mild anxiety help me

Hello people my names adam and im 16 years old half way through my GCSE's about to finish them in the summer, but over the past 6 months i have started to suffer from anxiety, and its completley ruining my life and im not that strong minded so i cant deal with it at all, my social life i used to have has gone wayyyyyyy down tha drain as i can't even bring my self to go out as i start majorly paniking,

its mostly the breathless heart pounding an nausia that comes ova me that i cant deal with, i realy want to get on with my life im 16 and should be enjoying it, an im stuck in the house finding out way to fight this stupid thing thats wrong with me, sum mornins i wake up wit it, i cant stand it, i really feel like runnin away i just cant deal wit it, im actually panikking writing this message

ive been tha docs and theyv given me beta blokkers, propa useless havent made an ounce of difference at all, i quit working in a restarant in july an i realy think i should of stayed there as maybe i wouldnt be like this, and my mate asked me to cover for him this mornin and i sed yes, but i cancelled very last minute as i cuddnt even get myself out of bed as i was feelin so paniky !!!

i feel like its my fault and i feel alienated from every1 and jus want to get on wit my life PLZ CAN ANY1 HELP ME ILL BE SOOOO GR8FUL THANKS PPL

Hi Adam

It is such a difficult age 16 with pressure on you to success at exams and all the social pressure that goes with being 16. You are very brave to go online and ask for help and I admire you for doing it. My daughter had similar problems at your age and as I was too close to the situation I suggested she phoned the Samaritans who were of enormous help - all you need someone to listen to your problems and not judge you - trust me it will help. I don't think Betablockers are the way to go and it I think you should ask you doctor to be referred for therapy. Can you talk to anyone at school?

I am not qualified to give you any further advice however I hope the above will be of some help to you.

Marion

hi marion ive spoke to sum of the teachers at skool an they suggested giving me a mentor at skool who i can go tlk to, but ive had amjor problems bringing myself to get to skool, i think ur rite, i just need sum1 to tlk to, but i need this problem to deteriate as soon as possible, i think i need to gain more confidence in tlkin to ppl about it really, thanks marion i appreciate ya help x

One thing you do by not going some places or avoiding anxiety provoking situations, is that you in essence think to protect yourself, but actually you are accomodating your anxiety.
Nothing is wrong with you, you have been able to do things in the past and that ability you will not just lose. What is however the case is that you have created for yourself a response to certain thoughts, ideas or situations, and that response lays in the negative sense. This is the opposite of, "Shall we go out?" "Yeah fun!".

In fact nothing stands in the way of you enjoying something, it's just your own thoughts and associations. This is a behaviour you have developed, and it's a way your brain responds to certain thoughts now. However, any behaviour you have LEARNT, can be UNLEARNT or overruled by new, non-anxious behaviour.

Your body responds this way, giving you these sensations, because in your brain the neural pathways connect to trigger these responses. You have a chance to rewire this, mainly by seeking diversion of your thoughts. Whether you do this by doing math problems or by focusing on a nice girl, that's no matter. Just at any time you find yourself thinking anxious thoughts, or ANALYSING what the heck could be wrong with you, DON"T, say STOP and whistle a tune or whatever (diversion again).

Because, though there might be a cause or multiple causes or a buildup of several things towards this anxiety state of yours, giving these things ATTENTION, will give them the energy to manifest itself and to etch the behaviour more solidly.

It's like in the far-east, where they say that ANYTHING you give attention, GROWS. Anything you put energy into, GROWS. Your energy goes where your ATTENTION is. To realize this, is a very powerful weapon against anxiety.

You are a capable person, and in fact the most magnificent thing you have is also still functioning, which is your body and your being. You can also move your arms.

Seek diversion when focusing on anything negative.
Do not avoid anxiety provoking situations, as you'll become housebound and that's a situation where u'll realize it didn't solve the problem EITHER.

I can advise you The Linden Method. Alternatively www.neilslade.com has very interesting information on how your brain works and is controlled via thought.

Greetings, Peter.

hi peter thanks for your reply i appreciate it loads and i will keep reviewing the replies to help me with my situatuion, i like the diversion tactic i will have to put that inot order the next time the feeling comes over me, i also need to be way more strong minded so that i CAN put these techniques into order, thanks for your help P much appreciated


Adam

Hi Adam why is it you panic ? im 17 i know how u feel m8y ive gotta go doctors this week. I get kinda Paranoid and panic i think Horrible things are gonna happen 2 me the main one is getting attacked. th rare times i go out i can't look at anyone im always looking down or in shop window
can't even look at the person at the till when buying things. And the thing that freaks me out is my Vision how its like im not looking out my eyes but its like im watching everything in my head and it only happens when im propa freaked out its like my body dose what i gotta do and my brain is just watching i dunno if im talking to the right people ill let you no when i get back from the doctors. either way are systoms are stopping us having a life outside my bedroom :(

Mate I'm 23 yrs old and I've been having panic attacks for a few years now, when they started I was litteraly a nervous wreck from the moment I woke up until the point where I passed out from exhastion in the evening. I really didn't know what to do with myself or how to stop those soul destroying feelings, but I knew I had to do something because I was not going to spend the rest of my life hiding away from all the wounderful things that life has to offer. unfotunatly I can't tell you some quick fix to the problem but there are various things that can help:
-regular exercise (do it but dont over do it)
-eating healthily
-meditation (try looking at yoga, buddist meditation, or tai chi)
-mabey you could try to speak to a counselor and try and get a better perspective on things and try to get some stuff off your chest.
I hope these things help you, I know how tough it can be, as I said before I cant give you any quick fix but I will say that although I still have the occasional panic attack they do not control my life like they used to and they are really few and far between.
Just remember it's the tough times in life that make us stronger people. Good luck with it all

I can relate to alot of what's been said in this topic.

Mirajor, it sounds like you're experiencing something called depersonalisation/derealisation. This is what happens when everything seems slightly surreal, like your mind is not actually part of your body, and can be an extremely unnerving thing to go through - I should know! I only feel like this when I'm really freaking out, and although it's such a scary thing to feel, our anxiety levels actually go down when we experience this, believe it or not. Apparently when the depersonalisation/derealisation thing happens, our bodies have reached such a high level of anxiety that our minds sort of close down for a bit, so as to protect us from suffering anymore 'normal' anxiety, and these very weird physical/psychological sensations then happen. I know these very surreal feelings might make you feel even more anxious, but once you get to know them, and accept that your body is actually working to protect you when you're feeling so completely strange and not even on this planet, I think you'll be able to cope alot better. Although I still get freaked out by these weird feelings, I am starting to accept them and usually can just let them pass without experiencing a full-on panic attack.

this sounds a lot like depersonalisation/derealisation to me as well.

We have touched on these topics a lot lately but i think that some people can't see the wood for the trees sometimes when they are struck by anxiety..