How long do you last?

[Babikins]

Or more accuarately, how long do your periods of anxiety last? Hours, day's, weeks? I'm just really curious. I am having the longest period I have ever had. It's been 3 days with no breaks of normality. Constantly dizzy and on edge. I'm hoping it can't last much longer! Usually I have a few hours and it clears up, then may come back a few days later. An uninterrupted spell this long is very strange for me...

[nicola1980]

Hey hun ive had days of anxiety b4 without it break :weep: it is awful and i really feel for u, r u taking any meds at all?
Nicola xx

[Babikins]

Hey! Yes, I am on 15mg of mirtazapine. But thats mainly for sleeping problems. It's bizarre how some people get minutes, some get weeks!

[Anxious_gal]

worst was a few days straight of pure fear.
what helped was getting a good nights sleep.

[M155anthr0p3]

I've had weeks of it.
Then days.
Now it's maybe one bad day per week.
I can cope with that.

[daybyday]

Months now.

[Babikins]

Thank you for all the responses, I do hope everyone get a break sooner rather than later. Sometimes I just pray for a full day without any anxiety symptoms at all.

@daybyday, Wow months? Is that constantly? I really feel for you! x

[Bill]

The answer is, and I know it doesn't seem possible, they last as long as you allow them to last.

I'll try to explain...

Are you afraid of spiders? If not, just put in your mind an image that terrifies you, your worst fear!:scared15: Honest, try it. Now keep picturing it and don't stop. Feel anxious yet? If not then it's probably not something scary enough. Think of anything else? Just think of something that Really Really frightens you, even if you don't want to think about it. Ok...you there? Good.

Ok, you can stop thinking about it now!:) Feel better yet or are you still shaking with fear? Feel panicky still?

Well, that's what happens from the moment you wake in the morning. You won't be aware of it though because all you'll actually be aware of thinking about is how you're "feeling" but if you delve deeper you'll find whatever it is that is creating those feelings which you'll find in "your thoughts".

For instance, do you fear getting up? Do you fear going to work? Do you fear going out? Do you fear how you know you're going to feel all day? Do you fear feeling fear? Do you fear palpitations? Do you fear panics? Do you fear the day ahead? Do you fear feeling stressed?...and so on...

They all have one thing in common...wanting to avoid feeling anxious feelings...(the fear of Feeling fear).

So when do the anxious feelings stop? When you no longer fear them. How do you stop fearing them? By allowing yourself to feel them to prove to yourself there is nothing to fear.

How else can you prevent these feelings from surfacing? Ease the stresses in your life, find more enjoyment in life, look for things to look forward to, don't dwell on fears. don't keep worrying about thoughts that make you feel anxious, learn how to keep your body calm, don't fight them, don't let your body tense up, don't try to avoid them...and so on.

Lastly, for a bit of fun...a snail is going about his business as usual in the garden when one day a big crow confronts him. The snail feels so frightened:scared15:, he retreats into his shell to keep "safe" and he refuses to come out again because of his fear of the crow that made him feel so anxious. However, as he sits in the safety of his shell, he can't stop trembling because he can't stop thinking about that crow. The safety of his shell has become his prison and fear and anxiety have moved in with him.

One day he decides to pluck up the courage to venture out but as soon as he pops out of his shell he feels terrified even though the crow is nowhere in sight!:scared15: He feels So terrified he retreats back into his shell and becomes really depressed asking himself "How long will this anxiety last?":shrug:Can you answer him for me now?

It lasts for as long as he stays in his shell.

So when does it stop?

When he pops back out of his shell and goes back to "doing" what he used to do and "thinking" about what he used to do before the crow appeared causing him to feel afraid which then made him focus on all his anxious feelings which kept his anxiety going.

Anxiety stops when you stop worrying about anxiety and that's how long it lasts.:hugs:

[WolfieKate]

I think for me it varies between depression and anxiety. The dark depression has lasted for months now since about mid summer which is what prompted me to seek help from my GP. The anxiety comes and goes but usually lasts for 6-7 days a couple of times a month.

It's undoubtedly hormonal for me but knowing that doesn't really help. You can't face up to a hormone surge or make it go away. I may have ten years of perimenopausal anxiety to deal with ahead of me. What I can do I guess is face my fear of social situations, get out there and get a job! And just see if if that helps quell the anxious part of me a bit. But I can't stop there being times of the month when chemically I curl into a scared tight ball.

Kate :flowers:

[Jamesk]

Or more accuarately, how long do your periods of anxiety last? Hours, day's, weeks? I'm just really curious. I am having the longest period I have ever had. It's been 3 days with no breaks of normality. Constantly dizzy and on edge. I'm hoping it can't last much longer! Usually I have a few hours and it clears up, then may come back a few days later. An uninterrupted spell this long is very strange for me...

Thanks for this - sorry you are having such a bad time of it, but the comments are hugely helpful to me as my episodes seem almost constant, or kick in late morning and then stay with me all day, so it is a relief to hear this is possible.

[M155anthr0p3]

Bill I was that snail!!!
No more I say! Been to the docs on my own today and everything....back off anxiety!!!
:D

---------- Post added at 12:34 ---------- Previous post was at 12:32 ----------


I think for me it varies between depression and anxiety. The dark depression has lasted for months now since about mid summer which is what prompted me to seek help from my GP. The anxiety comes and goes but usually lasts for 6-7 days a couple of times a month.

It's undoubtedly hormonal for me but knowing that doesn't really help. You can't face up to a hormone surge or make it go away. I may have ten years of perimenopausal anxiety to deal with ahead of me. What I can do I guess is face my fear of social situations, get out there and get a job! And just see if if that helps quell the anxious part of me a bit. But I can't stop there being times of the month when chemically I curl into a scared tight ball.

Kate :flowers:

You have such a good attitude Kate.
You're a fighter!
:hugs:

[Babikins]

Wise words from Bill! You are very correct. The thing we fear most is being fearful. What a vicious circle ):

[weevil]

It lasts for months, usually every autumn and winter, each year being worse so that the last few it never really went away for very long. When it's triggered it stays all that time in various strengths but it's always there. It's really bad at the moment there's not a single part of my life I feel okay about. I can't see how it's going to be possible for me to ever complete uni normally.