Hi everyone, in need of some advice please!

[catlover1]

Hi everyone,

I’m sorry if this is a bit long! I’ve been a member of the forum for a while but this is the first time I’ve decided to post. I just need a bit of advice about what I should do because I’m not sure if I have an anxiety disorder or if I’m just overreacting, and I just wondered what other people thought about my situation.

I’m 18 years old and am currently studying for A levels. I’ve always worried more than my friends but things have got worse. Last March a lot of things happened at once and I got really stressed out over them all and since then I just can’t get back in the swing of things. At first I thought I would feel better after I had the summer holidays but in July I started having horrible intrusive thoughts. They used to be in my mind pretty much all the time and at first I couldn’t eat or sleep because they scared me so much, but after researching thought suppression I came across information on OCD, and found out my thoughts were similar to this, even though I’ve never really had compulsions. I also came across information on other mental health illnesses, especially bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, and everyday since then I’ve been constantly asking myself “do I have symptoms of this?”

I have some symptoms that I know could be related to anxiety as I have bloating, muscle tension and shortness of breath most days now, and I also often get nausea, dizziness, depersonalisation, lightheadedness, tightness in my chest, heart palpitations and shaking hands, but these symptoms tend to come and go. I also find that some symptoms change depending on my stress levels: when I’m stressed I overeat and sleep more, but when I’m really worried I lose my appetite completely and get insomnia.

Since all of this started happening I’ve become increasingly disinterested in life and unmotivated to do things. Worrying about things pulls me in different directions and I’m always doubting myself, for example when I procrastinate (which I end up doing a lot now because I find it easier than facing the worry) I think I must be in the prodromal stage of schizophrenia but if I start doing things then I immediately think I’m hypomanic. I know it probably sounds ridiculous but these thoughts just scare me so much.

I used to worry all the time about until I didn’t even know why I was worried sometimes but now I’m either really worried or just don’t care. I used to get good grades at school but I’ve dropped about 4 grades this year because even when I try and work I can’t concentrate, and I can’t keep up with a lot of my other responsibilities. It’s like my mind shoves the worry out a lot of the time (about everyday stuff, intrusive thoughts are nearly always there) but when I’m ready to try and sort my life out I just can’t handle it and I just procrastinate again rather than solving problems.

If you’ve read all of this, thank you so much! I’m sorry it’s long. If you have any thoughts please let me know, I really don’t know what to do at all and I’m worried that I’m just overreacting, feeling sorry for myself and being lazy, and if this is the case obviously I need to get it sorted out asap before it gets any worse.

[venusbluejeans]

Hiya catlover1 and welcome to NMP :welcome:

Why not take a look at our articles on our home page, they contain a wealth of information and are a great starting place for your time on the forum.

I hope you find the as site helpful and informative as I have and that you get the help and support you need here and hope that you meet a few friends along the way :yesyes:

[honeycakes]

Hey, welcome :)

I read your entire post, you are really young and you have your life ahead of you. I'm 30 now and looking back I went through some very difficult times during my studies as well, where my stress levels were so high I thought I was experiencing all kinds of symptoms to all kinds of possible illnesses.

It looks like you have been feeling a little unstable but you're not finding anything that really fits the description to a T, and you're really trying hard to find a name or an explanation to what you are going through. The physical side effects could very well be part of the course for whatever you are going through mentally. It sounds like you really are putting a lot of pressure on yourself trying to figure out what is happening & there could or could not be a name to it, seriously.

Life gets tough, and sometimes, perfectly healthy people go through phases where they don't feel like themselves and are acting out of character, unmotivated etc. You are really young still, there are plenty of times where life is going to hand you lemons.

At the same time, MAYBE you do have something that requires tools/help along the way. That's why you could always ask your doctor and maybe see a therapist to talk it out, which always is a huge huge relief!

Try to focus on your school & life and getting back on track. Don't let all of this bring you down. Keep your chin up, it gets better :)

[courierdude]

catlover i think that you are trying to read yourself ill.

are you making your symptoms fit the illness or the other way around?

i would assume that your mental health is fine and that you talk to a professional about it before self diagnosing.

the description of symptoms people with anxiety suffer with can be exactly the same as those felt by any other none suffering person might have to deal with during stressful situations.

the difference is in the level of control that you have over certain situations and triggers that might present you with a panic attack.

i wouldnt wish anxiety issues on my worse enemy-if i had one-and i certainly wouldnt go looking for health problems on the internet, mostly because you'll find whatever you want to whether you have it or not.

assume that youre over reacting until you can talk to someone qualified to do proper checks on you.

[catlover1]

Thank you for taking the time to respond, I'm really grateful.

Honeycakes, thanks for the reassurance, I wasn't sure because it has been going on for such a long time but I'll see how it goes over the next few weeks and hope it passes. I think I have been doing that, I'll try and let it go though.

Courierdude, I've avoided researching health problems for months now because I know it was probably making it worse, but I just can't get the symptoms out of my head. I've had a few of the symptoms of anxiety for years but it's just because they've got worse in the last year and they've been there in non-stressful situations too that I thought it might mean something. It's definitely good to hear that you think I'm probably overreacting though.