Anxiety or normal?

[nihilistmonkey]

I'm just wondering if I have anxiety or I'm normal?

When in stressfull situations, situations where I feel confronted, I often feel better if I have a "time out". If I don't have the time out, I basically throw an adult tantrum. I feel so overwhelmed, I can't breathe, I can't think of what to say, I just feel like I'm being attacked and I don't know what to do.

This is the only situation where I have any anxiety. I'm not depressed. I don't have any suicidal thoughts. I just don't deal with conflicts.

Anybody have any ideas, thoughts or suggestions about this? I would greatly appreciate any at all.

Thank you,
nihilistmonkey (aka Shannon).

[mama24]

Hey there! i suffer from anxiety and have been diagnosed by my physician. I am not depressed, this is very different. My anxiety mostly comes from situations, for exam-ple, stress, confrontation ect.  I can't breathe, rapid heartbeats, almost a feeling of suffocation. I sometimes feel like things are moving rapidly and I am frozen in time. Sometimes I have panic attacks for no reason. I am not depressed,  orsuicidal and I deal alright socially. I think with anxiety it is just a feeling of being overwhelmed, something you just can't seem to gain control over, like your body overeacts. It is not uncommon to suffer anxiety and it can be treated with meds. You may not even have anxiety and may just be bad with confrontations but if you feel like you can't breathe and the world is closing in on you in this situation you may be having a panic attack.

[Ipro]

It sounds like you're having an anxiety attack when you're under stressful situations. The feeling of needing to get away, not knowing whether to scream at the top of your lungs or run and hide in a quiet, dark room until it's all over and you can breathe normally, having a hard time breathing... all symptoms of Anxiety.

I had the same symptoms, except that I also had chest pains. My doctor felt it best I take medication before I end up having a heart attack.

You're not alone. If it gets to the point where you feel like you can no longer control yourself, I'd suggest you see your doctor. He'd be able to help.

[QT1113]

What you described is often how an attack will begin with me in certain situations. It can intensify until I have to flee from the situation.Once i was xmas shopping for my kids and my husband turned around and i was fleeing down the aisle.....destination.....JUST GET TO THE CAR!  Then i was fine! later i went back in and finished.   

[CammieLea]

Sounds like Anxiety to me.  Your best bet would be to talk to a doctor and see what they think.  Mediciation can make a world of difference and make you feel more like a human again.  I have tried to stay off my meds while nursing my son and believe me I think it's been a bad idea and completely plan to ask my doctor about getting me back on something and soon.  Good luck and God bless, I know it can be hard.

When all else fails though, a time out is a wonderful idea, it can keep a bad situation from becoming worse.

[Tat2dMamaX2]

Yeah, I get that fight or flight feeling... mostly fight :-) during a confrontation I too feel I have that "frozen in time" feeling.  It almost feels like my adrenaline is pumping a wee bit too much, and I get shaky, can't breathe, sweat perfusely-- if the situation escalates sometimes I black out and God know what happens next.  My sense of touch is gone, I almost feel like a machine, operating on auto-pilot.  Days after I start to gain memory, but it's jumbled up and then weeks later that's when I finally piece it together.  Lord help me if I ever suffer PTSD after I get back from Iraq!!  I never considered that I had social problems until it became part of my job.  I constantly have to approach strangers in person, on the phone, or talk in front of small groups, to large high school classes.  I have panic attacks throughout the day and as much as I try to control it, my speech is affected- my thought process is jumbled, I shake, and feel suffocated.  Instead of being enthusiastic, I just want to yell and scream.  After it's all over, it takes a while for me to calm myself down but it's one after the other, and by the time the day is over, I'm exhausted- mentally.  I would make a better drill instructor than a recruiter.

