Crushing Anxiety

Did you go to a general doctor or a psychiatrist?

Honestly? Force yourself to go to sleep early one night. This can be done easier by waking up earlier the same day.

Don't say you can't.. You can. Milk with some honey. Make an honest effort.

Get a full 8 hours of sleep. Getting less starves your body with the much needed rest. Causes many issues long term.

Try this a few days. Think about your needs for a few days.

If you still have this issue, do kindly consult a second doctor.

ScytheRexx said:

the fact that my work is falling behind and all my creative hobbies have comes to a grinding halt, and I can't seem to bring myself to get out of the slump no matter how hard I try to focus on the problems. If I focus to hard I go into a panic attack.

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I think you need to take the reverse tack. Let things go. Give yourself permission, time, and space to relax. Right now you can't watch a movie without feeling guilty about all the work you're not doing because you're behind.

Behind is an illusion - it's a fabrication people are using to motivate you, and in small doses it's ok, but you're experiencing way too much of it, and worrying about it too much. It's harming you.

Right now you're physically ok, but this kind of behavior and stress will lead to physical injury if you let it go on for too long, and trust me - it's not worth it.

Take a deep breath. Clear your mind. Let the deadlines fail. Those that are important will come back to you, in the form of a new deadline with more time.

Don't keep struggling to keep all those balls in the air at the same time - recognize your limitations, explain/express them to those you have commitments to, and adjust so you can take care of yourself.

You have to learn to say "no" more often. You have to stop giving people estimates off-the-cuff. When someone gives you a task, and asks when you will have it done, unless you have NOTHING else to do, tell them you'll get back with an estimate in a few minutes or few hours and give yourself time to really think about your task load and whether you can fit this new task in without dropping something else. Then go back and say, "I can do this, but I'm already behind on X, Y, and Z. Which of these tasks, the new one, or the three old ones, is least important and can be put on the backburner?" Then let them decide which is going to be dropped, or pushed back. A lot of work people give others is not important, but the importance of a task isn't always conveyed.

The world won't stop spinning, you aren't going to fail as a person, and it's unlikely that you'll even lose your job - but if you do, you'll be able to get another one, and quite frankly a break would be good for you, even with your current financial difficulties.

You don't need to get lazy or stop altogether, but just say to yourself, "I'm not going to be able to make all my commitments, and that's ok. I'll do my best, but I'm not going to kill myself to fulfill a business need - my happiness and health are just as important, and things will still turn out ok."

Find out if your benefits include counseling of any kind - family, financial, etc. Many jobs do include such benefits, but they aren't considered medical benefits. Ask your HR person. Just having someone to talk to in detail about your work, life, etc in specific terms will help you put things in perspective. I think right now you need a different perspective to see how your current priorities are causing you pain, and how to rearrange them to better fit your needs.

Actually, I would start with waking up an hour earlier than usual. That will make your system clock change somewhat. At night, your body will find sleep a lot faster.

Try to get a full 7.5 to 8 hours of sleep.

Also as Dave said Caffeine intake is crutial as well. No caffeine after 6PM. In the morning, try decaf... or to cut down your coffee drinking by 30% and progressingly fazing it out.

I was in a very similar situation in 2010.... I changed my sleeping habits and drinking habits... no more 6 hours of sleep... no more 4 coffees a day.... i sleep a regulated 7.5 hours during the weekdays and 8.5 hours during the weekends. I drink one coffee in the morning. Size medium.

Tips to help you sleep :

- Cool bedroom tends to make you sleep better. (i use this at home... 2 celcius cooler than thew rest of the house)
- Read a book... the original kind.
- No alcholollllll of course before bedtime.

Do you smoke?

Perhaps you should live with intention. Walk to the edge. Listen hard. Practice wellness. Play with abandon. Laugh. Choose with no regret. Eat well, sleep well. Continue to learn. Appreciate you friends and family. Do what you love. Live as if this is all there is no end. Just because someone messes up once doesn't mean that within time they can't find a way to change for the better and dwell on the past.

I know exactly what you're talking about. Letting go of a failure in the past and putting it behind you is an active choice, and a difficult task. It won't go away by itself, but when you think of it you have to tell yourself, "What's past is past. I won't learn anything new by thinking about it now." and change to thinking about something else. Don't let your regrets swallow you - they aren't worth the time of thinking about them.



