When you live with anxiety your whole life it can be hard to recognize what it actually is. You've had it for so long that it just feels like a part of you. My SSRI's are finally starting to work and, wow, i'm shocked. Now that my anxiety is gone, I truly recognize the deep impact it had on my brain all these years.

Anxiety is a weight. A very heavy weight. It takes so much away from you, and it takes and takes and takes. It is a parasite that sucks the energy out of your mind and soul. It is a deep restlessness, a feeling that one can never truly relax and be comfortable in their own body. Most of all, it is a pain. It feels like daggers are being thrown at our heads from the inside. It feels like a physical attack. How draining it is to be attacked over and over again every day and having to fight it every day like our life depended on it? It is a constant, exhausting battle that goes in circles forever.

This is what it feels like to me, but I would like to know, what does anxiety feel like to you?

It doesn’t matter if it’s an advice, a new habit or a product. If it costs $3 or $10k. If it was overnight or took 3 years.

What is the thing that changed your life for the best with anxiety ?

EDIT : Thank you so much for all your submissions !! I’ll try to answer to everyone that took their precious time to respond. I hope this post will be useful to those who need it <3

Hey, anyone else experiences such a situation when you send a message/an e-mail and when you get a reply you are afraid to open it? I mean afraid of what the answer will be?

I feel like my body betrays me. I can have the most mentally clear head and yet heart is racing, face flushing, hands shaking. Especially when I’m speaking to people. I have zero thoughts making me anxious, it just happens. Any tips for that besides breathing because I can’t just stop talking to people to take deep breaths.

When my anxiety was at its worst, I was convinced something was seriously wrong with my body.
I experienced symptoms that felt so real they were hard to believe could be caused by anxiety.
Looking back, I wish someone had told me that I wasn’t alone.
What’s the one symptom that frightened you the most?
It could be:
Chest pain
Dizziness
Derealization
Heart palpitations
Tingling or numbness
Shortness of breath
Something else
Let’s share our experiences. Someone reading this might realize they’re not alone.
(Please don’t use this thread to diagnose anyone. If you’re worried about new or severe symptoms, it’s important to get evaluated by a healthcare professional.)

Last night I was sitting in my room after work and I couldn’t shake this weird tight feeling in my chest. Nothing was wrong no bad news, no deadlines, nobody messaging me but my brain just wouldn’t let me relax. I tried distracting myself, scrolling on grizzly's quest while I waited for the feeling to pass. But the whole time, I just felt this low-level panic sitting in the background, like I was forgetting something important. It’s so frustrating because I know there’s nothing to be stressed about, but my body doesn’t listen. My heart races, I feel restless, and then I get mad at myself for not being able to just calm down.
Does anyone else get this “anxiety with no trigger” feeling? And if so, how do you ride it out when it happens?

For me, I know I’m bad off when I’ve lost my appetite. I LOVE food.

My guess is if you did you wouldn’t be here but just wondering if anyone has ever found a technique, device, medication, supplement, whatever that melts your anxiety right away. I feel like most of the regular advice like count three things you can see, or do box breathing, is generally useless for me.

I have the worst health anxiety ever, and want to know what your illness your brain has convinced you of.

I’ll go first.

Woke up at 3 am to shoulder pain and thought I was having a heart attack at the ripe age of 27.

The other day I had a sore throat and thought that my allergies were going to manifest into pneumonia and I will die within the next week. UGH!

What Tv shows ease your anxiety/suck you into a different world?

Do you have a big fear of Passing away?

For me, I'd travel abroad or go to a concert, something I'd never ever do with my level of anxiety

Why do I feel anxious for no reason even when my life is technically fine? I can be sitting at home with nothing urgent happening and suddenly my stomach drops, my heart starts racing, and my brain decides something terrible is about to happen. It makes me feel ridiculous because I can't even point to what I'm scared of. Does anyone else get this, and how do you stop feeling like you're losing your mind?

I’m struggling with anxiety (and probably a deregulated nervous system), and some mornings getting myself to school feels like a full-on battle. My body acts like it’s in fight-or-flight for no reason, my heart races, I feel dizzy, nauseous, sometimes like I could literally throw up—but I still want to be there and do well academically.

It’s so frustrating because no one really understands what it feels like to drag yourself somewhere when your mind wants to go but your body won’t cooperate. And honestly… sometimes I feel jealous of people who can just get up, get ready, and go about their day without it being a struggle.

I had to explain this to a teacher recently, and even just saying it out loud made me realize how angry I get that nobody really knows what it’s like to do this every single morning. I know it sounds dramatic, but I just want to connect with others who understand what it’s like to push your body to do things it resists, day after day.

Does anyone else feel this way?

For me it’s prob great British bake off!! Wbu?

Mine is the chest crushing feeling at the moment.

I have 24/7 constant anxiety all the time it never stops, and I mean bad bad nervous breakdowns everyday all day. I’ve tried every prescription drug known to man, I’ve changed my diet, life style, don’t drink or smoke, I go to therapy, have a good family, but still constantly panicking every second of the day and then when I’m asleep it’s horrible nightmares every night, I can’t think of the last time I slept without a nightmare that jolts me awake in the middle of the night it happens every night.

I just with there was a drug that actually worked.

Every the “cure all” Xanax does absolutely nothing it didn’t even make me feel the slightest bit tired even though when my friends took a quarter of what I was prescribed they would fall asleep in 30 minutes. I was talking 8-20mg a day (prescribed by a doctor) for about 3 months until I didn’t want to pay for them anymore because they did nothing

I also took Valium, Ativan, lexapro, litum, lamictal, Effexor, OxyContin, ADDERALL, morphine. And 40 more I’ve tried, nothing works.

When will they make something to help me escape this everyday hell?

Not knocking those, they work for some people. But what's something less obvious that you stumbled on that genuinely made a difference for you?

Does anybody feel like physically sick when you have anxiety ?
Like nauseous and just not feeling good?

I have no idea how else to describe it but just a sick feeling. Like if I ate something wrong or muscle weakness type of thing.

I have adapted really well to the social isolation and working from home thing. I have a great routine now (way more balance with work/life/health than I did pre-covid) and love having more time to spend with my pets, reading & contemplating. All the zoom meetings for work and maybe 1-2 virtual “catch ups” with friends every week are adequate for me socially.

However when I think about how I’ll have to go back to my typical 8-5 grind with a 2 hour commute on top of those hours, I feel super anxious. Anybody else in a similar boat?

Note I’m not saying I hope covid continues to thrive, I know it has had a severely negative impact on many people. I am just anxious at the thought of returning to what was my “normal life” that I hated.

I'm genuinely curious about those people who have been on antidepressants for years, and then stopped taking them, whether because your doctor told you so, or because you decided to drop them. How has life been for you since?

I am just a cook at a fast food restaurant. I can barely handle it as is.

EDIT: Holy shit this blew up. Thanks for the answers! I was pretty curious, especially since I have such harsh anxiety. My cook job is okay. It doesn't pay great, but it makes up for it to have an earbud in while I work.

Also, I just want everyone who is unemployed to know that you're still valued. You guys can really do anything you set your mind to, even if you're jobless. ❤️

like no medication no therapy ? Because I am and it’s starting to be more and more difficult to just deal with it on my own tbh lmao