33 Responses to “Managing and Diagnosing Extreme Anxiety Disorders”

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1. 33
   Michelle Says:
   March 27th, 2012 at 8:44 am

   Thank you so much for this website…my whole life I have had generalized anxiety and I’m 27 now And am having extreme anxiety to the point that I’ve been to the hospital twice this week because I think I have a physical illness …Everyday is a battle an I’ve lost ten pounds this week…my dr prescribed me medication and it seems to be helping out a bit ..I Am on a waiting list for counselling which I think will help a lot …this website made me feel that I am not Alone thanks again

2. 32
   karon bragg Says:
   April 9th, 2011 at 1:11 am

   please help me… i am tumbling down a spiral of black and ive reached out to too many who dont believe me or cant help. i am a mother of one i am a wife. ive been through so many traumatic events in my life that i cant even pin point one that made me this way…i only know, ive always felt it and its so bad now i cant stand to be alive…i have anxiety so bad i shake and tremble around people. i havent gotten a hair cut or my eyes checked in years because i feel like they might see it and think im crazy but i need to. (i wear glasses/contacts) i cant drive because i feel like i cant control anyones behavior and i might kill someone or kill my son if hes with me. im 32.i have a license and got it at 19 when my son was a few months, but, only because i had to prove to my mom i wasnt a complete loser, and i keep it up taking my drivers tests every 4 years but soon i will have to renew and im so much worse i think that i wont even try. i cant go to a store without clenching to my husband and avoiding eyes, i ask him if he has his wallet because when he doesnt i panic during the time i fish out a card and im being watched or have to sign my name. i shake, stutter, and my heart races. in the car i scream when theres no reason to, i feel foolish(thank god i have my husband, hes so patient) i dont sleep but a few hours a night, im losing weight(not a bad thing), i constantly worry and fear EVERYTHING. im on the toilet atleast 7 times a day with dieahrea sorry for bad spelling… , i drink now to try not to feel, and my whole body hurts because im so tense and afraid. i have no healh insurance…i dont have money for therapy…but i need help . my husband my son and i are all suffering because i cant stop acting like this…please…please help me

3. 31
   JohnnyM Says:
   February 28th, 2011 at 3:10 pm

   Hi Jacob. Before I get too involved in writing about myself, are you still around this site at all?

4. 30
   Jacob Says:
   February 17th, 2011 at 9:21 am

   Hi Becky,

   Like all of us who have dealt with extreme anxiety, there obviously some kind of scary meme that your mind is running around with, and those fearful thoughts will trigger our anxiety.

   The hard part is that sometimes we don’t even KNOW what is causing it. So when that happens, make sure you stick to the FACTS.

   Try to remind yourself that “there is nothing to be afraid of”. You are not losing your mind, and you are not flawed. This is what most of us think when we are suffering with anxiety. We think that “there is something wrong with us”.

   Visit your doctor and talk to them about your anxiety and they can recommend changing medications, or increasing the medication levels of what you are using now.

   One of the things that happens allot with those who use medication is that sometimes our minds (egoic minds) can override the medication because it is in overdrive worrying about everthing under the sun. Then some folks will blame EVERYTHING on the medication.

   Sure, if someone is quitting medication they can go through anxiety because there are changes taking place chemically, but with, or without medication in our system, the same rules apply.

   We HAVE to face reality. We have to learn to face facts. If those facts are that there is something in our life situation that is difficult, then we can take the baby steps to change those facts. BUT most of time, there IS nothing to worry about.

   Our bodies are basically alright.

   We’re not suffering from any physical pain.

   We’re not alone in the world.

   Life doesn’t suck.

   We’re not dying.

   The world isn’t bad.

   There is nothing “wrong” in the present moment, EXCEPT what we are thinking.

   We need to turn off our mind more often than we need to use our mind.

   I know very well the feeling of anxiety you have mentioned Becky. It jumps on us like a phantom sometimes and shakes us up. That phantom is our worried minds that have been hi-jacked by the frightened and worried egoic mind.

   Remember always that is times of anxiety and stress that “your egoic mind can’t be trusted”, and the only correct mental response to your ego is compassion.

   The only correct response to any other human being is compasssion.

   And then when all else fails, remember this – there are over 6 billion people on the planet, and they are waking up every morning concerned (some more than others) about THEIR so-called problems. Take the steps necessary to remind yourself that your so-called problems and “life situation” is nothing to get worked up about.

   Take a deep breath, go outside and get some fresh air, look around and look that stillness of the grass, the trees, the rain, the snow, the wind, the clouds, the sky, the birds, and the animals. Then look at the man-made surroundings too. There is beauty in all structures. Be that little baby again that sees everything for the first time. These forms and beings are real! They are beautiful – they are pieces of the stillness that is real.

   Human egos of co-workers, family members, neighbors, strangers, and their opinions and judgments are not real. When you or I, or any human judges something as negative, it’s NOT real – it’s an ego-based fantasy, and that is what causes our anxiety – negative fantasy!

   So ignore the negative fantasies in your own mind. Ignore the negative fantasies of the other struggling human beings as well. Try to grin and giggle to yourself when you see the negative fantasies of your own, when you are confronted with those of others.

