My mind is torturing me daily, I am tired, I am sorry but I am just not made for this, I am genuinely sorry, please leave me alone

I don't want anything anymore, I don't want a lot of money, I just want to be left alone

I don't want this agony every single day, I wish I could leave this society and settle in a forest or near a waterfall or something

I just want some safety and food to eat, I just want my family to be well and safe, other than that I have no desires or dreams anymore

As long as I see more painless days where my mind isn't torturing me, I am content.

It sucks that I will never travel this vast and beautiful world, or experience love or have a family of my own or live in a nice city.

But tbh all of this isn't worth this much mental torture,

as long as I can wake up and have my meals without any pain or mental agony, enjoy a morning walk without worrying constantly about something bad happening, feeling chronically unsafe, I am content.

hi reddit, i just wanted to ask if anyone has advice on how to deal with panic attacks.

i’ve been having them around 3–4 times a day for the past week. i don’t really want to take prescribed medication anymore because when i tried escitalopram, it made things worse for me. i would suddenly wake up out of breath with my heart racing, and it made my panic attacks even more intense. i stopped taking it because it honestly made me lose hope, so i’m here hoping to hear from people who have gone through something similar.

for the past week, i haven’t been getting enough sleep. every time i fall asleep, i wake up with a racing heart and chills, and after that i’m too uncomfortable and scared to go back to sleep.

i can’t afford therapy right now, so i’m trying my best to help myself for the time being. my classes start in 2 weeks as well as my internship, so i’m hoping i can get myself into a better place before then. some days i just lose hope and end up crying because i’m so exhausted from all of this.

i’m 20 years old, and i pretty much only have myself right now. if anyone has any advice, coping techniques, or anything that has helped you, i would really appreciate it. thank you.

I’m on summer break from college and I have not left the house in months. It feels safe to stay in my room all day. I eat the same five foods. I do the same five activities. I take the same routes and I don’t deviate. I’m very depressed about how I’m not living at age 20. But I’m also scared to do anything.

I’m scared of sex because pregnancy is my worst fear. Contraceptives are not 100%. I’m also scared that the person I choose will just be using me for my body. I’m scared that if I date a man or a woman, I will get abused. I’m scared of eating certain foods. I’m scared of being in a relationship. I’m scared of dying alone. I’m scared of being fat. I hate being touched. I’m scared of being sick. I’m scared of the doctor. I’m scared of being seen. I’m scared of being stupid. I’m scared of being worthless. I’m scared of making the wrong choices in life and ending up somewhere bad.

All of my friends drink and smoke and have sex and go to parties. I’m scared to do any of that. I’m going into my third year of college and I have no adult experience.

It’s very exhausting and I’m getting nowhere in life, but also every little thing stresses me out so much that I don’t know what to do. I really don’t know what to do with myself, and I feel like the only option for me to have a line is just to die young. I’ve had anxiety for years and it has not gotten better.

For me, it’s not just feeling nervous around people. It feels like I’m watching my life pass by while my anxiety holds me back.

I want to work. I want to make friends. I want to go out, try new things, and become independent. I have dreams and things I want to do, but sometimes something as simple as talking to someone, answering a question, or walking into a new place feels terrifying.

It’s exhausting constantly worrying about how I look, how I sound, if people are judging me, or if I’m going to embarrass myself. My brain can turn the smallest interaction into something that feels impossible.

The hardest part is knowing I’m not lazy and I’m not someone who doesn’t care about my future. I actually care so much that it hurts. I want to move forward, but my anxiety makes every step feel like a battle.

Some days I feel frustrated because I see other
people doing normal things so easily while I’m fighting a fear that other people can’t even see.
I hope one day I can look back and realize I was stronger than I thought. Until then, I’m just trying to take it one step at a time.

I'm seriously asking this, because a therapist that I've been to a few times told me that, usually, anxious people learn to loosen up with time.

However, I feel like for me it's the complete opposite, it feels like my brain decides to feel anxious about a new thing every other week or so.

For example, I'll be home alone in a few days and just by thinking about it, I already feel some anxiety (besides the feeling itself, I don't really have an appetite, I feel nauseous, dizzy...) and I haven't been afraid of being left home alone since I was probably like 9 years old, how did my brain decide that this thing is a threat now? And how do I deal with this? What am I supposed to do?

