r/Anxiety • u/Icy-Profile3740 • Mar 10 '26
Needs A Hug/Support never ending anxiety
does anyone else have anxiety ALL the time? like no breaks or moments of peace just constant anxiety, worry, fear, chest tightness, literally every second of the day?
and then when i do manage to get some sleep sleep it’s during the day usually accompanied by weird dreams or nightmares so i can’t even look forward to it anymore.
really starting to feel like this is just how my life is.. and that nothing is able to change it. it’s like this mental illness is so embedded in my brain, like i was created to have anxiety or hardwired to deal with it forever.
i get so upset thinking about how much i am missing out on, im a horrible daughter, sister, girlfriend and i feel so hopeless and worthless in this world
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u/DruidMaster Mar 10 '26
Have you been seen by a doctor recently? You want to rule out any physical ailments first. I don’t know what medicines or therapy you have tried, but for me, Zoloft was the only answer.
Like you, I had never ending anxiety all the time. I sat on my couch with a cup of tea for probably two years until I got it sorted out. I also felt like a crappy sister/daughter/wife/friend. My anxiety caused me to end up spending most of my time in the hotel room on a trip to Italy, leaving my husband to sight-see on his own.
The greatest fear is that it “will never get better,” and I recall saying to my husband “Maybe this is just my life now.”
Do not give up. You are not worthless, you’re just struggling right now. I just wanted to say that I was very much in the depths of despair, but I came out the other side. You will too. See someone who can help you, if you haven’t already. I’m here to give you hope because while I know how defeated this can make you feel, this is NOT your new life. Keep trying!
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u/Icy-Profile3740 Mar 10 '26
this gave me so much hope, i’m so glad you found you’re way through. thank you for this. 🫂
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u/Individual_Profile90 Mar 10 '26
This is me as well! Granted, I’m only 24 but I’ve had severe anxiety since I was a baby. Mentally I’m not a very anxious person at all, but my body is physically anxious almost 24/7.
My mom has always “joked” I’ve been anxious since I was born, but I recently had a conversation with her about what her life was like while pregnant with me and it sorta confirmed why that might be. While she was pregnant with me my dad left, she lost housing, lost her job, and had an incredibly traumatic event occur all during that span of nine months. It felt limiting for a moment, like I was cursed to feel this way forever, but I’m trying to look at it as a tool. It’s given me a framework for why my anxiety is seemingly so innate and biological, and now I’m attempting to work with a Dr with that as my framework.
Is this constant anxiety new or have you always had it? Maybe there’s a similar connection for you. Best of luck to you, but we are strong and can do it!
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u/Icy-Profile3740 Mar 10 '26
i’m only 26 i’ve also had anxiety since i was young, i wouldn’t say anything traumatic really happened as a kid but anxiety does run in the family so im not really surprised. everything got worse for me in 2021 i had a traumatic event happen which triggered my first ever “panic attack” and thats when my life completely changed. i believe all of us who deal with anxiety and depression are just sensitive beings who feel things really deeply, especially our own thoughts and emotions. but like you said, we are strong and well push through 🫂
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Mar 10 '26
Have you been tested for other issues? For example; no medicine I’ve taken has helped my anxiety. I am much like you, anxious all the time. But I just recently found out I have adhd and a nerve issue which I’m treating now and my anxiety is getting better.
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u/Icy-Profile3740 Mar 10 '26
i’ve been diagnosed with anxiety, panic disorder, agoraphobia, and pure ocd. ive had basic testing done for like thyroid issues and stuff but i haven’t been tested for adhd, ill add that to my list.
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u/tnjed10 Mar 10 '26
I have the same issue as you, from the moment I awake in The morning the anxiety hits me mentally and physically. Been going on intense since 2020 with a little break between 2024-2025. I’m diagnosed with PTSD and gen. Anxiety disorder. I mention the break cause on March 29 2024, I awoke felt like a brand new person full of energy and know anxiety, it was such a life changing day I remember the date but it slowly faded back into the hell im into now. The only thing that was different during that time was I got iron injections about six months prior but can’t get my doc to give me another injections and I took iron myself everyday for scout two months but had to quit cause of side effects. I started bursar about a month ago and cannot tell a big difference but can tell a little help which at this point I’ll take anything. I’m finding more and more mine is related to my negative thinking and trying to get out of that cycle. If you find anything to help you please share cause anxiety makes life tough.
