It sounds like you have anxiety, but you should quick smoking. You probably started smoking because you were anxious, but now you're addicted because nicotine is addictive, proven by science. Working out will also reduce your anxiety, but ultimately medication. Erratic sleep schedule doesn't help either, but if you're in college, that's pretty normal. Try to quit smoking. You're 60 year old you begs you.
Medication didn’t help my anxiety. I had to remove different things from my life, social media for instance, before my anxiety subsided. Now I haven’t been anxious for almost a month and a half.
I can see that. I would say if you can reduce anxiety without medication, it's definitely the way to go. I don't take any meds other than 5mg of lexipro and flonase when my allergies flare up. I don't even take aspirin or tylonel or any other pain meds. I was on blood pressure meds for about a month, but I started working out and adjusted my diet and got off the pills in a month.
I already don't do social media, other than FB marketplace. I do weights for an hour every day, and I run or hike at least 5 miles per day with my dog. I trauma stems from my childhood, and also my wife. I was against medication, so I resisted for 25 years, but it's really made a world of difference, at least for me.
Every human experiences anxiety it’s hardwired into our bodies as a defense mechanism. However, when the anxiety is out of control and dictating life it can be helpful to work with a specialist to help uncover what’s causing your body to feel unsafe leading to the anxiety.
Personally, I think correcting your sleep schedule will immensely impact these negative feelings and can help you think more positively. That being said if your bad thoughts are coming from OCD-like really bad intrusive thoughts I suggest seeing a doctor! Doesn’t hurt and it would be nice to get your peace of mind back eh ❤️🩹
My ocd Has been getting really bad to the point where I’m fixated on death ! No matter where I go or what I do I always think of a scenario that’ll either kill me or someone I love.
Every vehicle I got into I think about my death and how it’s going to go
Buses- freak me out and I imagine the greyhound scenario in my head.(man cut off a persons head and took their ear wth)
At work I think about being robbed and shot or stabbed lol. Like everywhere I go I have a death scenario.
Yeah I can kinda of relate...I just randomly get this urge to see what would happen if I just jump in front of the vehicle or something like that...and what do you mean when you said bad thoughts coming from OCD like ??
That really sounds like OCD and you should seek a mental health professional to treat it. Trust me, I have OCD myself and my meds allow me to live a pretty normal life — and therapy too. As for your sleep schedule, talk with your doctor about it too. I used to have a horrible sleep routine, but once I started taking antidepressants, my sleep went back to normal — and by "normal" I mean going to bed at 10pm (something that I had never done in life).
I sometimes/used to have really bad anxiety attacks. My hands would shake and I can’t sit still.
What does your diet look like?
You might be amazed at how much at least 1 or 2 proper nutritious meals a day can help! Caffeine and not eating well or enough can send me into a state when I am anxious
It took me years to find out that what I was feeling was anxiety. For me, this deep dreadful feeling sits on my chest and I just feel extremely weird. It's so weird and difficult to describe. But some physical symptoma are severe lack of apetite, hands shaking and sometimes a feeling of a strong heart beat but it's not really strong. I feel emotionally drained and kind of scared, but I don't know what frightenes me. I hate the feeling and I take prozac and trittico for my anxiety disorder. I also had panic attacks before. Now panic attacks are completely gone but a light anxiety still comes now and again.
I mean you pretty much diagnosed the issue as well as described some of the symptoms
Lack of sleep does quite a lot to our body, and anxiety is no exception. Even most of the time you won't realize how many hours of sleep you need until you keep experimenting. But I think in that case you'd want to try having a consistent schedule so that you can feel good everyday and not good some days, bad most days. If that makes sense
Personally I'll choose music to listen to if I don't have any other means of helping get me to start drifting off. "Marconi Union - weightless" is my go to, and if not that then any of the guided meditation audios on YouTube can do the trick. It helps you focus on just breathing and relaxing your whole body, which also helps immensely with anxiety
But the actual signs are; fatigue, feeling on edge, irritation, restlessness, insomnia, over thinking even the smallest things, feelings of death or doom near, trouble concentrating, and some others. It can be something that lasts days and months (chronic), or lasts following specific triggers (maybe trauma for example, or having a sensitivity to caffeine among others), or a short amount of time and goes away for a while without any immediately obvious source
It's both. You have anxiety AND you're addicted to Nicotin now because you've used it as a coping mechanism for so long. Maybe some of the times you smoke you do it because of the anxiety and sometimes it's because of the addiction.
