WHY?! - 19 year old male

[nbast05]

Okay so I know that I definitely have anxiety and that I am 100 percent healthy, but I still worry about things!.... My mind thinks about every little thing... I choked on a piece of fruit the other day and I began to freak out that I was going to choke! Then, today I had a tough workout and all but I always think about is my heart rate! i literally check my heart rate or my pulse about 50 times a day! Its an obsession almost... I don't know why I do it i just do when I don't feel good! But I need to not fear something that isn't real and I need to trust God! I always tell myself to but never truly do! I needd to understand that nothing is wrong with me and it is okay to have a feeling of weirdness... and that everything will be okay... I was driving in my car and i got a pressure by my leftside of chest and my arm felt numb so I began to freak out and think I was having a heart attack... but nothing happened! I always have these feelingsb ut nothing ever happens! i need to get my mind to realize that noting is wrong! I am definitely getting better each day... but any response is welcome and appreciated

[gogators]

I have read some of your other posts and I know you are a college athlete. Your pulse has raced a thousand times and you never thought twice. You just have to let go! You are healthy! Your Dad is not hiding anything from you, nor is any other doctor. Stay off the internet, no web med, no medical books. Buy a book by Claire Weeks, "Hope and Help for your nerves." Once you read the background of the symptoms, they won't matter anymore. I have had it all. Racing heart, thump in chest, IBS, feelings of unreality (bad), trembling legs and hands for no reason, and I could go on. They all have one thing in common. ME! Once I start thinking of them, they come back. AND THEY WILL, if you let them bother you. I have been where you have been and I completely got rid of the panic. It came back one month ago. Guess what! It is gone again. I know I am doing this to myself and you just have to say STOP!!!!!!!!!!! You are an athlete, you are strong. Don't be afraid anymore! Nothing is going to happen to you. Just start living! I am a Christian and I thought why has God put me in this terrible valley. What does He want me to gain from this. Guess what! He didn't put me in this valley. I did! I think that is what he wanted me to gain from this. Deep breathing through it all and just floating through the symptoms is key. They will leave when you no longer fear them.

[nbast05]

Honestly, Today was amazing I felt great I just realized that nothing is wrong with me... your words are truly inspirational and are greatly appreciated! hope all is well!

[nbast05]

Honestly I workout out every morning and what really helps is that I listen to the relaxation cd every day after I workout it really calms me down:) GOD IS GREAT

[steffaniiee]

I am a 19 year old as well. it sucks because we are so young and this is soposed to be the absolute best time of our lives. but instead we're dealing with this constant fear. and really its a fear of nothing! its crazy isnt it? nobody should have to deal with this, but just keep trusting God. i think we can all get through it with him and this program. i hope it lives up to the wonderful things people say about it. Good luck to you

[crusader]

i go through almost the same thing. except mine is the fear of going crazy of being stuck with this anxiety forever! i am nervous ALOT almost everyday now and it makes me think im going to go crazy and not ever be able to be normal or stop it... its because our anxiety makes our thoughs race and even when we think we are controlling them....we aren't we have our sub con telling use all the negative bad things we are so use to. thats why this program is said to work. it helps change that around so we can deal with it and know we are not dying or sick or going nuts. we are fine... just a littlle to high stung lol im christy btw feel free to add me to your friends list here...

[crusader]

I have read some of your other posts and I know you are a college athlete. Your pulse has raced a thousand times and you never thought twice. You just have to let go! You are healthy! Your Dad is not hiding anything from you, nor is any other doctor. Stay off the internet, no web med, no medical books. Buy a book by Claire Weeks, "Hope and Help for your nerves." Once you read the background of the symptoms, they won't matter anymore. I have had it all. Racing heart, thump in chest, IBS, feelings of unreality (bad), trembling legs and hands for no reason, and I could go on. They all have one thing in common. ME! Once I start thinking of them, they come back. AND THEY WILL, if you let them bother you. I have been where you have been and I completely got rid of the panic. It came back one month ago. Guess what! It is gone again. I know I am doing this to myself and you just have to say STOP!!!!!!!!!!! You are an athlete, you are strong. Don't be afraid anymore! Nothing is going to happen to you. Just start living! I am a Christian and I thought why has God put me in this terrible valley. What does He want me to gain from this. Guess what! He didn't put me in this valley. I did! I think that is what he wanted me to gain from this. Deep breathing through it all and just floating through the symptoms is key. They will leave when you no longer fear them.

gogators did you ever have a fear that you were going to go crazy? felt this uneasy nervous feeling almost all the time? I have for the past week now. i dont take meds im scared of them. i just pray and talk to family or call a crisis line(not this one becuase nobody from this program has taken the time to reply or talk to me) but i still want to try this and see if i can make it work. I feel sick to mu stomach alot now, and out of it. I have never had these symptoms before but i guess when you get onlder things change... i just know i need this to go away. and im so afraid im going to go crazy even though i know it wont happen. its impossible to go crazy from this or for no reason. right???

