Anxiety (anyone suffer)

[Gazzas86]

Folks,

Anyone else suffer from Anxiety??, as from a recent trip to the docs, he believes I do!,
Basically the bottom line is, I hate being in spaces I can't get out of i.e. Lifts and more recently I’ve found out Airliners!!!, I know I need a serious case of MTFU, Apparently its linked to childhood experiences, and this may be the case, when I was a nipper I was locked in the airing cupboard (for quite some time)/couldn't get out/panicking etc etc, all what a kid would do.

The reason why I went to the docs is because when I recently flew to Portugal as soon as I boarded the plane, I started getting the sweats, chest tightened, and all I could think of was getting off the plane, (constantly looking at the exits). The return journey was worse as for a week after the flight I had chest pains apparently caused by stomach acid blah blah! Hence the trip to the Docs,

He said it was linked to Anxiety and has issued me Diazepam 20mg pills which he said to take 1 hr before flights,

Now I’m flying in 2 weeks, am off Snowboarding in the alps, I know anxiety comes in all shapes and sizes, and I know I shouldn't be getting it, I mean, its only a fking plane ffs.

Does anyone else suffer from anything similar??, or take Diazepam (is it going to fk me up / bad side affects / will it do much to help).

I really wish i wouldn't get like this, however I fear im scarred for life!, I'm 25, in the Military (Navy) and should seriously man the fk up I know, I'm fine on ships as I know I can get to fresh air / escape etc, fk going on subs that would kill me.

Any advice people?

Cheers

[Original Poster]

Don't worry I'd be pretty anxious going to Portugal as well.

Sorry.

[Meoricin]

I'm no Doctor but I've never heard of anxiety being referred to as a medical condition before - it's more an emotion/state of being? (not sure precisely how to refer to it). Surely what he means is that you're slightly claustrophobic, and that is making you anxious when in enclosed spaces?

[bobmcgod]

Meoricin said:

I'm no Doctor but I've never heard of anxiety being referred to as a medical condition before - it's more an emotion/state of being? (not sure precisely how to refer to it). Surely what he means is that you're slightly claustrophobic, and that is making you anxious when in enclosed spaces?

It's recognised as a mental illness.

[The Ferret]

All very well saying MTFU, but no amount of anything macho will resolve it I'm afraid.

It's is a mind problem. Being the hardest bloke on earth can't prevent the mind from doing what it does, and if it decides to do something bad all you can do is manage it.

I feel for you mate, I'm in the same boat to an extent. Only ever use a lift if there is no possible other option. I'll genuinely take a staircase with 500 steps every single time over a 30 second trip in a lift. Same with flying, the actual flying bit is fine - in fact I quite enjoy it, its the bit where the seatbelt lights come on and I am no longer allowed to get up until they go off.

Traffic jams on a motorway are another good one. On a normal road its fine, I have the option if I want to just swing the car round and go another route. On a motorway you are there until it clears, regardless. That's the bit I find a problem.

Crazy aint it, how one persons mind can work entirely different to another.

[vixen1700]

The Ferret said:

Traffic jams on a motorway are another good one. On a normal road its fine, I have the option if I want to just swing the car round and go another route. On a motorway you are there until it clears, regardless. That's the bit I find a problem.

Crazy aint it, how one persons mind can work entirely different to another.

Funny you say that about motorways, sometimes if I'm one I don't know I get this real horrible feeling, my hands break out in sweats and I find myself really aggitated and uncomfortable, heart rate going up and foot shaking on the accelerator.

It's the fact I can't get off without carrying on that I think bothers me, I keep asking my wife how far is it etc.

It usually passes after a few minutes, and I wonder what all the fuss was about, but when it happens, it's horrible.

[The Ferret]

vixen1700 said:

Funny you say that about motorways, sometimes if I'm one I don't know I get this real horrible feeling, my hands break out in sweats and I find myself really aggitated and uncomfortable, heart rate going up and foot shaking on the accelerator.

It's the fact I can't get off without carrying on that I think bothers me, I keep asking my wife how far is it etc.

It usually passes after a few minutes, and I wonder what all the fuss was about, but when it happens, it's horrible.

That's the fella, horrible isn't it. You mind starts to wander, next thing you feel the butterflys in your gut. You feel aggitated so you start to panic a little and the heart rate increases, which makes you feel hot, your face gets flush, palms sweaty, then you begin to sweat, proper sweat.

Another of my favourites is job interviews. OK, they are not quite the same as you have the ability to get up and walk out should you really wish to. But when you have so much riding on it you simply can't to that, you have to sit tight, and thats when the fun begins.

In fact with job interviews I find its not the lack of control or anything that sets it off, its the fact that you know you'll look like a bit of a dick if you get an attack of the sweats, so this makes you anxious, which leads to the problem.