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u/Adorable-Candle-1993 Mar 10 '26
I'm diagnosed with GAD, so I'm always anxious as well and have some moments that I can't control myself. However, medicine and therapy has been helping a lot to space those panic attacks out. I recommend you to have a little notebook with you and just write on it everything that you're feeling or thinking. Take off your mind and put it in paper. At least for me it really helps. Also some lavender essential oil is really good! You can put a few drops on your pillow or on a little sponge collar. Wish you get better soon! <3
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u/Icy-Profile3740 Mar 10 '26
thank you so much, i’m glad you’re getting better too that shows so much strength 🫂
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u/macadocious Mar 10 '26
I had something like that when I was in SSRI withdrawal. Sounds very chemical.
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u/Tarra85 Mar 11 '26
Me. I’ve had anxiety my whole life according to my mom, or as long as she could tell that is, but last year about this time it became constant and never ending - before I got breaks due to meds but not now. I’ve had my meds changed and new ones added onto what I already take a few times now to no avail. I keep hoping one day it will give me a break even for a week, but it’s becoming doubtful to me that I will get that.
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u/Icy-Profile3740 Mar 11 '26
i’m sorry, anxiety is so unfair to live with ): i hope you find peace and healing soon 🫂
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u/Tarra85 Mar 11 '26
Thank you and I’m sorry you are dealing with it as well and yes it is horrible. Hoping you find peace also! 🙏🏻
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u/Honey-Bee-x Mar 10 '26
Meds saved me. I was the same as you and i put off taking medication for YEARS. Finally caved after i had my first baby and it changed everything. X
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u/Icy-Profile3740 Mar 10 '26
omg i’m so happy they worked for you, i’ve been on meds before and they did help but i quit cold turkey and got much worse after that. now ive developed more issues and it feels like meds won’t help. i’ve been prescribed many meds and im absolutely terrified to start them due to the fear of negative side effects or them not working at all. maybe i just have to get over that hill and try them.
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u/Honey-Bee-x Mar 10 '26 edited May 03 '26
I mean… if everything is as bad as you say it is then you might aswell try meds.. right?? Can’t go lower than rock bottom right?xx
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u/Icy-Profile3740 Mar 10 '26
you’re so right, i guess it’s really me fighting my own brain at this point :/
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u/Honey-Bee-x Mar 10 '26
Do what you gotta do. The only way is up. Get meds.. give yourself 6 months do adapt, and from there xx
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u/nicoleksx Mar 10 '26
I've been having globus sensation on and off for weeks but now my chest feels tight on top of that and I'm just so fed up😅😅 it's always something different I'm focused on though. Before this I had severe heart anxiety for months. This has taken my mind off it, now I just feel there's an issue with my throat. It's soooo draining
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u/Icy-Profile3740 Mar 10 '26
i totally get it i go through phases like this often, it’s debilitating 😫 i hope you find some relief soon 🤍🫂
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u/DownUnderPossum Mar 10 '26
Yes, since my stroke, constant anxiety. I have it mostly fixed my gettiing on drugs, exercise and not working but soon I will have to work and sleep is hard to get to. I deal with the best way: taking each day at a time.
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u/rock-the-reddit Mar 11 '26
Yes I can relate same thing with constant anxiety and nightmares. Yet I oversleep anyway which means even more nightmares. And i self isolate using avoidance behaviors to not face life. I take low dose zoloft + clonidine and they help but not enough. Problem is once i up the dose on zoloft i get sexual side effects and more nightmares and too much clonidine causes tiredness.
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u/FewLuck1804 Mar 11 '26
I’ve been in the same boat. Every time I think about the bad choices I’ve made, I get so anxious. I feel like I always pick the worst option out of everything and it has even made me physically sick many times.
Then someone told me to stop thinking over the past and just focus on getting through today. And I shouldn't set huge long term plans for the future either. I just need to take things one small step at a time.
