Anxiety Discussion Forum

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The discussion forum on anxiety, panic attacks, OCD, fears, and burnout:

Your brain is not the problem

In the attached Reddit article, I hear again what I have been hearing often from patients. They feel as if there is something fundamentally wrong and defective with their brain and their mind. However, this line of thinking often leads to feeling even worse. In good psychotherapy, one important goal is to help you understand ...

Advice to get life on track in my 30s

I’m 31 (F), single woman. Lost a lot of my life to mental health issues including depression, social anxiety and sibling and parental abuse. I want to get my life in order. I want to start with my mental makeup because I’m consumed with a sense of hopelessness that keeps me in a state of inaction. ...

my first reddit post and i already feel insane, so sorry if this is all over the place. take ur time if ur reading..means a lot!

ok so i dont even know where exactly to start but here i go.. so in order for this not to be all over the place i will make up names so that its less confusing. theres me, my gf (at the time i was or i thought i was bi): Fusty, my long time good old ...

I want to stop feeling so much. It’s exhausting. Am I simply too empathetic or just crazy?

Why do i cry so much always? Im not normal. No one cries as much as me around me. I cry looking at people on road, I cry looking at underprivileged children playing in the sun with no proper food, shelter, clothing. I cry seeing an old man eating alone because it feels lonely like ...

I just want a hug 🙁

I really don’t have the energy to explain why so I’ll summarise. I’m suffering a lot and have been my entire life, been ignored a lot my mental health services, have an estranged relationship with family, not getting support for AUDHD and I feel like a failure. Can’t get on public transport, go to the cinema or ...

Asking for an office as an accommodation for anxiety?

I have anxiety at work that has only been getting worse. I don’t have a proper cubicle, there are partial walls and there is someone that sits diagonally a few feet behind me. This person constantly has people coming over chatting and they sit right by my desk. I don’t like that people can just ...

consumed by so much anxiety it physically hurts

I fucked up big time and now I’m just walking around each day with watching eyes on me. everybody knows my mistake and they hate me for it. even though it has nothing to do with them and everything was resolved. my workplace just loves to gossip so much that everybody hates me now. I ...

low self esteem

hey everyone. I feel like opening up about this finally, maybe it will make me feel better. So, to start, how do people even deal with low self esteem? I’ve read about a lot of possible ways to deal with it, but it’s not working. Like no, I don’t want to focus on the positives and ...

I’m taking the first brave step in improvement, going to sleep.

You might say it’s 4am how is that early? I hate sleep. I hate the feeling of waking up from a nightmare in the middle of the night. The adrenaline the rushes through me. The wild Frantic thoughts of waking up with intrusive thoughts. The darkness. The thought that going to bed means I’m sick ...

Managing My Overwhelming Stress

A Personal Perspective: Is there a way to dial back the intensity, the anxiety I feel when I look at my son?

If you’re wondering whether adverse childhood experiences are negatively impacting you as an adult, you probably already know the answer.

In my work as a hypnotherapist most of my clients are mature adults experiencing issues rooted in anger, anxiety, depression – or a mixture of these. Often, they are wondering if their present issues are linked to their childhood experiences. More often than not, the answer is yes. Research carried out since the end of the ...

What disorder(s) could I have?

This is a list I made of the stuff going on with me to share with the psychiatrist and family doctor when I have an appointment. 1.Sexual performance anxiety/Premature ejaculation 2.Anxiety/Paranoia 3.Worry that sparks anxiety and paranoia 4.Having trouble sleeping because of overactive anxiety/mind 5.Depression/thoughts that put me into a depressive state 6.Emotional/emotionally needy/emotionally dependant 7.Hard to control negative emotions/thoughts and speaking ...

My anxiety is screaming right now.

A classmate whom I sat with for 6 classes at the back of the class said that she should be sitting in the front. Her reasons are that a friend of hers is persistently telling her to join him at the front and that she believes that she can focus better on the front which ...

I’m lonely, in my 30s and find it very hard to make new friends | Ask Annalisa Barbieri

Social anxiety and a dislike of party culture can create a void of loneliness, but there are ways to beat the fearI’m a man in a my mid-30s who feels pretty lonely. I’ve finished university so I’m no longer around new faces and friends have drifted for various reasons (moved away, kids etc). My two ...

how to deal with anxiety?

Just conducted a telephonic interview, but for some reason my anxiety spiked through the roof throughout, I’ve recently completed my degree and have been busy job hunting , unfortunately it’s difficult for me to articulate myself when I become nervous. How do I mitigate this going forward I tend to be a recluse. Thank you ...

How do I spend the rest of my life coping with my mental health?

My anxiety issues are so bad. I’ve been like this since I was 11 or so. I am literally anxious 24/7. I wake up in the middle of the night freaking out all the time. This week has been especially terrible – it’s only Wednesday in the middle of the night and I’ve had three ...

Ask the doctor: I’m dreading a long haul flight — will Xanax help?

Question: I’m going on a long haul flight soon and wanted to ask my GP for something to help with anxiety and restlessness on the flight. I took a Xanax someone gave me before and it worked wonders — is that the best thing to ask for?

[UK] Girlfriend has airplaine trauma but she needs to fly for a funeral. How do we get her something to keep her calm enough to fly?

