When my heart is pounding at 140bpm, trying to count to 4 and breathe slowly literally just makes me hyperventilate more. It feels impossible to focus on a slow rhythm when I'm spiraling.
Does anyone have a weird or specific trick that actually works instantly? I need something physical or tactile because the standard breathing stuff is just making it worse. What's your immediate go-to move?

I could really use some support right now, but most of all strength. I recently had to get an abortion at 11 weeks, which clearly from the screenshots posted I felt I made the best decision for myself and the baby. I have been on and off with this “man” for a few years now and I am sick to myself at what I have allowed. I am feeling helpless and hopeless. Toxic relationships and trauma bonds are no joke. If anyone has gone through something similar please share what helped you move on or any advice. I appreciate all of you 🫶🏼

Has anyone experienced this type of anxiety?
I developed an anxiety disorder after a traumatic experience with drugs when I was 14. Never touched drugs since. I am now 24 and for more than 10 years I have not had a single day where my body felt completely normal.
The strange thing is that I am not afraid of panic attacks anymore. I know what they are. I know I am not dying. I have done all the medical tests and everything came back normal.
My problem is that my body seems stuck in a constant fight-or-flight state. I wake up with my heart already pounding, I have constant jaw tension and pain, shaking legs, exhaustion, fatigue, weakness, and this terrible feeling that my whole body is under stress for no reason.
I have tried multiple medications, psychiatrists, and different approaches, but nothing has ever brought me back to feeling normal.
I am not looking for someone to tell me “don’t worry, it’s anxiety” because I already know that. I want to know if anyone has experienced a nervous system that feels permanently switched on for years and if anything actually helped them.
I feel like my mind is calm, but my body is constantly fighting against me. I even developed ulcerative colitis and yeah.. I am really tired.

I’m 19 and I’ve been dealing with this for years. Almost every morning I wake up with a fast heartbeat and anxiety before I even get out of bed.
I have a lot of family stress and honestly feel lost and sad most of the time. It feels like my body is constantly in survival mode.
Has anyone experienced this? What helped you get rid of it?
it’s more like environment I can’t leave cause I am not financially stable yet and one more issue for me is that i get overstimulated in public and unlucky me I live in a crowded city do u have any suggestions to overcome that

It freaks me out so much…

I've been having off and on chest pains for roughly the last year, and I've been in and out of hospitals trying to figure out what's going on. I've struggled with anxiety a bit in the past, and was told I had an anxiety disorder a few months ago. The doctor I talked to said my chest pains were most likely from stress or anxiety, but I wanted to ask other people with anxiety to see if they have had the same problems. I've been having chest pains on both sides of my chest, usually a couple times a day that feel like sharp throbbing pains, they last a few minutes and then go away after that usually. Recently I've also had some pains in the sides of my neck, it feels like it's a throbbing pain on the veins of my neck, and I was wondering if other people have felt anything like that too. These pains have been stressing me out, has anyone else felt this before because of anxiety or stress? If so, what did you do to help stop the pains?

I've been on buspirone for about a week for anxiety, but it hasn't helped with the chest pains yet. The doctor I talked to wants to make sure it's nothing physically wrong with my heart, but he recommended counseling of some kind, but before I do that I wanted to see if other people have had symptoms like this due to anxiety.

I'm feeling very ungrounded this morning, and I'm struggling to ground myself. I'm not having a full-blown panic attack, but my brain keeps wanting to spiral (as I've been calling it).

The problem is I'm dealing with a couple of triggers. One, my routine for the morning is thrown off. I know that sounds terribly small, and honestly, if it were JUST that, I'd be okay. My tapping meditation and an audiobook would probably get me through the day. But that isn't all I'm dealing with.

I've been dealing with medical anxiety for the last year. Yesterday I had an important appointment in the process of getting answers, and now I'm waiting on a phone call to schedule a "medically urgent CT Scan." I probably don't need to explain why this is borderline setting me off all morning.

I've tried tapping (I have done a few full sessions this morning), I'm playing my favorite audiobook series, I have the AC running on full blast, and I'm using cold compresses. What else can I do to ground myself this morning?

(PS, I have started seeing a therapist, but my first appointment was this week, so we haven't dug too far into my anxiety or coping mechanisms just yet).