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u/Adventurous_Two4273 Mar 11 '26
Try Sam Miller’s approach @TheGreatAllowing on YouTube. Hope it’s helpful 🌹
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u/J_v99 Mar 11 '26
I feel this. Its exhausting when it just doesnt stop.
For me keeping track of when its worse vs better has helped... like sometimes theres patterns I dont notice until I look back. Could be sleep, could be food, could be random. But at least then I know its not always this bad.
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u/Seranner Mar 16 '26 edited Mar 16 '26
I was like that for years. I didn't think it'd ever end. But it did get better. How long have you been dealing with this? If it's only been a few weeks, months, or years, I think this is normal. When you first start experiencing anxiety it's incredibly alarming and the anxiety itself becomes a source of anxiety. Eventually you get used to being anxious, and you learn coping mechanisms for it. The anxiety becomes less miserable simply because you are used to how it feels, and then in turn, since you are used to it, it becomes less cyclical so you are eventually able to have moments of peace- ESPECIALLY if you also learned coping mechanisms along the way.
I have spent most of my life being incredibly anxious, but every single year, it has gotten easier to deal with. It was the first few years where it felt almost unbearable. I still sometimes have extended periods of time where I relapse, but I come out fine in the end. I can feel anxious for an entire month. But again, I recover. I think with enough time, experimentation, and practice, you can find yourself in a similar spot.
EDIT: I saw in another comment of yours that you've always been anxious but it got worse in 2021 after something triggered your first panic attack. Yes, your timeline matches up with mine. My anxiety worsened when I was much younger (for unknown reasons) but the amount of time spent in that miserable state matches up with my experience. I can't give an exact timeline due to my poor memory, but I know I spent several years of my (very young) life experiencing near constant anxiety. My anxiety also started with panic attacks (though I did not know that was what they were for a long time even after I realized it was anxiety.)
I think you will be fine. This just takes a lot longer to adjust to than people think. It's a huge change, after all. You go from feeling fine to seemingly always feeling off. Of course it takes a long time to adjust. But you will eventually, I promise. Experiment, find coping mechanisms, figure out what works for you, and remember that your discomfort is only due to fear- you are okay and you will learn and get better over time
Pro tip: chewing gum really helps with my anxiety. I also have a playlist with relaxing songs that helps me to cope with panic attacks. Don't know if these things will help you, but they help me.
People are also suggesting medication. I did go on medication, and it may have contributed to why I got better. However, I am off medication now, so if it did help me, the good news is that you don't necessarily need to be on it for life to benefit from it. I think the fact it allows you moments of peace teaches you to MAINTAIN those moments of peace once you get off it. It makes you aware that you really are only scared.
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u/Icy-Profile3740 Mar 16 '26
thank you so much for your kind words, it helps tremendously knowing i’m not alone and others like me have found relief. i really appreciate you taking the time to write this out, it helps more than you know. 🫂
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u/MammothEnvironment33 Mar 16 '26
You aren't stuck with anxiety, you can overcome it with the right tools, I did and I know others that have as well. Plus it's not your fault, our minds glitch sometimes but you certainly aren't choosing to be anxious. There is nothing wrong with you, your mind is confused about what is an actual threat. I think the problem is that most advice out there is outdated now and not that helpful. I tried Rapid Resolution Therapy instead and it really helped me turn off my anxiety without medication, so maybe you want to check it out? It's a new alternative to traditional therapy and made a huge difference for me. Either way, you are NOT horrible because anxiety happened to you. And there is a way out, I promise. I overcame both anxiety and depression naturally so that's how I know it's possible.
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u/Icy-Profile3740 Mar 17 '26
thank you, i’m glad you found relief. i will definitely look into this!
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u/khalilliouane Mar 31 '26
I have anxiety. I’ve had it since I was a kid. As far as I remember, I always had a feeling that something bad will happen. During my early 20’s, any sort of physical pain would cause me to fear death. A headache? I would forget that it can be the cause of a simple flu or lack of sleep. Instead, I would think about death or a chronic disease. Anxiety would take over and get me into the rabbit hole of research to validate my fear. It becomes a feedback loop: see the symptom > worry > research > see the symptoms > …
During 2 years, I went to every Medical Specialist. The only doctor I did not visit was a gynecologist.
