Anxiety is Ruining My Life (Help!)
By
OptimistMinds
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Author bio
The Optimistminds editorial team is made up of psychologists, psychiatrists and mental health professionals. Each article is written by a team member with exposure to and experience in the subject matter. The article then gets reviewed by a more senior editorial member. This is someone with extensive knowledge of the subject matter and highly cited published material.
In this article, titled “Anxiety is ruining my life,” we will present the definition of anxiety, its symptoms, treatment, some forums related to the topic, and sure we will give some tips to deal with anxiety, not letting it ruin your life.
The Definition of Anxiety
Anxiety is the body’s natural response to stress, a feeling of unease, such as worry and fear of what is ahead.
It is an emotion assuming an unpleasant state of inner fuss, which often co-occurs with nervous behavior.
The Symptoms of Anxiety
Anxiety has psychological and physical symptoms.
Some of the main psychological symptoms are irritability, panic, edginess, fear, excessive worrying, uneasiness, nervousness, apprehension, and restlessness.
What about physical symptoms, they are a headache, increased heart rate, rapid breathing, trouble sleeping, nausea, diarrhea, fatigue, sweating, and muscle tension.
“Anxiety is Ruining My Life” Forums
Jade 19
In the past, I have suffered from extreme depression and anxiety/social anxiety (social anxiety since I was little).
I went through a horrible stage last year, where my anxiety and panic attacks were affecting my ability to do anything, mainly go to work.
I got support and help, taking medication. It helped.
I was at my job for over eight years and decided it was time to move on to something different.
Moreover, now I cannot stand my new job, it is horrible. I have applied for many jobs, and nothing – even asked for my old job back.
Every day I go there, my stomach is just in knots.
Recently I have been extremely sick, vomiting, nausea, migraines, and it will not stop (also not pregnant). Furthermore, I am pretty sure it is my anxiety about this job that is making me so sick.
People I talk to about it just say, ‘Stick it out, it will get better,’ ‘Just stay positive, do not think negative’ and such stuff.
I know they mean well, but I cannot just change my mindset when every day, this job is just making my anxiety worse.
I also just moved to a different suburb (I am used to being close to my mum, now I am living far away from her) to be closer to my partner’s parents as they have health issues, and we want to be closer.
However, the house we are renting does not feel right, I do not feel at home, and our lease is not up until July.
I am so sick of feeling this way and having no one to turn. I feel like I am out of options.
Jadelise92
Since I was 15 (I am now 25), I have suffered from anxiety.
Not the kind of anxiety where you avoid people or places or are afraid of crowds and other stuff, but the type where I am always convinced that I have a terminal disease or a disease/illness of some sort.
I have had cancer/brain tumors/ breast cancer/ cervical cancer/heart attacks/ brain aneurysms, everything wrong that you can think of I has thought I had had it multiple times.
I was going well for a long time but recently split up with my partner, and it has been a nasty and stressful breakup.
Then I started to feel dizzy, lightheaded, and gotten chest pains and heart palpitations.
However, that has subsided, BUT NOW I have a new thing that I get nearly all day every day, and I am so convinced that something is wrong with me, I get this tingling feeling all over my tongue, nit like pins and needles but that weird feeling you get before it as you have just had to pop candy on your tongue. When I get super stressed, it is worse, and then when I relax, it eventually goes away, but when it is continuously there, I freak out and worry about why it is happening and what it could be.
It is not painful at all, just annoying. It has been happening for about a month now.
Has anyone ever had a tingly tongue?
It is always something new for me, and I feel like I cannot live a happy life because I am always scared, and it makes me depressed.
