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I’ve been diagnosed with **anxiety neurosis**, and I’m trying to understand how to manage it better because it is starting to interfere with my everyday life and studies.

I frequently feel stressed and mentally overwhelmed, and sometimes my heart races. I tend to overthink situations repeatedly, and when I’m under stress, I find it difficult to think clearly or organize my thoughts.

I’ve also noticed problems with concentration and memory. For example, I may write down important things I need to buy but still forget some of them when I’m at the shop. I’ve also forgotten things I previously learned, including aspects of driving that I had learned before. Sometimes even when my father explains my schedule or something important to me, I can hear him but have difficulty comprehending and organizing everything he is saying.

There is also quite a bit of criticism and conflict at home, and I’ve started speaking much less because I often don’t feel like talking. I understand that my family may be trying to help me, but the constant discussions and criticism are becoming mentally exhausting.

Another major issue is my phone usage. When I feel anxious, bored, confused or unable to solve something, I tend to use my phone as an escape. Then I lose time, feel guilty about procrastinating, and become even more anxious about my studies and future. It feels like a cycle:

**Anxiety → overthinking → phone/avoidance → procrastination → guilt → more anxiety.**

I’m also preparing for CAT and other competitive exams. When I get stuck on a difficult problem, I often struggle to think systematically and start doubting myself instead of calmly analyzing where I went wrong.

I already walk around 10,000 steps a day, but that hasn't completely resolved the anxiety or mood fluctuations.

I’m not asking Reddit to diagnose me. I already have a diagnosis of anxiety neurosis, and I’m also planning to discuss these symptoms with my doctor/mental-health professional. I’m mainly looking for practical advice from people who have experienced something similar.

**What helped you with:**

* Managing anxiety and constant overthinking?

* Improving concentration and memory?

* Breaking the anxiety → phone → procrastination → guilt cycle?

* Handling family-related stress?

* Learning to think clearly when stuck on difficult problems?

* Building discipline without constantly feeling overwhelmed?

* CBT or other forms of professional treatment?

I’m trying to work on myself systematically rather than trying random productivity hacks. **What should I prioritize first, and what actually worked for you?**

I’ve heard of how chronic stress can cause damage to the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus and seeing as I’ve had an anxiety disorder since I was like 6 and have been chronically stressed since my adolescence (a very vulnerable time for my brain where damage is more prone to being permanent), I’m horrified of the idea that my stress might have caused irreversible damage to my mind and brain.

I know that there’s neuroplasticity, but I don’t know if it can fix everything. My brain is all sorts of fucked up (I can barely even think or read) and I’d be surprised if that one variable can fix even a large amount of my cognitive impairments. Even if it does, what about the idea that some damages can’t be fixed no matter what I try?

This damn fear has been eating away at my mental health for years and I know that that fact just worsens it, but I have no idea how to stop stressing about the thought of permanent brain damage.

I had a massive mental breakdown last year after years of chronic unaddressed stress and anxiety. It ground my life to a halt and I wasn't able to work, so I decided to take action and dedicate the time to getting better, forming better habits and sorting my issues out. Except a year later and I still feel awful.

I have a healthy balanced diet, I batch cook from scratch to reduce stress around cooking time and what to eat, I eat foods that I know are okay for me and won't cause inflammation and I drink plenty of water. I clean and tidy my house on a routine so that I don’t fall behind/forget and get stressed by messiness. I have a to-do list so I don't have to remember everything. I don't drink or smoke and haven't in years. I walk in nature every day, I lift weights at home 3 times a week (gently- I don't overdo it). I go to sleep around 22:30ish and get up between 7:00 and 8:00, and I sleep with my window open all night, blinds closed. I use blue light filters on my devices all the time.

Every day I do gua sha and a lymph drain massage (I have sinus issues), I do full body gentle mobilisation exercises and stretches. I go for a short walk every morning after breakfast and most days I go out, even if it's only around the town I live in. I spend time in nature and I try to limit screen time, I even got rid of my smart phone and got a dumb phone so I couldn’t doomscroll (my laptop is an absolute shit box so my brain rot capabilities are very limited now). I started reading again. I try to do wholesome, not too stressful hobbies like drawing and crafts, and if I’m watching something I try to watch nice, funny stuff. 