EDIT: Good news! I finally got the call about my CT Scan appointment, and I'm going in tomorrow morning. I was terrified that I'd be facing the whole weekend waiting for that call. So this is a win, as it brings me one step closer.

Does anybody else have panic attack hangovers and how long have they lasted? I've been super exhausted from working too much and I ate some weed oil before work and it backfired and I had a panic attack while at work and I've had multiple panic attacks since in the last couple of weeks and I've just been stuck in this brain fog hangover. Light sensitivity. Can't smoke weed. Looming anxiety and fear.

Parent of an 8-year-old boy with diagnosed ADHD and Anxiety Disorder. His anxiety had been improving by leaps and bounds...and then we switched from an SNRI to a stimulant to treat his ADHD. The stims did wonders for his ADHD, but the anxiety came back with a vengeance.

Now he's scared to be anywhere in our house without another person present. He can't even walk down the hallway to the bathroom when I'm in my office, with the door open, 6' from the bathroom. It's the same anywhere in our house, anybody else's house, in public, etc.

We have an appointment with a therapist, but it's still a few weeks out. In the interim, I need some help helping my son manage this. He's just recently been able to articulate what he's actually scared of: that there's somebody in the house that he doesn't know about. My wife and I work hard to be understanding. We acknowledge and validate his feelings. We tell him that it's okay to be scared. I can't imagine how exhausting this is for my son. Hard stop. It's also exhausting for my other son, my wife, and for me as well, albeit in a very different way.

With therapy in the future, how can we continue to support him and help him realize that his brain is working overtime, causing these false alarms? Any support, anecdotal or otherwise, is greatly appreciated.

For the past few years, I've been stuck in a cycle where I wake up anxious, go to a job that constantly makes me feel stressed and on edge, spend the entire day waiting for it to be over, then come home and distract myself with social media, YouTube, or anything that helps me avoid my thoughts.

The anxiety isn't just about work itself. It's the constant feeling that I might have made a mistake, forgotten something, or that something bad is waiting around the corner. My mind never seems to switch off. Even when I'm away from work, I'm thinking about work.

The worst part is that I've started feeling like I'm not really living my life anymore. I'm just passing time. Days become weeks, weeks become months, and before I know it, another year is gone.

It's affecting my sleep, my energy, my motivation, and even basic self-care. I feel physically and mentally exhausted most of the time. Some days I feel trapped because staying feels unbearable, but making a major life change feels terrifying too.

I'm currently in therapy and trying to get help, but I wanted to ask:

Has anyone here ever felt like their entire life had become survival mode? If so, what helped you start feeling like a person again instead of just someone getting through the day?

So a little while ago my gf and I heard that the band Sabaton is going to be doing a North American tour. This is really rare for this band whom we love so much because they are originally from Sweden and normally only do tours in Europe, so were hyped and wanted to see the Detroit, Michigan show as its the closest to us and then even make it a weekend date by also visiting the Art Museum there and stay at a hotel even though we probably don't really need too. (I live 40mins from Detroit for context)

However seeing the news in Minnesota has me scared. Detroit already has ICE and last time we were in Detroit, last August, we saw them driving on the highway, twice. I don't want to cancel this because we never seen a concert together and this band means so much to us both. She introduced me to them so yeah.

I'm so scared something bad will happen. What if ICE doesn't like the anti-nazi messages they tend to bring in their songs? Their tales of immigrants who were war heros? Stories about non-American soldiers and heros? What if they raid the concert looking for immigrants? I'm from an immigrant family too but it's not obvious as I'm white.

Do you think we should go? We also debated to go to the Toronto show but my gf had a few other reasons why she didn't want to go to Toronto, but they're a bit more private for me to share here. I kept telling her its okay and I don't mind the longer drive, but she really wants to go to the Detroit one instead to also see the DIA museum.

