I know I have an anxiety disorder (GAD/OCD) but depression hasn't ever been prevalent so idk if that's what I'm experiencing ??? i don't feel like myself. Especially right now-- I feel lightheaded and tired. I feel so distant from myself and that feeling itself is causing extreme distress. I rarely cry -- I might shed a tear or two... nobody knows how to help me. I feel so flat and empty and not myself. I'm typically a very very animated person so I'm acting very differently. Everyone keeps asking how I am and I honestly say "bad"(to those I'm close to) and "I've been better" to anyone else lol. My dad just keeps saying exercise!!! So the past two days I've taken walks and I just end up feeling dizzy afterwards. I am concvinced there's something physically wrong with me. I can't go to sleep at night and I don't want to go to sleep because my anxiety gets way worse and I wake up feeling awful. It's nonstop all day. I keep comparing symptoms (physical and mental) with others but nobody pays as much attention to their body as I do to mine. And apparently nobody has ever felt as bad as I do right now.This is really hard. Okay now I'm kinda crying. I've been through very stressful situations in my life (my moms an addict, she's attempted suicide, my dad randomly announced he was getting a divorce with Mom and he took my brother and I to a different house in the same day) but I never felt like I do now during those times. Mid senior year is when this started to spiral. Then all of a sudden in March, during spring break, I started to feel like this. Everyone kept talking about how highschool was almost over and how we were going to college. My moms always wanting me to go see her (she doesn't live with us) I was failing a class, my grandmother occasionally angry drunk texts me, my dads girlfriend died right after my 18th bday, my dad's been super busy with work, and I'm going to college. My parents got their official divorce last year. Why do I feel so detached and dizzy and flat and terrified? I'm 18 years old and nobody gets me. I've lost weight rapidly, started very slightly at mid school year but towards the end I stopped eating and lost a good bit. I'm 5'3 and weigh 113 lbs but I was 117 at the end of April and 124 in November. I'm freaking out. Nobody understand how freaked out I get. I'm currently seeing a counselor (along with my psychiatrist) but it's not helping very much. I've been taking luvox for 2 years and they just doubled it but that's not helping. (I'm now taking 200 mg.) Does anyone know what's wrong with me or has anyone felt like me? Do I need to switch medication? Do my symptoms sound like something much more serious? Please anyone that has had similar experiences help!!!!
I know exactly how you feel, you're not alone. I get dizziness feel like my heads in a vice, I think I'm dying all the time, I'm struggling day to day to cope, I won't go out of the house if I feel bad as I know I'll end up in a panicky and I'll have to go home. Work is suffering as well as my husband. I don't want to go out to meet friends or for a meal, I've stopped drinking, which is a good thing as I drank too much, but now I think I've done damage to my liver so another thing to worry about, I constantly take my pulse, eat headache tablets like sweets. My life is one big worry and I can't see a way out.
I know exactly how you feel. I've had anxiety since kindergarten but my physical symptoms didn't start until my mid 20s. All of that anxiety since kindergarten kept building up and then when I got in my mid 20s, my body completely couldn't take it anymore. I had many more symptoms than just the dizziness. I have had the dizziness and just generalized weird feeling for many years now. On and off. Nobody understands because they are not feeling what we feel. Even Dr. sometimes don't know what to do because it's not like they can see it either. You can see a broken arm but not this anxiety and it's symptoms. I thought I had some terrible disease but all my tests come out perfectly normal. Anxiety can literally have hundreds of symptoms!
you have a lot going on in your life and I'm not surprised you are feeling the way that you do. Try not to give up on the counseling or find another counselor if you don't like this one. Anxiety is often very difficult to overcome on our own it's always good to have someone to talk to you
Maybe you do need a change in medication however the main thing is to get control of the anxiety and stress.
here is what happens:
when you're feeling anxious, your brain thinks you are in danger and it sends out a hormone to protect you. When there's actually no danger to you, all the energy the brain has mastered up has to go somewhere so it comes out as The symptoms we feel. Including the dizziness. So what we have to do is calm down our brains. There are different ways to do that but we have to be determined not to let anxiety run our life!
One thing you can do to sleep better is go to YouTube and listen to meditations on anxiety, sleeping well, depression etc. there are many to choose from and they have helped me a lot! I still listen to them every night. I put in some earbuds lie down and listen . That they teach you how to deal with all sorts of things including negative thinking. There is one called clearing subconscious negativity which is really good. If you're having a panic attack you can search for panic attack emergency and they will guide you through it.
i've been able to reduce my symptoms by 98% using the meditations, proper breathing technique,getting exercise, eating healthy, staying social and active. If there's anyway you can get a copy of a book called mindfulness it tells you exactly how to overcome all of this. The power of the mind is amazing!
don't forget that when you were feeling this way, and thinking too much about everything like the future and getting scared, one way to overcome this is to bring yourself always back to the present moment with your breathing. Breathing slowly through your nose and while you're doing this think of how the air feels coming in and then breathe out slowly through your mouth as though you are blowing out a candle think of the warm Air coming out. The purpose of this is to pull you away from the negativity and come back to the present moment. Do this as often as needed. All of this plus more is covered in that book. I really do hope you feel better soon and please know that you are not alone! Millions of people are going through this.
yes it's a difficult because many people just can't understand what we feel and it's frustrating but you can overcome this!
I do always recommend getting a check up by your doctor if possible at least once a year .
One last thing is always remember to try and keep a sense of humor and smile. Even when it's difficult. always try and find something that makes you smile and laugh.
I do hope you feel better soon!
Wow thanks for the advice!
It's nice to know there r others like me. I'm always taking my pulse and palpating my stomach at night lol
Oh also if u see this --is chronic tiredness/dizziness an anxiety symptom?? Or should it just come in bursts? Altho I have been anxious like all day every day so perhaps the constant dizziness/tiredness is due to that? What do u think?
Tiredness and dizziness is definitely an anxiety symptom, if your anxious all day everyday then it will be down to that.
Oh wow that was fast thank u. R there others that have anxiety all day every day? I have for the past 2 months.