Stress Center Peer Support

This was me almost 2 years ago here...
"Im 22 year old. I am having such a hard time right now. I have problems with anxiety and probably deppresion too. I always feel uncomfortable. I feel that I cannot deal with my emotions. I started taking a beta blocker (half of a 25mg. (Metoprolol) because I was having irregular heartbeats that where scaring me. That has helped with the irregular hard beats but it make me feel very drowsy. I also have xanax, I have a .25 mg pill thay I take usually when I go to work. that helps, but overallo I just feel bad, I guess I have emotinal problems because when Im not worrying about a symptom I feel so miserable, and then I guess I find something to worry about. Im also having trouble eating, Im not eating well due to the anxiety/deppresion. I dont know what to do, I want my life back, I feel that I have everything outhere set for me but for some reason I cant go for it, and of course I blame it on anxiety. I'm thinking about checking myself into a hospital because Im so tired of this. I dont want to be on peals because I think that my problems are emotional, and if I could just try to see whats bothering me or something Ill get better, but I dont know. Any advice?


henry "..

I then got better for a bout a year..and now I feel the SAME way!!..I dont understand!!!=(

hey henry. sorry to hear your feelin like that again. I'm a 22 year old male and i know what you mean when u say you want your old life back. i've had anxiety since i was about 18 and i feel i missed out on a lot of things because of this. i havent had a job or gone to school in almost 2 years. i live with my parents, have no car and always stuck at home. have anxiety almost everyday added with depression about having anxiety and not doing anything with my life. it just sucks because i so want to start doin something with my life again and always think i cant because of anxiety holding me back. its funny like you said cuz i always am worrying or feeling uncomfortable and when i feel like im not hurting or thinking bad, an just feel normal i start to think somethings not right and back comes something. I just hope i can feel better again like you had for that one year. will figure this out.

Hey Henry,

What you are going through is normal. Don't feel bad that you are feeling anxiety. I am 24 and my anxiety got really bad when I was about 22. So i totally know what you are going through. I also felt like sometimes I just wanted to give up and check myself into a hospital. I also understand how even when you feel fine you are worried. I know that feeling all to well. You clearly want to get better and you are on the right track. Sometimes it helps knowing that others are going through or already went through basically exactly what you are going through now.

It is not always easy to figure out on your own why you feel a certain way. But the first step is acceptance. We all have anxiety issues because we took years developing bad thinking habits. Understand that although you are on the right track, it will take some time to replace all those years worth of bad habits.

One thing that is helping me out is therapy. Therapists will listen and help you sort things out when you cannot. they will at least give you some perspective about things we haven't thought about yet.

Everyone goes through anxiety and depression. So don't beat yourself up too much about it.

I think one thing that will help is accepting you feel the way you do. Then try and do the things you normally would want to do. Once you realize that despite the anxiety and despite the depression you can still get things done. It really does diffuse a lot of the depression and anxiety.

JDog I know how you feel. When I hit rock bottom or so it seemed I was at home for almost a year. I didn't go to school or work. I couldn't. Or at least I told myself I couldn't.

I wanted my life back too. But I stuck to the program and as I was slugging along with it and I was wondering if I was ready to go back to my "normal life" again, my father lost his job. it was October of last year,just before the holiday season, and although I didn't know if I was quite ready I took a leap. I ended up using the skills I learned to find a retail job ( how stressful haha) and I tell you what I advanced faster in the program because of that. I advanced more because I was actually out there practicing. I felt like i regained some of the control the anxiety and depression from anxiety took away from me.

Guys I went from being in bed too scared too even get the mail because I was having panic attacks, to working and little by little getting my life back on track. I am going back to school to finish my bachelors and I am well on my way. If I can do it, so can both of you.

Also you both are young I am young. Be grateful and remind yourself that you will be working on getting rid of your anxiety issues at such a young age and will enjoy the rest of your lives that much more. So many people never had these opportunities and are much older when they begin to find ways to conquer their fears. They then look back and could only wish they had been able to rid themselves of this when they were younger.

If I can do it and thousands of others could do it, you guys will too.

I can relate to both of you very much. Keep your heads up. If you guys have any other questions that is why we are all here for.


God Bless and Much Love,


Eddy J

Thanks SO much for those words...!=D