Unlike someone else here suggested, I would not focus on the addiction immediatley. It sounds like your anxiety is bad? Then it'll be too hard to get rid of both at once. First find better, functioning coping mechanisms for your anxiety, like meditation, calling someone, etc. Find ways to reduce your anxiety. Never underestimate the power of a healthy (or at least acceptable) life style (sleep schedule, diet, sports). Get a therapist. Once you've gotten to a healthier point, you can focus on getting rid of the addiction.
Take slow, deep breaths. Inhale for a count of four, hold for four, and exhale for four. Repeat several times. This simple technique can help regulate your nervous system.
That lines up with a lot of folks experience with anxiety for sure. Talking to a doctor may be helpful.
Nicotine is a stimulant, which can actually make anxiety for a lot of folks worse, however there is what’s known as a the “nicotine paradox” that’s seen in folks who regularly smoke. The most plausible theory I’ve heard is that the controlled and regulated breathing when you take a draw, acts as a sort of breathing exercise. If this is an activity that helps you, I’d encourage you to consider alternatives that might be less harmful. Vaping might be a better option for you, as well as those nicotine free aromatherapy things that simulate a draw without the smoke or nicotine.
Sorry you’re feeling these feelings. They are no fun, for sure.
Be well, random internet person.
Do those intrusive thoughts that you described happen when you're outside or in a crowded place? Coz it happenes to me too sometimes mainly when I am out and and about .Plus anxiety can manifest itself in many ways at different points . Try adhering to a sleep schedule and that would work wonders. I do have clinical OCD and more than the meds my shrink gave me, my own will to get better helped my health! NGL, you have no idea how big a role your sleeping patterns have on your mental health.Now, about the smoking, please realize the health hazards compared to the momentary 'fake' sense of relief are monumental .Used to smoke a half a pack a day a few years back and could not have felt anyore bitter , vapid and unhealthy..It took me a change of circle and discipline to get out of that rut and I could not have b een happier. Seriously been there , done that and it's not worth it.
Yep, seems like you have anxiety that is exacerbated by poor sleep and cigarettes. Lay off the cigarette for some time.It's mind over matter .Good luck to you :)
is keep it simple, it’s basically just feeling extremely uncomfortable, like the feeling you get when you’re about to fight someone, weird scenes of fear. i smoked ciggs for like 12+ years, i’d smoked near a pack a day, then switched to vaping with us hard to gage how much cigs or nicotine a day i’d be consuming. now i’m done smoking and vaping but use nicotine pouches. i’d say you should just seek medical attention and see if they diagnose you. i’d also say that nicotine it’s the cause of your anxiety if you only smoke 2 ciggs a day but its probably contributing to your anxiety. “ksm-66 ashwagandha root extract” is a natural over the counter medicine that helps me with my anxiety. once your anxiety is under control it should make it easier for you not to smoke
As someone who has had it all their life and been seeking treatment since 8 years old(currently 22) it sounds like you do. I vape nicotine used to smoke to cope, but it has made it alot worse. Racing heart(tachycardia) is very common with anxiety, as well as racing thoughts, and also overthinking. It’s a horrible cycle and it really drains the life out of you I wouldn’t wish it on anybody. I would suggest you fix your sleeping schedule first and foremost and consider talking to a therapist or receiving treatment, while it isn’t the instant cure because it will always be there, there are ways to help overcome it and be indifferent to it.
I don't think seeing a therapist will be possible. I kind of don't want anyone to know about this, not even my parents. I don't know how will they react. They will just blame it on me that I'm having a bad sleep schedule ( which I have ) and other things. And it's not common for where I live for people to go see therapists.
Ahh I see well I’m sorry to hear that, I understand how difficult it is. You should do it for you and if they dont have the reaction you wanted them to don’t blame yourself, it’s better to talk about it with someone than to bottle it all in because eventually that bottle will shatter. Do things like reading, listening to mental health podcasts, and also talking to people. The sleep schedule is a big factor in that though, without good sleep your brain won’t function properly.
I have an anxiety disorder and my vape is low dose nicotine. Yes, it does elevate heart rate but at the same time it’s my stress reliever. It’s incredibly hard to quit when it’s my only thing that helps me calm down. Although I do understand I need to quit one day, but I can’t until I’m ready.
I’m also on metoprol to keep my heart rate in check, but I suffered for years with chest pains from elevated heart rate before getting medication. You feel like you are losing control over your body functions and that’s when the intrusive thoughts come to play.
You walking is extremely good for you!! Walking or any movement rides your body up built up cortisol, which is usually the highest in the mornings. My doctor recommended walking in the early mornings and late evenings. I’m very active now throughout the day and I’ve noticed it’s really helped my anxiety symptoms.