I am on medication and have been since 2013. I am going to the doctors in the morning so they can tell me I am worrying myself stupid and tell me I am not dying
Tips to Keep Anxiety from Ruining Your Life
If you feel that anxiety is ruining your life, we suggest you some tips that can be helpful to keep it at bay:
- Quit smoking;
- Avoid using and abusing caffeine and alcohol;
- Eat healthy food;
- Get enough sleep;
- Practice regular physical exercises;
- Practice a grounding technique, which will help you to stay aware and present. Take a minute to focus on what you are seeing, hearing, tasting (even if you are not eating something right then), touching, and smelling;
- Practice relaxation exercises;
- Meditate;
- Go to yoga sessions;
- Write down in a copybook what makes you anxious (is recommended to write as soon as something makes you anxious), also describe your thoughts and feelings that it causes;
- Share your worries with a close person, who can be your relative or a friend. It can help you to realize that you are not alone, or maybe you will find someone who has the same or similar worries like you do, is also possible that vocalizing your thoughts, you understand that they are irrational;
- If something makes you anxious, try to perceive it as something that needs a solution, instead of having anxious thoughts and worries. Try to solve it; if you solve, your anxiety symptoms can reduce too;
- Embrace your anxiety triggers. For example, if you have a social anxiety disorder and you get anxious from the thought to have a speech in front of a crowd, go and do it. You may fail. However, you should try many times, each time practicing better and using techniques that can ease your next try and increase the chance of a better performance.
Anxiety Treatment
Anxiety can be treated by medication, psychotherapy, or their combination.
Psychotherapy
Psychotherapy can help treat anxiety.
Through cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), a professional psychologist can help you to recognize negative and distorted thoughts and replace them with more positive ones.
CBT helps you realize that your anxiety is based on false alarms of fear, and allows you to cope with certain conditions, that cause anxiety, instead of avoiding them.
Psychodynamic therapy, interpersonal psychotherapy, or art therapy can be useful too.
Medication
Medications that are used to reduce anxiety symptoms are:
- SSRIs (such as Prozac, Paxil, or Zoloft),
- SNRIs,
- Benzodiazepines (for example, Xanax, Diazepam, or Ativan),
Recommended books and sources
- I Want to Change My Life: How to Overcome Anxiety, Depression, and Addiction
- Anxiety Relief: Self Help (With Heart) For Anxiety, Panic Attacks, And Stress Management
- Get Your Life Back: The Road to Freedom from Addiction
- You Can Fix Your Anxiety: A Power Guide To Eliminating Stress, Anxiety, And Depression (Anxiety is Ruining My Life)
- HFNE “I Have Crippling Depression?”
- HFNE “Social Anxiety Support”
- Video – If You Struggle With Anxiety, This Mind Trick Will Change Your Life | Mel Robbins (Anxiety is Ruining My Life)
- Video – Anxiety is Ruining My Life, How Can I Stop It? | This morning
FAQs about the topic “Anxiety is ruining My Life.”
Can anxiety disorder be cured permanently?
Anxiety disorder cannot be cured permanently.
Its symptoms can be relieved temporarily or reduced through psychotherapy and medications, as well as relaxation techniques and lifestyle changes.
Can severe anxiety take your life?
Severe anxiety cannot take your life, although its symptoms can make you feel like a heart attack or another condition.
Nevertheless, if you experience anxiety symptoms regularly, you should meet a mental health professional.
Can anxiety cause physical problems?
Anxiety can cause physical, as well as mental health problems if it lasts long.
Nevertheless, it can be treated by medications, psychotherapy, or their combination.
You can also make some changes in your lifestyle and practice breathing and relaxation techniques, physical exercises, which may help you to reduce and relieve anxiety symptoms.
Can stress make you anxious?
Stress can make you anxious if we base on the idea that anxiety is the body’s natural response to stress.
Stress is a combination of non-specific adaptive reactions of the body to the influences of various adverse stress factors that disrupt its homeostasis, as well as the corresponding state of the nervous system of the organism (or the body as a whole).
Anxiety can also occur if you have difficulties in identifying the stressors in your life.
Does anxiety worsen with age?
Anxiety can worsen with age if it is untreated.
If you do not talk to your doctor to get some medications, and/or do not go to psychotherapy sessions, and do not avoid the situations and do not quit your habits that make you anxious, it is natural that anxiety disorder will worsen.
However, you should start treatment, as untreated anxiety can cause other mental and physical health problems.
What is a drug that calms you down?
Some drugs can calm you down, for example:
– Xanax;
– Diazepam;
– Ativan;
– Prozac;
– Paxil;
– Zoloft.
Conclusion
Summarizing the topic “Anxiety is ruining my life,” we can recommend you to start an anxiety treatment as soon as you get the thought “Anxiety is ruining my life.”
The treatment can be by medications, psychotherapy, or both at the same time, which is considered to be more efficient; along with them, you should also use the presented tips, which can be helpful to deal with anxiety.
Please feel free to comment on the content or ask any questions in the comments section below.
References
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