How bad is your anxiety?

[It’s Time To Go]

Everyone gets anxious at some point in their life, how often do you get anxious, to what extent? I feel like we don't talk about this much, beyond some talk of breathing exercises making you feel less stressed and anxious. Has it been a long term problem, is yours triggered by anything?

Mine has been a long term problem, since I was a teenager at least. It's pretty frequent, tends to be triggered by either travelling or when I do things in life I don't do regularly, whether that's a small thing or a big change.

 

[Vern]

Only when speaking in front of big groups. Otherwise nah, life is fine nothing to get worked up over. Traveling especially is no big deal, just get on the plane and sleep. Pop up somewhere new and have fun.

 

[thefit]

I don't. I get stressed sometimes for no real reason though. Stressed sleep is the worst too because its like you aren't even really sleeping just dreaming about stressful shit that doesn't even matter.

 

[aLaxLuthor]

I got really bad health anxiety when my wife was pregnant with our first. It hung around for a few years but I'm generally on top of it now.
In terms of general anxiety, really only triggered by big projects at work, or ones that are important to me.

 

[ChrisR]

Well it's probably pretty awful if someone were to analyze it

 

[ToddBonzalez]

Moderately bad. It's funny because many people call me "chill" but I'm hella neurotic under a calm exterior.

 

[It’s Time To Go]

I don't. I get stressed sometimes for no real reason though. Stressed sleep is the worst too because its like you aren't even really sleeping just dreaming about stressful shit that doesn't even matter.

Click to shrink...

Stress sleeping is the worst, you don't feel well rested.

 

[Acorn]

My generalised anxiety depends on my life situation. The shittier I feel the more stuff makes me anxious.

 

[Potterson]

It's not terrible.

I feel fine with a friend or with a group of 3-4 close friends, although I don't think I would be able to share hotel room or airbnb with couple of such friends. That would be too close and I know I would feel super stressed out.

I feel awful when I go out with friends but there are many more people that my friends know and talk to. I always feel like I am not wanted and that people just want to have fun and not to deal with me. And then I feel like people see I don't have fun and this causes my anxiety to be even worse, lol.

 

[Valiant]

I don't. I get stressed sometimes for no real reason though. Stressed sleep is the worst too because its like you aren't even really sleeping just dreaming about stressful shit that doesn't even matter.

Click to shrink...

Same.

I'm pretty sure I had a stress dream about creating Mario Maker 2 levels... and I woke up just like... wtf.

 

[Knight in Shining Armani]

It's not bad. It's like a constant low hum when I'm alone around a lot of people/outside in general. Being with someone I know lessens it considerably.

Never had to worry about my breathing, luckily. I'll just sweat a bunch.

 

[blame space]

💯

 

[Deleted member 13328]

I mostly get anxiety when I sleep I think, I usually wake up like 5 minutes after falling asleep and feel somewhat anxious, no idea why.

Other than that there is not much that gives me anxiety, I'm quite chill to be honest.

 

[Nothing Loud]

edit: you know what I don't want to talk about it

 

[Zoantharia]

Baseline? Pretty bad... though occasionally I get into a mood where I just stop giving shits. It's weird

 

[DeltaRed]

I have blacked out through anxiety before, from nothing but the worry of something.

 

[VegiHam]

Edit: actually don't want to post about it

 

[Green Mario]

Pretty fucking terrible. Had to be homeschooled for a bit in high school because I'd go in the morning and just immediately go to the bathroom and throw up from just... being nervous. I'm better now at controlling my panic attacks through breathing exercises, but sometimes it's just too much for me. It's hard for me to even talk to friends and family about it because most of them don't know what it's like and just sail through life like it's nothing - usually the best I'll get is "you should go talk to someone".

 

[Greecian]

It's been really bad the past year plus. I've been suffering through anxiety and panic attacks due to harassment in the workplace. It's fucked up and I hate it

 

[LookAtMeGo]

It comes and goes. It gets a lot worse when I drink except for the few hours I'm drunk. Other people cause me anxiety so I like to keep to myself a lot. It was a hell of a lot worse a few years ago. Totally out of control but I feel like I got a handle on it. Or I'm just used to it I dunno.

