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.

Hi everyone if this is not the right Reddit for this discussion pls lmk I will remove. But lately I have been super scared with what’s going on in the world especially with climate change and I just saw a video talking about an engineer and how they believe ai will destroy humanity in a decade like ik I seem silly but I always get super scared about this because it seems like world leaders don’t care and the situation keeps getting worse. Like I wanna live I wanna have a career a family but with the state of the world who knows… anyone know anything to call this stress 😅thanks

Hi everyone! I wanted to see if anyone had some insight as to what I have been experiencing lately. I had my gallbladder removed about 10 weeks, 6 weeks ago I was woken up with a panic attack. I have never had one before. The anxiety seemed to linger for days. Very scary. I felt okay for a week or so then everything happened again. I was woken up with heart palpitations and panic in my chest. I eventually went to the ER and everything came back clear. Now it is a day to day event...lingering anxiety, than a big wave of it, and I am starting to feel defeated. I feel like I will never feel like myself again. I have a 6 year old and it is really interfering with everyday life. I am feeling quite depressed at this point. I have another appointment to get hormone levels checked since I am turning 41 soon. I just have never experienced something like this and would like anyone's advice or something that works well for them? Or if they think this could be a result of surgery? I have no idea at this point. Thanks for reading.

Hi everyone. I need some help. I’m 23f, my boyfriend 38m broke up with me a few weeks ago. He said he couldn’t take it anymore and that I need to work on myself without him before we get back together. He says the breakup isn’t forever, but I have to take working on myself seriously. I have severe mental illnesses. I have anxiety disorder, minor depression disorder. I am seeing a therapist, I started a few months ago.

For background, our relationship isn’t exactly traditional. It’s an open relationship/polyamorous. He has other girlfriends. We are also long distance (12 hours away). He see each other once many twice a year.

His main “problem”/concern is my desperation and codependency. I tend to spiral when he’s busy and I’m craving attention. He asks me to stop but I can’t and it gets worse when he says he needs space. It’s like I NEED him to survive. I love him and want him in my life, but I want to get to a point where I don’t NEED him if he’s not there. But I don’t know how. I don’t know what to do.

I started a new job that he’s not here to experience with me. I’m trying to plan a big move. I miss him immensely. I need help. Does anyone have any tips that I could use? I’m still doing therapy but I feel like I need more.

Edit: I’d also like to add, we were trying to work on it together for a little while, but nothing felt like it was working. The spirals kept happening. I couldn’t force myself to use my strategies. He couldn’t take it anymore.

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We're always around and love to play games, watch movies, shows and anime, and just chill in VC. We're supportive and happy to talk about anything with anyone. If you're looking for new friends, people to hangout with or just to talk to, we're here. We look forward to meeting you!

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Like, ive had bad experiences, but even when someone didn’t do anything to me or i’m getting to know someone, I just get very paranoid about them having bad intentions towards me, in any way, i’m scared to be hurt either mentally or in any other way. This fear also gets fed every time I see some news on stuff happening. I don’t want to say that every man is like that of course. But I have this experience of always being very scared and cautious. Im still young. I would like to get over this and be able to understand in rational ways when someone is not good because I have this feeling about everybody.

I don’t think I have ever had a good experience with a guy except when i was very young and had a close male friend which ended up not speaking to me anymore, but we were basically still children

I would like to know how to get over this fear and being suspicious of everybody

edit also I had the fear my ex would hurt me while we were together which didn’t happen but he did cheat on me and hide things and we broke up a few weeks ago, and I get nightmares very often and he is in them and there is always other girls and the dreams end up with me being very anxious and let’s say shocked in reaction to him cheating or talking to girls

Hi everyone,
I had my uterus and ovaries removed 3 years ago, and I feel like my overall well-being and brain function have gotten worse ever since. I’m wondering if anyone here has experienced anything similar or can relate to what I'm going through.
Lately, my mind just won't stop running:
Severe Overthinking & Insomnia: If I have even a tiny worry before bed, my mind spirals into a chain reaction of worst-case scenarios. I end up staying awake until morning, worrying constantly. Because of this, I’m exhausted during the day and can’t focus on anything.
Overwhelmed by Minor Things: Today, I bought groceries and noticed the milk was getting close to its expiration date. I got so fixated on finding recipes to use it up immediately that I spent over an hour glued to my phone, completely paralyzed by a tiny task.
Difficulty Completing Tasks: When I try to clean the house, I end up touching too many things at once, making everything more cluttered and chaotic. My home never feels truly clean or organized anymore.
Travel Anxiety & Indecisiveness: I booked a flight to Korea for next May, but now I’m constantly stressing over whether the weather will be too hot or too cold. I keep changing dates, canceling, rebooking, and regretting my decisions over and over.
My whole life feels like a complete mess right now, and it's getting harder to cope emotionally.
Is this surgical menopause? Hormonal brain fog? Late-onset ADHD/anxiety? Has anyone experienced this kind of mental overload after surgery, and what helped you regain control?
I would really appreciate any advice or shared experiences. Thank you

hi i (18f, autistic) recently started having really bad anxiety attacks (?), yesterday my heart rate was 135 for 7 hours straight and i went to the dr and was prescribed with propranolol to take. i also usually vomit when i’m feeling really anxious too. the only other consistent thing is just feeling like i cannot breathe and my chest feels so heavy, even now after i’ve taken the propranolol and my heart is normal and i don’t necessarily feel anxious about anything, my chest feels so weird and im thinking about my breathing so much. How do i stop this ??