[steffaniiee]

as soon as i figure out how to add friends on here, i will! haha, but yes i agree. the whole mind racing thing is just too much sometimes. how far along are you? are you getting any better? or i should say feeling any better yet?

[polkadot]

I feel crazy because I'm 19 as well and I swore I thought I was the only one at this age dealing with anxiety. I knew it wasn't true but I haven't met anyone at my age with this issue so far. Actually I've been dealing with it since the 8th grade. I'm a christian too and everyone says to trust God and I very well know this. Sometimes I can start quoting scripture and other things while I'm becoming anxious and it helps, other times it doesn't seem to work. It is so hard because I feel like failure in my faith and a bunch of other lies I have ingrained in my brain over the years that I don't even realize are not true. I was reading in Lamentations the other day and it says "It is good for a man to bear the yoke while he is young" (3:27). It is somewhat comforting because as I have talked to adults, the older you get, the harder it is to break old habits and to learn from them. I still get mad because I hate that I have to even deal with this at all but then I hope that one day when i'm free I can help others at this age who don't even have access to this program or anyone supportive to even help them.

I admit it is so hard and frustrating, in fact i got in the depression slump a few months ago and i just didn't know what to do with myself. I hated myself for being such a "failure". But by the grace of God I came out of it. One thing that I find is really helpful, is to admit your emotions, and don't hate yourself for feeling them, they are emotions that God GAVE us. It is important to work them out because if you push them aside they will only add to your anxieties. I tell the Lord how I feel even if I think I shouldn't feel that way (not always, I still have a hard time), he already knows your every single thought and emotion he just wants you to tell him and ask him for help. Cry out to him.

Today I had to go to work and I didn't want to drive (I get really anxious and my thoughts start going a little crazy). I basically have to do this everyday and you would think I would have gotten use to it by now and over the thoughts but I haven't (although some days are way better than others). But I just felt like I couldn't do it, which made me sad, so I started crying in my car while I was driving to work, it was the only way to address my emotions without allowing the anxiousness to overtake me. I cried out to the Lord saying I want to be brave and strong but I couldn't do it (even though I was driving) but as soon as I said that last part, I thought of the scripture "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" Philippians 4:13 over and over and then I started reciting Psalm 23. I then thought to myself, i am brave, because even though I'm still getting anxious, I still am driving. I didn't decide not to, I still did it, even though I didn't feel like doing it, even if i took the least stressful route (the longest way). It doesn't matter, I was brave because I made a choice to go.

The important thing to remember is that the Lord sees your heart, he knows your intentions, even if you are freaking out still, he sees that you are trying to put healthy thoughts back into your life. Thoughts that are uplifting for the person he created you to be, not the person you once were. Now that you are a Christian he sees you holy and clean. Just confess to him that you know you are supposed to trust him, but you can't or don't want to, and ask him to help you to trust him and believe him. I have to do the same thing, he will change your mind and thought process, he is still changing mine.

Good luck, You CAN DO IT! Don't give up, you are stronger than you think or can even imagine. Actually everyone on here is, it just takes a little faith to believe this truth! I will be praying for you

[finallyhere]

Hi 19, I am way older than you and am grateful to have this program available to me AT ANY AGE ! Yes, I wish something like this was available to me when I was 19. I try not to beat myself up for 'lost' time because I am starting to learn that a good quality of life is worthwhile at any age. If you have discussed your concerns with your doctor, that is the most important thing. My doctor is wonderful...I am very truthful so I don't have to fear what I don't tell. I have medical problems but nothing life threatening. It took me a long time to believe I wasn't going to perish from a lot of imagined diseases (paranoia) and that certain life style bad choices will certainly lead to very real health problems. My biggest target right now is to get a healthy mind and I am doing this by learning to like myself. Always a negative thinker. I can't tell you how many strokes and heart attacks I have had because they have all been in my mind. Thinking that way really does make you feel physically bad. If you are an athlete, tell your coach about your feelings and make sure you are following a proper exercise routine. If you know you are on a good regime, it will help you learn to relax. I listen to a morning radio talk show and one of the hosts is a tri-athlete and has a really good fitness knowledge base, if you can tolerate his obnoxious radio personna. Not sure I should mention the radio show by name, cause I don't want to break the rules of this chat session, but his first name is Eric, but he goes by his last name on the show. I hope you start to find yourself feeling better as you work through the sessions. I just started week 3 and there is a definate improvement in my outlook on life. Make sure you take the program as directed, one week at a time. It's frustrating but worth the wait time. It's so you can learn. Listen to your CD's over and over. I was really surprised how much I missed the first time. Now I am more used to what's going on. By the way, I am the proud 'owner' of a 19 year old male athlete, so you kind of caught my attention. Good post name! You will be fine. Believe! Keep writing in that journal your supposed to be keeping. I never read what I already wrote. It just feels good to get all this stuff out of my brain.