 

[Aranath]

Until a couple of months ago I would have said not that bad, but I've been suffering from constant headaches, dizziness, nausea and so on since June and my doctor has basically said it's a combination of anxiety and stress and started giving me Xanax to try get it under control.

Made me realise my job and living in a place I loathe are probably getting me down a bit more than I realised, so I'm considering some life changes next year.

 

[Trevelyon]

Crushing most days. I have a big social avoidance issue at work that just socially ostracizes me even further than I am already. Just can't help it, been in therapy for years for it, but unable to apply effective change that sees progression.

I just avoid myself into a void.

 

[Jakenbakin]

It took me an hour and a half to work up the courage to go out to one store today.

 

[J_ToSaveTheDay]

Used to sweat almost every detail and go into kind of a manic and very "type-A" mode when it came to work and school. I'd sometimes really lose my temper as a result.

After I got assaulted and robbed on shift at my retail job 5 years ago, I've just basically adopted an "I'm always angry" zen attitude. No more outbursts of anger and going full Hulk, just clenching my jaw, collecting myself, and either deciding I don't give any shits at all or just calmly getting it done and over with.

 

[linkboy]

It's really bad, especially the last few weeks.

I've had 10 attacks in the last three weeks, they've cost me my job and was one of the reasons why we moved from Minneapolis back to South Dakota to live with my mother in law until we can get our lives back in order.

When I have an attack coming on, I start to feel disconnected from my body and I start shaking badly.

I'm seeing a psychiatrist through the VA and they have me on medication, so there's that.

 

[Ferrs]

This last year out of nowhere I'm starting to get anxious for a lot of small things, and even sometimes it seems like I get it just for no damn reason, and I don't get why because I wasn't like that before, and I fear it's starting to impact my social life. It's not as bad as some folks and not really full bown attacks but it's annoying randomly getting nervous for small stuff or even for no reason.

 

[Uncivilized Elk]

After I first had depresaion onset, the anxiety used to be really bad, but then my depression got even worse and seemed to swallow it up somehow. I still have mild background levels of GAD, but no longer get actual panic attacks like I did before.

 

[Tokyo_Funk]

Pretty bad, I regularly get crippling anxiety and bouts of depression. It all stems from being abused pretty badly when I was younger.

 

[BadAlchemy]

I have a strong family history of anxiety on both sides, so yeah I've been working with it for a while. I've tried medications, which I promptly got addicted to, so those aren't really an option, which is fine because other than turning me into a zombie addict they didn't do much for me anyway. Fortunately I'm getting to a point in my life where I feel supported and capable of dealing with a lot of my problems, which is helping. Mind you I still haven't slept through the night in months and yeah the world is a mess and it's hard not to panic about that sometimes, but avoiding "the news" as a trigger hasn't been nearly as bad for me as I thought it would be. I don't really think I'm any less informed than I would be otherwise - honestly probably I'm more informed on what's going on in the world than most people, which is weird, but I'm OK about not obsessing over it most of the time.

 

[Kyrios]

The only time I really feel anxiety is when I'm driving to a place I've never been, especially if it's mostly through unfamiliar roads, gets me so unsettled right before I start the trip. Otherwise I just have general stress with some stuff, but I'd say that level is pretty "normal", it's not debilitating me.

I get some social anxiety though, won't lie. But even then I get over it quick.

 

[Wren Wolfe]

Awful. I have panic attacks at least 5 times a week, if not more. One was so bad that both of my hands/arms went numb and I started to black out.

 

[JediMPG]

Awful. I just called off work for the first time cause i don't feel good and i worry it might cause bad blood between me and a manager. It's the first time I've done this so i didn't know what to fully do. Plus i have bad thoughts about my future and what might happen or I worry all day if a friend of mine might be mad about me...

My anxiety is just..awful

 

[VISION]

It seems to be hardwired into my brain. I just woke up, haven't even gotten out of bed yet, and I'm already clenching my jaws.

 

[Ultimate Bear Cub]

Over the course of my life I've been lied to, cheated, ripped off, and emotionally abused. So yeah, I do have some difficulty opening up to people in general.

I do have a handful of trusted friends that keeps me sane and lucked out with good family. Which is a nice counterbalance, but I can't help but suspect every and any new interaction with strangers.

Lately, I'm becoming a home owner for the first time. I originally prepared to plan it all out to reduce my anxiety. It was stressful enough just thinking about it as a future event, but circumstance had different plans for me.

