Skip to main content Skip to bottom nav

Anxious about life?

User Profile: loyalSloth3335
loyalSloth3335 June 30th, 2022

I not only experience the day-to-day anxieties of “Oh my god, this project at work is out of my control, I don’t know what to do, therefore I’m going to panic,” but I also have much scarier anxieties along the lines of:

“What am I doing with my life? If I don’t *get better* soon, how am I going to be able to take care of myself, live a full life, be in a relationship?”

And those kinds of anxious thoughts really hit hard, because I’ve had so many mental health problems and trauma growing up that I have no friends. I’ve been living at home with my parents (who are supportive), but I feel like I’m in a cage, too scared to leave my house, too scared to learn how to drive (was in a minor accident as a young teen that scared me off of learning how to drive). I know, looking back over the years, that I’ve been improving, but it feels like I’m at a standstill or just not improving “fast enough.”

My anxiety manifests in anxiety attacks, hyperventilating, fight-or-flight responses, and a general sense of dread. But it also will come in the form of “butterflies in my stomach.” I’ve been really sensitive regarding anything involving my stomach since I was a kid and had a *really* bad stomach bug. Ever since then, I get really anxious when my stomach feels off. This, of course, creates a cycle of anxiety -> butterflies -> more anxiety.

Sorry for the long post.
Do any of you all experience this kind of “existential” anxiety?

1
User Profile: Optimisticempath
Optimisticempath July 31st, 2022

@loyalSloth3335

I can really relate with you 😕

This existential anxiety is so real and impacts us so much affecting daily life and hampering our cognition

No need to apologise for the post, it is not long and even if it was it is ok for you to share how you feeling

I'm glad you are able to recognize that you've been improving too over the years despite the difficult circumstances and trauma ❤

You deserve to be kind and gentle with yourself

What's a small step you can take to feel more in control of your life?

It helps me to not think of too much at once and focus on small steps that seem currently possible