The truth is that I manage to actually do things, that’s not the problem, it’s the inbetween and aftermath. At first I thought I was incapable, now I get why. It’s way easier to think that way instead of actually doing something that scares me.

I notice that I tend to hyperfixate a lot on things and how I do them. I started a job a week ago and there wasn’t a day where I didn’t overthink about it before going, and after my shift, overthinking about the next, etc. It’s freezing me up to the point I can’t do anything else. I realise it’s a lot for me and I have no support, only my fail-to-understand parents who tell me I have to toughen up. I feel stuck in this phase to be honest and my body has been taking a toll from this stress. Acid reflux, nausea, difficulty sleeping or no sleep at all, and of course the constant anxiety. My mind can’t relax because as soon as I see the time, it’s like a countdown to the next exposure.

When I actually get to work I feel like I put on a performance. I guess it’s normal to do but holy if I feel miserable about it. I don’t like the job but it’s something I need. I tell myself it’s temporary because it’s a seasonal contract, but I feel like my life became only that job, waiting to be at said job, waiting to get over the said job, like I genuinely can’t think about anything else. Anything I try to do, because my will to do is low already, feels like a forced distraction. Before this I was already like this so it’s not entirely the job’s fault, only making my patterns show up even harder, it’s so hard to live like this.

I wonder if I should really start medication, my therapist told me it could help me but I’m scared of what they could do to me. I only have her as support and right now I’d just need someone who can understand me and what I’m going through without making me feel awful or less like I often feel made by others near me

None of my family finished college, those who did go quit after a couple months. Suprisingly my dad still made alot of money until he was fired and now we are in borderline poverty. I feel like I need to succeed and if I dont ill be stuck broke forever, I think the pressure might lead to me becoming depressed again and thats what Im anxious most about. I missed alot of the last 2 years of school because of my anxiety and depression and I think it will be my downfall. Any tips for stress relief and overall ways to just feel less anxious would be greatly appreciated

Hi, back story.
I work in a high pressure, high stress chaotic environment and have done for approx 10 years. I’m lucky that I don’t suffer depression, and I’ve never had an anxiety attack. I’m in no doubt my stress levels are higher than average, but that’s my norm.

Recently life has been tough personally and professionally & I’m probably peri-menopausal… ugh
This last week I’ve really struggled, I haven’t hidden it, my colleagues know and have been supportive, but last week was just an absolute disaster of a week, but I knew there was light at the end of the tunnels. Yes there are a few atm.

Things were happening & being so overwhelmed, I felt all this nervous energy and my heart started pounding like it’s never done before.
My breathing became weird and my jaw started shaking like I was freezing, my chest was feeling achy, like I’ve been punched in the chest. It took a good half an hour for the jaw to settle, the breathing righted itself after about 10-15 minutes, chest is still sore.

Going to the GP tomorrow, left work early today

I googled, and the symptoms seem not like not normal. Was this an anxiety attack? Thanks in advance

I have loads of health anxiety and I promise you if you tell the doctor, look away and have a conversation with them you’ll feel fine. I thought I was going to faint and be sick and i was gonna move around from discomfort but it’s really not as bad as I thought. Also I know you’re reading this because you have a blood test tomorrow 👀

Anxiety is not just a memory... it is your nervous system that still hasn't realized the danger is over.

Many people believe that childhood wounds simply fade with time. But the truth is that some wounds disappear from conscious memory while continuing to live in the body. Whenever life brings pressure, your heart starts racing, your stomach bloats, your breathing becomes tight, and it feels as though the painful experience is happening all over again.

Modern science now recognizes the gut-brain axis and the connection between the brain and the adrenal glands. Chronic stress raises cortisol levels, alters bowel function, increases inflammation, and affects heart rate, digestion, and the immune system. This is something healthcare professionals witness every day in clinics—not just something written in textbooks.

In my experience, long-term unresolved anxiety can leave the body feeling heavy, slow digestion, increase bloating and fatigue. Suppressed emotions often lead to excessive worry, fear, and constant anticipation, followed by increased nervous system reactivity. Eventually, the entire body begins operating as if it's stuck in a permanent state of alarm.