A fire broke out at my old place while I was traveling and forced me to move back with my family. I love my family, but they are insane. I really don't know how I weather the stress aside from never giving up.

So to answer the question, I have some anxiety sure. It's pretty ridiculous too. But I'm not stopping here. Just one day at a time.

 

[Deleted member 17630]

Mild but can still show up. I threw up on the way to my grandfather's funeral I guess because being around large group of hyper emotional people cranked it up to 11. But I also started a new engineering job at a fortune 10 company and have been calm as a cucumber about it. We all have our triggers I guess.

 

[It’s Time To Go]

It seems to be hardwired into my brain. I just woke up, haven't even gotten out of bed yet, and I'm already clenching my jaws.

Click to shrink...

I too am always clenching my jaw. I was just doing it there in fact.

Awful. I have panic attacks at least 5 times a week, if not more. One was so bad that both of my hands/arms went numb and I started to black out.

Click to shrink...

Fuck that's awful. Are you seeing anyone for that?

 

[Maple]

It used to be so bad that I would have to drop college courses on the first day if I saw that there was a presentation required on the syllabus.

Beta blockers have helped me immensely when it comes to public speaking, so much so that it's now a strength of mine that I don't really worry about anymore.

I do, however, still have a much higher baseline of general anxiety than most people. The smallest worries or concerns that would be fleeting for most people cause me a great deal of anxiety.

 

[Wren Wolfe]

Fuck that's awful. Are you seeing anyone for that?

Click to shrink...

I've been seeing a therapist off and on for 6 years. It seems to come in waves. I might have general anxiety but no attacks for a month or so, and then 6 or 7 months of frequent panic attacks and being unable to do the simplest tasks like going to the grocery store or letting my dog out to pee at night (don't worry, my husband does if I don't). It's just something I've gotten used to as my "normal."

 

[Deleted member 3010]

I get anxious the most when something changes in my life, and it's pretty stable so far so I won't complain!

 

[Xiofire]

I don't leave the house unless I have to go to work, and when I do go to work it's a battle.

Anxiety runs me.

 

[ExhaustedWalrus]

I'm heavily medicated but I would say someone would see it as pretty awful.

 

[Red Liquorice]

Ruined my life, but whatchagon'do.

 

[Rockstar]

xanax time

 

[Ultimate Bear Cub]

RENT?

 

[CaptainBojangles]

Very bad

 

[Viewt]

Not great. I basically ignored my anxiety issues (which has led to bad habits with avoidance) throughout my teens and 20s. And now, as a 30-year old, it feels like the bill's come due. I'm seeing a shrink to help me navigate through it, which has helped some, but work has been a major trigger and some days are pretty shitty.

Anxiety sucks.

 

[Deleted member 4367]

The main way my anxiety manifests is when it comes to watching new TV shows or movies. It freaks me out.

Weird I know.

I'll have the occasional random panic attack or triggered panic attack because of an uncomfortable social situation but that's not what affects my life. My wife gets very annoyed by my reluctance to watch shows. It's getting worse too.

 

[Foxhound]

I used to think I had hella bad anxiety and it was probably worse when I was younger, but then I lived with my old roommate for three years who constantly apologized and couldn't sleep knowing there were dirty socks on his floor. I realized that I'm probably a 5/10 at best in this world we live in.

 

[LakeEarth]

Moderate to high. I can go for months without an issue, but when it hits, it can get really bad (panic, the shakes, fall asleep late AND waking up early, etc). Right now my job is up in the air so I've been pretty borderline.

 

[EternalWinter]

Mine is the social kind mostly and I'd say it's moderate. People will say that they don't believe it because I'm so good at talking with people. Yeah, that's because my anxiety has trained me to study and pick up on every little nuance of the people I'm interacting with and then tailor what I say and how I present myself to best fit in. It's like a super power that I've learned over time. I don't like saying this but the truth is that people don't get to see the real me until I've known them for quite a while and I'm comfortable with letting them see who I truly am.

On top of that, any time a big social gathering gets announced (weddings and the like) my anxiety immediately spikes. Even if it's for people in my family. I just can't help it. Hell, sometimes my anxiety kicks in with small gatherings depending on who is attending.