How much anxiety is normal?

hey there-

i rarely post in the louge but decided to today. a bit of history: when i was about 16 i started taking Effexor XR for anxiety. i took it for about 2 years. i hated the way it made me feel- so dull, like my brain was frozen. i decided to stop taking them and battle this on my own.

i think i was almost totally anxiety free until i was 19 or so. Then i (not proud of this) spent the next year using hard drugs. when i stopped at like 21 i think my anxiety kept building from there. (been clean of those drugs for over 3 years now) but now I am ultra anxious more often.

it seems that lately (july specifically) i have been super anxious. now- i am terrified of flying and will be going on my first flight august 14 so im thinking about that alot- dreading it, so it could be the reason. but seems like i am generally more anxious all the time.

i know exercise helps me feel better. and once this flight is done with ill feel on top of the world for a bit but my main question here is:

how much anxiety is considered normal?

i get all the brutal symptoms, nausea, shortness of breath, rapid heartbeat, sometimes my arm or leg goes tingly....and a feeling of DOOM.... its bad.

 

What you describe is not normal. I think it's normal for a first time flyer to be nervous the day of the flight, and definitely as the flight is first taking off. I remember that's how I felt. But honestly, my excitement overpowered my anxiety.

Are you on medication? Exercise does help, but it doesn't get rid of it completely.

I'm sorry you have to live with this! I hope it gets better for you soon!!

no im not on meds.

and since i have an anxiety disorder (GAD) its more normal for me to be this anxious about flying. thats not all of it but its something that im thinking about ALL the time.

i seem to be having mini panic attacks. probably once a week now. some are worse than others.

i dont want to go back on meds, so i will try herbal stuff first. st. johns wart is what im leaning towards.

the odd thing is that im not anxious at times that would seem normal IE: work presentations, modeling shoots, things like that. i seem to be anxious for no reason...

I HATE to fly. Truly...FEAR it. Need to be medicated. [xanax]. Started before 9/11 ...actually started in 1999...But 9/11 certainly esculated it. People scoff at me and tell me to just suck it up but it goes FAR beyond fear. I literally get sick if I even think of flying.

I am the totally doped up one on the plane, asking the flight attendants why the liquor bottles are made for barbie dolls.

Take a xanax [or 3] and get to your destination. It will take years for you to understand why you have that fear/anxiety...certainly..that will delay your flight!

im taking ativan (lorazepan) to fly.

its not the flight part that worries me its that im feeling anxious all the time now almost, having panic attacks (some terrible, some i can cope) and i want that to go away.

i just did some reading online about anxiety and panic attacks and now im all anxious for no reason. my brain just wont shut off

Have you tried something like Xanex to use only when you need it? I took 2 .25mg pills today before a test I was insanely anxious about (I was borderline an anxiety attack) and in 45ish mins the anxiety (rapid heart rate, insanely sweaty, red face, shaky, light-headed) seemed to have gone. I felt normal nervous (butterflies in belly). And I did well on my test. 8)

I understand your anxiety about the brain not turning off, mine hasn't turned off in years. I'm always fully aware of my surroundings even when I'm sleeping. I used to be a very deep sleeper (could easily sleep through an alarm clock) but now I wake up at the slightest sound. I'm always on edge.

I used to take lexapro to get rid of all of that, let me brain rest, and deal with normal stuff... normally. It helped me finish highschool and graduate (walking across the stage! I have huge stage fright). I don't remember my dose, but it never made me feel clouded or drowsy. I've been on Paxil and Prozac, they made me feel like a zombie.