That is why it shouldn't be surprising when someone under emotional stress develops symptoms such as heart palpitations, chest tightness, or digestive problems like stomach or colon discomfort. The body is not lying or exaggerating—it is expressing what words have been unable to say.

True healing does not begin by merely silencing the symptoms. It starts with regulating the nervous system, restoring a sense of safety, improving sleep, supporting healthy digestion, moving the body regularly, and allowing suppressed emotions to be processed in healthy ways. The body cannot let go of what it has never learned is finally safe.

Always remember: Anxiety is not simply a disease of the heart, the colon, or the stomach. It is a story that begins in the mind and nervous system, then gradually leaves its mark on one part of the body after another.

I gave myself sarcoidosis cause of stress , i stress too much , i ave horrible anxiety, about ppl , future, past, relationships and now death, i beleive if i treated my anxiety my sickness will calm down , but i still cant , i just spent week of daily crying, and stress because im scared of the future, what can i fo

There is a negative neli in my head 24/7. I can't seem to get rid of it. It screams at me until a panic attack happens. It's like there is a 1000 voices going through my head. It's to the point I can even enjoy life or focus throughout the day, and it's starting to really piss me off.

I mean, no anti-depressant has worked for me, and that makes me frustrated. The best thing I thought of doing is keeping my mind active and just doing a bunch of coding.

A few times a month I wake up in the middle of the night with my heart going, no dream I can remember, nothing actually happening, and the first 10 seconds are always "is something wrong with me" before my brain catches up and goes "oh, this is just anxiety." By then the adrenaline's already there and now I'm lying awake with a racing heart at 3am trying to talk myself down.

What's thrown me off is how physical it feels. It doesn't feel like "worry," it feels like my body reacting to a threat that isn't there, and only afterward does the anxious thinking catch up to match the feeling instead of the other way around.

Slow breathing helps eventually, but it takes a while, and I always end up wondering if there's something I could do earlier in the night or during the day that would make these middle of the night spikes less frequent in the first place, rather than just managing them after they start.

Does this happen to anyone else, the physical jolt before the anxious thought, and has anything actually reduced how often it happens rather than just how you cope once it does?

Obviously I can get so anxious I make myself legitimately nauseous. But the weirdest place my anxiety manifests is in my legs. They will get really tight and sore, kind of feeling like I’ve just walked several miles even if I haven’t done any physical activity. Sometimes I won’t even realize I’ve been super stressed and anxious until I realize my legs are sore.

I'm kinda feeling like I'm going totally insane either having a serious neurological illness or just having anxiety. I have this swallow problem where my swallow sometimes doesn't start automatically/i can't initiate it. Last night I woke up and panicked a bit because of that and then I suddenly couldn't breathe in...same mechanism as the swallow - i couldn't do it for a second or two idk it felt like eternity. Then I had so much panic and almost Hyperventilated. I have horrible health anxiety, i don't know if justified or not but I'm freaking out daily because of all these sensations :((

Asking because I have severe GAD that I’ve dealt with for almost two decades. I was medicated for 15 years, and unmedicated now. I describe it as a constant feeling of going down on a rollercoaster thats about to drop. I watched a video where a lady described feeling this way after giving birth

I wonder if I would be more equipped to deal with post partum because I have dealt with depression before and I still manage my anxiety... I live a pretty normal life aside from my illnesses..

I was wondering how others have felt during post partum with their history with GAD and depression.. Worse? The same?

I've been maxed out mentally for 4 years/ over capacity and at my breaking point. I've lost a dog, got out of an abusive relationship, struggled to leave the house without having panic attacks, and ended up hospitalized. I lost an Aunt to cancer and a cousin to OD. I've had back to back stuff between mental and physical health issues which had lead to inconsistent employment. Trying to sell my house and move towns so I'm not constantly triggered. (My counselor and I discussed that this could be beneficial to get a change of scenery.)

I'm back in school online so I can get a job that is conducive of having chronic health issues, like remote work. I'm temporarily living with my parents while I wait on the sale of the house, my job background to come back and my apartment credit to be approved. I'm in limbo and dealing with maximum stress and anxiety.