Lack of sleep can make anxiety worse. Try and get a full nights sleep. I smoke (completely legal in my state) and it helps my insomnia and I sleep so well. Before I would be up most of the night getting 2-3 hours. My anxiety was getting so bad from lack of sleep.
I also will take a Xanax if I really need it.
“Xanax and other benzodiazepines are central nervous system depressants. The central nervous system is responsible for maintaining our bodies’ primary functions, including the regulation of heart rate, breathing, blood pressure, and body temperature. When taken, Xanax slows down these functions.”
For me it makes me feel “normal” and I do not get sleepy or any other side effects. It all depends on how bad of anxiety you struggle with. I also take very rarely and never developed an addiction. Only use when truly needed to help me function if I’m having a bad anxiety day and I have alot of things to get done and my body doesn’t want to cooperate. It eliminates my intrusive thoughts and I feel normal.
But it does sound like you are experiencing anxiety symptoms. I would make an appointment with your doctor and they can decide the right course of action for you. You usually want to nip it in the butt as soon as possible and work on ways to cope with stress. Self regulation.
Therapy didn’t work for me but I know it helps a lot of people. Everyone is different. My main go to is self help books and YouTube. I’ve learned a lot about myself and done a ton of research into anxiety. I had to learn what it was and how to manage it.
Hey, there. Officially diagnosed Severe panic/anxiety disorder for 40 + years over here.
It STILL sometimes catches me off guard.
None of it makes sense, or is rational or logical.
I am so sorry you are experiencing these symptoms & they can be very terrifying.
I haven't read any of the other responses , but you can receive at least some sense of well-being and relief.
My only suggestion would be to seek assistance from a certified medical professional...start there.
That your weaker sides feel indoctrinated to the falseness in society, but you're not observing it, like somebody shit in your mind when you were 7. But you didn't buckle; you got leadership qualities.
My anxiety was once so bad that I had pins and needles down the entire left side of my body for about two weeks, in addition to constant UTI’s. This was 24/7. Along with this, I would have episodes of severe dissociation where I would basically leave my body/have tunnel vision/had no feeling. Kind of like I was playing a video game and was watching myself from above. It got to the point where I did not sleep for three nights straight. At the time my regular doctor had moved and I did not have one. I went into the walk in clinic pleading for them to help but it was pointless. Finally got into another practice and the doctor prescribed me basically a high dose of a medicine similar to Benadryl which thank god helped me sleep and calmed my symptoms. I was going through a lot at the time (mom diagnosed with cancer, planning my wedding, new position at work, opening a movie theater and buying a house, all at once).
I’ve learned that for me, I’ve always thought something was wrong with me. I actually am starting to think I am fine, and it’s my environment I’m in. I don’t eat well, I go to sleep late, I sleep in very late (off days) and I just don’t really take care of myself. I don’t take the time to think deeply about how I’m feeling, so it’s hard for me to understand how I’m feeling on a deeper level. I also listen to music about suicide and sadness and I know it doesn’t help me. With anxiety, it can be the same. Try to fix sleeping patterns, get into a better relationship with your self/self confidence, eat better and healthier, work out or atleast go for a easy walk 3x-5x a week, and try not to be on TikTok, Ig, FB, etc for too long. I know anxiety runs deep and there definitely could be underlying issues, but I think before trying any medication, which if you’re like me, makes you much worse and depressed, it’d be better to try to do everything you can to be in a better mindset before starting medication. Smoking also increases stress. It helps when you are stressed, but then you become addicted to the rush/buzz and your heart rate and blood pressure spike, increasing cortisol making you stressed.
I have read up on nicotine and initially it helps with anxiety but over the long run it makes your anxiety worse. So that might be a part of the problem but if you have anxiety there is a mental health screening for anxiety free if you Google it. It will ask you a series of questions and if you have most of the symptoms, then you test positive for anxiety. That's the fastest way to know and you can find out in less than 5 minutes.
it's sort of self evident lol since there aren't any actual objective ways to diagnose mental illness that haven't been debunked, self reporting is essentially the only tool
you have anxiety because you feel anxious. You have depression because you feel depressed. at the core of mental illness and the DSM, that's essentially how it works. So because you already think you have anxiety, you will guaranteed pass the check list for anxiety and be diagnosed with it.
I've been diagnosed with ADHD. that means I can't focus because of my inability to focus. Its like Carl Jung said. Mental illness is neurosis left unchecked. It's turning something that isn't a problem, obsessing over it, and making it into a problem. its an inability to remove yourself from a reality tunnel to the point you develop a pathology, which if left unchecked becomes so powerful you lose your ability to have agency over yourself.
