Enjoy your stay, feel free to leave suggestions under this post.

Woke up with new direction and clarity this morning, having started this regiment of meds proper. A job; it's so obvious! How could I have ever thought I would just magickally shoot into Michael Jackson levels of fame by posting on Lemmy World? I'm dumb, obviously, which leads to my immediate paralysis upon trying to shoot myself out of a job cannon into job land to get all the jobs; I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing, literally relying on my phone's keyboard's predictive text to determine my breakfast at times, and I am certain to spaghetti at a moment's notice.

I'm not afraid like I used to be. I understand "fear is the mind killer." I used to be unable to talk to girls on the phone because I was terrified and everything shut off. Now I'm just anxious, and it grips my mind, but I can still work through it. Yet, it's hard. I don't have a map or waypoints or even a helping parent figure to give a shit about me enough so I just have to do the work.

That's the easy part, even in getting a job; the just fill out the whatever, show up, do the thing, yadda yadda. Figuring out what the azimuth to all of that shit? That is literally what my RPG class is weakest in; social judgment. I can define the nature of the topological matrix we are not IN but rather ARE, but I don't know a damn dinky how to shake a person's hand right. Do I go in for the hug on the first interview?

I dunno. Writing helps put these feelings into concrete terms and helps me process the underlying emotions, so this is part of my therapy.

I'd love to see this community get off the ground, so I thought I'd chip in with something simple. A quick check-in post to ask you all how your week is going.

I'll start. I've been taking my new medication (Venlafaxine) for 2 weeks now. I'm going back and forth over whether or not it's helping me, but I've been going on more walks (exposure) and chatting a bit more on Discord (again exposure as I have real bad social anxiety) so I feel like maybe it is? Crossing my fingers.

What about you guys? How's your week going? (and it doesn't matter if you're responding today or a year from now!)

Should I give it up? I have pretty severe anxiety but I also love the taste of Orange Cream Coke Zero and Monster.

I find that listening to people talk about their anxiety in a health setting is quite helpful for me. Part of it is the reminder that there are people out there who also have illogical thoughts and feelings throughout the day. And that's ok.

It also helps me (and I hope it does for you too,) to hear of the variety of anxieties that others go through. This can help me feel better to know that I don't have certain kinds of anxieties and the ones that I do have, tend to be ones that others have been able to work through.

So remember that you are NOT The ONLY ONE going through this kind of thing. Plenty of people have come out on the other side before, so it's more likely that you can too.

If you're going through hell, keep going. That is no place to stop.

So my mom and I were on the phone today discussing some stuff regarding my doctors appointments and upcoming surgery, and she mentioned that she and I will be getting our flu and Covid shots on Friday. That was fine with me, But I asked her why my sister and Dad weren’t getting theirs on Friday as well. She told me that my sister didn’t want to get hers, so she wasn’t going to force it on her, even though she really wants her to get it.

This really concerns me. It’s off topic, but I have Misophonia, and people being sick is a really big trigger for me. I hate the sound Of people coughing, sneezing, sniffling, etc. Luckily, for me, I’m away at college, so I often don’t have to hear it from my family. However, My mom often tells me when someone in the family is sick, primarily my sister. For example, A couple weeks ago, My sister had a stomach virus, And my mom texted me, saying, “Just a heads up, The stomach bug is going around. Your poor sister has been puking her guts out and having diarrhea all day, and your dad is sick too.” Shortly before that, She told me that my sister had a bad cold, and was out of school for three days. These text messages made me extremely freaked out. Having autism, Misophonia And emetophobia, the thought of sickness does not sit well with me.

On top of it, 2025 Seems to be a year of death for a lot of people in my life. My grandfather died unexpectedly in March, my great aunt died of cancer last month, my grandma put one of her dogs down unexpectedly, And today, my mom told me that my doctor has just died. I’m so afraid of who could be next, and the thought of any sickness just freaks me out completely right now.

I also feel like my mom has way more control over me than my sister. I wonder why, Because she’s two years younger than me, However, She was in a mental hospital for a while, depression, and suicidal thoughts. When she has moments of gloom and doom, My mom often avoids it and just gives into her demands. For example, We could be close shopping and my mom makes me buy a bunch of stuff I don’t need, And she says she wants to make sure I have clothes, I have buckets of stuff I don’t use. I ask her why she doesn’t get my sister any clothes, Because she only has about five outfits that she wears, and only one pair of pants. She told me that She has given up on taking my sister shopping because it often turns into gloom and doom, but we have never gone without the flu flu shot. She’s been sick twice this year already, So I’m not sure whether or not to be worried, Because usually she has a good immune system (When my whole family got Covid, She was the only one who didn’t, despite not washing her hands and being around us constantly). I don’t know if I should think it’s a good thing that she got sick twice, So then it’s over with when I’m home for the holidays, or if I should worry that it’s gonna happen again.

Has anybody here gone without a flu shot, And if so, Did it make you really sick? Being as nervous as I am, I would prefer it if you just mentioned good or mild experiences. Thanks.

So I’m getting a septoplasty in December and I am super nervous about it. I’m afraid it will hurt, I’ll wake up during the surgery or I’ll act stupid after waking up. I’m also afraid of being put under, despite having done it before.

I wasn’t originally this nervous, I was actually pretty excited after scheduling it. I’ve had a deviated septum all my life, but over the last three years have had chronic post nasal drip and a stuffy nose. It makes it hard to exercise and sleep at night since my sinuses are always clogged. That’s why I want this surgery, but also because I have an intense fear of throwing up, and this post nasal drip has been making me extremely nauseous lately. The only thing that relieves it is frequent saline rinsing.

Has anybody else felt like this? If you’ve had a septoplasty, how did it go?

