I posted about this when it was first published, but I admit that I was still unfamiliar with the reblog function at that time, and I had no idea it was so easy to share posts from other blogs.
I love getting to know the people behind the blogs I follow, and I would love you guys to get to know me better as well, so I thought I’d share my guest post on the Roads We Take blog to share a little bit of myself and give you lovely readers an insight into my world.
I love and appreciate you all, and if you’re ever experiencing anything like what I talk about in this post, please don’t hesitate to talk to me about it. Unfortunately, I have a lot of experience with anxiety, from mild cases to the life-crippling kind, and I’m always open to chatting about it because I know how hard it can be to life with anxiety, especially if there’s no one you can turn to to help you through it.
While I’ve always been a pretty anxious person, I hadn’t experienced real, no-nonsense anxiety until I was 23 years old. It was a rough year mentally, emotionally, and financially, and it wasn’t long before I was experiencing frequent panic attacks and constant anxiety. I lost my job, I dropped out of my classes, my relationships suffered, and my emotional health was at an all-time low. Or so I thought…
The anxiety lasted a few months before, somehow, it got better. I moved back home, found a new job, and put my focus back on my schooling. I started therapy and learned to have fun on my own. I spent most of my free time with friends, and I learned to be happy again. Everything was great. And then, about a year and a half ago, the anxiety came back with a vengeance.
I first noticed it when I began having…
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Karaaaaa I had no idea about this, and I’m really sorry you had to go through it. I’m glad that you’re feeling better now and that you found something that helps you, blogging! I’ve had a panic attack once last month and hopefully, that will be the last one. Thank you for sharing this with all of us, I feel like I’ve gotten to know you better and you’re definitely a strong person for accepting that it’s okay to need help sometimes, it takes a lot of thought and contemplation to accept that. I gotchu friend if you need someone to talk to or just gush about anything!
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I LUH YOU!!! Thank you ❤ Dude, blogging has been a life-saver. Writing new posts and interacting with you guys has legitimately given me something to look forward to every day. Ugh, panic attacks are no joke. I'd never wish them on anyone, and I hate that you've experienced that.
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LOVE YOU TOO! Awww I’m so happy for that, and I can really see that you’re always excited to post and reply to comments hahah Yep, it’s the worst, and I thought I was having an asthma attack which was weird because… I didn’t have asthma LOL.
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I’ve thought the same! I was starting to wonder if I was allergic to my cat at one point too, cause it was always so hard to breathe. Nope, just anxiety.
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I read this post a couple of days ago, when I was checking out your blog, but it felt stupid commenting because we don’t know each other, but then I thought about it some more, and as you were open enough to share your experience with others in hopes of helping someone in the same situation, I thought what the hell, I might as well comment.
I’ve been struggling with severe anxiety for 6 years, and sometimes it’s really bad, to the point I developed a phobia, and unfortunately it took me until last year to even realize it’s anxiety, and I’ve only recently accepted it and asked for help, but I’ve been refusing to take meds for many reasons. After reading your post for the first time, I thought about it long and hard and yesterday I talked with my psychotherapist, and next week I’m starting meds. So thanks for sharing your experience, it made me take that huge step. :*
There’s no shame in talking about anxiety, it is a mental illness but the only shame is if you let it reign over you and destroy your life.
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I’m glad you decided to talk about it! Honestly I feel like talking about it has helped a lot. I mean if I hadn’t talked about it so much in the beginning I wouldn’t have even learned it was anxiety when I did! It’s so crazy how long so many people go experiencing this kind of anxiety without ever knowing what it is. And you can’t fix something when you don’t know what’s going on, so that’s another reason I think it’s important to talk about it, so people can learn more about what’s going on with them.
I’m so sorry to hear that you’re struggling with anxiety, too. 😦 Omg I developed phobias from it too! I ended up having really bad hypochondriac symptoms and it caused me to develop a fear of driving as a result (most of those symptoms would appear while I was driving), and my bf has had to drive whenever I need to go anywhere. It got so bad that I started not wanting to leave the house. That was a pretty big moment in deciding I wanted to try meds. I’m still working on getting over that phobia, but since starting medication I’ve felt a lot more comfortable with the idea of driving. I haven’t had the guts to drive by myself yet, but the thought of doing so doesn’t scare me like it used to.
I’m glad that you’re getting help! If you think meds are the best option for you, I really hope they work for you. I will say, I did experience some side effects during the first couple of weeks. Of course it can be different for everyone and it depends on your meds, but I had headaches (and a migraine one day) and really bad tightness in my jaw, and of course I experienced anxiety about taking the meds in the first place. Just letting you know so you don’t get discouraged if you experience side effects! All of mine went away within a week or two.
Well now that I’ve responded with a novel… 😂 I’m glad you responded, and feel free to talk to me about anxiety stuff any time if you need someone to talk to!
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Haha thanks Kara! 😀 And no problem, I’m really glad you replied in length, exactly because people don’t talk about this as much as they should! I spent years reading forum threads of people thinking they’re crazy and begging for help, with same symptoms as mine, so I couldn’t figure out what’s wrong with me, and it made me feel awful, like I’m pretending or something. I’m glad I did realize and got help in time, and I hope others will read this and figure out if they have anxiety.
The driving thing actually happened to my psychotherapist! She told me about it some time ago and explained how she got over it, while comparing it to my fear. It’s not exactly a phobia, it’s an irrational fear induced by anxiety, but it can be so strong and overwhelming! My biggest problem is that in January 2017 I had a severe panic attack while eating and I choked. I wasn’t able to eat normally for 3 months after that happened, and I told no one, and eventually it went away, as I was pretending in front of others that I’m eating normally. But then it happened again 3 months ago, and I still can’t eat without fear of choking, which is maddening for me, because I love to eat and cook 😦 And I’m usually thin, so now I’m underweight because I don’t eat enough.
I went through hell and back with this, but therapy helped me a lot, and I’m much better now, and I gained some weight, but I haven’t been able to go through that last step, to swallow food without any fear, so I decided to try meds in hope it will ease my mind enough not to be afraid so much. That is, if I can swallow the meds and not choke haha 😀
I’m prepared for any side effects, because this is already awful and I don’t think it can get any worse, thank you for telling me that 🙂
I too started blogging because of it, to take my mind of things, and it has helped me immensely, as this community is amazing! Thanks so much for talking about this, it’s comforting to know I’m not alone in this thing 🙂
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Oh man, I’m so sorry you’re having to deal with that 🙁 It’s awful when it gets to the point of affecting your daily life like that. I really hope meds help you!
I’m glad you started blogging, cause I’ve loved talking to you and reading your posts! I hope things get better for you ❤
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Thank you, I love talking to you too, and your posts are amazing! 🙂 I hope too, I firmly decided to win this thing ♥
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Thank you for talking about your experience with anxiety. A lot of people are too embarrassed to talk about mental health, so blog posts like the one you have written are important. This is they can help people feel not so alone and can encourage more discussion about these issues and hopefully people who are having difficulties, will get the help they need. Great Post.
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That’s what I’m hoping for with this post! I’ve become a lot more open about talking about my anxiety recently, and I feel like it’s helped a lot to talk about it, and I really hope people start talking about it more.
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