   Medication can only ASSIST anxiety sufferers, but the MOST important thing is learning to appreciate what is real around us and shrugging off what is unreal.

   Please watch the video at the top of this page. Eckhart is not trying to “bend our minds” – he trying to remind us of what is real and beautiful, and be aware of our mind activity and false fantasy.

   Your life is not a ruin. You are just another one of those people that is not a simple robot. You have feelings, doubts, fears……you are very much a human BEING.

   And just like the wind, the flowers, the trees, and the grass…..you are beautiful too.

5. 29
   becky Says:
   February 16th, 2011 at 3:47 pm

   my meds worked for a year and suddenly it hits me again i feel the worst all day everyday anxiety i have ever had i get scared and frustrated because i have all the support in the world but i dont know what to do. I know alot about anxiety and depression i just want to be good and happy so why cant i get out of this slump. can it be that a different medicine is what i need? jacob?

6. 28
   Jacob Says:
   September 23rd, 2010 at 4:01 pm

   46 is not old my friend. I’m not old and I am 47. Even if we were old in clock time, that is not a problem. You are listening to your mind and your mind can’t be trusted. Quit believing every lousy thought that your mind and ego decide to throw at you. These thoughts are not real – pure fantasy.

   Does your thought mean it is true? Does my thought mean it is true – NO. You and I can have all the thoughts we want and it doesn’t matter. The sun comes up – the sun goes down, the world keeps turning, the flowers keep blooming, and beauty continues. This is reality. Darkness is fantasy. Whenever you are feeling darkness your ego and your mind are ruling the day. When you feel light, and at peace, reality is ruling the day.

   You have not wasted your life. Your mind and ego are telling you that. I bet you have people who love you, and care about you. I bet those people have been there all of your 46 years. I bet you MEAN something to them too. I bet if you had not lived this first half of your life their world would be a little emptier. Don’t let a selfish ego win – it’s not about what your mind and ego want. It’s for those people that you can live and get some help for yourself.

   The very fact that you are not in jail, on skid row, or in a ward, is PROOF to the fact that your TRUE self has been coming through from time to time – your actual connection to reality.

   Being alive doesn’t have to be a problem. Dying doesn’t have to be a problem.

   I am very sad to hear about your sister. I bet you are making a bigger problem out of her passing on than she is. Am I wrong? You don’t actually believe that when our flesh dies that it means what is real in us dies? It can’t. That is impossible. What is real in us can never die, because what is real in us is this entire universe. We are matter of the same source. You – me – and any form you see. This includes the chair you are sitting in right now.

   But you DO get up in the morning my friend. The real you gets up in the morning, and apparently finds time to begin helping your mind and ego calm down be finding others online who have experienced the same bad thinking. Make no mistake about it – the real you is very healthy and at peace. As soon as you learn that your mind is nothing more than a half-baked tool, and your ego is just a pest, your true self will still be there waiting for you.

   Who decides what a wasted life? You, me, Dr. Phil, Oprah, Jesus, the Buddha, Johnny Lennon? NOPE – none of the above. There is no such thing as a wasted life my friend.

   Did you think you had to “be somebody” to not waste your life? Did you think you had to be married and have kids to not have a wasted life? Did you think you had to be happy, anxiety free, and depression free to not have a wasted life? NOPE none of the above.

   Because of your life and your mind you have suffered. Billions of human beings are suffering from the same problem you are having right now. They are not wastes of life. When you call yourself a waste of life it is false.

   Because you made this comment on this site today, I have responded, and between the two of us we have helped someone else who suffering today.

   So now you have something against vomiting? Screaming too? If we could all be so lucky. Purging is a good thing sometimes.

   OH NO YOU DON’T live a TINY life!

   OH NO YOU DON’T live an empty life!

   You are living a very BIG life! HUGE in fact! Your mind and ego have convinced you that you are living with MASSIVE and HUGE PROBLEMS! Your mind (which can’t be trusted) has taken control and convinced you that you are a HUGE FAILURE!

   All complete bunk. Possible too that your mind and ego have convinced you that you are ugly in appearance and that you are not a “nice” person. Complete falsehoods. You are a wonderful and beautiful human my friend – your mind has been a very busy little bother, and is not the real you. Turn it off. Give it a break. You don’t need to do any thinking Alix.

   Get up Saturday morning. Take a bath. Get cleaned up, get dressed, and go for an hour long walk. Sit somewhere and put your hands in the grass. Tell yourself that this day is not about your mind and your thoughts. You are going let your body (which is real) enjoy some movement.

   Find someone you know and do something nice for them, and while you are doing it, tell your mind and ego that they are not having this day. Tell them that it’s NOT about them, it’s about someone else, or something else – a dog, a cat, a person, a garden. Tell your mind and ego that you have given them enough of your body, and that they don’t get to have ALL of you anymore. They get a little bit once and awhile.

   Failure as defined by our society is a wonderful gift. You are so lucky to fail in the eyes of your mind, your ego, and our society. This failure in their eyes means that the real, beautiful and powerful you is stronger than their temptations. When are you going to realize that the real you is a genius – a perfect moderator who does not need worldly success.

