Ever since I was younger I always had some small anxiety with tests and with being afraid of things and being left alone, but everyone always said it was normal. 3 years ago I got married and we now have 2 children together. Since then my husband has never been able to keep a job because I always make him come home because I freak out if I'm alone. I'm constantly thinking of awful situations that could happen to me and my family. I won't get my license because 2 years ago I was in a car accident and I'm afraid to drive a car and I'm also afraid to take a drivers test. I tried working a year ago and my very first day I went into the bathroom and cried and called my husband to come get me because I kept thinking the person watching my child wasn't taking care of him and I just literally couldn't work. My son was only next door to me. Everyone in my family says I overact or that it's normal (except my husband). He thinks I should diagnosed, but I don't even know how to go about that. I just don't understand how I'm supposed to do anything in life. How is my husband supposed to work and provide if I'm incapable of working because I'll have an anxiety attack or if I can never be left alone? I just need help.
I also have trouble sleeping or staying asleep.
Hi Ashleigh, I'm really sorry to hear of your predicament it sounds awful.
You don't say whether you have seen your GP or have been prescribed any medication, CBT or Councelling if not I'd strongly recommend you do, get on the road to recovery!
Let me know re above.
Neil
Hi. I can really sympathize because I was exactly like that. Word for word in fact.
What you felt when you were a kid was normal for an anxious child with some background issues. That should have been assimilated over time leaving you well adjusted for a more independant life. For whatever reason that did not happen and you have now escalated into abnormal anxiety response. This is generalised anxiety disorder.
When you have acute symptoms that interfere with your daily life, ability to function and also interfere in the daily lives of those close to you, it is time to seek help. Anxiety disorders are very common and treatable.
All it really is is a call from your subconscious to find a more comfortable perspective because something in the way you live your life or the way you think is causing you a undue stress, tension and overall discomfort. Once physical symptoms are present, it is a sign that you have left it too long. One of the first things a psychiatrist will ask is if you are sleeping and eating well. If either of the two are lacking or if either is exaggerated, you are pretty much immediately considered to have a moderate to severe disorder.
I would advise that the sooner you start addressing this condition, the sooner you can live a full and normal life, far beyond what you can now imagine in that tight little box you have thrown yourself into and are cowering in.
Visit a competent psychologist and preferably psychiatrist to kick-start your therapy and free you up for enjoying your life more fully as well as start gaining confidence in your abilities - the latter is key for your recovery.
For a parallel, it took about a year of therapy for me to dare to take driving lessons I was 26 years old and totally dependant on my husband. Terrified of being alone. Terrified of everything. Now I am 38 and do literally everything on my own. And I am a great driver And now I also enjoy when my partner is at work because i can do my own thing! It gets so much better. Go grab it, shake it and start retraining it. Your brain that is.
All the best. x
This makes me feel a lot better. Thank you. I live in a small town, so I will have to go pretty far to see a psychiatrist but it will be worth it in the end.
I have seen a few counselors, but none really helped me at all. At that time I was in high school and my mom was making me going to counseling and it wasn't really for my anxiety. It was more because she though I needed help. I did go to my doctor and she prescribed me medicine and it didn't seem to work (it was a low dose) and then right after we moved and I lost my insurance, but I just recently got it back.