"Hey, self, shut up about that one time I was stupid, ok? I've got other things to do today than wallow in my failures. I'm too busy, so take a number and wait your turn."

Everyone has already given some good advice. Here's mine.

Set aside some time during the week to do "not work." Anything, a hobby you enjoy, even just relaxing. I try to take an hour each day to just sit back and do nothing, maybe take lunch in the park, that sort of thing.

You can't be work and stress 24/7. Leisure time is not frivolous, and you need to allow yourself this time without feeling like you're wasting it. It's vital to keep yourself balanced.

Also, do you have any vacation time? Schedule yourself a long weekend, get yourself recharged.

And if none of this helps, see another doctor.

Also, exercise if you're not already doing it. Sleeping will be much easier, and stress will melt away in the face of a half hour or aerobic exercise.

If you have a hard time getting to sleep at a decent time I suggest you try melatonin. It is a natural sleep aid that helps your body think it is time for bed. I can attest that nights I don;'t take melatonin I am up till at least midnight and usually later but if I take a melatonin an hour before I want to go to bed I can get to sleep easily. Some nights even if I take a melatonin I am up late but for the most part it has significantly helped me get to bed at a decent time. I also second getting exercise. I joined a gym recently and have been working out for at least an hour everyday a few hours before I plan on going to bed and I have noticed that I sleep much more soundly. Even with taking the melatonin I usually would wake up several times throughout the night but between the gym and the melatonin I have been sleeping pretty soundly at night.

ScytheRexx said:

Don't get me wrong. It is not like I don't have free time. I play games when I get home, like WoW, or Skyrim, or Arkham City. It's more about the lack of concentration in other areas of my life that I want to pursue, creative or professional outlets, that are also important to me. I want to be able to tell myself "Ok this idea didn't work, I know people expected me to do this, but it didn't work, I need to move on and I am sure people will understand" without turning that into "Everyone is going to hate me, I am such a flake why can't I make this work! I can't seem to carry out my promises!"

It's not like I am a workaholic that can't give myself time to relax. It's that I dwell on the things too much and fall behind more and more as I attempt to relax myself rather then moving on to other things that should get done.

I do need to exercise. I have an elliptical that I never use, mostly because I find myself getting extremely bored standing on it. The boredom is worst then the actual soreness of working out, because my brain can't "stand still" for as long as it needs to be to get the workout. If only I could get my computer on it.

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Get on it man. I believe firmly in a three-way balance between physical, mental, and spiritual health. One thing out of balance throws the others off too.

Hylian said:

If you have a hard time getting to sleep at a decent time I suggest you try melatonin. It is a natural sleep aid that helps your body think it is time for bed. I can attest that nights I don;'t take melatonin I am up till at least midnight and usually later but if I take a melatonin an hour before I want to go to bed I can get to sleep easily. Some nights even if I take a melatonin I am up late but for the most part it has significantly helped me get to bed at a decent time. I also second getting exercise. I joined a gym recently and have been working out for at least an hour everyday a few hours before I plan on going to bed and I have noticed that I sleep much more soundly. Even with taking the melatonin I usually would wake up several times throughout the night but between the gym and the melatonin I have been sleeping pretty soundly at night.

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Melatonin is amazing if you need to regulate your sleeping. I don't know how I would function with my shift changes without it. Most guys in my line of work rely on huge amounts of coffee, I just pop a couple melatonin tablets and I'm asleep at 6 am like I would be going to bed at 11 pm two days prior.

Mathias said:

Get on it man. I believe firmly in a three-way balance between physical, mental, and spiritual health. One thing out of balance throws the others off too.