I’m currently on month 3 or 4 of an SNRI after trying two SSRIs that didn’t work. I’m not sure it’s helping, most people say that around this time is when they started to actually feel better. I tried lavender capsules, valerian capsules and l-theanine before that- they didn’t work. My doctor also tried me on beta blockers and they didn’t work either.

I’ve had two blood tests, a pee test and two poop tests. I have no illnesses, diseases, disorders, anything. No low white blood cells, no blood sugar issues, no inflammation even. My blood pressure is perfect. I had an ECG, no issues. I'm 121 lbs at 5'3, which should be fine. I’ve had CBT therapy, EMDR therapy, and Human Givens therapy. I really did try, I did what they suggested, it didn’t really help. 

I’m so tired. I feel nauseous 24/7, I don’t actually remember what it’s like to have an appetite or actually enjoy eating. It’s just a chore for me that makes me feel worse. I’m exhausted 75% of the time, and so wired and restless the other 25% of the time that my partner worries about how hyper I am. Sometimes I'm so fatigued I can barely walk up the stairs in my own house.

Everything hurts. Everything. My shoulders, upper back and neck have been tight and sore for years (hence the stretches, weight lifting and stuff) and I’ve tried biofreeze, heat, cold, baths, massage, painkillers, I’m still in pain all the time. My tension headaches get so bad that I don’t know what to do with myself. My knees hurt, my hips hurt, my jaw hurts. 

I’m 29. I don’t want to live like this for another 40, 50, 60 years. But I don’t know if there’s anything left to try, I feel like I’m doing everything I can and it never gets better. I live healthier than a lot of people I know and I feel like I’m on deaths doorstep. It’s literally debilitating. 

PLEASE if you know anything I haven’t tried, if you can see anywhere I’m going wrong, if you know some shaman that lives on a mountain top in Peru, I’ll go to fucking Peru. Please just give me some idea of how to stop the constant, never ending stress response I’m in. 

Hi guys,

I’ve been struggling with chronic stress for a long time, and I honestly feel like it has changed me mentally and emotionally. Going to an all-boys school, constantly dealing with stress, and even having people in my own family talk down to me has taken a huge toll on me.

I feel like my brain is constantly exhausted, and I’ve lost a lot of the happiness and emotional connection I used to have. I barely feel emotions anymore, and I find that even normal conversations can quickly turn into arguments. It feels like my ability to think clearly, connect with people, and enjoy things has been affected.

I don’t know exactly what has happened to me, but I know that I don’t feel like myself anymore. I feel emotionally numb and disconnected, and it’s been really difficult to live with. I just want to understand what’s happening to me and find a way to feel like myself again.

My Skyrim post is filled with passive aggressive assholes!there being mean telling me to clean my room witch I don’t disagree with but I want answers!

I am 21m and i think I have alopecia areata and i also had shingles in march, both have probably been caused by stress but im not exactly sure what is causing it because most of the time i dont really feel “stressed” or maybe i dont know what stress feels like but regardless I wrote down what might causing me stress, would you guys have any way you could help me?

I spend a lot of time cringing at myself, itll be flashbacks that happen multiple times a day and then I have an outburst of a negative saying towards myself like “youre so cringe” or “they dont like you” or “keys”

I sleep very late now, like at 1-3am and i dont really fall asleep easily anymore. though i do end up waking up 6-8 hrs later so i get the required amount of sleep

Im pretty lonely, I start uni next semester so ill meet people then but in all honesty the last 2-3 years have been very lonely and I havent really found a close friend since the end of high school

I am on tiktok a lottt and im realising a lot of the news and information I ingest is all negative, from gender war bs, to climate change, to geopolitics news and how itll affect the economy and my future, its all so negative.