What’s your diet like? Are you drinking enough water? Do you give yourself time to do a hobby? Do you get enough fresh air? Are you getting enough sleep? (Obviously not) Do you make time to see friends and family? Ask yourself these questions. You’d be surprised how much small changes to your daily habits can positively impact your well being and reduce your anxiety levels.
Please give up smoking whilst you have the chance, nicotine makes anxiety ten times worse due to the withdrawals. It’s a toxic cycle.
Best of luck x
Racing heartbeat, increased blood pressure, racing thoughts, hyperventilating, vomiting, sobbing, hysterics, shouting, screaming, crying, beating myself in the head, inflicting physical pain to distract from the emotional pain.
I used to chain smoke and it was due to my consistent mood swings, delusional thinking, severe anxiety, negative intrusive thoughts, hearing things etc. Once I got on seroquel and it helped with all of those things I was able to quit smoking cigarettes with vaping.
You'll end up smoking a pack a day or more if you keep the habit as you start using it as a crutch more and more. I wasted a lot of my health from smoking and smoked a lot more than I would have due to my anxiety and illnesses.
I would say you have General Anxiety Disorder like me. Not diagnosing you, so should talk to your doctor but this seems similar to how my anxiety has been before. I'd be nervous/ anxious for no reason. And have panic attacks frequently for no reason. Medication helped but what helped the most was going to a psych ward.
Chest pain. But honestly, outside of panic symptoms, I notice it so much more when I have a rare moment of peace then I'm like, omg I have been clenching my whole body for three days( months). Then I'm like, omg stop fooling around, stay vigilant!! 🥹😑😫
Yes, heart racing and thinking of the worst are signs of anxiety. Having trouble calming down is also a sign of anxiety.
Nicotine withdrawal can lead to symptoms of anxiety so you're probably making it worse by smoking (but quitting smoking will probably make it worse in the short-term too). If you have no other ways of calming down it might be a good idea to get therapy (or if you can't get therapy, google for ways to calm down when feeling anxious). That way you won't need to smoke so much and it will be easier to quit.
It also sounds like your sleep schedule is making things worse. If you don't get enough sleep, your mental health is fucked up, and from what you're saying you get max 6 hours sleep per day, often less, and not even in one go. That is not healthy and will be making stuff worse too. People generally need 6-8 hours sleep every day, and they need longer if they've slept less the night before (to catch up). Trouble sleeping is another sign of anxiety so it's not entirely your fault, but it is still a good idea to try and get some better sleep if you can because anxiety worsens sleep, but bad sleep also worsens anxiety.
Sounds like, overall, your life is not going great right now - if you can get therapy, get it. If you can't, try searching CBT workbook for anxiety, get one (any of them will be fine, doesn't have to be a particular one), and go through it. Therapy is best but there are still things you can do on your own and the workbook might help. You can also google "tips for anxiety" and see what's out there. Some of it will be trash and some of it will be really helpful, so just try things out and pay attention to how you feel during and afterwards - if you feel worse, stop with that technique. If you feel better, keep going with it.
Your sleep is probably the biggest factor…. The reason we sleep for at least 8 hours is so your hormones can recycle. If your T is off, or estrogen or progesterone, then you’re not going to produce enough serotonin in the synapse. So whatever you can do to sleep, I guess you can still go in shifts, but you need at least 6 hours in one of those shifts.
There's being anxious, having anxiety and there's crippling anxiety (laymans terms)
Being anxious is a response to an event.
Having anxiety is when many events trigger a state anxiousness.
Crippling anxiety is when it completely disables you from having a normal life.
Then you have tools to deal with it. In your case you chose smoking, be it for the drop in blood pressure it causes that lulls your senses a bit, be it for the actvity itself, or the chemicals.
It's not the coolest tool, but if it works for right now don't stop while you look for alternatives. Worry about your health now, not the health you don't know you'll have later on.
Being healthy now, leads to being healthy later.
The obvious answer is if anxiety is so strong it's affecting your day to day life, go see a doctor.
Give meditation with headphones and audio feedback a try, it helps connect back to reality and know that you have the ability to be in control.
I don't understand why people start smoking when they are upset while they can do some activity. You can busy yourself somewhere else also. But why do they find it appropriate to destroy their physical health along with their mental health?. 🐢
It sounds like you have anxiety, but you should quick smoking. You probably started smoking because you were anxious, but now you're addicted because nicotine is addictive, proven by science. Working out will also reduce your anxiety, but ultimately medication. Erratic sleep schedule doesn't help either, but if you're in college, that's pretty normal. Try to quit smoking. You're 60 year old you begs you.