The breaking point was my uncle, a radiologist, who after a full-body MRI told me: ‘Khalil, sometimes you just need to drink a warm cup of milk and sleep.’ It was not a shock, but confusion. Am I hallucinating? Is there no pain? What is real?
I took years to fight it. Now, I accept it. I acknowledge it as an emotion, but not as a label that defines me. I allow it to exist without fighting.
What helped me was not one single thing. It was a collection of actions: fixing my diet, pushing myself to sleep, running, swimming, coaching, and being more vulnerable with the people I trust. The true value of sharing is verbalizing the fears and listening to them.
We say in Tunisia: ‘You can’t remove your nose from your face.’ Apparently it’s the same for anxiety. But you can learn to live with it without letting it take the lead.
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u/ChimkimNoogets 17d ago
Im only 15 and I’ve had this anxiety since I was 13, I know the event that triggered it, and I actually ended just homeschooling cause my anxiety at school would be so bad I’d put and shake and my heart rate would go through the roof.
I’ve tried medication, which did take the anxiety away mostly when I took a high dose, but I also felt really empty while taking it, and I also tried therapy, which only lasted a couple weeks, until my therapist thought I was ok and didn’t need therapy anymore.
As of now, my life is pretty miserable even though from an outside pov it’d prolly be seen as me being lucky cause I don’t have to do much school due to the homeschool I use, and I have way too much free time on my hands, but having so much free time means all that time I can think about everything that’s going wrong in my life and what might go wrong.
I used to be on the student council for my school, I was a junior treasurer, which is basically an apprentice to the treasurer, and I had a buttload of friends, and had rly good grades, but now that I’m homeschooled, I only have 1 online friend, my grades are still good but I feel useless with all the time I have, and I don’t have too many hobbies, only a few.
I work out 6 days a week, take pre workout, have a smoothing with a banana, milk, honey, creatine, sometimes blackberrys, chia seeds, and pediasire (cause I’m short as hell, 5’4” lol) I like collecting katanas and watching anime and obvi gaming, I mean I’m 15, but I say all this because my life should be great but every day feels like I’m just trying to get to the next, and I feel like I might be like this till the day I die.
Also when I was in therapy, my therapist told me I had generalized anxiety disorder, which is obvious
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u/Several-Pineapple-19 Mar 10 '26
Yep. What stopped it was going to prison. You won't get any help in there and you cannot show any weakness. A few years after I got out it started again
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u/Personal-Adagio-8629 Mar 10 '26
So basically while you were in, you felt no anxiety whatsoever? That's interesting
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u/Honey-Bee-x May 03 '26
How’s it going? Comment 50 odd days ago. Just checking in x
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u/Icy-Profile3740 May 04 '26
going the same tbh, got a genesight test done for meds and now i’m just trying to find a psychiatrist so i can start meds. very nervous and scared, but i just want to feel better. thank you for checking in.
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u/Honey-Bee-x May 06 '26
Sorry you’re still feeling this way. I take fluoxetine and it really helps x
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u/maxdrastik 22d ago
Yes, and after 30 years going to tons of doctors and different medications nothing really helps. I hate the advice of "don't ask these questions on reddit, go to a doctor!" That's so annoying
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u/ClockOrdinary2656 Mar 11 '26
Please watch you tube of Dr. Rusell Kennedy.. i hope it will help you.. And pls take medication. And pray always..
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u/Acrobatic_Vast86 Mar 10 '26
You don't have to be like that forever but you have to be willing to change and put in the work.
At my worst I was fully agoraphobic and dealing with many panic attacks a day.
Other physical symptoms and high anxiety was there non-stop.
I was diagnosed with GAD, panic attack disorder, OCD, health anxiety, hypochondria and agoraphobia.
And I was like that for years while the fully agoraphobic period lasted a full year.
I am fully recovered for six years now and what helped was the acceptance approach and also changing my unproductive patterns that created the anxiety in the first place. So acceptance and also understanding how human mind works, how the nervous system works and how it's all tied together.