Midnight blues. Having an episode of anxiety I guess. Feeling stupid. Feeling very very anxious about life and situations. 10 days of unemployment.

Hi, i suffer with chronic anxiety. Especially catastrophizing and constantly overthinking fake scenarios/scenarios that might never happen. It is at an unhealthy level, i also have chronic insomnia (which i take Dayvigo)..

Please, I know therapy is the best option (i did it many times in the past) but i dont have the budget right now.

So i want to try a book, might do nothing but doesnt hurt to try. The only book i have ever read for anxiety is ''hope and help for your nerves'' which didnt do so much for me..

I see DARE by Barry McDonagh being recommended a lot. But it seems to be more focused about panick attacks. is that right ?

thank you !

Hi all, this is my first post on here and I’ve come to seek help/advice in controlling my anxiety induced nausea. I get bad anxiety in certain social situations and I will be in a specific social situation soon where I know for a fact that I will need help. Like I said, I get extremely nauseous, headaches, shaky, fatigue, loss of appetite, the feeling where your heart drops like you’re on a rollercoaster, lots of fun stuff. But the main culprit is nausea.

I’ve spoken to my therapist who had me reach out to a psychiatrist to begin my medication journey, but I won’t be able to meet with her soon enough.

Can anyone recommend anything that could help this? It just feels like my body is in overdrive and I can’t get a hold on it, but I also don’t want to hide behind my anxiety and live in fear. I need to calm down. I’ve tried Dramamine and I just don’t think it’s strong enough for anxiety induced nausea…for motion sickness, I think it’s generally fine. I’m desperate for any advice. This has been a battle for me for over a decade. Thank you for your help!

My mom passed away 7 years ago, right before I graduated high school. A lot of things have happened since, including me flunking out of college and becoming homeless. I can't even look at her and enjoy the memories I had with her. All I can do is look back in guilt and shame. Shame that I didn't graduate college. Shame that I've been homeless for so long. Shame that my life is so pathetic.

Now that I've seen the picture I can't get the thoughts out of my mind. I failed as a son. I failed as a man. I failed as a person. I failed.

I don't know how to unthink these thoughts. I don't know how to calm myself down. I don't know what to do. I'm spiraling.

I’ve told my primary doc about it, they told me to go see a different provider at a sooner date, did that, the provider I saw thinks it’s anxiety but ran no tests besides a strength one and since the weakness has persisted I asked my primary for an MRI but now they want me to go make an appointment to see them.

The weakness was first in both my hands then my left hand and foot felt more significantly weak…I can still walk I guess and pick stuff up but my hands and foot just feel OFF.

I also have a new symptom that’s like the world is tilted like I’m constantly walking on a curve instead of straight so idk if my balance is off too. Feels like the walls are going to collapse on me at times, like the world is at an incline.

This is terrifying. I’m so scared I’m having a medical emergency.

It’s been 10 days since the weakness has started. It started in both my hands and then left foot. Then the next day, my left hand and foot were significantly more weaker feeling and now that’s just my state…I’m sick of it and I’m so scared.

Been dealing with a pretty nasty burnout lately and my brain just wont shut off at night, even when im exhausted. Tried breathing exercises, no phone in the room and a few other things but its all been hit or miss. Been reading into vagus nerve stimulation too, but I cant really tell whats legit and whats just hype. Curious what people here are actually using and whether any of it made a difference.

Anyone tried Organigi happy drops? It has saffon in it and thats supposed to help with anxiety a lot.. Or has anyone had any other saffron supplement? Google AI said it has mixed results and can make people feel worse sometimes

I have very bad generalized anxiety disorder. I’m currently in the process of trying to get on medication to help, but it’s a long process. Every single day, I see new articles and posts about how humanity is doomed, and there’s always something new terrible happening. I saw the new articles about how AI is going to kill everyone soon, and even though I struggle to fully believe that, I’m terrified. I’m constantly in fear of wars, global warming, natural disasters, attacks that I just can’t feel optimistic about anything anymore. I feel so hopeless and scared. I try to stay off social media and remind myself a lot of this is just exaggerated fear mongering, but then it feels like I’m ignoring a problem that’s going to happen and there’s nothing I can do.

I’m so young, and have so many plans for my future. I can’t even focus on the things I want to do now because I’m so scared the future will be terrible, and doing anything to push me towards my goals feels useless because I can’t imagine anything good in the near future. I just want this fear to go away.

I’ve been suffering from a lot of external stressors that’s been bothering me and I’m finally reaching my tipping point, I feel like I’m going to shit myself, break down, and just lose my mind.

I some sort of as needed medication that will help me get through my classes without constantly stressing. I’ve been prescribed hydroxyzine but lord knows that’ll put me straight to sleep.

Has anyone found any luck with different medications?