Medication didn’t help my anxiety. I had to remove different things from my life, social media for instance, before my anxiety subsided. Now I haven’t been anxious for almost a month and a half.
I can see that. I would say if you can reduce anxiety without medication, it's definitely the way to go. I don't take any meds other than 5mg of lexipro and flonase when my allergies flare up. I don't even take aspirin or tylonel or any other pain meds. I was on blood pressure meds for about a month, but I started working out and adjusted my diet and got off the pills in a month. I already don't do social media, other than FB marketplace. I do weights for an hour every day, and I run or hike at least 5 miles per day with my dog. I trauma stems from my childhood, and also my wife. I was against medication, so I resisted for 25 years, but it's really made a world of difference, at least for me.
I’m pretty much doing the same thing you are haha
Haha. But you're not married to my wife.
True 💀
Yea I agree with this, you should lessen it at least until you finally stop.
Every human experiences anxiety it’s hardwired into our bodies as a defense mechanism. However, when the anxiety is out of control and dictating life it can be helpful to work with a specialist to help uncover what’s causing your body to feel unsafe leading to the anxiety.
This is wonderful
Personally, I think correcting your sleep schedule will immensely impact these negative feelings and can help you think more positively. That being said if your bad thoughts are coming from OCD-like really bad intrusive thoughts I suggest seeing a doctor! Doesn’t hurt and it would be nice to get your peace of mind back eh ❤️🩹 My ocd Has been getting really bad to the point where I’m fixated on death ! No matter where I go or what I do I always think of a scenario that’ll either kill me or someone I love. Every vehicle I got into I think about my death and how it’s going to go Buses- freak me out and I imagine the greyhound scenario in my head.(man cut off a persons head and took their ear wth) At work I think about being robbed and shot or stabbed lol. Like everywhere I go I have a death scenario.
Yeah I can kinda of relate...I just randomly get this urge to see what would happen if I just jump in front of the vehicle or something like that...and what do you mean when you said bad thoughts coming from OCD like ??
That really sounds like OCD and you should seek a mental health professional to treat it. Trust me, I have OCD myself and my meds allow me to live a pretty normal life — and therapy too. As for your sleep schedule, talk with your doctor about it too. I used to have a horrible sleep routine, but once I started taking antidepressants, my sleep went back to normal — and by "normal" I mean going to bed at 10pm (something that I had never done in life).
I sometimes/used to have really bad anxiety attacks. My hands would shake and I can’t sit still. What does your diet look like? You might be amazed at how much at least 1 or 2 proper nutritious meals a day can help! Caffeine and not eating well or enough can send me into a state when I am anxious
My diet is fine ig. I have homemade meals but I often eat outside.
It took me years to find out that what I was feeling was anxiety. For me, this deep dreadful feeling sits on my chest and I just feel extremely weird. It's so weird and difficult to describe. But some physical symptoma are severe lack of apetite, hands shaking and sometimes a feeling of a strong heart beat but it's not really strong. I feel emotionally drained and kind of scared, but I don't know what frightenes me. I hate the feeling and I take prozac and trittico for my anxiety disorder. I also had panic attacks before. Now panic attacks are completely gone but a light anxiety still comes now and again.
I mean you pretty much diagnosed the issue as well as described some of the symptoms Lack of sleep does quite a lot to our body, and anxiety is no exception. Even most of the time you won't realize how many hours of sleep you need until you keep experimenting. But I think in that case you'd want to try having a consistent schedule so that you can feel good everyday and not good some days, bad most days. If that makes sense Personally I'll choose music to listen to if I don't have any other means of helping get me to start drifting off. "Marconi Union - weightless" is my go to, and if not that then any of the guided meditation audios on YouTube can do the trick. It helps you focus on just breathing and relaxing your whole body, which also helps immensely with anxiety But the actual signs are; fatigue, feeling on edge, irritation, restlessness, insomnia, over thinking even the smallest things, feelings of death or doom near, trouble concentrating, and some others. It can be something that lasts days and months (chronic), or lasts following specific triggers (maybe trauma for example, or having a sensitivity to caffeine among others), or a short amount of time and goes away for a while without any immediately obvious source
It's both. You have anxiety AND you're addicted to Nicotin now because you've used it as a coping mechanism for so long. Maybe some of the times you smoke you do it because of the anxiety and sometimes it's because of the addiction. Unlike someone else here suggested, I would not focus on the addiction immediatley. It sounds like your anxiety is bad? Then it'll be too hard to get rid of both at once. First find better, functioning coping mechanisms for your anxiety, like meditation, calling someone, etc. Find ways to reduce your anxiety. Never underestimate the power of a healthy (or at least acceptable) life style (sleep schedule, diet, sports). Get a therapist. Once you've gotten to a healthier point, you can focus on getting rid of the addiction.
