I didn’t know where else to post this, so I posted it here. I’ve been dealing with anxiety for almost 2 years now, and 2 years ago It was actually a relapse that I went through. The first time anxiety had showed up was around 4 to 5 years ago. It has become quite manageable - I can go to places on my own most of the time, but with difficulty, difficulty caused by shortness of breath and panic. I’m a 19 year old male and I’m in the final grade of senior high school/undergraduate school. My main problem nowadays is that it’s extremely hard for me to stay awake in class (not online), and even harder to pay attention. We have a total of 7 50-minute classes with 5-10 minute breaks in between each one, from Monday to Friday. Every day after the 3rd class my brain starts to feel like it’s shutting down, my eyelids become very heavy and i can’t sit straight at all, sometimes it’s so bad that struggling to keep my eyes open feels like torture. Obviously when that happens my attention span is nonexistent, 95% of the things we talk/write about during those 4 last classes barely even reach my ears if you know what I mean. I’ve had to skip classes and go home many times because I didn’t think I was gonna make it through them awake, and I hate to sleep in class because I feel it looks extremely disrespectful towards the teachers, even though they don’t seem to mind. Still, I’d rather not be in their class at all than be there and be asleep. Most of our teachers are very pleasant and supportive people that I wouldn’t call boring, however, when it comes to the studies and the subjects themselves, I’ve lost almost all interest in them. I made a rush and stupid decision to study maritime laws and professions, mainly because I was influenced by a former friend and because I was anxious to find a job that pays well, regardless of whether i’m interested in it or not. I’d say I get plenty of sleep, going to bed at around 11:30pm or midnight and usually waking up at 7:30 to 8am, that’s around 8 hours of undisturbed sleep. My diet is good, I eat plenty of fruits, carbs, calories, you name it. I work out regularly (mainly weight lifting) and so I make sure to maintain a rich and balanced diet and drink plenty of water. I don’t drink coffee nor do I smoke, and I’m not on any kind of medication, not even for anxiety. Here’s where someone would suggest I start drinking coffee or using caffeine, but I can’t, I’ve tried it and for whatever reason it affects my anxiety big time and it makes me very nervous/jittery. I’ve had blood tests many times and even checked my thyroid, everything looked fine, no deficiencies of any sort, and no abnormalities. The only thing that the doctor pointed out was that I have a slightly higher blood PCV (hematocrit) than the average, which I assumed was nothing to worry about because all he suggested was that I go donate blood lol (I’d never, sorry but I hate blood being drawn from me if I have a choice, I’ve passed out at times). I’ve started to question whether my anxiety has got something to do with this or not, or if maybe something else is going on.
wow that’s a long day!
do you ever feel depressed? Anxiety and depression very often go hand-in-hand. many people don’t even know that they already trust. Do you still have interest in things?
is it hard for you to focus OR pay attention in general? (ADD?)
i know that anxiety is very hard on the body and mind. It can definitely tire us out and after such a long day I’m not surprised you were tired. it could very well be anxiety related if all of your other physical testing came out normal.
Have you ever considered talking to a counselor about your anxiety? it just may give you some answers and some ideas on how you can manage what you’re going through in school! Actually, most schools do have counselors that you could talk to. All the information is very confidential so you don’t have to worry about that. Yes I agree coffee would be no good. I do hope you feel better and things go well for you!
I have been in therapy. It concluded around 3 months ago. I do have some difficulty paying attention in general, for example I might be on the phone with someone for an appointment and when I hang up I realize I haven’t actually caught anything they told me, I just kept saying “yes” and “okay”. I was seeing a therapist because of anxiety, I haven’t exactly been diagnosed with depression, but they had told me that I do show a few symptoms of it. As for ADD my therapist hadn’t really mentioned anything, but to be honest I hadn’t either, we were focused on anxiety.