From foobertdoobert: i have been living at my basement suite for a year now and for some reason i started getting anxious about noise. i was not bothered for the last year until the next door neighbors had music or movies playing at night and i can hear it through my wall. even when they are talking it sounds very loud. the wall is very thin. I also can’t tell if its my neighbors or outside noise now. I am having so much anxiety that i feel i cannot breathe at all hours, i can barely sleep, and i am not eating. I take antidepressants and sleep medication, i wear ear plugs but i can still hear the noise. I am so paranoid about it that when there is any noise i press my ear against the wall. I feel like im going insane. I feel like i need to move but i cant afford to move. I don’t know what to do. Due to the stress i have not been able to do school work and i have wanted to die and self harm. I don’t have any options other than dying. I booked an appintment with a psychiatrist for the 18th of this month. I try to do relaxing techniques such as breathing, going outside, listening to stuff on my headphones to sleep but my anxiety doesnt go away.
Hi foobertdoobert,
Constant sensory stimulation can definitely be stressful and exhausting. Know that you are strong, as you continue to find ways to overcome your environment. I am glad that you are seeking professional help because such unending, intense anxiety sounds difficult to live with, and you deserve to have a space where you can be at peace.
Have you considered asking your neighbors to keep their noise down? This may be a worthwhile conversation to reduce the source of your stress at home.
Here for you,
-Gremlin
From foobertdoobert: Thanks for replying, i did talk to them last night and they said they were just talking so i kind of just said ok and left. I have trouble with confrontation
Hello foobertdoobert (fantastic name, super fun to say)
It sounds like to me you’re in a big storm of struggle right now. It has to be really scary to not feel comfortable or safe in your own home. It’s supposed to be where we escape to feel safe, so not having that respite sounds absolutely awful to me.
I definitely want to give you props for trying some healthy coping techniques like breathing and going outside. The fact that you have the awareness to try different things seems to tell me that you still have some hope of fixing this. Definitely try to hold on to that hope as it will keep you going until you can figure something out.
I feel the psychiatrist route is a great option, you may also want to look into going to an ears, nose, and throat specialist to check your ears (sometimes it could be something medical related and not something that’s just created in our heads).
Just know that you have people pulling for you here and we’re always here for a sounding board and support. I promise you there is a better way than self harm or worse.
Hey,
I am really sorry to hear that you are going through such a horrendous ordeal. On the contrary, I just want to commend you for taking the necessary steps to help yourself, you even had the courage to tell your neighbors about the noise they were making which exacerbated your noise issue. In closing, continue doing all the things you can do to better your situation because you have the ingredients to overcome your barrier. Rooting for you, You Got This!