I can add an introduction. I haven't found anything all that helpful when I'm having anxiety attacks. I sit on my phone and look at different sites or distract myself with apps. There isn't a whole lot I've found helpful. Tried working on it in therapy but it wasn't all that helpful either.
Edit: I could talk a bit about some of the suggestions therapists have made to deal with my anxiety such as exercise and breathing exercises. I can say that they helped slightly and might be worth checking out because some people have had better results. That might add an extra few sentences or even a paragraph.
I'll try and get to this this weekend.
Here is the edited version:
My personal experience with anxiety
Anxiety is something I have dealt with for many years. I was officially diagnosed with it when I was seventeen and in a psychiatric hospital. I always knew what anxiety was because my dad suffers from it as well. So, the attacks I would have were familiar to me but it was difficult experiencing it myself. I have been prescribed two different medications to deal with it but they aren't always helpful. My anxiety ranges from panic attacks to a feeling of dread in the pit of my stomach. The common denominator for all my anxiety is excessive worry. It starts with a small thought and then progresses from there. I start making up worst case scenarios for that one thought that I have had and then it gets harder to concentrate on anything other than the negative thoughts. Eventually I am left with a feeling of complete dread. If the worrying doesn’t stop it can manifest into panic attacks in which I can’t breathe and I feel sick to my stomach.
The thing about anxiety, at least for me, is that it gets so bad and so unbearable that sometimes I feel like it would be better if I were dead. These thoughts only increase my anxiety because then I start thinking about how bad my mental health is and I start worrying about if I will ever be able to maintain employment. The thoughts end up repeating themselves over and over again.
(Jenna: I feel like this should be expanded but I am unsure how to do so)
The panic attacks that result make it hard to even see straight. Sometimes I have to take a step back and breath and other times all I can do is wait it out. For me, my anxiety is pretty severe and I deal with it pretty much every day of the week and it can last a few hours or the entire day. The panic attacks make me feel like my heart is going to pop out of its chest and sometimes I get so panic stricken that I throw up. I probably have a panic attack at least once a week and it’s usually more than that. I had a panic attack yesterday and was extremely uncomfortable. My heart was beating really fast, my mind was racing with nothing but worst case scenarios, I had a feeling of complete dread and I was sick to my stomach. When I get these panic attacks it feels as though my whole entire life is going to fall apart.
I have found some things that have helped a tiny bit with my panic attacks such as going for a brisk, thirty minute walk, around my neighborhood. A therapist I was seeing suggested this and it does help from time to time but it is not something that works every time. I suppose walking at a brisk pace gets your blood flowing and I get to a place where I can only focus on taking my steps which helps the anxiety subside because I don't have time to think all my negative and worried thoughts. Another thing that has helped me a tad bit with my panic attacks is playing with apps on my phone. I think the reason this helps is I get consumed in the game and I don't have time to focus on my negative thoughts.
These things are supposed to help with anxiety but so far I haven’t found them to be exceptionally helpful but I also have talked to people that have found walking helpful. For me I have to rely on medication and the medication doesn’t always work all that well. Reading is a tool that helps as long as I am not having a full blown panic attack. By the time the panic attack comes on it’s too late and I am unable to concentrate on the story. However, if I start reading when the thoughts are only bubbling up it usually calms me down. I believe the reason that reading helps is because I have to concentrate on the story and I don’t have time to think about my worries. I think that something I would suggest to other people who have anxiety is to try and get involved in a hobby of some kind. For some people that hobby is playing games and for me it is reading. If you have something that takes up time and prevents you from thinking the anxious thoughts that you might find that your anxiety subsides a bit.
My life with anxiety has been really difficult. At this point in time I feel like my anxiety is the biggest mental health issue I am dealing with. It has become something that makes me miserable and I admit that it has gotten worse in the past couple of years. I think that relying on medications is something that people should try to avoid but I also know that sometimes medication is the only thing that helps. The biggest thing I can suggest to people that suffer from anxiety is get into therapy and discuss your anxious thoughts. A therapist will break them down for you and help you think in a more rational matter about those thoughts. Also, a therapist can help you find tools to deal with the anxiety.