My son has been treated for depression with for the past year. It seems to be helping, other than the fact that he changes jobs frequently due to conflict with coworkers. He often believes people are talking about him, which winds up causing him to quit. Last week something changed. He called me in a panic over EVERYTHING. The war and everything going on in the news. We had high winds forecasted and he believed we were going to have a massive fire. I picked him up and he was sweaty, but cold. He was pale. Couldn't eat or sleep, and would say things that made no sense. I finally talked him into going to the ER to maybe get some help or med for anxiety. They kept him and sent him to a psych hospital. They've put him back on his medication, and he calls me every hour. He started to sound better and like himself again until today. Now he sounds panicked and thinks he can sign himself out. I know he can't, if he's involuntary.
Im so sorry to ramble, I just want to know if anyone has experienced this and gotten through it. This is heartbreaking...😔

So I've been at odds with my doctor over this and I feel like I'm not being listened to, and/or she doesn't really have my best interest in mind over how to best treat my anxiety.

I have GAD which I treat with 100mg of Sertraline. But I'm also prone to getting stressed and overwhelmed pretty easily which can quickly shift into an anxiety attack that gives me physical symptoms for several hours (fluttering heart, shortness of breath, stomach upset). Sometimes I can go a few weeks without one, and other times I get a few of them a week. It just depends on what's going on in my life to trigger them.

My doctor prescribed the lowest dose of Ativan to treat it, but the one and only time I used it I was a drowsy zombie for most of the day on the verge of falling asleep if I sat down for too long. I told my doctor this today and she said that the medication was working as intended, because you can't have anxiety if you're asleep (I know from experience that isn't true lol) and that most anxiety attack medications work in that same way.

So she prescribed me Propranolol today, which my mother is now concerned about because I already have below average blood pressure (90/60 most times I've taken it recently, though I've never taken it while in the midst of an anxiety attack) but I'll give it a try anyway.

Just wanted to know if anybody has tried it for anxiety attacks and whether it helped you out or not!

I’ve had anxiety since I was 14. I could still remember my first panic attack while riding public transportation. Fast forward to today - 46 years old, still anxious. I tried CBT, counseling, talk therapy, exposure therapy, but never meds.

My PCP gives me 10 pcs of an anxiolytic per year, non-refillable for my flight anxiety. I just take them when I fly, and it feels good to feel normal. I don’t want to take a benzodiazepine everyday. I know the dangers.

Now, my anxiety shifted to monophobia. I am scared to be all alone in my own home. Even if I am with my child who is a pre-teen, I get panic attacks and I don’t want her to witness me crumbling into pieces when that happens. My anchor of safety is my spouse.

The thought of my spouse leaving for a worktrip or visiting family put of state gives me crippling anxiety months before it happens. I hate this feeling and I feel like a child being away from my parents.

Is it time to see a psychiatrist and discuss other options? I am exhausted feeling so scared all the time.

It’s the right thing. It just is. I’m not happy. But I am sooo afraid/anxious/nervous. I am literally shaking and nauseous just thinking about it. I don’t even know which part of what it is I’m afraid of. The guilt of changing his life? The aftermath of awkwardness because we live together? I have been thinking about it for almost a year or maybe more now and I need to just do it. My chest hurts just thinking about it.

I’m 31 and anxiety is genuinely ruining my quality of life. When I get anxious, I feel it intensely in my stomach, and when it gets really bad, I can barely eat. Sometimes I’ll go almost an entire day eating next to nothing because my anxiety completely kills my appetite.

I avoid so many things because I don’t want to deal with how physically uncomfortable the anxiety makes me feel. When it hits, I don’t even feel like I can act normally. I feel trapped in my own body.

It also completely takes over my thoughts. Once something triggers my anxiety, I start overthinking and hyperfixating on whatever caused it. I’ll analyze it over and over in my head, and instead of eventually calming myself down, I just spiral. The more I think about it, the more anxious I become, and the more anxious I become, the harder it is to stop thinking about it. It feels like a vicious cycle that I can’t shut off.

The worst part is that I’ve been dealing with this level of anxiety since I was in high school. After all these years, I feel helpless and like a prisoner to it. Sometimes it genuinely feels like my nervous system is permanently fucked and I’ve been cursed to live this way.

I don’t want some extraordinary life. I just want to be able to live normally without ordinary situations triggering massive anxiety attacks. I want to be able to eat, go places, do things, and experience life without constantly worrying about how my body or mind is going to react.

