When the Walls of Anxiety Are Closing In, How Do You Cope?

I had anxiety and depression for 30 years and the way I’ve controlled it was to firstly like myself which I never realised I needed, the hardest part was to forgive and forget what I thought were bad things about me from my past. When really I needed to realise that any faults, stuff ups etc are not a real problems to worry about and at the end of the day they are one thing and one thing only to be thought of as: LIFE LESSONS because if you don’t do stupid things you never learn.
No one is perfect so stop trying to be, another one is if you hold anger against your parents, other family members, friends etc for a past issue that happened your need to regardless of what it is, you need to forgive them for it and in saying that you don’t go looking for an apology from them because you might not get it you forgive them within yourself because that’s the result you need.
You need to learn to laugh at yourself with any fault you believe you have because once again at the end of the day they are worthless things to hold over yourself.
Picture yourself as a old person not far from your time in this life/world to live and truly think about this
- have you wasted the one life we get worrying about pointless things that happened and enjoy this experience of life.
Go through you individual anxiety fueled mental battles and forgive yourself or others and forget about that problem forever because they really only are: LIFE LESSONS to remind yourself to not do that again.
And got rid of all those problems, i no longer have what I called my Anxiety Alarm Clock every time my head hit my pillow to go to sleep at night.
I also reminded myself that anxiety and depression owned half my life and I WAS GOING TO OWN THE NEXT HALF.
If you start to feel a panic attack coming and this took time to get it to work, slow your breathing right down and same amount of time breathing in then out keeping the same pace, if you drift off back into worthless thoughts go back to breathing slowly in and out, it about changing your triggers.

It’s crazy I am reading peoples comments, who are having similar problems. I’m a guy and I don’t like to share my problem. But seeing as none of you know me.. my anxiety and depression comes and goes like the wind. Sometimes it hits me hard sometimes it’s mild. I’m not afraid of death for me… but I am afraid of death of my loved ones. That’s one of my many tiggers. I get very anxious around people I don’t know specially when I am in a crowded place with people I don’t know. The room could be realistically big and have myself and 10 strangers in, but to me the room will get smaller and smaller where I feel these strangers are in my personal space but could actually be 10 meters away. It gets me nervous I tremble. Another one is night time I don’t like being outside at night time I get very nervous. But this also comes and goes. It depends who I am with outside at night. Now let’s use a empty pub or a club at night and strangers start to walk in. That’s it I am totally gone. Heads fell off and I am struggling to breathe. I need to find the exit and lock myself in my safe place which is my home. Its crazy I’m not afraid of the dark in my home. I’m just afraid out of my comfort zone.. I don’t know if anyone has this problem but when I am having anxiety attacks or depression attacks I don’t like loud noises. People talking, loud bangs. I seem to get very jumpy. And I just want to yell “SHUT THE F Uppppp” any thanks for listening. Stay safe.

Hi Greg,
Gosh! Well I can relate to everything on your list of points - exactly how I feel. My eyes widened as I read down the list. Hope you find a way to get past it - very brave of you to be so open too :).

Thanks for sharing reading this made me feel like I’m not so crazy and the only one feeling how I do .

This feeling i Can relate My Wife Is pregnant and i dont Have a Job 'The Walls are closing in On Me' AT 1St You feel like d room Is spinning then it gets Hot and Hard To breath, This happends when i am in Company with other people. I feel good when i am alone. Which Is The reason Why i Cant Keep friends This started in High school. Am i a freak Or just a failure? U Not alone...

Hi I am Chelsea and I am 25 years old and I have been having this issues I have been having since last year and I was wondering what it is from the time I get up in the morning til the time I go to sleep I got when I feel like the walls are closing in. And I get hot and lightheaded . Is it panic attacks or something else ? Can you give your help. Thanks

Hi Greg, I hope you are feeling better. Thankyou for being brave enough to be so honest about what a tough time you have been having. You sound like you are one of the Good Guys, there are plenty of 'shits' in the world and we need the Good Guys. Have you tried Oatstraw from the Herbalist? It has been used for hundreds of years to treat anxiety and depression. You put some in a cup with hot water and strain it and drink it, it is worth a try.
Take care, good luck x

I think places like this on the web help me alot. Here I can say how I really feel. Not what I think others as well as myself want me to feel. "Everything is ok. Why are you not ok?" What did we ever do without computers? People like you sharing takes some of the worry off my sholders. The feeling of being alone and being "wrong" somehow is gone. The feeling that I am to different to be understood. And a few more. Thank you. This kind of place and my dogs keep me going when I feel lost. Again thank you!

I am feeling alot of the same things (except the breakup thing). I feel a bad sense of dread, heart racing, hard to breathe, feeling alone and facing thoughts of death. Not committing suicide, but of dying early of some disease (my parents died as 46 and 50 years old). I don't want to go through the pleasantries of being with family and friends who do not understand what I am going through. Thus, I isolate except for going out for a coffee or going to play trivia once a week(the only thing that takes my mind off of what I am feeling).It is so comforting to know that I am not alone with these feelings. I know that while I can't control or "fix" my reaction, I say to myself, "Take slow deep breathes and think of something or somewhere" that calms me for the moment.

Hello Greg,
You aren't a lone....I suffer panic attacks and depression and most people have no idea. I keep the world fooled. I posted on the healthy place website what helps me is prayer, not taking deep breathes and yes staying clear of alcohol and I am afraid to take my anti anxiety meds because I fear it will cause me to have a heart attack which causes me more anxiety .... It is difficult for my husband to understand though he is trying....today is a good day for me so far...I'm too looking for another job...I quit a very stressful job looking for something fun and less stress...which old job was causing and I missed so much time from panic attacks I figured I would be fired anyway...I know God has got my back and I have a lot of faith and thus has been getting me through...I still can't control the attacks but know what I need to do to stay aware of the triggers ...I will pray for you today.....

Love this blog post, bless you. Love your honesty. Feeling soo similar for the same reasons. I guess we just hang on.

I'm going through something similar. Painfully similar. Is it possible Google knows what I'm going through? This blog was the first link Google Plus led me to upon clicking on the depression hash tag. I've made bad impulsive decisions in my current state. I have already alienated myself from some of my only friends. I'm trying to keep it together and not make things worse for myself and anyone in my sphere. Unfortunately, I have not been taking good care of my health and I have developed a debilitating drug addiction I'm finding very difficult to control. Before finding you, I got the sense that nobody understood what I'm feeling and going through. Listening to you I got the impression that I'm not alone in knowing what this experience feels like. People have been asking me how am I doing? My answer to them is, "I'm still alive". Pull through.

Hope you're feeling better. And you're right. You're not the only one having a tough week.

Thanks for sharing Greg especially when things are difficult. I know that must not be easy for you. Sometimes it feels like people that post blogs or articles seem to have it all together. It makes me recognize that we all have to deal with the realities of our illnesses at times. I hope you feel better soon and can put some of those little demons to rest for good.

Ps. *gentle hug and a soft blanket*

not only am I holding space with you ... But I feel like crap too. Just reading ... It's nice to know I am not alone.