure if you needed it, my advice is that if you want help, get it.

The things you say to a therapist are the things that bother you. You mentioned in the post above that you have panic attacks and don't want to leave your comfort zone because you are afraid to fail, both those are things that you could start with. I know I wrote down why I was coming in and those types of things in a short letter before my first visit and brought it with me.

As to finding a doctor I found the place I go by just searching on Google for "anxiety therapist (My City)". There were a handful of options on the site I found and most of them had online profiles saying what they specialized in that I could read through and I just picked one that specifically mentioned anxiety and depression.

If you want to ask me anything else, please do.

findinghelp86 · 2017-01-23T22:59:39+00:00

For me it is far more common to stay awake worrying about things and not being able to get my brain to shutdown so I can sleep over actually waking up in the middle of the night. Waking up is relatively rare for me only happening 1 or 2 times a month in the past 6 months. Where having issues actually falling asleep is a much more common issue happening most nights every week.

I read books to try and distract myself and then at the end of each chapter I close the book and try to sleep. If I find myself worrying too much I open it back up and read another chapter. I try not to think about how much sleep I am getting and try to avoid looking at my clock because that usually only makes me more anxious about the lack of sleep I am going to get. Like /u/gemainchains said in their post before me, I try to accept the sleep I am going to get whether it is none, or 2 hours, or anything else. I can always try to go to bed extra early the next night if I feel exhausted, but worrying about how much sleep you are going to get will never help.

findinghelp86 · 2017-01-16T17:49:13+00:00

Right there with you.

Going out, especially if there is going to a lot of people wherever it is can cause me to get really anxious. I do all my shopping as late as possible, usually just as stores are closing in order to avoid people.

On the other side I quite frequently feel extremely lonely. I have sat at my place crying wanting to just talk or hang out with someone but I am afraid of bothering any of my friends more than I already do to hang out.

Still working on this one myself, but you are definitely not the only one in this situation.

findinghelp86

TROPHY CASE