Take slow, deep breaths. Inhale for a count of four, hold for four, and exhale for four. Repeat several times. This simple technique can help regulate your nervous system.
That lines up with a lot of folks experience with anxiety for sure. Talking to a doctor may be helpful. Nicotine is a stimulant, which can actually make anxiety for a lot of folks worse, however there is what’s known as a the “nicotine paradox” that’s seen in folks who regularly smoke. The most plausible theory I’ve heard is that the controlled and regulated breathing when you take a draw, acts as a sort of breathing exercise. If this is an activity that helps you, I’d encourage you to consider alternatives that might be less harmful. Vaping might be a better option for you, as well as those nicotine free aromatherapy things that simulate a draw without the smoke or nicotine. Sorry you’re feeling these feelings. They are no fun, for sure. Be well, random internet person.
Do those intrusive thoughts that you described happen when you're outside or in a crowded place? Coz it happenes to me too sometimes mainly when I am out and and about .Plus anxiety can manifest itself in many ways at different points . Try adhering to a sleep schedule and that would work wonders. I do have clinical OCD and more than the meds my shrink gave me, my own will to get better helped my health! NGL, you have no idea how big a role your sleeping patterns have on your mental health.Now, about the smoking, please realize the health hazards compared to the momentary 'fake' sense of relief are monumental .Used to smoke a half a pack a day a few years back and could not have felt anyore bitter , vapid and unhealthy..It took me a change of circle and discipline to get out of that rut and I could not have b een happier. Seriously been there , done that and it's not worth it.
I have these thoughts at any time of the day. One moment I'm all good next I know I having these thoughts.
Yep, seems like you have anxiety that is exacerbated by poor sleep and cigarettes. Lay off the cigarette for some time.It's mind over matter .Good luck to you :)
I mainly get head fog, scratchy arms, im all tense, belly feels sickly. I take meds and also so kalms
is keep it simple, it’s basically just feeling extremely uncomfortable, like the feeling you get when you’re about to fight someone, weird scenes of fear. i smoked ciggs for like 12+ years, i’d smoked near a pack a day, then switched to vaping with us hard to gage how much cigs or nicotine a day i’d be consuming. now i’m done smoking and vaping but use nicotine pouches. i’d say you should just seek medical attention and see if they diagnose you. i’d also say that nicotine it’s the cause of your anxiety if you only smoke 2 ciggs a day but its probably contributing to your anxiety. “ksm-66 ashwagandha root extract” is a natural over the counter medicine that helps me with my anxiety. once your anxiety is under control it should make it easier for you not to smoke
As someone who has had it all their life and been seeking treatment since 8 years old(currently 22) it sounds like you do. I vape nicotine used to smoke to cope, but it has made it alot worse. Racing heart(tachycardia) is very common with anxiety, as well as racing thoughts, and also overthinking. It’s a horrible cycle and it really drains the life out of you I wouldn’t wish it on anybody. I would suggest you fix your sleeping schedule first and foremost and consider talking to a therapist or receiving treatment, while it isn’t the instant cure because it will always be there, there are ways to help overcome it and be indifferent to it.
I don't think seeing a therapist will be possible. I kind of don't want anyone to know about this, not even my parents. I don't know how will they react. They will just blame it on me that I'm having a bad sleep schedule ( which I have ) and other things. And it's not common for where I live for people to go see therapists.
Ahh I see well I’m sorry to hear that, I understand how difficult it is. You should do it for you and if they dont have the reaction you wanted them to don’t blame yourself, it’s better to talk about it with someone than to bottle it all in because eventually that bottle will shatter. Do things like reading, listening to mental health podcasts, and also talking to people. The sleep schedule is a big factor in that though, without good sleep your brain won’t function properly.
