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Mental Health What does anxiety feel like?

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ovenbakedskittles

Bluelighter
Joined
Jul 11, 2014
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516
I used to do drugs but now i dont but i noticed that when i did do drugs i would get these ugly feelings where i would just think negatively and i can feel a sensation in my stomach kinda like that feeling you get when you realize something really bad just happened and your stomach just drops.

All this time i always called those feelings "depression" i thought thats what it felt like to be depressed... but i was talking to someone the other day and they say that they get these "anxieties" from alcohol/drug withdrawl and its like a feeling at the pit of their stomach and i asked them about it and it sounded a lot like those feelings that i got when i did drugs... i thought it was depression but the person i was talking to referred to it as anxieties and it made me think... is that what anxiety feels like?

to me i would get the feeling like im just being drained mentally and all these negative thoughts would start coming in... i never got scared but i would get feelings of hopelessness like i said earlier the sensation that i get in my stomach kind of...

is this what anxiety feels like? is this what i experienced?
 
Sounds like anxiety to me. I would describe it as nervousness, an underlying feeling of fear or being generally unsettled or uncomfortable. They are normal human responses to threatening situations, but to have that feeling outside of such situations or to perceive virtually all situations that you deal with on a day-to-day basis as being cause for concern; that is anxiety.. My definition of it anyway.

Technically, depression can be any negative emotion, such as those described above as well as stress, loathing, envy, low self-esteem, bitterness, general unhappiness or lack of well-being, sadness or what I think of as clinical depression (not sure if that is the right term)- basically a feeling of emptiness, total apathy, where nothing matters, even problems seem distant and there is just no will to seek joy.

I've found that the several doctors I have spoken to about anxiety, tell me that I actually have depression because it just makes it easier for them to categorise. I think maybe they are right in a way, but I would regard it as a symptom of anxiety, rather than a condition in its' own right. They prescribe anti-depressants -which I have never taken- as a quick fix.

I don't know, maybe I am just not descriptive enough about the difference, maybe they just don't want to prescribe me benzos?

Either way, there is a difference between anxiety and depression, I hope something I've said helps you to be able clarify for yourself what that difference is because in my experience, a lot of doctors can't be bothered.
 
IMO anxiety is an autoimmune of the mind: your mind attacking itself erroneously and to your own detriment.;) Oh, and how it feels? Like every single thing you do or say deserves second guessing, harsh judgment and self-loathing conclusions.
 
Herbavore- What you describe, I have always regarded as 'social anxiety' especially the thing about second guessing everything you say and feeling as if it deserves harsh judgement (a feeling I am personally familiar with). I was recently told by a psychologist that this is incorrect though? I guess general anxiety is about self-judgement where as social anxiety is fear or concern of being judged by others?

As much as I dislike putting peoples' individual set of symptoms into these categories as we are all unique, such terminology does have its' place. Its' just that everybody, even professionals in the field of psychology all have different interpretations of these terminologies and describe them differently, which kind of invalidates any purpose that such classifications have.
 
For me it wasnt a nervous feeling though... it just felt like i was bombarded with negative thoughts and emotions and it was almost to the point where it affected me physically... but now that i think about it i think it is anxiety... i was never nervous though... or at least i dont think i was... maybe im overthinking it?
 
Yeah, you experience your own unique signature of symptoms or effects, that is to be expected. It may be a circumstantial thing that can be changed by identifying the triggers and distancing yourself from them. Perhaps it is something from the past that still troubles you, you find someone to talk to- someone who can listen and help you get to the source of it, help you figure out a strategy to be happier. Friend, family member, doctor, councilor.. someone. It helps.

Millions of people experience such things, they don't know what it is, they don't do anything about it, they go through their life dealing with it in messed-up ways; getting stressed out at work, yelling at people who don't deserve it, drinking heavily and chain smoking. Best bet is to get to the source of it, come up with a strategy to overcome the negative thoughts and do things that make you happy.
 
Kaden_Nite said:
Sounds like anxiety to me. I would describe it as nervousness, an underlying feeling of fear or being generally unsettled or uncomfortable. They are normal human responses to threatening situations, but to have that feeling outside of such situations or to perceive virtually all situations that you deal with on a day-to-day basis as being cause for concern; that is anxiety.. My definition of it anyway.

Technically, depression can be any negative emotion, such as those described above as well as stress, loathing, envy, low self-esteem, bitterness, general unhappiness or lack of well-being, sadness or what I think of as clinical depression (not sure if that is the right term)- basically a feeling of emptiness, total apathy, where nothing matters, even problems seem distant and there is just no will to seek joy.

I've found that the several doctors I have spoken to about anxiety, tell me that I actually have depression because it just makes it easier for them to categorise. I think maybe they are right in a way, but I would regard it as a symptom of anxiety, rather than a condition in its' own right. They prescribe anti-depressants -which I have never taken- as a quick fix.

