As I get older phobias seem for me to intensify. Acrophobia and claustrophobia are the two main ones. With recent events in my personal life has anxiety rearing its ugly head. Without going into it I've experienced massive change that has been challenging. Today I bought a new car for myself. Good change that most look forward to. The last time I did that was 27 years ago, but the change plus other huge change in my life I can't even enjoy a new vehicle without a sense of anxiety. It seems to be much more intense in the morning. I'm not sure how to attack this problem. I'm a boomer and we're not supposed to have this problem, but I'm not sure I can improve on my own. Hopefully, when the huge change is in the rear view mirror for awhile this will ease. What if it doesn't?

get your T level checked. Really.

T as in testosterone?

My anxiety goes through thr roof when I have bouts of hyper hyper tension.

Which doesn't help matters.

Sounds serious. Talk to a healthcare professional, please.

I would like to do that but in the brave new covid world they are making that difficult. I recently changed doctors and the one I choose really doesn't seem to be hands on for anything. I'm almost 60 years old and I haven't seen a personal doctor in two years. I didn't want to have to do this but perhaps it might be useful for evaluation of my situation to go into detail about what's been going on. In the middle of May my mother suffered a stroke that seven weeks later took her life. I am the only sibling living where this happened. So, I am the personal representative for the estate. Dealing with lawyers and realtors and FHA situations and their bullshit demands have me at a breaking point. Dealing with her house has become a huge problem. One aspect is growing up in that house I have problems realizing I'm not going to have access to that house that I grew up in. But, all the crap the bank of the buyers is putting me through to get this deal done is pushing me to the point of I can't wait until I don't have access to that house anymore. Lately I feel I'm the subject matter of the Blue Oyster Cult song Veteran of the Psychic Wars. This is what I hope in the rear view mirror will make things better. I hope.

Check for other 'in network' and roll the dice. Sounds like you need a new doctor.

I'm with Q, see a pro asap.

I agree with seeking medical help. I am starting to struggle with anxiety, but I can pretty much track when it’s going to hit. I, too started to get more claustrophobic in the last few years- especially on airplanes where in my past, I’ve had no fears whatsoever.

Today I just found out my son’s school is going to full distance learning, so now I won’t even have 2 half day breaks to save my sanity and get anything else done, simply because I’m so worried about what to do with him and how this new world situation is affecting his life. And anywhere I go, he has to come with (no family in town to help with him). Too young to leave in the car, don’t really want to bring him in to places unnecessarily.

Sorry, I digress. You are not alone. Please know that. And talk to a different doc if this one can’t hear you. You might be doing a better job covering up than you think.

I've struggled with it my whole life. There is no quick fix, even meds. The most immediate and helpful without medication or a doctor is positive self-talk.

https://www.calmclinic.com/anx...s/positive-self-talk

If you can get it calmed down a little, exercise is good. Get into a doc ASAP.

People who don't get it won't get it.

You might also consider where and how much time you spend on the internet. Many sites have an almost infinite number of people telling you how bad things are. I gave up reading one well-known rifle site because the doom and gloom was nonstop. Remember you are electronically inviting all of those people into your home, most of whom you might never want to interact with in person.

You need to talk with someone who is a professional, minister, councilor or such. Nothing wrong with this... there are folks out there who can help and sometimes just talking is all it takes.

I've suffered with 'The Black Dog' periodically throughout my life. A couple or three years ago I was diagnosed with PTSD.

Taking to a professional is a must.

There's no shame in asking for help.

I agree with those suggesting you see a doc and have a complete medical exam with blood work but don't think they are going to fix your anxiety with a pep talk.

I'm also a boomer (1947) and discovered that as I got into my mid 60's that things started to bother me that I never used to give a second thought about. Confined spaces for one. Being on an airplane, an MRI, or even going to the dentist would put me into a sweat, so to speak. Your doctor can prescribe a number of things that will relax you during these occasional events that you must deal with.

