Hello Kayles. Welcome to DS. Sorry for what brings you here, but glad you are here.

I love the descriptive of ". . .a static ball inside my chest." I often describe my own anxiety charges as a high-voltage power line. Suzanne Vega described hers as swallowing ". . .a secret, burning thread." Whatever your choice of descriptive, is it any great surprise the joy comes complete with dizzy spells?

I don't have any easy answers for you, especially not here in Coronaville, but it helps my own anxiety management to have a safe place to vent, sort and to know I am not alone with ^it^. This very forum is one of the places I come for that. I hope it serves you as well as it has served me.

Welcome aboard. I hope you find stabilizing companionship here while you find your way through.

Welcome to the anxiety board at DS.

You've taken the important first step in writing it out.

Actually, you're doing exercise which helps to reduce anxiety levels fast naturally.

Keep writing, and look for positives in every single task you are doing daily.

Best wishes as you find your better balance.

You will find so many people struggling with the same thing here. You’re definitely not alone at all. There are a couple of things that may offer quick relief from anxiety while you’re trying to get in to see a specialist. One thing that helps me is reading a good work of fiction, and keep reading until your anxious thoughts dissipate and you are engaged in the story. Another things that helps me is to lay off the stimulants like coffee and any meds you may be on that could cause anxiety. Also, like one of the above posters mentioned, journaling can help get things out of your head and onto paper which is very therapeutic. Since you are a cycling instructor, rigorous exercise to the point of exhaustion may help you as well. I wish you wellness and peace in the new year.

Welcome. Between what you've said you've been doing and what everyone else chimed in with I don't know that I have much more to add. So, I'll just say that this has been a good place for me to come since I found it back in the end of summer. I can talk about what's going on in my head and feel like there are people listening who understand and empathize. Hope you are able to find the same.

I also get the sensation of passing out when out in public. I think in addition to general anxiety disorder, I probably also have social anxiety. I want to get over it so bad! I love going out and shopping and once I’m out I want to go back home right away. I try to talk to myself and say I feel fine at home I’m fine here, sometimes it helps sometimes it doesn’t. I wish I had advice, but I’m also working on it too. Good luck you’re not alone.

Thank you all for your reply’s, it really means a lot to me. I’m happy to have found this little group and I think talking things out is healthy and I tend to keep certain things bottled up. I appreciate you all

I have been dealing with what I think is "situational anxiety/depression". It has come on in the last 4-5 months. I have never had anything like this in my life. I'm 57 years old and am on no medication for anything. Does anyone else experience a "foggy brain"? Can't focus or concentrate? By the way, I am going through a detox/cleanse as well as a liver cleanse. I firmly believe that the gut/stomach, if not healthy, can really impact the brain function. I'm also using CBD oil and gummies. Might look to use that as well to help with the anxiety. If you need a good resource to use, let me know. I've had a lot of people who were close to me die in this time period as well as caring for aging parents. I think support groups and talking about it helps tremendously. Be glad to share/talk with whomever. Happy New Year!

Hi kayles- welcome to DS. I'm sorry that you are struggling. You are not alone.

I agree and echo a lot of what Restful said.

It's interesting that you are a cycle instructor, as you are getting plenty of that aerobic excercise to stay healthy, release those endorphins and keep your mind busy. That's not to say that anxiety doesn't affect health instructors. It can affect ANYONE. Arfie always has great descriptions of how inate and normal this function actually is (when accepted.)

I digress. I echo a couple of Restfuls solutions, as I have very recently tried both eliminating caffeine and reading fiction of late, and had decent results. I LOVE to read (don't have much time to), but I was always reading non-fiction, and often times doom-and-gloom economic and political stuff. Changing it up to light fiction for awhile helped me get lost in the "fluff" for a bit. I've kept this going and now carry a "escapism" paperback with me whenever I can.

Also, I would never advocate for people to ditch their beloved coffee, but I did just accomplish quitting coffee for more than 2 days for the first time in my life. I went 18th days and although the first 2 were absolute hell (and next couple sucked too), I DID notice a reduction in anxiety overall. Unfortunately I caved Christmas week, as I looooove coffee. You pick and choose your battles. ;)

Hey, I have a toddler too, and your statement "I feel awful that we cant go out and do things" like...... rang a siren in my head! I go through this....SO...MUCH. In fact, its one of my top 3 anxiety triggers right now and I am currently working with my counselor in catching this quick and squashing the guilt. I so sympathize with you. Its so hard right now and struggling with anxiety and having a toddler can be overwhelming and rack you with guilt. Please add me and reach out if you want to bounce some ideas around.

Lastly, therapists are so overwhelmed and overworked right now. As you can imagine, with Covid-world, there is more demand than supply! Its crazy everywhere. Take it from me, online options are where its going right now. Therapists have long waiting lists. Don't stop trying though!

Hang in there! Hopefully we can be a help here at DS!

Take care!