As the above paragraph shows it really is all in the mind, and its the mind that needs attention, nothing else.

[MarioKart]

I have this with traffic jams, but also in work meetings and even when getting my hair cut- it seems to be when I'm in situation where there is no immediate escape without embarrasment.

Also, does anybody feel like they're going to faint when in these uncomfortable situations? Sometimes I sit there fighting the symptoms and worrying that I will pass out. Awful.

Makes me feel a hell of a lot better to hear stories from others who suffer with this though

[vixen1700]

MarioKart said:

Also, does anybody feel like they're going to faint when in these uncomfortable situations?

No, not faint (I've never fainted, so don't know what that would feel like tbh), but sometimes just want to shut my eyes, impossible on the motorway. .

Had a bad one just before Christmas, visiting friends near Chelmsford and was on some new big A road which was deserted and the sky turned a horrible tone of electric grey around 3.30 in the afternoon. I just wanted to get away from this horrible empty road and really oppressive sky, luckily I just pulled over onto a layby, got some air (and a cigarette) and felt better after a few minutes.

Well freaked me out, plus all sorts of horrible thoughts go through your head, heart attacks, dying, being dead.

But that open, empty, long road and that horrific sky freaked me right out.

Also it's more noticeable if there has been more wine than usual drunk the night before, so maybe it's a kind of DTs as they used to call them.

[The Ferret]

From what I can gather the problem often deep rooted, steming from something that has happened in the past. It's the lack of control you have in a situation now which makes you worry about whatever may have gone on in the past. The example above about being in confined spaces now after being locked in the airing cupboard as a child fits with this.

MarioKart said:

Also, does anybody feel like they're going to faint when in these uncomfortable situations? Sometimes I sit there fighting the symptoms and worrying that I will pass out. Awful.

Have you fainted before, with particularly trauma attached to it?. Not just a simple faint, but something along the lines of injuring yourself in the process. Maybe not an injury, could be anything, but something to make you genuinely fear fainting again?

Sorry for going off on one a bit, but the mind and its workings are a really fascinating subject.

[MarioKart]

The Ferret said:

Have you fainted before, with particularly trauma attached to it?. Not just a simple faint, but something along the lines of injuring yourself in the process. Maybe not an injury, could be anything, but something to make you genuinely fear fainting again?

Sorry for going off on one a bit, but the mind and its workings are a really fascinating subject.

Lol yes, I fainted in the barbers chair when I was a kid having fainted only hours earlier at the doctors when I had a bad toe!

I understand however that it's unlikely I would faint whilst being anxious as heart rate and blood pressure are elevated, the opposite of what happens when you faint.

And I too find it all really fascinating and happily discuss these things with other people. My relaxed approach to the subject doesn't seem to change the severity of the feeling when I feel anxious though!

[The Ferret]

MarioKart said:

even when getting my hair cut

Another great example. I'm exactly the same with haircuts.

Dentists Appointments are another, once your in that chair and he begins work on a filling, you have lost all control till he is done.

The worst is helicopters. If you can relate to this thread then please, never, ever go in one. Quite possibly the single worst experience of my life being confined in one for half an hour, strapped in with nowhere to go, and just having to wait. Even worse when there are others sat in front of you loving every minute of it.

[Meoricin]

bobmcgod said:

Meoricin said:

I'm no Doctor but I've never heard of anxiety being referred to as a medical condition before - it's more an emotion/state of being? (not sure precisely how to refer to it). Surely what he means is that you're slightly claustrophobic, and that is making you anxious when in enclosed spaces?

It's recognised as a mental illness.

Fair enough. Seems like it'd be a bit hard to define?

[The Ferret]

MarioKart said:

Lol yes, I fainted in the barbers chair when I was a kid having fainted only hours earlier at the doctors when I had a bad toe!

I understand however that it's unlikely I would faint whilst being anxious as heart rate and blood pressure are elevated, the opposite of what happens when you faint.

And I too find it all really fascinating and happily discuss these things with other people. My relaxed approach to the subject doesn't seem to change the severity of the feeling when I feel anxious though!

You're right, and the chances of you ever fainting in a barbers chair again are so small that there is more chance of winning the lottery. But that doesn't stop you genuinely thinking about it each and every time you have to have a hair cut.

It's the fact that you had an unpleasant experience that makes you anxious, and it was beyond your control.

I'll happily discuss it with anyone. It used to bother me, but these days its more a case of intrigue and fascination - especially once you realise you're not the only one.

[MarioKart]

Ah, you see I'm fine with the dentist, because if I passed out or had a mental there it wouldn't be hugely embarrasing. I mean lots of people feel queezy and hate going to the dentist, to feel ill there wouldn't be that weird but having your hair cut? Potentially having a wobbly and leaving the barber's chair mid hair cut in front of a load of other blokes- that would be really embarrasing!