   Your right Axil. Not everyone can be “fixed”. Actually NO-ONE can be fixed……
   BECAUSE WERE NEVER BROKEN. YOU WERE NEVER BROKEN.

   People love you and need the real and beautiful you. Please watch the video directly above.

7. 27
   Alix Says:
   September 23rd, 2010 at 7:12 am

   I am old (46) and have wasted my entire life in depression and anxiety. Two things make me nervous: being alive and dying. My sister is dying of cancer, I am getting older with a wasted life and can barely stand to get up in the morning. I can only imagine that, the older I get, the worse I will become, until I spend all my days vomiting and screaming uncontrollably.

   I live the tiniest, emptiest life you can imagine. I have always been too frightened to live anything else. And what makes it worse is that I had potential.

   Not everyone can be fixed.

8. 26
   Patrick Says:
   July 29th, 2010 at 5:47 pm

   I have been depressed my whole life it seems but during the past year it has escalated drastically. I am constantly worrying and it making my body feel and see the effects. At first I was constantly worrying about high blood pressure even tho now I know it was white coat syndrome, and now i has rapid heart beat upon standing. Its making me go insane! I was on Prozac for a couple weeks and made things worse; I was then put on Paxil which probably ruined my life more. I didnt feel increasingly depressed on it but the side effects were crazy. Ive been off for over a month and still have headaches from the drug,(tinnitus, coldsweats, ect) idk what to d. I juss want to be back to normaland enjoy life again. I heard cimbalta might be good? any suggestions?

9. 25
   Dan Says:
   May 2nd, 2010 at 6:09 pm

   Hi, I have been suffering with increasing anxiety and panic disorder for the past 3 months. It has now got a stage where I feel like my breathing is abnormal and I am going to die at any moment. i also have anxiety about going to sleep in case I die in the night. This is coupled with some OCD, agoraphobia and fear of being in a car. I also have a fear of being too far from home.

   I am currently finishing my 3rd year of a uni degree and have been very stressed with deadlines, plus lots of other issues. I have also have bad hayfever and allergies which have impared my breathing, while the stress seems to have brought back Asthma, something I havent had since age 16 (im now 27).

   Having read yoiur article, I am certain that I have been in stage 3 for a week at least now, and it seems I have little time between feeling panicked and just plain ill. I also have an annoying cough and breathlessness from time to time. Also I have picked up a habit of feeling my heart to check its beating or if it’s beating too fast. When I am at my worst I’m comvinced I have a terminal illness (because of the cough and breathlessness), but when I come down, it seems ridiculous.

   Reading your article did help me to come down from a very bad episode, and I have decided to go and seek medical help tomorrow. I did have it this bad about 5 years ago and was prescribed anti-depressents by the doctor but they didn;t really make me feel better. I’m hoping that this time they can help me on the road to recovery.

   I’m so sick and tired of not feeling normal, or happy, or seeing any kind of future ahead of me…

10. 24
    Jacob Says:
    January 4th, 2010 at 11:49 am

    On second thought VR…..you are absolutely right! I am editing this post.

    Thank you for mentioning this too me.

    Have a great 2010!!!!!!!!!!!

11. 23
    Jacob Says:
    January 3rd, 2010 at 9:08 am

    This article does not suggest the equation you are assuming;

    PERFECT = PINK

    Take it easy VR. It’s just an expression. You have demonstrated exactly how “us humans” (in a variety of colors can get worked up about the smallest things and see a negative.

    The fact is we are all born perfect, and since I am white skinned, and come from a white background, then it would make sense that I would use this old expression. If I was black skinned, then I might have said “perfect and black/brown, etc.” – whatever.

    What you did was read an article intented to help people (like you perhaps) and FOUND a few words to get angry about. If it wasn’t those words you found offensive, then if you kept reading the blog may have found other words to get torqued up about.

    If you were having a “good day” and in a “good mood”, you would have read the words “perfect and pink”, and grinned or chuckled to yourself thinking…..

    “Hmmm, this guy must be white.”

    Simple. Of course a white guy could describe a new born baby as being pink. Makes sense. If I heard a brown skinned (black skinned, etc. and whatever) person describe a new born baby as “perfect and brown”, I wouldn’t be the slightest bit offended.

    You are not a victim of anything, and as soon as you believe that your world will change for the better.

    Anyway, my friend – we’re all born PERFECT, and the sooner we ALL start getting over all this RACE CRAP the better this world will be.

    Jacob

    PS – I have two best friends. One is Jamaican and the other is Malaysian. Besides, I live in Canada and we don’t buy into all this PC bullsh*t. Call yourself a victim and you shall be a victim.

12. 22
    VR Says:
    January 2nd, 2010 at 11:54 pm

    “Perfect” is now equivalent to being “pink,” as in caucasian? So if I wasn’t born “pink” I wouldn’t have the right foundation to return to normal? This article was pretty helpful but that line was pretty offensive and unnecessary.

13. 21
    shaylen Says:
    December 16th, 2009 at 5:43 pm

    I just wish somebody could wave a magic wand and take it away. Its not fair, right now I want to be dead.

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