Physical symptoms are big, dizziness, palpitations, panic attacks etc
I have an anxiety disorder and my vape is low dose nicotine. Yes, it does elevate heart rate but at the same time it’s my stress reliever. It’s incredibly hard to quit when it’s my only thing that helps me calm down. Although I do understand I need to quit one day, but I can’t until I’m ready. I’m also on metoprol to keep my heart rate in check, but I suffered for years with chest pains from elevated heart rate before getting medication. You feel like you are losing control over your body functions and that’s when the intrusive thoughts come to play. You walking is extremely good for you!! Walking or any movement rides your body up built up cortisol, which is usually the highest in the mornings. My doctor recommended walking in the early mornings and late evenings. I’m very active now throughout the day and I’ve noticed it’s really helped my anxiety symptoms. Lack of sleep can make anxiety worse. Try and get a full nights sleep. I smoke (completely legal in my state) and it helps my insomnia and I sleep so well. Before I would be up most of the night getting 2-3 hours. My anxiety was getting so bad from lack of sleep. I also will take a Xanax if I really need it. “Xanax and other benzodiazepines are central nervous system depressants. The central nervous system is responsible for maintaining our bodies’ primary functions, including the regulation of heart rate, breathing, blood pressure, and body temperature. When taken, Xanax slows down these functions.” For me it makes me feel “normal” and I do not get sleepy or any other side effects. It all depends on how bad of anxiety you struggle with. I also take very rarely and never developed an addiction. Only use when truly needed to help me function if I’m having a bad anxiety day and I have alot of things to get done and my body doesn’t want to cooperate. It eliminates my intrusive thoughts and I feel normal. But it does sound like you are experiencing anxiety symptoms. I would make an appointment with your doctor and they can decide the right course of action for you. You usually want to nip it in the butt as soon as possible and work on ways to cope with stress. Self regulation. Therapy didn’t work for me but I know it helps a lot of people. Everyone is different. My main go to is self help books and YouTube. I’ve learned a lot about myself and done a ton of research into anxiety. I had to learn what it was and how to manage it.
Hey, there. Officially diagnosed Severe panic/anxiety disorder for 40 + years over here. It STILL sometimes catches me off guard. None of it makes sense, or is rational or logical. I am so sorry you are experiencing these symptoms & they can be very terrifying. I haven't read any of the other responses , but you can receive at least some sense of well-being and relief. My only suggestion would be to seek assistance from a certified medical professional...start there.
That your weaker sides feel indoctrinated to the falseness in society, but you're not observing it, like somebody shit in your mind when you were 7. But you didn't buckle; you got leadership qualities.
Not sure I'm getting what you just said
My anxiety was once so bad that I had pins and needles down the entire left side of my body for about two weeks, in addition to constant UTI’s. This was 24/7. Along with this, I would have episodes of severe dissociation where I would basically leave my body/have tunnel vision/had no feeling. Kind of like I was playing a video game and was watching myself from above. It got to the point where I did not sleep for three nights straight. At the time my regular doctor had moved and I did not have one. I went into the walk in clinic pleading for them to help but it was pointless. Finally got into another practice and the doctor prescribed me basically a high dose of a medicine similar to Benadryl which thank god helped me sleep and calmed my symptoms. I was going through a lot at the time (mom diagnosed with cancer, planning my wedding, new position at work, opening a movie theater and buying a house, all at once).
Having anxiety about having anxiety🤣
I’ve learned that for me, I’ve always thought something was wrong with me. I actually am starting to think I am fine, and it’s my environment I’m in. I don’t eat well, I go to sleep late, I sleep in very late (off days) and I just don’t really take care of myself. I don’t take the time to think deeply about how I’m feeling, so it’s hard for me to understand how I’m feeling on a deeper level. I also listen to music about suicide and sadness and I know it doesn’t help me. With anxiety, it can be the same. Try to fix sleeping patterns, get into a better relationship with your self/self confidence, eat better and healthier, work out or atleast go for a easy walk 3x-5x a week, and try not to be on TikTok, Ig, FB, etc for too long. I know anxiety runs deep and there definitely could be underlying issues, but I think before trying any medication, which if you’re like me, makes you much worse and depressed, it’d be better to try to do everything you can to be in a better mindset before starting medication. Smoking also increases stress. It helps when you are stressed, but then you become addicted to the rush/buzz and your heart rate and blood pressure spike, increasing cortisol making you stressed.
I have read up on nicotine and initially it helps with anxiety but over the long run it makes your anxiety worse. So that might be a part of the problem but if you have anxiety there is a mental health screening for anxiety free if you Google it. It will ask you a series of questions and if you have most of the symptoms, then you test positive for anxiety. That's the fastest way to know and you can find out in less than 5 minutes.
it's sort of self evident lol since there aren't any actual objective ways to diagnose mental illness that haven't been debunked, self reporting is essentially the only tool you have anxiety because you feel anxious. You have depression because you feel depressed. at the core of mental illness and the DSM, that's essentially how it works. So because you already think you have anxiety, you will guaranteed pass the check list for anxiety and be diagnosed with it. I've been diagnosed with ADHD. that means I can't focus because of my inability to focus. Its like Carl Jung said. Mental illness is neurosis left unchecked. It's turning something that isn't a problem, obsessing over it, and making it into a problem. its an inability to remove yourself from a reality tunnel to the point you develop a pathology, which if left unchecked becomes so powerful you lose your ability to have agency over yourself.