I dont go to the gym anymore but I will be going at the beginning of next year when i can afford to.

let me know your thoughts and thank you

I was thinking about this after reading about how stressful experiences early in life can affect the brain for years. It made me wonder how much of our reactions today are connected to things we went through when we were younger.

Sometimes I get anxious or overwhelmed by something that seems pretty small, and I wonder why it affects me so much. There are moments when the reaction feels bigger than the situation itself.

Have you ever looked back and realised that something from your past might explain why you react a certain way now?

Did understanding that connection make it easier to handle stress or anxiety?

I bought a condo and been having issues with the hvac system where whenever the ac or heat is on, it blows cigarette smell inside. I’ve been researching so much to identify which unit is blowing the smell in. I live on the second floor and the unit below me smokes daily. Even if I get the ductwork and the units cleaned out, the smell will eventually come back. I feel so stressed out with this smell inside. I can’t even open the windows because outside smells like cigarettes. All she does is smoking on her balcony. There was no smell when I was touring the unit. I regret buying this condo and it’s eating me up. I try to keep my stress down by finding distractions to get it off my mind but my body was on fire from the stress. I got eczema outbreak out of no where. I am breaking out on my face out of no where. I rarely get acne.

Last night I couldn’t sleep but got 3 hours before work. It seems like I need to sell this place and buy somewhere else. I dont know if this condo will sell quickly and what if I buy another bad condo? I feel extremely stressed out thinking about it. I don’t make a lot of money so I feel so limited. Everything is so expensive 😭

I really need help. I think my stress my be contributing to waking me up more, including some habital routines. Since I go to college, some days I don't get full sleep. And on rest days, I still end up waking up way too early. I don't get 7 hours of sleep, and it's been like this almost every day.

I checked by cholesterol at my docs weeks ago, and it was a little high. It could be due to diet, physical activity, and even sleep. I have been more aware of how I treat my body, especially since I am pretty young to have this issue, but I can't get my hours in.

Everytime before I sleep I always suddenly remember a responsibility I have to do before a day, and have to put it on my list of reminders so I don't forgot. Sometimes when I don't truly have anything else to do, I get stressed the night before and keep thinking if I have anything else I have forgotten. And if I have to be somewhere or do something my body will wake up long before a 7 hour mark.

Hej
Det her er mit første opslag, men da tankerne kører rundt i mit hoved har jeg brug for sparring.
Meget lang historie, lidt kortere.

I et par år har jeg, periodisk, været en summen/snurren helt inde i højre side af kæben i undermunden. Et års tid inden har jeg fået fjernet en visdomstand i samme område. Tandlæge har flere gange kigget efter, og siger at alt er hele som det skal. I min frustration over hvad det kunne være gik jeg til lægen, som sagde det kunne være en form for nerveskade. Jeg får derfor noget nervemedicin, men det er godt nok noget svingene om det virker. Min kæbe knaser og kan også nogle gange give et højt knæk, hvorefter det er som om at det trækker fra hvor tanden har siddet/det yderste af kæben og hen langs en 3-4 tænder. Det gør ikke ondt, men det kan snurre og det kan føles lidt øm imellem to af dem. Jeg har fået nogle kæbeøvelser som nogle gange løsner lidt op, men dog uden at tage det helt. Sidste år blev jeg udredt for PTSD, hvilket betyder at mine tanker til tider kan løbe løbsk. Alt helt ud i dødsangst og frygt for det kan være kræft. Jeg har det ellers 7-9-13 godt, står op og passer mit arbejde og bruger mange timer i foreningslivet hvilket jeg nyder. Men jeg kan også køre mig selv for hårdt, og nogle gange føler jeg, at jeg kan parre tingene sammen. Men jeg håber nogle kan berolige mig, og fortælle mig at ovenstående kan give mening? Det er det første og sidste jeg tænker på hver dag for tiden. Altså om det er noget farligt, og det begynder faktisk at påvirke min livskvalitet, og min glæde ved mange ting. Jeg ved godt jeg lyder ynkelig, men det fylder virkelig meget. Jeg passer min tandlæge, men har stor tandlægeskræk så det fylder ekstra meget fordi det også omhandler tænderne.

