Coping with anxiety

[Always *]

I have really bad anxiety issues. I do not believe it is "clinical", I do not have a disorder. I know exactly what causes my anxiety.

But at times like this it impedes my ability to feel good. For the last 2-3 days I have woken up feeling like shit. Yesterday I broke down cause I've been trying to sell stuff online and I wasted time that I didn't have to wait for this guy who didn't showed up. I'm so overwhelmed with everything that is going on that this incident was the last straw. I got to campus and ended up being half an hour late for a meeting with the other execs because I felt so horrible i needed a while to get it together and feel calm enough to walk into the room.

I literally have no one to talk to here. My best friend and my parents like over 1000 miles away. I have no good friends here who I can talk to, no family, no boyfriend. I feel isolated a lot and I don' think that helps when I am feeling overwhelmed with all of my responsibilities.

There have been many times where I have wanted to get anxiety medications so that I don't have to feel so horrible when I can't control my stress levels. I don't think anyone would blame for not wanting to wake up feeling like shit or to not want to walk around feeling like shit or to not be forced to not do things because my anxiety is so bad that I need to step away and NOT do my work since I'm to stressed out to even keep looking at it. I know it's probably my fault. I want everything to be perfect. And I think I should be able to deal with it myself and don't want my emotions to be dulled by a stupid pill... But I dunno...

[PSY]

I had a friend who DOES suffer from "clinical" anxiety (Generalized Anxiety Disorder). He has been prescribed various anxiolytics and antidepressants over the course of time, and frankly, they haven't done him a whole lot of good. Why? Because medication doesn't address the thoughts and behaviors he experiences on a daily basis. Pills can't change how he responds to every day situations - they can only change the chemical balance in his body. In order to maximize a pill's effectiveness, a person needs to seriously consider seeking therapy/counseling in addition to taking medication. In fact, there have been many cases where people have been able to get off medication altogether, because learning how to think and behave differently is sufficient for learning how to effectively cope with feelings of anxiety.

I'm truly sorry for how difficult things have been for you lately. You DON'T have to deal with all of these things on your own. What would you say if I approached you and said, "I need to be perfect, it's my fault, I need to deal with this on my own," etc.? You would tell me those statements aren't true, and you would encourage me to seek help! So why should there be a double-standard for you? The answer: there shouldn't be. There's absolutely no shame in seeking help - not just a "quick fix" that drug manufacturers may promise, but a lasting change that can have a positive impact on your life in many ways, not just in treating symptoms of anxiety.