After a pretty scary landing (engines screaming, people lifting out of their seats, stuff flying around the cabin), my girlfriend has been left traumatised. She was meant to fly last year to see family for christmas, but even a week before the flight she was waking up in the night and vomiting from anxiety. She ...

can I tell my pediatrician?

I have been dealing with some anxiety, sh, and eating disorder like behaviors and I’m due for my yearly check up with my pediatrician soon (im a minor). If I told my pediatrician about my mental health what would happen? I’m not a true danger to myself or others but I do sh and no ...

I think I am having an anxiety attack and idk what to do

I can’t say why I feel this way. I have had some tough things happen in the past which have made me very insecure about myself. This is especially very true about my relationships. I am currently in a very happy relationship with my bf of over 1 year, but my past keeps creeping up ...

Experience with therapists? My friend recommended an AI Therapy app but I wonder if I’m missing out on a normal one?

I’ve been struggling with general sadness, as well as depression and anxiety for a long time. I’ve been looking into finding a therapist, but have mostly had bad experiences and found out that they actually had bad reviews in general. They’re also quite expensive and given my mental state I usually want one immediately when ...

Ask Allison: I am almost 30 and have no friends. How can I overcome my crippling anxiety?

Question: I’m writing this email to express how lonely I feel in my life. I will be 30 years old soon, which feels like a milestone age for me, and ever since this birthday has inched closer and closer and the impacts of the pandemic have hit, it has made me realise how lonely I ...

I wake up without a goal

I should study but I am not capable of it anymore, I do not have a stable job, I feel tired all the time, I have anxiety sparks, I don’t know what to do 🙁 What can I do? :”'( I am desperate submitted by /u/NatSpaghettiAgency Hi, I am very sorry to hear how you ...

DAE-sleep

I have this problem I’ve been experiencing for a few years where I have a good sleeping pattern ( getting up earlyish and sleeping latest midnight) then all of a sudden I can’t sleep till 2 then 4 then 6 and suddenly the sun’s rising and I’m not tired, eventually going to bed and waking ...

bipolar

I’m becoming confident that I’m bipolar with general anxiety disorder. I do not drink alcohol or caffeine, I will try to eat more unfried fish as I’ve read that helps. Are their any other tips from anyone who is knowledgeable about bipolar for managing symptoms that don’t involve medication. Any and all advise would be appreciated. submitted ...

There is something wrong with me

Hi, I am very sorry to hear about the anxiety you are experiencing. As you said, it can be quite limiting. In therapy, one could look at several things. One is to see if there are any explanations for your anxiety, such as emotions you experienced about past unpleasant (or traumatic) events that have not been resolved ...

please help me

f20, I suffer from BPD depression and anxiety. I barely got the motivation to do anything, and I mean anything. Brushing teeth, eating, showering even laying in bed. I have stuff to do on a daily basis, and my mind is motivated in some way, but my body is shut down. I’m exhausted. Please help ...

any one else a procrastinator? I swear I’m the the worst

Like the title says, I’m not sure if it’s due to depression and severe anxiety, but I’m realizing lately I’m such a procrastinating person without even trying to. Am I the only One?? submitted by /u/Sad_Slide_9130 Hi, I am very sorry to hear how you are feeling. I would not be too hard ...

Newbie here thanks for having me.

I just really need some encouragement. My mental health has been awful lately, and my anxiety has sky rocketed. Between physical and mental health issues and now losing a week of work this past week because of the flu, I just really needed a positive group to vent to and maybe some words of wisdom ...

Does anyone have any idea what is wrong with me? why am I so anxious for no reason, seemingly out of nowhere?

Hi Cornelius, You may want to find out with a good therapist where the anxiety is coming from. Very often, past experiences can reach into the present, and resolving them can be very helpful. If for any reason, one’s feelings of safety and security have been affected by situations or events, that can lower the threshold ...

Is it OK to be open about having depression and anxiety or should I keep it to myself?

I’m very open about my metal health issues. Should I stop doing that? Does that drive people away? submitted by /u/theOutsider196 Hi, I have often seen people benefit from being open about mental health issues. Quite frequently, they were pleasantly surprised when they were open about it, even at work. However, there are people ...

I feel like my mental illnesses will never allow me to live.

I suffer from depression, anxiety, ocd and eating disorders. My social anxiety is so bad I find myself alone most of the time and unable to find new friends, my eating disorders make it difficult to be out of the house for long periods of time because I can’t eat outside (it’s a fear that ...

My therapist says I should accept the situation even though I hate it

I‘ve always been kind of uncomfortable with myself and I am therefore extremely insecure and hate my body and my character. I think I‘m not good enough for anything and every failure leads me to wanting to not ever try anything again. Especially when it comes to socialising or even dating I‘m to scarred to ...

Emotional Support Animals as a topic for research

I am in grad school for Public Sociology. I am interested in discussions about mental health and bettering one’s being. I’ve been thinking about getting one in the future. I believe animals especially dogs have this ability to calm one’s mind and feel comfortable. There’s this connection and emotional bond. It is beneficial to depression, anxiety ...

Exercise and Social Anxiety – does it help?

Hi, Last year we did some investigating in scientific journals about whether or not exercise can help reduce social anxiety. You can read what we found out here. The TL;DR version is that we found that exercise can help alleviate social anxiety by increasing your feel good hormones, increasing self-efficacy and by acting as a distraction. A ...