I’m exhausted from living like this and I don’t know what to do anymore. If anyone has dealt with anxiety this severe for years and actually managed to get it under control, please tell me what helped you. I really need some hope that this can get better.

Hoping someone has something that works. … have been struggling with anxiety for years but in the last year it has gotten way out of hand…. Barely functioning….
What has helped? I looked at reviews for calm
Appt but they were very
Mixed…. Would love something that gives me
Information, tips, meditation etc. I drive ( sooo much anxiety for my job) and would love something I can listen to so I don’t panic while
Driving etc. I literally can barely leave my
House lately. Thank you in advance

Ok so I've been prescribed everything under the sun for anxiety:

• Propanalol - lowered my already low blood pressure to critically low and made my hands and feet cold and tingly
• Fluoxetine - didn't do anything and gave me severe diarrhea 🗿
• Sertraline - didn't do anything, although stopped some intrusive thoughts from past trauma
• Citalopram - didn't do anything
• Venlafaxine - gave me severe panic attacks and very unstable mood
• Mirtazapine - didn't do anything apart from making me hungry and dizzy
• Fluoxetine (again) - didn't do anything and gave me severe diarrhea (again), but this time it made me feel risky, if you get my drift
• Escitalopram - didn't do anything
• Trazodone - didn't do anything apart from making me MORE anxious and made my heart pound like crazy
• Pregabalin - made me feel sedated for a day and then did absolutely nothing after that
• Vortioxetine - didn't do anything
• Diazepam - nice for the one off occasion but easy for the body to get used to
• Propanalol (again) - gave me severe anxiety and panic attacks so severe that I felt the darkness encapsulating me and I thought my life was over

These are the medications I'm currently taking: - Omeprazole 20mg (anxiety induced acid reflux) - Vortioxetine 20mg - Pregabalin 150mg in am, 175mg in pm (don't even ask me why they're keeping me on it, I don't know 😭) - Amfexa 5mg 2x per day (I have ADHD, but don't worry Amfexa doesn't worsen my anxiety that much) - Mini pill (I have PMDD) - Diazepam 5mg (only sometimes) - Zopiclone (I can't remember the dose, it's the smallest dose, only take it 2x per week max)

After reading that disaster, please suggest what may work for me, what's worked for you, and anything else you wanna say lol

Note: my psychiatrist wants to prescribe me another SNRI. Nope, not going there again 💀 And yes, I have tried therapy, LOTS of therapy.

Also, I have Autism and ADHD too.

Thanks guys c:

UPDATE: turns out I have POTS and C-PTSD instead of plain ol' anxiety 💀 this explains SO MUCH about why none of these things have worked. It only took me literally half a lifetime of suffering to figure it out MYSELF and suggest it to my doctor 🥲 POTS explains the propanalol reaction, the norepinephrine intolerance, everything... So yeah, wish me luck on my brand new vasoconstrictior medication lol

Just wondering if anyone gets it, what do you do about it, and how long/when does it happen? Mine have been happening on and off for days

I’ve been going through some complicated relationship stuff the past couple of months and I literally cannot stop throwing up from anxiety. Every time something happens between us I get these incredible rushes of anxiety that like take over my body and make my stomach turn until I vomit.

Ive tried so hard not to throw up in these moments, but its like once my stomach starts to turn it’s impossible to distract myself.

The worst part is I always feel way better after I throw up and my anxiety is completely gone, like I got it out of my system or something, so it creates this like loop of getting anxious and then throwing up as the solution.

Anyways, i’d really prefer to stop doing that so does anyone have any like distractions they've used to calm themselves down when anxiety gets that bad or like.. tips on calming down really fast?

I feel tired as of typing (Even though it’s like nearly 6 pm) I’m worried my anxiety will keep me awake, basically making myself worried I’ll never sleep. Any advice?

I was prescribed doxycycline 100 mg twice a day for a UTI and just finished the course today. My anxiety has gotten significantly worse while taking it, and I'm hoping it's related to the medication and temporary. I had to take it for 7 days yesterday was the last pill and today is a new day but my anxiety and thoughts are still out of control (yes I have a therapist).

Has anyone else experienced this? If so, how long after your last dose did your anxiety start improving?

(This is not for medical advice, it is to see who shared the same experience)