I don't know, maybe I am just not descriptive enough about the difference, maybe they just don't want to prescribe me benzos?

Either way, there is a difference between anxiety and depression, I hope something I've said helps you to be able clarify for yourself what that difference is because in my experience, a lot of doctors can't be bothered.
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I think this is a great description. I've have anxiety/depression for almost 10 years of my short life. When I was younger I didn't understand what anxiety was. I ended up getting diagnosed with depression because I was crying almost every day. I'd have these fits in my room (now I know they were panic attacks) and I thought I was just extremely sad. Anyways, the difference I've found is depression is more in your head and anxiety is more of a physical feeling in your stomach/lower back. But the two conditions are often both treated with antidepressants. The two conditions affect one another pretty frequently.
 
kittykat666 said:
Depression can cause anxiety, and anxiety can cause depression.
i really like this statement, can relate! For me, it feels like being completely overwhelmed and unsettled, constant racing thoughts, second guessing and replaying of thoughts and situations, physically trembling at times, upset stomach....It sucks
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A Little bit of anxiety can be helpful in improving performance and making us alert. It has both psychological as well as physical symptoms.

I imagine the good happen in recent days when to find myself under Anxiety and these methods work perfectly. Another one is sharing concerns with the third person.
 
To me, physically it feels like a hand is around my heart squeezing squeezing it until my breathing becomes laboured, my whole chest has this horrible tightened sensation to it. And as for the mental aspect, it's horrific, nervous, restless, worrying etc.....I ducking HATE anxiety.
 
For me its feeling awkward, nervous and sweaty. Sweating is the worst part of it :(
 
Anxiety feels like being behind the drivers seat but not being able to take control of the wheel.
 
I have developed anxiety due to my poor physical health...

For example I'm going to a foreign country soon and I have already played a million different scenarios in my head. What if x happens? Will I be able to find a hospital? What if travel insurance doesn't cover it? What if I have to pay a bunch of money which will deplete my savings? What if the doctors don't speak English? What if what if what if

It's made me a bit depressed and I'm not even all that excited for this trip.

Also it sounds crazy but sometimes I'll even start second guessing the doctor or dentist's diagnosis and just keep looking up things on the internet... a couple years ago this would have never happened but I've had some really really bad luck with my health lately. Some of my friends even refuse to believe parts of it and think it's all in my head. Obviously physical symptoms they believe but some of the mental / OCD ones even I can agree with :(
 
I have struggled with this same kind of manufactured anxiety all my life. In the last 5 years it has improved immensely and that is due to first studying and then putting into practice the tools taught by mindfulness. The first step is recognizing that you are depriving yourself of peace in the present moment by imagining what may happen in the future. You have no control over the future but you can learn to have control over your thoughts, thus your present state of mind. And isn't it crazy that we always imagine the worst and not the best? I had an experience like you are talking about when I went traveling alone a few years ago. I got so completely wound up in my own paranoia that I was afraid to be where I was--a country that I had longed to see! Finally, I realized how ridiculous it was that I was imagining all these terrible things happening when they weren't! The fear and paranoia were dissolved by realizing that it doesn't matter where I am in the world I can deal with things if they happen, as they happen, and not before. Get a book on mindfulness and anxiety and see if it helps--it takes intention and practice but once you've begun to realize how powerful it is to change your own thoughts you will feel much more at ease.
 
herbavore said:
I have struggled with this same kind of manufactured anxiety all my life. In the last 5 years it has improved immensely and that is due to first studying and then putting into practice the tools taught by mindfulness. The first step is recognizing that you are depriving yourself of peace in the present moment by imagining what may happen in the future. You have no control over the future but you can learn to have control over your thoughts, thus your present state of mind. And isn't it crazy that we always imagine the worst and not the best? I had an experience like you are talking about when I went traveling alone a few years ago. I got so completely wound up in my own paranoia that I was afraid to be where I was--a country that I had longed to see! Finally, I realized how ridiculous it was that I was imagining all these terrible things happening when they weren't! The fear and paranoia were dissolved by realizing that it doesn't matter where I am in the world I can deal with things if they happen, as they happen, and not before. Get a book on mindfulness and anxiety and see if it helps--it takes intention and practice but once you've begun to realize how powerful it is to change your own thoughts you will feel much more at ease.
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I do have a book on mindfulness and I've been slacking with the daily exercises. I'll try to remember the 'depriving yourself of peace' when I start coming up with scenarios in my head again.

On this account and on my previous one, you've helped me more than you can imagine herby :) Thank you so much for everything.
 
For me, anxiety is almost entirely physical. It feels like a physical ailment, just as much as my chronic back pain. I have no control over when I get panic attacks. When they happen, my chest tightens up and I feel like I am having a heart attack. It is a horrific feeling, much worse than the darkest depression I have ever known. It makes me feel like I am dying every time and it takes hours to talk myself down, even with a benzo. It's a feeling of sheer mayhem and chaos.
 
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