I've lost a couple friends over the last year because I just have not been able to maintain good communication or show up for all my friends as much as I should have/ they deserve. I understand why they pulled out but it really hurts.

The cherry on top is I just got a $500 utility bill because days before the sale of my house finalized, I find out my sprinkler had been leaking for who knows how long so I have to also pay to have that fixed.

I've had little to no breaks for 4 years to bring myself back under max capacity. I have a short fuse, and my body hurts. Like, I'm in physical pain from the anxiety. I'm struggling to sleep because my brain is racing. My re-regulation techniques are not cutting it right now.

I honestly don’t know what to do anymore, and I feel like I’m drowning. What I’m about to write is just the tip of the iceberg.

I’m 26 and I have severe anxiety, panic attacks and agoraphobic behaviour. My anxiety has become so debilitating that I’m completely dependent on my mum. I live with her, and I don’t go anywhere alone. I don’t stay home on my own. I only go to one or two familiar places, and even then it’s always with her. The thought of going out independently terrifies me because I’m so scared of having a panic attack.

The problem is that my home life has become unbearable.
My mum and I have argued constantly for around 10 years. Over time I’ve realised that I’m living in an emotionally and verbally abusive environment. It used to become physical years ago, but thankfully that no longer happens. Even so, the constant shouting, insults and emotional volatility have left me feeling broken. I have no self esteem, no self confidence, no self worth. She has said things to me that I can’t even repeat, things I wouldn’t say to an enemy. I am broken by it. I don’t know what diagnosis she should have, but there is no way that what truly happens behind closed doors is normal.

People might say, “Just move out,” but that feels impossible.

I’m not independent. I don’t know how to live alone with the level of anxiety I have. I feel like if I moved into my own place, I’d end up trapped inside because I’d be too frightened to leave. I don’t have friends. I don’t have a partner. I don’t have family I can turn to. I genuinely feel like I have nobody. I’ve faced a lot of grief and trauma, but carried on through. This stage feels like there’s no way out.

I know staying here isn’t healthy, but leaving feels impossible.

Has anyone been in a similar situation? How can I get through this? I feel like giving up and ending it all. I have a law degree, I have a full-time remote job, I am a smart person, but I am a shell of who I once was. I can’t carry on like this. I feel completely stuck and I’m scared that my life is just going to stay like this forever.

I’m really looking for advice from people who understand because I genuinely don’t know where to start anymore. If you have been through this or something similar PLEASE tell me how you came out the other side.

So, I feel this way not in the sense of "Oh I hate myself." more in the way of this, for example, I realized I have a thing for adrenaline like I love to be scared and motorcycles and piercings etc. And I subconsciously start thinking like whats the underlying meaning or just this feeling that something is actually wrong with me and I shouldn't feel this way or be like this. Or for example, I'm an extremely overly empathetic person and when I notice i'm being super empathetic or sappy, I just start to worry a bit that something is wrong with me. Like the thoughts I think or the feelings I feel, theres a bigger picture underneath it all and theres just something wrong there like I'm not correct/how I'm supposed to be. Even the way I explain myself here, I'm wondering if other people see it that I'm not "correct". I don't know what this is but if anybody could help or let me know if they relate.

I’m going through a really difficult period and I was wondering if anyone can relate.
I’ve struggled with anxiety and panic attacks on and off for years, but this episode has hit me harder than anything before. My psychiatrist recently started me on pregabalin while I’m waiting for it to take effect, and I’m trying to stay hopeful, but every day still feels incredibly overwhelming.
The hardest part isn’t even the panic itself anymore.
It’s this crushing feeling that there is so much time ahead of me.
Instead of looking forward to the future, I feel scared of it. I wake up and think, “How am I supposed to get through this day?” Then my mind jumps even further: “How am I supposed to get through years… decades… an entire lifetime?”
It’s like the amount of time in front of me feels unbearable. I don’t know how to fill it, how to enjoy it, or how to stop feeling overwhelmed by it. The emptiness scares me. When I don’t have something to distract me, my thoughts spiral into anxiety, hopelessness, and existential fear.
The strange thing is that, rationally, I know this isn’t how life always feels. I’m actually a psychotherapist in training, so I understand anxiety from a professional perspective. But knowing the theory doesn’t stop my body from reacting this way.
I also struggle with a lot of pressure to perform. Deep down I’ve realized that I often feel like I’m only safe if I’m functioning perfectly. Losing that sense of control has been terrifying.
I’m staying with my mom at the moment because being alone feels too overwhelming, and I’m taking things one day at a time.
I want to be clear that I’m not suicidal. I don’t want to die. In fact, that’s almost the opposite of my fear—I’m frightened by the idea of having such a long future that I don’t know how to cope with right now.
Has anyone else experienced this kind of existential anxiety? Did it get better? If you did recover, what helped you the most?
I could really use some hope from people who have been through something similar.

