Please please please help

[SarahP]

I feel like I'm going mad. I'm actually scared of my own voice. Whenever I hear myself talking I find it really weird and there's a part of me just wanting to tell myself to shut up. I find myself annoying, and it's dragging up memories from when I've felt inadequate and odd before and now I feel like I've never liked myself and never should have done.

I can't turn my brain off and I've been awake since 4 with this turning over in my mind.

I feel like I can't be happy until I sort this out. What makes it worse is that I know how stupid it is (as my parents have just told me when I explained why I was crying), but I can't make it go away.

:weep:

[Hell's]

I to am like you! I am having a really hard time to, and when i read your post it's like reading my own story. The key thing for you to remember is that you are NOT alone. Anxiety is a struggle for so many of us. Where possible use natural remedies like lavender and Rescue Remedies which can limit the symptoms. You will also need to know why you are getting these panic attacks - are there any reasons you can think of why you feel bad? If you can higlight them, you can then remove them from the equation.

Anxiety is not stupid, it is a very real thing, and unless you have gone through it you have no idea of what it is like. I have some good self help books which really help - one can be found on the online shop which is called 'Panic Attacks' by a lady called Chrisitine ?. There is also the route of therapy which i have taken as it allows you to get a professional view point. Sometimes it is hard to approach people in our lives as they do not understand. Take courage from others on this forum, as we are all in the same boat!

I hope this helps,

H.x

[Jaco45er]

Sarah you haven't heard a weird voice till you have heard my Scottish/English/Australian twang ;)

Seriously though, it sounds like your anxiety is just beating you up so much that it's knocking your self esteem. You will find that it is actually ONLY you who is getting annoyed with yourself and no one else.

I say it so much, but at the root of most of our (anxiety) problems is the way we think. It's negative thinking that keeps us in an anxiety state.

I am a fan of the self-help stuff too, and another suggesting is Claire Weekes, "Hope and Help for your nerves".

Good luck

Jaco