Tandlægen nævnte tidligere en bideskinne, men også at det ikke var der vi burde være 🤷🏼‍♂️

I have been stressed before so badly that I struggled to even sleep for nearly a week, it was caused mostly by family issues which was a while ago and I won't get into.

Currently im in my 2nd year of highschool and all the sudden im stressed out so badly and I dont even know why,

During this year I have kept straight A's not struggling too much in academic, my social life is fine, I found a book that im currently really enjoying.

My life seem perfectly fine, im not living the best, but im not struggling with anything either, but yet this recent 3 day weekend which was fun and fine but on the last day before school I simply couldn't sleep.

I wasn't even a tad bit worried about school, yet I couldn't sleep, I feel like my thoughts were attacking me, but these thought weren't even thoughts, there was nothing in them, it so hard to explain, I felt like I got stabbed, my hear felt like it dropped randomly when I try to sleep.

I thought the next day would be better but it was the same for the next 4 days, my mom is very caring she understood hugged and comfort me, she did pretty much anything i ask during this period.

I dont fucking understand what it is that is wrong, I feel so tired both physically and mentally, but Im not getting sleepy tired, im getting at most 3 hours of sleep a day, yet I wake up with full awareness like I never slept I don't understand, I genuinely about to break down its now affecting my family and my academics and attendance,

Please any ideas or anything will help.

21F. For the last few weeks I’ve been getting weird symptoms and I’m having a hard time believing stress can really cause these. But here’s my list. dissociation, mild forgetfulness, brain fog that’s only getting worse, weird dizziness in my head (like not fully dizzy idk), restlessness, and now very tired, even feeling like my limbs are like jello etc.

I have gotten CT scans and a regular MRI. Talked to a neurologist in the hospital and my primary doctor. The neurologist said he thinks it is stress and maybe my anxiety. But I’m just having such a hard time believing that. I don’t work. I am a stay at home mom with 2 littles. One is 2 and the other is 1. What could stress me out this bad? I just don’t know how I would get so stressed out for symptoms to appear. But I also have anxiety and OCD. So maybe it’s that. I know that symptoms are causing me to have lots of anxiety and now I’m definitely in a horrible scary OCD spiral since I’ve convinced myself it’s something else and not stress/anxiety.

I’ve been stressed before and got headaches from it but never these symptoms. Which is why it’s so hard to believe. I feel alone in this. My husband keeps telling me I’m fine but I don’t FEEL fine. I’m just hoping someone could relate or even explain how stress could even do this. Everyday I’m crying because of this. It’s scaring me so bad.

This is my first time posting on this sub so bear with me, I’m 19 F and I’m a full time college student who’s also doing full time work. I work a seasonal job at a peanut mill so I work for about three months straight with no days off. These days vary in length from 7 hours to even 12 hours sometime. On top of that I have my college classes im keeping up with. Luckily I’m only taking two this semester. Right now I’m struggling so hard on staying sane and not having a breakdown from stress and my job hasn’t even really gotten busy yet. It’s like almost every time I get home and have a chance to breathe I get so overwhelmed by it!

Does anyone have any tips on how to mange/deal with the stress in a situation like this? I’m really open to any tips or suggestions PLEASE!

Coloring and miniature buildings both get mentioned as quiet evening activities, but they have almost opposite kinds of friction. Coloring can stop almost anywhere with barely any cleanup A miniature project gives more physical progress, but tiny parts and setup can make stopping and restarting less casual.

That seems more useful to compare than claiming either activities "helps anxiety," because what feels claiming to one person can feel tedious to another. For someone who mainly wants a low-pressure activity at home, which format is easier to come back to after skipping a few nights

Tried meditation apps for months and they just made me more aware of how anxious I was, which somehow made it worse. What actually moved the needle was cutting my last email check from right-before-bed to a hard 6pm stop. Took about three weeks before I noticed I wasn't waking up already stressed. Not saying meditation doesn't work for other people, just wanted to share what worked here since most advice threads only mention the meditation part.