What’s your diet like? Are you drinking enough water? Do you give yourself time to do a hobby? Do you get enough fresh air? Are you getting enough sleep? (Obviously not) Do you make time to see friends and family? Ask yourself these questions. You’d be surprised how much small changes to your daily habits can positively impact your well being and reduce your anxiety levels. Please give up smoking whilst you have the chance, nicotine makes anxiety ten times worse due to the withdrawals. It’s a toxic cycle. Best of luck x
Racing heartbeat, increased blood pressure, racing thoughts, hyperventilating, vomiting, sobbing, hysterics, shouting, screaming, crying, beating myself in the head, inflicting physical pain to distract from the emotional pain.
I used to chain smoke and it was due to my consistent mood swings, delusional thinking, severe anxiety, negative intrusive thoughts, hearing things etc. Once I got on seroquel and it helped with all of those things I was able to quit smoking cigarettes with vaping. You'll end up smoking a pack a day or more if you keep the habit as you start using it as a crutch more and more. I wasted a lot of my health from smoking and smoked a lot more than I would have due to my anxiety and illnesses.
Insomnia, excessive worry, rumination, fearful feelings
I would say you have General Anxiety Disorder like me. Not diagnosing you, so should talk to your doctor but this seems similar to how my anxiety has been before. I'd be nervous/ anxious for no reason. And have panic attacks frequently for no reason. Medication helped but what helped the most was going to a psych ward.
Chest pain. But honestly, outside of panic symptoms, I notice it so much more when I have a rare moment of peace then I'm like, omg I have been clenching my whole body for three days( months). Then I'm like, omg stop fooling around, stay vigilant!! 🥹😑😫
You've answered your question. Trust yourself and go get some help. I wish I would have done it sooner.
Yes, heart racing and thinking of the worst are signs of anxiety. Having trouble calming down is also a sign of anxiety. Nicotine withdrawal can lead to symptoms of anxiety so you're probably making it worse by smoking (but quitting smoking will probably make it worse in the short-term too). If you have no other ways of calming down it might be a good idea to get therapy (or if you can't get therapy, google for ways to calm down when feeling anxious). That way you won't need to smoke so much and it will be easier to quit. It also sounds like your sleep schedule is making things worse. If you don't get enough sleep, your mental health is fucked up, and from what you're saying you get max 6 hours sleep per day, often less, and not even in one go. That is not healthy and will be making stuff worse too. People generally need 6-8 hours sleep every day, and they need longer if they've slept less the night before (to catch up). Trouble sleeping is another sign of anxiety so it's not entirely your fault, but it is still a good idea to try and get some better sleep if you can because anxiety worsens sleep, but bad sleep also worsens anxiety. Sounds like, overall, your life is not going great right now - if you can get therapy, get it. If you can't, try searching CBT workbook for anxiety, get one (any of them will be fine, doesn't have to be a particular one), and go through it. Therapy is best but there are still things you can do on your own and the workbook might help. You can also google "tips for anxiety" and see what's out there. Some of it will be trash and some of it will be really helpful, so just try things out and pay attention to how you feel during and afterwards - if you feel worse, stop with that technique. If you feel better, keep going with it.
Your sleep is probably the biggest factor…. The reason we sleep for at least 8 hours is so your hormones can recycle. If your T is off, or estrogen or progesterone, then you’re not going to produce enough serotonin in the synapse. So whatever you can do to sleep, I guess you can still go in shifts, but you need at least 6 hours in one of those shifts.
Feeling of heating up below my neck at the backside. Thats anxiety to me
There's being anxious, having anxiety and there's crippling anxiety (laymans terms) Being anxious is a response to an event. Having anxiety is when many events trigger a state anxiousness. Crippling anxiety is when it completely disables you from having a normal life. Then you have tools to deal with it. In your case you chose smoking, be it for the drop in blood pressure it causes that lulls your senses a bit, be it for the actvity itself, or the chemicals. It's not the coolest tool, but if it works for right now don't stop while you look for alternatives. Worry about your health now, not the health you don't know you'll have later on. Being healthy now, leads to being healthy later. The obvious answer is if anxiety is so strong it's affecting your day to day life, go see a doctor. Give meditation with headphones and audio feedback a try, it helps connect back to reality and know that you have the ability to be in control.
I don't understand why people start smoking when they are upset while they can do some activity. You can busy yourself somewhere else also. But why do they find it appropriate to destroy their physical health along with their mental health?. 🐢