That's just me  though, I think it's hard for most people to deal with confrontations like the ones you've experienced.  I feel like I need a "time out" to be able to analyze the situation long enough to get out what I want to say, because every time I go back after the whole thing is over and cuss at myself thinking "Damnit, I should've said ...this...", or "I should've said ...that..."  I don't know if that's normal either, but I know my mom is the same way... a lot of my relatives on my mom's side of the family have (or had) Bi-Polar, Alcoholism, Manic Depression, Anxiety, or Paranoia... I think that's it.  So some questions to ask yourself is if anyone in your family has any type of mental illness, because there may be a chance that you have it, and it could get worse over the years if you leave it untreated.

[jr_mint]

If you want to be sure....see your doc. Anger and acting out CAN be symptoms of depression, so don't write that off.  The panic attacks can be controlled in a variety of ways from relaxation techniques, bio-feedback to meds. So really....see your doc!!!

[ScrappinGoddess]

Quoting Tat2dMamaX2:

Yeah, I get that fight or flight feeling... mostly fight :-) during a confrontation I too feel I have that "frozen in time" feeling.  It almost feels like my adrenaline is pumping a wee bit too much, and I get shaky, can't breathe, sweat perfusely-- if the situation escalates sometimes I black out and God know what happens next.  My sense of touch is gone, I almost feel like a machine, operating on auto-pilot.  Days after I start to gain memory, but it's jumbled up and then weeks later that's when I finally piece it together.  Lord help me if I ever suffer PTSD after I get back from Iraq!!  I never considered that I had social problems until it became part of my job.  I constantly have to approach strangers in person, on the phone, or talk in front of small groups, to large high school classes.  I have panic attacks throughout the day and as much as I try to control it, my speech is affected- my thought process is jumbled, I shake, and feel suffocated.  Instead of being enthusiastic, I just want to yell and scream.  After it's all over, it takes a while for me to calm myself down but it's one after the other, and by the time the day is over, I'm exhausted- mentally.  I would make a better drill instructor than a recruiter.

That's just me  though, I think it's hard for most people to deal with confrontations like the ones you've experienced.  I feel like I need a "time out" to be able to analyze the situation long enough to get out what I want to say, because every time I go back after the whole thing is over and cuss at myself thinking "Damnit, I should've said ...this...", or "I should've said ...that..."  I don't know if that's normal either, but I know my mom is the same way... a lot of my relatives on my mom's side of the family have (or had) Bi-Polar, Alcoholism, Manic Depression, Anxiety, or Paranoia... I think that's it.  So some questions to ask yourself is if anyone in your family has any type of mental illness, because there may be a chance that you have it, and it could get worse over the years if you leave it untreated.

You are in the military? My son just went to boot camp and had an anxiety attack there. They sent him home for it, well actually they dug into his files and saw he had previously been disgnosed with ADHD and then Bipolar but he has been off meds for years. You would think they would toss him out for the Bipolar, even though I don't think he has it, but they threw him out for ADHD of all things!

~Bobbi~

[FourAnchorsnMe]

I may be the only one, but what you describe sounds very normal to me.
We are wired with a fight or flight instict and when being confronted that instinct really kicks in with many people.

Before I began to suffer with anxiety and started taking meds, I was the same way. Now, I tend to be more confrontational myself only because I have meds that keep me completely calm through it all......though I'd guess if it was someone coming at me it still may cause the same reaction as you have if I was not 'ready' for it.

Some anxiety, anger, and such, are perfectly normal human emotions. It's when it takes over is when you need and should be concerned.

[mommy921]

Sounds like anxiety.. but i am not a DR so I cannot tell you for sure.. I suffer from panic disorder very badly... And thats how I get..  but worse!  Very hard to describe, those of you who suffer from the same will understand what I feel.. But I would tell your doctor if I were you...Just to be sure... Anxiety can be very scary so just try not to get overwhelmed and nervous when it hits or it will just get way worse... Good luck!

[FourAnchorsnMe]

I just thought of a couple questions if you're still reading...

Do you tend to be a more insecure feeling person and/or easily intimidated by other people?

I just keep thinking if you have no other symptoms other what seems to be some normal anxiety in certain situations, that you can actually learn different methods of dealing with these situations so that when having higher levels of  stress, you will be prepared and know how to handle the stress without loosing control so to speak.

Either way, I hope things turn out the best for you!