I have talked with family members and friends about this and several of them knew exactly what I was talking about. Please note that I am talking about occasional, isolated instances. If your anxiety permeates your every day life then that is a different animal altogether.

Bubba Watson has anxiety issues also. He opened up to the press recently about his mental ups and downs and how he is determined to address them. I spoke to him briefly last week and he was very engaging.

quote:

Originally posted by enidpd804:
I've struggled with it my whole life. There is no quick fix, even meds. The most immediate and helpful without medication or a doctor is positive self-talk.

https://www.calmclinic.com/anx...s/positive-self-talk

If you can get it calmed down a little, exercise is good. Get into a doc ASAP.

People who don't get it won't get it.

This man knows what he is talking about. Not totally there yet but it does get better. Doctors can help with meds but you learning how to deal with things will give you the best relief. Be honest with yourself and move forward. The rewards are great.

I had a similar but not as intense situation when my mother passed. I had my brother to help me with the estate but it was better when the home we grew up in was finally sold. See a pro ASAP but it will get better.

quote:

As I get older phobias seem for me to intensify. Acrophobia and claustrophobia are the two main ones. With recent events in my personal life has anxiety rearing its ugly head. Without going into it I've experienced massive change that has been challenging. Today I bought a new car for myself. Good change that most look forward to. The last time I did that was 27 years ago, but the change plus other huge change in my life I can't even enjoy a new vehicle without a sense of anxiety. It seems to be much more intense in the morning. I'm not sure how to attack this problem. I'm a boomer and we're not supposed to have this problem, but I'm not sure I can improve on my own. Hopefully, when the huge change is in the rear view mirror for awhile this will ease. What if it doesn't?

^^^^^^^^^^^
Consult a clinical psychologist for evaluation. Medicare covers their services.

I’ve also had it for a long time and some ptsd added on top a few years ago gave me a total breakdown into panic attacks. Here’s what you should do:
1. Get checked out to make sure there’s no underlying causes. Especially inflammatory stuff like celiac sensitivity.
2. Start the Headspace phone app right away and do it every day without fail. This helped me so much.
3. Get off media and live as much as possible in the here and now.
4. Light to medium exercise. Never extreme.
5. Healthy diet. Important.
6. Limit booze. Cut it out if you can.
7. Realize there is nothing wrong with you and you’ve simply overstimulated your mind and nervous system to the point that it never calms all the way down. This will help you understand your feelings. Feelings which can convince you that there are a whole bunch of other things wrong with you, Which there isn’t.
8. Make it your JOB to bring calm into your daily life whenever possible. This will allow your system to begin healing.
9. Understand healing will take time. Never be frustrated when it returns. Good days and bad days are normal and OK.
10. Oh yeah and sleep well ( if you can) and take naps.

Also for what it’s worth. The medications should be treated with caution. Doctors will hand them out freely but I would suggest avoiding them unless you really need it. Talk therapy and the things i mentioned above can be just as effective without all the baggage the meds come with.

I guess I have had it off and on my whole life but I did not realize what it was.

I can tell when I am really stressed and full of anxiety because I have to use the restroom a lot and the hernia mesh starts to bother me. Plus I get what a call the snakes running through my blood.

It really effects me on new jobs for some reason. Even the most BS ones when I know what I am doing and fully qualified.

I think between the anxiety and low self esteem it makes for a horrendous cocktail.

I have been fighting it lately due to not being able to find a job. Add in the bad weather and being a hypochondriac and I check all the boxes.

It even made me second guess myself into the two MOS choices I was interested in.

The funny thing is that after I convinced myself to attend my MRI appt, I was fine in the tube. The only downside was that they played the worst 70s classic rock channel, and that they had to do it twice because it wasn't reading.

I will second another members statement about reducing internet time. I used to watch the news all the time along with reading various news sites and I realized it was bringing me down. Add in all the cases I was working for the Medical Examiners office and it was 24/7 doom and gloom.