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Is it hard for you to explain your anxiety to others?

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Anxiety & Panic Disorders
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Posted 8/5/2015 5:47 PM (GMT 0)
Hey all!

Haven't posted here in months, but I forgot to take my medication twice last week, encountered a "trigger" and boom, started feeling some anxiety. I'm getting better -- it thankfully wasn't two days in a row or a whole week off the meds -- but it definitely felt a little "off," and all of you with anxiety know what I mean. Boo!

I think the problem with disorders like this is how hard it can be to describe how much of a problem anxiety is because I feel people view mental health issues differently than a sickness where you show symptoms like fever, vomiting, congestion, what have you.

I was diagnosed in 2009 and have had three recurrences including this last one, but my mom didn't realize how bad it actually was until I visited her last Christmas. I forgot my medication at my home, so I was without it for nine days straight. The night before I left, I was shaking in my bed and had trouble sleeping. The next day before I left, I decided to tell her I was experiencing symptoms again because I'd feel better if she knew about it. So she held me to try to comfort me, and she felt me shaking. She never really knew it could get that bad to the point where 1) you can't control it, and 2) it would adversely affect what I could do. She always viewed me as young and healthy and didn't understand how I could be anxious, but at that moment, she realized that it didn't matter; you could be anxious for no reason.

It encouraged her to do research into it, and now she's far more boned up on the subject and has read how many people are diagnosed. So it has helped her see how much of an issue mental health is, even though you're not experiencing classic symptoms many others can relate to.

And that's my mom, who is always concerned for me because she wants me to be happy. To friends, it can be a pain unless someone has experienced it. I think only one co-worker of mine actually understood what I could go through, and she was in the military, so I think she may have PTSD and can relate in her own way.
Posted 8/5/2015 5:54 PM (GMT 0)
I never talk about it to anyone besides friends who have anxiety issues. I don't even care anymore and do not even bother explaining it to anyone who cannot understand.
Posted 8/5/2015 7:48 PM (GMT 0)
Hi HI and welcome back:)

Sorry you had a couple of rough days there...

...I am hoping that you are feeling fully on track again soon!

I completely know what you are talking about...and yes it is frustrating when your friends and loved ones just don't 'get it'.

That is what makes this place so great! Empathy and understanding from those that know what you are going through. :)

Post with us anytime...it is good to see you both giving and receiving support!

S C.
Posted 8/5/2015 8:23 PM (GMT 0)
Agreed! I admit it's hard to come back on a regular basis when you're feeling better, but it's good to know it's always here for support. At the very least, it's good to give back a little when you do post.
Posted 8/6/2015 12:47 AM (GMT 0)
For me the hardest part of my anxiety has been the derealization side effect which is really hard to explain to people and sometimes I feel like they think I'm talking crazy. I do have a good friend who deals with anxiety and knows what I'm talking about so it's nice to talk to her about it. But for the past 2 months I've been struggling everyday with it. Hoping that Lexapro will eventually help. :( not fun
Posted 8/6/2015 4:18 PM (GMT 0)
Derealization sounds rough. I've fortunately not have to go through it, but it sounds as if it's something that is hard to understand for someone who doesn't at least have anxiety.

I noticed you use 5mg of Lexapro. Perhaps you can ask your doctor for a bump if the current dosage isn't working.
Posted 8/6/2015 5:12 PM (GMT 0)
Hi


Welcome back but sorry to hear your anxiety has returned.

It is very hard to explain anxiety to friends and family who have not been through it I have lost count of the number of friends who have said to me that I should just be able to snap out of it and that everybody gets anxious but can deal with it and move on I wish it was that simple but it's not.

Hibee
Posted 8/6/2015 5:56 PM (GMT 0)
Not really but then I don't share it with too many people. I come here to vent.
Posted 8/6/2015 10:12 PM (GMT 0)
I've been on 10mg for almost two weeks now, so hopefully it will help. I just forgot to update my signature :)
Posted 8/6/2015 10:45 PM (GMT 0)
Hi there!


Oh boy, this is something I've struggled with. I was diagnosed in 2011 before beginning my freshman year of college (luckily, I could get free counseling at school) and was on medication for a little while. Taking medication makes it more of a real condition for other people and they seemed to take it more seriously then. My parents...try.

One close friend suffers from anxiety and depression, so she and I are on the same page. I don't need to explain anything to her and she's wonderful to talk to when things don't feel right. Another friend is very understanding and wants to be there for me as much as she can, but I know that the way I talk about my condition frightens her sometimes. It doesn't mesh well with how she sees and knows me. I don't seem like an "anxious person" to her. And that's another thing--you have good days and bad days, so loved ones can forget or not understand how BAD the bad days are.

I experience derealization (what a good term) almost constantly unless I sit down and think it through. The counselor I saw described it as intense compartmentalization and that I needed to occasionally "come down from my head".

The best way I've been able to describe my anxiety and that feeling of wrongness is that there's a little voice in the back of my brain that screams, and screams, and screams. Some days it's quieter than others. Panic attacks are when the screams escalate out of nowhere (I was in Wal-Mart once when it happened--I had to clutch the cart for support as I stopped breathing and my vision whited out for a second. Scary!) It's just the panic constantly simmering at the back of my mind and some days it boils over. It never goes away, but it's manageable. How do I know it's not "the voices"? Because the little screaming voice is my own and I recognize it. And because it's mine, I can make it go away.

So yes. It's hard to explain without sounding dangerous.
Posted 8/7/2015 12:06 AM (GMT 0)
Hadricat- Thats funny because a lot of my friends say I don't seem like an anxious person either and I am actually really laid back. I think that's why it's hard for people to understand. I do a pretty good job of controlling it for the most part and when I start to feel it coming on or I start to feel off, I leave or take a time out to compose myself.

When I don't think, the derealization it's there. It's when I start to think about things is when its bad. The Lexapro is helping a little and sometimes I try to redirect my thoughts onto something simple.

I have also struggled the past couple months with really bad intrusive thoughts which I feel is when most of all this started. Those thoughts are getting easier to brush off, but when I have one, my anxiety ramps up. I do not have a violent bone in my body but these thoughts are scarey and it makes me feel like I might be going crazy with is when the fight or flight starts and panic attacks manifest.

I have hopes that things will get better for not only me, but everyone else struggling with anxiety!! Keeping a positive attitude :)
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