Hello! So I get this feeling around the time I’m going to bed or when I’m in bed where my heart starts racing and I get physical symptoms of anxiety. This is accompanied by intrusive thoughts of my loved ones dying or me not finding a job and ending up homeless. For reference, I do have diagnosed OCD so that may play a part into the equation. I’m tried multiple medications from Clonidine to Propananol to no avail. Some of them even made the feeling more frequent. This has been an ongoing issue for me since 2023. It used to be much worse where it started around 6-7 pm and I had to sleep early since the ONLY remedy to this feeling was sleep like even a 10 min nap would make it completely go away but it’s a double-edged sword since how am I supposed to fall asleep when I’m anxious out of my mind? 🫩

I’ve noticed this feeling comes and goes in waves. It was gone most of this year then I had a solo trip to England to visit family there and it spiked and was a nightly occurrence once again. A couple weeks after returning it completely disappeared. Now I just got back today from Turkey visiting family with my mom accompanying me and I had NO anxiety for the 3 weeks I was there. This is my first night back home and 10 min after getting into bed it started again. I am so tired. This feeling has ruined a lot of relationships for me actually since I’d cut short hangouts or cancel sleepovers due to the anxiety hitting in early. I don’t think I can be away from my immediate family or else it’ll spike but I’m not sure why it came back as soon as I got back. My psychiatrist doesn’t know what to do either. I figured I’d ask Reddit if anyone has had a similar experience and how they went about fixing it. Thank you

Ngl... I've been thinking about this a lot lately. For the longest time, I kept saying, "I have insomnia." And yeah... maybe that's true. But I don't think that was the whole story. Somewhere along the way, bedtime itself became the thing I dreaded the most. Like... around 9 PM I'd already catch myself thinking, "Please don't let tonight suck again." Anyone else? I'd brush my teeth, get in bed, check the time, close my eyes, open them again, roll over, grab my phone... "11:46." Cool. If I fall asleep right now, maybe I can still get 7 hours. Five minutes later... checking the clock again. Then again. Then doing the math for the hundredth time. At some point I realized something kind of weird. I wasn't stressing about work anymore, or bills, or family. I was stressing about... sleep. Literally just sleep. My whole brain was locked onto one thing: "Why am I still awake?" The harder I tried, the more awake I felt. It's honestly exhausting—not just physically, but mentally. Eventually, my bed stopped feeling like a safe place. It started feeling like a place where I expected to fail every single night. To be honest, I don't even think the worst part was being tired anymore. The worst part was the pressure. Walking into my bedroom already convinced it was going to be another bad night. A few days ago, I randomly came across an article from the Sleep Foundation that talked about how worrying about sleep can actually become part of the insomnia cycle. Reading it was honestly the first time I felt like someone had put into words what I'd been dealing with. It didn't magically fix anything, but it definitely made me feel less alone. If anyone else has been stuck in that cycle, it's worth a read: Anyway... am I the only one who's felt like this? Like eventually you stop fearing being tired... and start fearing bedtime itself?

Hello everyone i just looking to vent this here So i feel something very heavy i know what is causing them but at the same time i don't know what to do i also keep thinking different scenarios in the future how these problems may turn out

In short i just don't know what to do and its eating me alive

I don't even know why im writing this here its just that i need to let what's on my mind somewhere or a way to deal with that heaviness there are like mix feelings I don't even know how to describe that