I am also terrified of flying. I've flown 4 times, and each flight was 8 or so hours, and the entire time I am stuck scared, so very very scared. I'm afraid of heights and I can't adjust to being in the air, I don't even like having my feet touch the floor and I never take my seatbelt off. I can't even concentrate on movies, music, or a book. I took meds to make me sleep... and I couldn't sleep, lol.

no i havent taken anything on an as-needed basis. i only took meds for two years straight and i hated them. i just scrunch up in a ball, sometimes cry, get reassurance from my loving hubby and tough it out.

the ativan will work. i took it when i got my wisdom tooth out. i dont want to have to rely on it and neither does my dr. he and i both think that i can beat anxiety by facing it. if i dont ill never learn coping skills. i totally lack the ability to calm myself down. anxiety is all about irrationality... its silly. i hate it. runs in my family.

i am not anxious at times when i should be- not for work, modeling, presentations, i love being in front of people. its just odd times...with no real reason. if im in a rush out of the house, my heart starts pounding and i start to get anxious.

im a light sleeper too. my fear of flying is heights too (im told you have no concept of height tho and i will be in an aisle) and also fear of death but mostly the fear of the unknown. im a person who likes my expectations set- to know everything so i can calm myself down when i hear noises etc.

ive done an online course (that i will repeat closer to the flight) that helped set expectations. you can listen to sounds that the plane will make, learn about what turbulence really is (its no big deal) etc... it was good.

i just cant seem to shake the anxiety lately. im not sure if its got to do with the amount of exercise im (not) doing right now, what im eating... nothing seems common to the attacks.

i often confuse a sore stomach or low blood sugar with anxiety too and end up developing anxiety from that.

I used to have a fear of death till I just accepted it as sleeping. When you're asleep, you're unconscious, don't even realize you're asleep... I figured death is the same, you just won't know it when it happens (like when you accidently fall asleep). So... it doesn't scare me anymore. I'm not a FAN of it, it just doesn't control me like it used to. I'm still paranoid though.

You may not FEEL like you're high up when on the plane, but you KNOW you are... and it freaks me out, lol. :) I don't want to talk about my fears of flight because you're working to fix yours (which is so awesome btw), and I don't want to add unnecessary triggers (or thoughts). I just went and got on a plane, scared silly, it wasn't horrifying, but because of how I am, I was on edge the entire time.

I also had a fear (I say had, but I still have the fear) of being put to sleep. I had to be put to sleep for my wisdom teeth. I "faced my fears" and went and had it done anyway, I had a panic attack as I fell asleep (lol) and woke up 30 mins or so later crying, haha. Was so embarassing. Even asleep my brain is freaking out. >.<;

I also have absolutely no control over the ability to calm myself. I have tried everything. Deep breathing, happy thoughts, imagine positive scenarios of whatever event is triggering it, chewing gum... nothing works. =/ If I let it go, it will escalate to a full blown anxiety attack, and whatever triggered that attack will be more feared than it was previously and it will almost always re-trigger the anxiety attack far more quickly if I attempt to "face the fear". Stupid irrational brain.

I also don't really want to be dependant on medication for something I feel I should be able to control. As far as stuff like xanex/valium, you won't rely on it if you only use it when there is absolutely no control. For example, I only take mine when an anxiety attack is incoming. I'm basically on the egde and about to fall over, I pop 2, and 45 mins later I wonder why the heck I was the way I was cause the feelings all went away. I pretty much face my anxiety otherwise every single day, I've been facing it since I was 13 (I'm 24 now). I was given 10 xanex pills to try in March, since then I've only used 4. They expire this month though so I'll need to get more, but as you can see, I rarely ever use it unless I'm about to explode/implode/both.

I think I accepted that I'm just a paranoid anxious worrier person. Probably not wise to accept something like that, but it makes it easier for me to deal with. I don't feel like I'm as less of a person than a "normal" person. I do feel inferior, but it's managable.

I develop anxiety from my body also. If I get a weird pain somewhere, it'll bring out huge bouts of anxiety. I had low blood sugar really bad one time, and I was freaking out at the same time (which I think made it worse), and I really thought I was going to faint, and at the time I was grocery shopping, so I'm paranoid I'm gonna faint in front of people, and that I'm gonna die and all this stupid stuff.

Exercise for me, makes anxiety worse, I think the rapid heart beat triggers it. I don't like "feeling" my heart. Or hearing it... or hearing any heart... triggers mega anxiety for me.

Ahhh gotta love my brain.

