hiii
for months now, ive been getting daily symptoms of nervousness and anxiety - weirdly enough, i wouldnt say its stress, im rarely ’stresed out’ - just always worried and panicy
i panic over really silly things - what i said to someone 2 weeks ago, what they think about me, regretting things ive said or done, constantly feeling guilty about ridiculous thing - consciously, its things i know i shouldnt be worried about, but i just cant help it. on a daily basis these are my symptoms:
shaking
tension headaches
fast heart rate
even when i breathe in as much as i can, its as though i need to breathe in more - like i cant get enough air
that ‘heart sinking’ feeling when u get a wave of adrenaline
insomnia
restlessness
feelings of guilt

and a few times a week , i have spells where my legs feel as though they are going to give way, and my eyes go ‘black (if that makes sense - it feels as though im about to faint)
im quite young, so i dont want to reply on medication, but lately im sick and tired of the daily panic and strong feelings of unease - what mild medications are out there for my symptoms ???
thank you!

Hey there!

It does sound like you are suffering from anxiety. I wouldn’t jump to medications just yet though, as there’s really no such thing as "mild" when it comes to this kind of medication.

There are a number of things you can do straight off the bat to help combat your anxiety. Firstly, you mention feeling like you can’t breathe. People with anxiety tend to do more shallow breathing. Place your hand on your stomach, and breathe in slowly. You should feel your hand rise, and if you don’t then keep trying until you do. Now you’re breathing in fully, instead of shallow chest breathing. This helps ensure you have enough oxygen, which could also be the reason you’re feeling tired, and helps calm anxiety.

Warm hot water bottles on your neck and shoulders can help relax those muscles, leading to less tension headaches. Make sure your posture is good too -anxiety can lead to you withdrawing both mentally and physically, so it pays to keep checking your posture.

Feeling guilty is one of the most common reasons for feeling anxious, as it leads to obsession. However, you can stop this! There are many methods, so you need to find one that works for you. Some people find writing these thoughts down helps. A good way is simply to forgive yourself! Tell yourself you’re only human, you didn’t purposely do anything bad, and so you can’t give yourself such a hard time about it! It takes practice, but it’s an important and valuable skill to be able to forgive yourself.

Distractors are also a help. When you feel yourself worrying, tell yourself they’re just thoughts! You could think about an alien coming in to your house and stealing your clothes, and you know that’s silly. You need to do the same with the thoughts of guilt! So try and dismiss them, and move on to a distractor. Things like reading, painting, watching a movie. These all take your mind off it. You don’t need to sit there letting you think those thoughts, because that’s all they are!

These may all sound like simple solutions, but the main thing is you need to ACTIVELY do them. You can’t just be passive, and decide "I’ll stop being anxious now, as soon as I figure out if my friend is mad at me because I feel I wasn’t listening enough to her last week…" you have to right there stop that train of thought! It’s tricky, but you can make it second-nature, and it’s well worth it!

If you start taking these small positive steps, I’m sure your anxiety will start to fade! Feeling in control can itself prevent the anxiety! Medication is a final solution, and I’m pretty confident you can control your anxiety without it

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