Ive been struggling with anxiety bad I cant leave my house I go to work on the weekend other then that I cant go anyway without having a attack I get attacks when im alone in the house I am 25 years old and im so scared someone please help me in anyway you can.
Well My anxiety attacks me when I am uncomfy and feel that I am not safe. For me I dislike large crowds and strangers. I am highly uncomfortable around both. So what I did was break my introvert habits by researching conversation and body language along with relationships. I later added books about highly influential and successful people and their habits. That gave me the confidence to be extroverted in striking up conversations with new people. That is what I do now.
How I got to this point was I would at first take myself out of the situation if my anxiety started up which I think you’ve already mastered. I would time myself exposing to myself to the trigger a bit longer. At first it was a minute then 5 minutes and I worked myself up to 30 and finally to an hour. Now I find I can maintain 45 to an hour to my trigger take a 3 to ten minute break and return for another 45 to 1 hour session (alone).
What immediately helped me was having familiarity close by. For me it was people that I knew. Unfortunately at college in 2010 I didn’t have this so I would listen to music and pretended I was just walking. I use to pretend other people were something else like robots or animals. I also never looked at them. I’d look at the ground or straight pass them. I didn’t do it nonchalant I always have an objective such as if there was a local concert I left to listen to music. I would go ignore everyone and concentrated only on the band or singer. Even then I wasn’t looking at him but paying attention to what he sang looking through him.
Walking is another thing. I can’t sit still. I find bouncing on the balls of my feet, walking in circles or back and forth helpful. I am not sure if what I do will help you out.
Hey Color,
First I want to say thank you for reaching out and posting on the support wall. You are courageous for reaching out and realizing that something isn’t right and desiring support and love from this community! We are here for you and you are not alone.
Unfortunately, I as well struggle with anxiety, and it’s something that I’ve been trying to work on. I found myself having panic attacks in class just because I constantly felt like people were watching me, or because I never felt safe anywhere, so I hope this shows for sure that you are not alone. I even find myself having panic attacks when I’m alone, because I’m alone, and nobody is there if something happens, but yet I’m anxious and have panic attacks when people are around so it’s a super tough cycle.
I’ve tried to find healthy ways to cope with the feelings, and have tried to do grounding techniques when I feel myself starting to have a panic attack or spiraling out of control. Just start identifying your five senses around you (you can either write it down, or just close your eyes and breathe and do it that way). But start identifying things you hear, see, smell, taste, touch, it will help you focus and keep yourself grounded and it helps me a lot.
I know this one seems maybe dumb but it helps me a lot, I have a song I listen to when I start to get anxious, a certain person that I message, I usually try to keep a snack (healthy snacks), or water on me as that helps me calm down as I’m giving my body nutrients/fluids that it needs. I would definitely say it’s different for each person, so it will take time for you to find things that work for you.
Also, keep an eye out the community aka Casers and Ben are working on a new workbook/book about anxiety, and I encourage you to get that when it’s released and work through that! Ben is freaking amazing, and so wise, and knows how to word things. Please know this community is here for you, we love you, and you are not alone. Remember to breathe.
Hold Fast, You’re Worth It,
Monkey