Your level of anxiety is not the norm, and may benefit from either counselling or relaxation techniques like meditation or something.

I don't like the drug control side of things i prefer to chill and i find it does help.

You usually find that your level of anxiety has a trigger point, if you can trace back to what/when it happened and then work forward from there it can also be a big help.

All best thoughts.

this is weird cuz i've been having worse anxiety than normal lateley. i've had panic attacks everyday for a little more than a week now, and it's been really hard for me to do normal things (text my boyfriend, decide what to eat, do my homework, call anyone to hang out with). i seem to overthink everything, and end up doing absolutely nothing (literally in bed in the fetal position) and if i do do something, i still freak out untill the situation works out (if it doesn't work out...). oh yeah and i can't sleep (explains why i'm posting this at 3:30 am).

 i go to a pshchologist and that helps a bit (yay for insurance paying for that), she said that i just have anxiety induced depression. but the thing that helps the most is medical marajuana (i live in california, so it's legal) it really just calms and sooths me, allows me to be happy, and is a miricle for sleep (seriously). only bad thing is than it makes you want to eat (tea helps) and that it's frowned on by a lot of people.... but seriously how is any other medication better?.... i haven't used any in about a month now, and i think that's why my anxiety/depression is getting worse again, but i'm trying to focus on a long-term solution aka psychologist

i smoke too celesteleary. for me it makes it worse. my heart starts pounding and that triggers an attack. i havent been smoking much at all anymore because of that... so weird.

i talked to my mom (dr mom) and I am going to start taking some herbal remedies, including St Johns Wart and Omega 3 and see if that helps.

anxiety/depression runs in my family unfortunately and my dad took st johns wart and it really helped him so hoping it can do the same for me.

i started taking tyrosine for my anxiety. came across by accident that an increase in my noradrenaline and dopamine levels made the anxiety easier to handle. it didn't sit in the pit of my stomach or chest cavity.

i think it depends on what reason & what the anxiety does to you. for me, im more mentally alert & able to take on the world when i added tyrosine in. but of course everyone is different so it may not work for you when you have a major attack but it might work to keep you more even keeled on a consistent basis 

what is tyrosine? herbal?

i can grin an bear my attacks. they arent always totally debilitating (sometimes they are of course)

the reason is unknown to me. there are lots of times when i have NO reason to be anxious so I am chalking it up to my flight in two weeks- im thinking about it alot, dreaming of it at night.... i am on high alert that this event is looming nearer and nearer.

the anxiety in a normal scenario doesnt do too much to me on the outside. i look totally fine and act fine but on the inside i feel like im going wild.

when i have an attack i get all the typical symptoms:nausea, shortness of breath, rapid heartbeat, sometimes my arm or leg goes tingly....and a feeling of DOOM

one interesting thing, on my Bday hubby and i went to the SkyWheel in Niagara. http://www.niagarafallscomfort.com/wp-content /themes/ci/images/niagara-skywheel.jpg

this is something that i DREADED going on. but it was part of the package we got and I somehow felt that I needed to get on it. im terrified of heights- so this is something that I would normally not do.

funny enough, i didnt feel anxious when getting on it. i cried while waiting in line and felt fear but not anxiety. and once i was on it, it was like my body adapted and knew since i couldnt get off i had to deal with it. i just didnt look out when we got to the top and i was okay. i adjusted fairly well (better than i thought)

i am hoping the flight thing is the same. ill be anxious before i go on, but should adapt while im on it., i have to.

that being said- this was a circumstance where i thought i would breakdown, turns out i was okay. times when i feel anxious are usually in preparation of events- when my mind runs amuck and thinks of a billion different scenarios.

i think my anxiety is highly affected by the unknown. when my imagination runs wild. once i get into something and know what to expect im usually ok.

 

Original Post by chelslaw1984:

what is tyrosine? herbal?

its an amino acid. water soluble. 

i hear you about the different scenarios. i had one person tell me, its all about head space and what you allow that space to occupy. i know, i know easier said than done. i have to really work at what i allow in my head.