[The Ferret]

Meoricin said:

bobmcgod said:

Meoricin said:

I'm no Doctor but I've never heard of anxiety being referred to as a medical condition before - it's more an emotion/state of being? (not sure precisely how to refer to it). Surely what he means is that you're slightly claustrophobic, and that is making you anxious when in enclosed spaces?

It's recognised as a mental illness.

Fair enough. Seems like it'd be a bit hard to define?

Taking your example above, I would say claustrophobia is just another form of anxiety. Agreed anxiety is a bit hard to define, as the causes are literally endless. Everyone probably suffers from it to a certain degree, as most people will have been anxious about something in the past.

It's the extent to which it interferes with someones life which would determine whether it gets officially diagnosed. If it gets to the point where it prevents you from getting on with normal life and this causes distress, then that's the point the doctor will probably decide to prescribe something for it.

I'll still stand by my belief that it all stems from previous bad experiences. In the case of claustrophobia, you may not even remember the event as it may have seemed so trivial at the time. But the mind made a mental note of it, and that is what causes the problem and is so difficult to shake off.

Then again I may be talking absolute bks. Thats why its so interesting, no-one really knows for sure.

[Caesar9]

I very nearly started a topic like this and I am extremely relieved that I'm not the only one that suffers.

I really struggle with traffic and also being a distance from home/ somewhere I'm relaxed to the point that I've been to hypnotherapy and Gp referred CBT sessions. All of which helped although I am still nowhere near as relaxed or confident as I would like.

I hate motorways and even the few miles to work at rush hour bother me. I get clammy, fast heart rate, everything seems to speed up and the feeling that I just want to get out of the situation. I have got to the point where I will get nervous before I have even left the house. Its been more predominant since I began driving at 17 (I'm 22) and I can remember getting smaller "episodes" in my teens when being with my parents going on holidays etc. My dad lives 70 miles away and until a few weeks ago I haven't driven there for about 3 years and rarely gone with someone else driving.

I have tried most things and find that breathing exercises help a little. A little bit of MTFU can only go so far and repeating things in small steps does lower your anxiety. I used to go a slightly longer way home from work as although it took around the same time as the shorter route the car was moving and kind of fooling myself into thinking it was the quicker way home. I forced myself to take the shorter route depending on how relaxed I was at the time and now I'm not bothered which way I go so tend to take the shorter route except for busier periods.

I would love to move to my dads and join his business but my anxiety is holding me back I feel. I think a little part of it is "normal" relating to moving away from friends and the rest of the family but also I worry about driving back to visit etc so if anyone has any tips it would be much appreciated.

[The Ferret]

Caesar9 said:

I would love to move to my dads and join his business but my anxiety is holding me back I feel. I think a little part of it is "normal" relating to moving away from friends and the rest of the family but also I worry about driving back to visit etc so if anyone has any tips it would be much appreciated.

Sounds like you are managing your anxiety by keeping everything within your comfort zone. Again I'd be inclined to look at the reason for the anxiety, that's half the battle. There must be something that has causes you to worry about specific things related to travel. Only you know the answer to that, and even then you may not even realise what has triggered it.

I'd bet had you not had this problem, you'd now be either living close to your dad and working with him, or you'd be living where you are and still working for him, but commuting to work each day. It's probably not the moving away from friends and family thing that worries you, more the fact that you'd be completely out of the comfort zone you've developed. You could pop back to see people whenever you felt the need if there were no worries, a couple of hours and your there. But the thought of having to do it when you're not comfortable with it is unbearable.

Either way I really wouldn't let it hold you back. It sounds like ultimately thats what you'd be happiest doing. So forgetting the anxiety is there really anything holding you back? If not you need to get to the bottom of it, manage it, and do what you want to with life.

I'm beginning to feel as though i've already taken up my fair share of space on this thread, so if you need any more advice or info feel free to message me mate. Either way, don't let it get in the way of living your life the way you want to.

[Caesar9]

The Ferret said:

I'd bet had you not had this problem, you'd now be either living close to your dad and working with him, or you'd be living where you are and still working for him, but commuting to work each day. It's probably not the moving away from friends and family thing that worries you, more the fact that you'd be completely out of the comfort zone you've developed. You could pop back to see people whenever you felt the need if there were no worries, a couple of hours and your there. But the thought of having to do it when you're not comfortable with it is unbearable.

Spot on I reckon, I kind of know what is causing the anxiety but I could fill a fair few pages with that one so I'll just say its health related and I have mentioned it in here before.

I don't want to turn this into my thread so I'll let others share and its definitely comforting to know that amongst other petrolheads I'm not the only one who flaps in certain situations.

[Heartworm]

Meoricin said:

Fair enough. Seems like it'd be a bit hard to define?

It comes with a whole host of physical problems too though, its a mental health problem that can cause many physical problems.