My wife is anxious and the way that she's described it is something like having a barrage of irrational worries one cannot feasibly think their way out of or compartmentalize (even if they know they're completely irrational or the odds are extremely low).
this post was submitted on 13 Oct 2026
16 points (100.0% liked)
Mental Health
7475 readers
97 users here now
Welcome
This is a safe place to discuss, vent, support, and share information about mental health, illness, and wellness.
Thank you for being here. We appreciate who you are today. Please show respect and empathy when making or replying to posts.
If you need someone to talk to, @therapygary@lemmy.blahaj.zcan be reached on Signal at TherapyGary13.12.
Rules
The rules for posting and commenting, besides the rules defined here for lemmy.world, are as follows:
- No promoting paid services/products.
- Be kind and civil. No bigotry/prejudice either.
- No victim blaming. Nor giving incredibly simplistic solutions (i.e. You have ADHD? Just focus easier.)
- No encouraging suicide, no matter what. This includes telling someone to commit homicide as "dragging them down with you".
- Suicide note posts will be removed, and you will be reached out to in private.
- If you would like advice, mention the country you are in. (We will not assume the US as the default.)
If BRIEF mention of these topics is an important part of your post, please flag your post as NSFW and include a (trigger warning: suicide, self-harm, death, etc.)in the title so that other readers who may feel triggered can avoid it. Please also include a trigger warning on all comments mentioning these topics in a post that was not already tagged as such.
Partner Communities
To partner with our community and be included here, you are free to message the current moderators or comment on our pinned post.
founded 3 years ago
MODERATORS
Hyperactivity in the mind
this. I never thought of myself as having anxiety but when I looked into depression im told I have general anxiety disorder. She tells me. You worry about everything. My first thought is. How does anyone not!? I sorta like shelter and eating! One thing I did always recognize is I think about things way more than other people. I never understood how people cannot be thinking about things constantly. Its what our brains do. It is the thing that is my achilles heel for trying to mediate.
Wearing a turtleneck or even just a shirt that is too tight around the neck.
I used to think that I was severely depressed. It took me a couple of decades to realize that I was depressed about the opportunities that my anxiety kept me from pursuing.
I have gotten a lot better at examining those opportunities and forgiving myself for those failures.
I would say that I am about 15% of the way there. I have a lot to unpack.
Sometimes it’s like thoughts vomiting forth as words of self beratement and having to talk yourself down.
Sometimes it’s feeling like everyone is watching you in public even though you logically know they aren’t and don’t give two shits about you.
Sometimes it’s panic at the thought that you’ve really fucked up this time and it’s all coming apart
Sometimes it’s not wanting to be trouble for others and you weren’t ready and everyone will hate you for holding up a line and hang on let me fix this
Sometimes it’s how am I supposed to just talk to people and where is the bar get me a drink or two fast so I can do this.
a panic , anxiety feeling in your chest. luckily it was only during that one semester that caused severe stress(non-chronic)
Watching a horror movie except your the character. I have entire visceral anxities forcefully play in my head.
Also fearing something will happen even if you logically know it CANNOT happen
What if what if what if what if what if
Just constantly in my head
Constant worry and burning your energy on things you can't do anything about to the point that you can't do anything else and just deadlock
You ever get stage fright? Butterflies in your stomach? It feels like that. Sometimes stronger. Full blown panic attacks feel the same as a heart attack, including your left arm going numb: tightness and pain in the chest, trouble breathing, blurred vision, etc. That's actually how I found out about my anxiety disorder. Had a panic attack; went to the ER thinking I was having a heart attack.
I think I have been close in the last two years. I physically can feel it but not to the point of a heart attack. body feeling wierd. kinda numb. kinda hurty. breathing messing up. honestly for a very long time I have done a lot of things to deal with earlier levels of this kind of stuff. walks. intentional breathing. visualization. Its only in the last two years it has kinda stopped working very well.
Its the feeling of "cautious". Not quite scared, but aware of your situation.
Imagine playing a game where you get to a small room right before a giant arena. But the health packs, ammo, and save point are missing. You’re low on health, you can count your remaining ammo on one hand, and it’s been hours since your last save. The music swells and the boss starts to emerge as the screen fades to white….
That exact moment, but about everything all the time.