Going through a very rough patch right now
Hello everybody!
Im new to 7cups and wanted to introduce myself. My name is Jack, and I suffer from anxiety that for most of my life has been well under control. However, the past two months have been extremely unpleasant, and I am glad to have found what seems like a supportive community.
Does anyone have any advice or coping strategies that they have used to get through a rough patch of anxiety? My anxiety resurfaced 2 months ago after 6 years of being anxiety free, with a massive panic attack that just came out of the blue. Since then, Ive been dealing with near constant anxiety and physical symptoms that will just not go away! Its so frustrating and starting to greatly affect my mood, and Im beginning to lose hope that Ill get through this and Im at a loss as to what I can do. Its almost as if Ive forgotten what its like to feel normal, and I fear Ill never get back to that state. 😢
New to 7 Cups I'm 31 I function at a baseline of anxiety everyday it wasn't always that way I used to be very carefree and spur of the moment then I became a live-in caregiver for 3 yrs and I kind of adopted the old lady's anxiety being with someone 24 hours a day listening to them worry and their anxiety and all these things started to freak me out and got me thinking and now even today literally 10 freaking years later after this lady. It's gotten worse and it sucks I'm also having issues with people in my family who don't really believe in anxiety and tell you to just get over it which if I could I totally would then they proceeded to tell me about stupid stuff they found online some kind of weird oil from a special flower found in the deep dark jungles of random place thats supposedd to help lol I realize I'm reaching there but it does feel like some of the solutions that people try to come up with usually just ends up with or you can just get over it and in my head I'm thinking I didnt ask you to help me I'm just telling you I'm having anxiety so just give me a freaking minute to calm myself down if I can some days I can't and on those days THC really comes to my rescue. Seems so odd to me that in this Day and age that there are still people who don't believe that anxiety is a thing so I found this forum and find comfort in knowing I'm not the only one and hopefully I won't be told to just get over it here LOL 🤦🤷🙏 also apologize if there's some weird typos or if this doesn't make sense it is 4 a.m. in the morning and I have not slept!
@THAT1GURL I'm also dealing with the stigma of a mental illness. People want to be comforting, but until one has experienced a panic attack they don't understand. My breakdown was almost 4 months ago and I struggle almost everyday. My mother has ask me a couple times to explain a panic attack, I don't want to because it's reliving it. I suffer from Generalized Anxiety Disorder, severe depression, severe anxiety, and panic attacks. One of my Dr's introduced me to a term I'd never heard. It's called Compassion Fatigue. I'm in hospitality, and I believe in it. Anyone who's been a caregiver can succombe. Thanks for sharing your story. You are not alone. That's one reason I keep coming back to this site.
@Jackhammer26 Welcome! I've been coming here for about two months. It's very helpful knowing I'm not alone. I hope it is for you also. I suffer from GAD, with severe depression , severe anxiety, and panic attacks. Almost 4 months ago I had a breakdown. It's been very slow going. I come here for peer to peer support, another site for group therapy, another site for one on one therapy with a therapist, and this week I will have a face to face with a psychiatrist. In addition, my husband has been amazing support and I've cleared out a couple of toxic people from my life, Energy Vampires. LOL.
As for suggestions of handling when an attack comes on, my therapist gave me a good one that help stave off a panic attack the other day. I have trouble living in the moment. I constantly worry about the future. That's usually what triggers my attacks. Her suggestion was to stop, breath in deeply, and then focus on things around me: the feel of the sun on my face, the softness of my cats fur, the feel of the fabric I'm sittting on, the smells in the air, the sounds of children playing in the distance, pretty much anything that brings me back to this moment. It really helped me. My attack was in public and I was quickly able to control it about 70%. I hope this helps.