Hi everyone. I am looking for someone to listen and to give my support to. I also suffer from anxiety and I hope we can create a safe space to track our progresses, talk, vent or whathever.

Also I feel that I have the support of nobody and that I am always on my own. I'd really love to feel it from someone.

How are people managing anxiety about the political situation in the US? I’m freaking out nonstop and feel like I’m about to be taken to the gas chambers.

I have frequent anxiety attacks. Sometimes I can pinpoint a cause, other times I can't. Just recently I had one from playing a game. In the game I have to throw barrels to hit a target which is alot harder than it sounds. What would have once just pissed me off now has my heart racing, has me feeling naucious, and has me feeling a sense of dread I guess. My mental health has gone to shit the last month or so, it was always bad but now its worse. For the last year I've had stomach problems which the doctor hasn't found a physical cause for, I even had an endoschopy and they said everything looks normal. I'm starting to think It's a physical symptom of my anxiety. I'd be grateful for any advice this fine community can offer. Thank you.

I've changed medicine recently and I noticed that some of my desires have changed. I don't crave sugar as much. Also, my NSFW preferences changed... significantly.

I am not even shure if 40% is a high enough number

::: spoiler Trigger Warning suicidal thoughts :::

Hey all, I want to thank you all again for my previous thread and the support you all gave me. I can't state enough how helpful you all were for me in that moment, I am so grateful to you all!

After my previous post I saw my doctor, they prescribed escitalopram, and I went through two weeks of hell (stomach issues, constant anxiety for no reason, and chills). After the 2.5 week mark things got much better for me.

At 4 weeks I'm feeling much better. I can do tasks that I previously struggled with. My anxiety is much better, it's not reaching the levels of panic or struggle. Now that the feeling side is better I can see things which are behavioural (I'm trying to get back to CBT, but now there are waitlists).

Overall it feels like my life went from VHS quality to HD. Literally colours seem brighter, tastes and smells are better, and touch feels much nicer.

I do have one question: has anyone had suicidal thoughts while on escitalopram, and did they subside over time?

I had suicidal thoughts before taking the meds, at least since I was 9/10 years old. I have them regularly especially when anxiety or depression hit. It's more thinking about it than an impulse to action on it. Normally I wouldn't think much of it, but the last several days those thoughts have been more intrusive and more impulsive.

I was warned this can be a side effect and I'm still early on so I'm wondering if this is something that subsides? I don't honestly feel that I will action on these thoughts, and generally I feel good, so I'm hoping this won't be a dealbreaker or get worse.

I do plan to talk to my wife about it, I've never really shared these thoughts with her, but I don't want to worry her.

Hey all, I hope this post is okay

I'm currently going through a very high anxiety moment and have been having panic attacks all weekend. I'm still in one.

I've got a doctor appointment scheduled for next week, but I need some encouragement and advice to calm things down right now.

I have avoidant anxiety. When I was a student and I started having panic attacks for the first time. I couldn't force myself out of the house and stopped showing up at work and got myself fired and failed out of my classes. It took me years to recover.

I found a therapist privately back then and did CBT and it helped make things manageable enough that for years things were okay. She's no longer working, and I specifically avoided drugs then but I think that was a mistake.

I've been working for over a decade and have been carefully managing my anxiety with only a couple incidents. I worked in small companies, then did independent contracting, but now I've been in corporate jobs since COVID.

The last couple years I've been really struggling with my anxiety. As soon as everyone started doing mass layoffs and tightening the belt I've been struggling hard. The last few months it's gotten exponentially wise, and it's beyond my ability to manage.

I can't focus anymore, sitting at my desk gives me a panic attack every day, then I fail to meet my deadlines, so I stay up all night pushing myself, which boosts my anxiety.

I feel like I'm on a treadmill running full speed, but I'm tired, I can't breath anymore, I have that feeling if I run anymore my legs will collapse. But I'm on a treadmill, if I fall I get wrangled and crushed, even though I know I can't keep running.

Man I just need someone to say they know how I feel, that I'm not alone, and to help me push the next week until my appointment.

Edit: thank you everyone, you all helped me through that moment and I'm feeling clearer right now. You said some things that were what I needed to hear, with concrete advice, and I can't express how much I appreciate that.

It's going to be a rough week and I have a lot to think about

I was on escitalopram for years. Got tired of being fat. Asked for something else. Trintellix wasn't cutting it. Added buspiron. That stopped my spirals. Still fat, taking 2 pills, buspiron makes me sleepy, and Trintellix is expensive. Enter fluoxitine! We'll see if it works.

I've always had social and general anxiety, but it's worries about finances that will turn it into something crippling.

I work on commission. there are days where the anxiety is beyond the tipping point where it's no longer a performance enhancer, but makes it difficult for me to do my job.

so today, I had one chance to make a sale. if I didn't make it, I was probably going to have to take klonopin through the weekend. but then I made the sale, and it hit harder than a fistful of Xanax

i fucking hate this world dude.

I went to the doctor. I lost 20 pounds or so since I was last there. I was prescribed new medication for the anxiety. I am to come back in 6 weeks as they were concerned about my weight loss and medication check up. They also said the chance of cancer is low at my age (mid 30s) and asked for s family history of it. Which it seems like most family members had it later in life.

Now I'm really worried about my weight. I already lack an appetite during stressful times.

Anyone else have any similar experiences?

For example my keys jingling in my pocket, my jacket sleeve moving against my torso, and to a lesser extent my footsteps make me anxious. I'm curious does anyone else experiences this?

I'm not sure if it's anxiety or something grander. Wearing noise cancelling headphones helps though.

I kind of feel like the noise version of a Nightkin.