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I cannot agree with this statement enough. I had exactly the same symptoms you described for several years. I'd try to get to sleep before 1am, but I wasn't exhausted enough, and if I was exhausted, I couldn't sleep because I'd be thinking non-stop about stuff that didn't get done or past failures, then when I finally did start drifting off to sleep I'd hear my heart rate slow and freak out thinking I was having a heart attack. I had left-side and center-mass chest pains and pain radiating down my left arm. The doctor said I didn't have a heart problem, but that didn't shake it and even a clean bill of health didn't help me stop worrying so damn much. Trying herbal teas or Melatonin just freaked me out more, pretty soon I was having full on panic attacks because I was convinced that me falling asleep was me dying. Then I found a gym and started working out. I'll be honest, the first time my trainer ran me through his basic intake course, I very nearly did have a heart attack because I'd been living a completely sedentary lifestyle for close to a decade. But that was the last time, save one really stressful week, that I ever had any chest pain. Working out helped me sleep, which helped me be more rested, which help me be more ready to get stuff done, which helped me feel better about myself, which helped me want to work out more, and the cycle continues.

Also, I'm under the impression a psychiatrist isn't a regular, weekly thing like Therapy. You go once and get a prescription and what not.

Sleep and exercise are big a help for the mood that you are feeling... but don't rule out pharmaceuticals. We are largely large bags of chemicals, they could even help get you focused enough to get out and exercise. Which can help you get to the point you don't need the pills.

Man up and get some fuckin' therapy.

Seriously, Mathias and Stieny are 100% right. A lot of dealing with this is learning to let go of things you shouldn't have to deal with. Also, see if your doctor's office can help you find a recommended psychiatrist covered by your insurance plan. A lot of plans will cover at least the first evaluation, and just that can help set a few things straight.

sixpackshaker said:

Sleep and exercise are big a help for the mood that you are feeling... but don't rule out pharmaceuticals. We are largely large bags of chemicals, they could even help get you focused enough to get out and exercise. Which can help you get to the point you don't need the pills.

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This is also a good point. I would be remiss if I didn't go on to say that while exercise and better sleeping certainly helped and got rid of all of the physical symptoms I had, it didn't clear up completely so I went to my regular doctor and asked for a prescription of Wellbutrin (bupropion) half as an anti-depressant and half as a smoking cessation aid (it's the same drug as Zyban). It's a low dosage kind of a drug, it doesn't completely change your personality, and it doesn't have to be a "you'll be taking this med forever" kind of a deal.

If you feel behind on everything, it could just be that you are attempting to do too much. If you feel like sitting down to relax is a waste of time, then you are definitely attempting to do too much.

Make time for enough sleep, and 30 minutes of exercise in a day. You can even do the exercise while watching TV or playing a game and double count it as leisure time. Exercise really makes a huge difference in so many areas, and the hardest thing to do is to start it. Once you get going into a routine with it, it'll be easier and you'll feel better.

Look at it this way, man: medication, at least for awhile could be considered a crutch. And I don't meant that with a negative connotation. If you break your leg, do you man up and keep walking? No, you wear a cast, take some meds, and use a crutch until the leg gets better. The same idea applies here: try looking into some sort of medical treatment for now. To help you get through the days. For ADHD, you might need to start taking Ritalin or something similar, who knows. I'm not a doctor. I know, personally, I have a form of ADHD that stems from my depression (or vice versa; even doctors are unsure about which comes first: the chick or the egg).

Exercising might be your best bet, as your doctors say. Maybe look into a healthier diet (though I don't know what your eating habits are like, now). Also, speaking again as someone with focus problems, yoga is a great exercise for just that. Twenty minutes a day of yoga can do a world of good.

ScytheRexx said:

I appreciate all the advice from everyone here. As soon as I got home I worked out for 45 minutes, stretched, and drinking a lot of water. Will take time, but I think this will help. Thank you.
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Keep at it, man. And never be afraid to seek help. Your health is important, and that covers physical and mental.

Charlie Don't Surf said:

Also, I'm under the impression a psychiatrist isn't a regular, weekly thing like Therapy. You go once and get a prescription and what not.

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I'm not saying this is the wrong answer, but it's expensive and sometimes these problems can be solved through good advice and a good support net of friends and family. I have ADD as well, and I'll tell you drugs didn't help me.

ScytheRexx said:

I appreciate all the advice from everyone here. As soon as I got home I worked out for 45 minutes, stretched, and drinking a lot of water. Will take time, but I think this will help. Thank you.

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Atta boy. Baby steps. Doing something is better than doing nothing. That's my motto.

I have ADD... It stinks...gaming is the ultimate cure