Hey Pandas, What Does Anxiety Feel Like?

Hi! idk if I have anxiety or not, but I suspect I do to some extent. I think I have the stereotypical type, like being scared to present and overthinking stuff, but I’m also a really talky person, so I’m not sure as I haven’t really ever been educated about this. Pandas with anxiety and panic attacks, what does it feel like (if u wanna share)?

Kinda unrelated but I have this thing where sometimes I reallly wanna say something but I can’t. Like my brain half-blanks and my mouth half-can’t say it, if that makes sense at all. I feel lowk stupid saying that like I’m trying to get attention but I think maybe it’s from the Oldest Sister as Third Parent and having some sort of reaction (like idk heightened anxietyish) to living in china during Covid lockdowns.

Sorry if this doesn’t really make sense lol. Have a lovely day

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Hi! Anxiety typically feels like a sick feeling in your stomach when you think about what’s scaring you, and when you are feeling anxious, everything will seem much more scary and important than it should. Hope that helps. I also want to let you know, just because you’ve felt anxious doesn’t mean you have an anxiety disorder. Anxiety is just an extension of fear, a leftover from when humans had to fight for their lives 24/7. It’s perfectly ok to feel anxious from time to time, and it doesn’t mean anything is wrong with you. Work on thinking things through logically and finding things that calm you down, and it should improve. I’d recommend you try to stop worrying about whether you have an anxiety disorder or not, as that only makes it worse in my experience. Hope that helps!

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Crazy Cookie

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Crazy Cookie (Submission author) 4 months ago

Also, I’d guess the blanking out thing is a combination of lack of sleep (it’s a teenager thing) and an anxiety reaction.

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As for an anxiety attack: Your pulse races, you're sick to your stomach, your limbs turn cold and weak. This is from personal experience.

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MedusaWasBeautiful

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It's pacing. Anxiety and panic attacks for me are pacing around with a silent scream, but not screaming, it's holding an apple core a whole meeting because if you get up what if someone thinks your wrong? It's wearing the same outfit every day because what if something different looks weird?

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Mochi

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me myself and i (she/her) 4 months ago

it kinda feels like that for me too

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anxiety is a normal human emotion, so yeah, you probably have it. It can feel like a lot of different things, so don't freak out. It gets easier to handle when you talk with other people (friends) about it, cuz its not very special or uncommon, so a lot of people can relate. There isnt anything wrong with you.

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Faye Drewit

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When it's bad I feel very claustrophobic...it feels like I'm not getting enough air or I'm trapped in a small space. My brain then clicks on my "fight or flight" response and I tend to get very emotional or angry if I can't resolve the situation quickly.

When it's not bad it usually just feels like brain-fog and I can't think straight. If I leave it, it will get worse until I start feeling claustrophobic.

It tends to happen more if I've had a long day, or I haven't eaten enough, or something.
When I feel anxiety coming on I usually take a little break from whatever is causing it, get some sunshine, drink some water, have a little (non-sugar) snack and pet a cat. Works most of the time.

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Lil Miss Hobbit

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That sinking feeling when you miss the last step on the stairs... but all the time!

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Klepkip

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Occam's Chainsaw 4 months ago

This is so bizarrely accurate.

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Normal anxiety for me is constant pressure in my head, like my head is compressing. Bad anxiety for me is weak knees, light headed, butterflies in my stomach.

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Wubedhheij

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Red PANda (she/they) 4 months ago

Omg the head pressure, I used to think I had a brain tumor or smthn because I’m a hypochondriac as well 😓

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It’s different for everyone. To me, it feels like a pang in my chest that won’t go away. Sometimes it feels like my heart is racing.
This I think is related to my OCD, but I can’t stop thinking about the thing I’m worried about. Even if I try to rationalize why I shouldn’t be worried, it doesn’t change anything. And if I solve one problem, my anxiety grasps another topic to worry about.
During panic attacks, I become hypervigilant, my visual snow can get worse, I can start shaking or trembling, and I can have trouble swallowing. I get this rush of adrenaline and panic that can sometimes come back in like waves.

As for your trouble speaking, id really recommend seeing a specialist, like a neurologist. It sounds like it could be like connnection issues between your mouth and your brain.
If it seems more anxiety/panic related, look up selective mutism. See if that sounds like what you have. I’ve heard people experience it in different ways.
Think about when it started. If it started in a time of lots of anxiety, it could be selective mutism, but COVID also can cause brain damage, so take that into account if you have had COVID before.
But anyways talk to a psychologist or neurologist about it. I’m a psychology and biology nerd, but I’m not a professional.

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Red PANda (she/they/he/ze)

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