Anxiety and Panic: What's the Difference
Anxiety is such a tough topic..my heart goes out to each and every one who has to endure its crippling reality. This is something I have struggled with personally, as well as my mother and siblings. Because anxiety and panic can have such destructive consequences, I thought it important to take some time today to discuss and distinguish the differences between these two conditions.
Fortunately, this wont be a lengthy post because the answer is simplified by one word: "Trigger". Worry, nervousness, and unease generally have a trigger or a circumstance that provokes the feelings of fear and physical unrest associated with anxiety. However, panic disorder is more closely linked to an irrational scenario that requires no trigger, and- as if that is not enough- the very fear of having a panic attack can produce one.
So, who here struggles with these diagnoses?
Have you been able to identify your triggers?
How do you cope when you're feeling overhwhelmed?
What are some changes you have had to make in your life in order to better function each day?
In Summary:
I've been diagnosed with Social Anxiety and I think the biggest thing is how it's affected my social life and school. A lot of my classes require class presentations that are worth a lot of our grade, and I'm simply too afraid to do them. Sadly I end up taking Fs on most of them. Simply raising my hand in class is even nerve wrecking. ESPECIALLY IF THE TEACHER CALLS ON YOU WHEN YOU WEREN'T EVEN RAISING YOUR HAND. I feel like I'm going to sound stupid, but then my thoughts contradict and I start thinking, "But what if they think I'm stupid because I never raise my hand?" and then I get stuck in a thought cycle of a lose-lose situation. Even in my close relationships sometimes I struggle to voice my opinions or the things I want. A lot of the time I feel like people take advantage of me, but at the same time I know it's partially my fault because I never stick up for myself. Even with my boyfriend there will be times where I'm depressed and he'll get very worried and ask me over and over about what's wrong. I end up shutting down when this happens. A lot of the time I won't even be able to speak because my mind does summersaults trying to figure out A: what is actually wrong because my anxiety tends to make mountains out of mole hills. B: How to form words out of a jumble of thoughts and feelings. It usually ends in me not saying anything and him thinking something tragic has happened when really I just came from a noisy classroom or something.
I find that my social anxiety doesn't affect my writing or art. This has lead me to find ways of expressing my feelings in more artistic ways. I write and draw almost constantly. I'm very open and honest through my writing. I could explain for days about what's bothering me if someone just gave me a pen and a pencil. Contrary to what most people think, I actually really like people and having conversations with them. I'm just too anxious to actually engage with someone face to face. I probably come off as really shy to most people, but the few that I have become comfortable with will tell you the opposite. Regardless of my anxiety, it is true that I'm still slightly more reserved than most people, but I'm not as slow and absent minded as I come accross. Honestly I'm not even "shy". I have strong thoughts, beliefs and ideas and under my social anxiety lies someone who is very strong willed and wants to engage with the world. There are Extroverted thoughts hidden beneath this Introverted demeanour.
@TaintedHazeI
Thank you for your obviously thoughtful reply! I can absolutely relate the classroom setting. I am an A student, but in high school I would accept the lower grade if it meant stepping out on a physical presentation. Public speaking does become easier with practice. What has helped me is starting with smaller familier groups of people. Friends, family, support groups, etc. Now I can hold my own during a company meeting and even lead discussion I am passionate about. It can still be very difficult on my hard days though. If I feel I am doing well I will be okay, but sometimes my thoughts begin to interrupt my words, then I become jumbled - or worse!- suffer memory loss. Instantly red in the face...lol. These things take time, and it is okay to laugh at yourself.
One of my more prominent struggles has also been being upset for no unforseen reason and trying to articulate that to my husband. I write too. :)
@TaintedHaze Wow you pretty much just described me. I see lose-lose everywhere & it's really tempting to not try. Creating is an outlet for me too. I make music & art & I'm a programmer which is all about creating. I have a lot of good insight when I have time to think things through but f2f happens too fast. I prefer going places & doing activities w/ friends f2f & texting for deep convos. Most of my friends strongly prefer f2f & it's annoying but we find a balance. My 1 friend who used to be even more all about text than me now likes f2f more. He has SA too like me, less than before but for me I don't think I'd be as insightful f2f even w/o the anxiety. I can work on academic/creative stuff w/ ppl fine for the most part. There are the little triggers everywhere though. When people say something that reminds me of my anxiety problem or some bad past experience. It helps to remind myself stuff people say is far from facts & I only need to be receptive to what I find constructive. If something's constructive for others but not for me I can be respectful & kinda zone out & not contribute until they move on to the next thing. It's deep convos that take time for me. I love emails coz of the freedom & time. I also hate being paralyzed in front of a screen for 2 hrs. It's getting better though.
@TaintedHaze
Random update on my social anxiety.
I've been getting better with it for certain amounts of time, but suddenly I will be reminded of it by something silly.
Like yesterday I was wearing flip flops, and my entire school has smooth hard floors, and every step I'd make sounded like I was stepping on ducks. It made me almost panic. Especially when it was really quiet in the hall and only one person was walking near me. I'd clentch my fists and teeth, locking my eyes somewhere. I laugh about it in hindsight, I must have looked silly, I felt silly. But in the moment it's panic inducing, I ended up walking bare foot.. which drew even more attention. Plus I have a weird nerve disorder that causes me to have a random burst of a hiccup, (not repetitive ones, just a single loud squeeky "*HIC*" (Think of it as having like, tourettes, but only in your diaphram.) it hapens at least 10 times a day, randomly. Teachers will even stop talking to giggle a little, not that I blame anyone. I get emberassed, but even I have to giggle a little, but while turning very red. I mean a lot of the times even IM startled by the noise that my body just produced. Some describe it as a sqeeky toy or the sound of stepping on a chiuahaha. Just very pitchy. And very sudden and loud. I've been feeling better lately though, mostly because I've been having more manic-like phases lately, which tends to make me a little more spontaneous and care-free.
I'm starting to find that if I just let go and act completely silly, laugh loud, and even do something kind of silly, if I get a positive reaction, such as people laughing or something of the sort, I break that boundry and can relax more. Because anxiety makes me appear stiff, reserved, and even timid. Its even harder to speak out when you've presented yourself this way. So I've just kind of tried to let people know (starting with people i'm moderatly comfortable with) that I'm just a complete derp, even trying to act more silly than I am, that way you can just act like yourself and they can now expect anything. Instead of being like "holy crap SHE ACTUALLY SPOKE"
Hahaha.
BUMP
My 4 year old son has severe school phobia and he panics at the very thought of having to go to school. I am very worried about his future. Please suggest me a helpful remedy.
@jamesnsien
While we cannot not give direct advice, we can support you by offering up thoughtful conversation with the hopes that you will reach your own conclusions. Have you considered home-schooling? Is this an option for you?
@jamesnsien What is he afraid of about school? It helps to break it down to specific things & combat them 1 at a time
