For the past year, every evening I felt worried in general, scared out of my life and my stomach did flips. I felt sad for no reason at all, just at night.
I thought it might be anxiety or depression, but it would not last through the whole day. And it didn't matter what I was doing in the evening. Watching television sort of helped because it numbed my brain, and I felt a little better after going out for a walk. But after the show or walk, I'd feel like crap again.
Recently I've been starting to feel like this in the mornings, also. Even though I'm set at my summer job, I never want to go there and I feel extremely worried. My stomach really hurts and I feel shaky. This is worse in the mornings and evenings and sometimes I feel this way throughout the day, so I don't know if it's getting worse.
But still, it's only at key points in the day. It's not nice, but since I'm interested in psychology, I find it interesting and I just want to know what it's all about. Thank you.
Experiencing anxiety is a good thing, when it's appropriate. I discuss being hyper-alert, or Generalized Anxiety Disorder at length in my book, 'Better Than Normal: How What Makes You Different Can Make You Exceptional' (Random House). I also talk about how to make anxiety work for you. You could have a real problem to address, or it could be something minor that just needs a little lifestyle tweaking to correct.
The easiest and best thing to do, Katie, is to look at your life and how you're living it. Do you get enough sleep? Are you eating correctly? Do you drink caffeine in excess? How about enough exercise?
Living with poor habits can wreak havoc on your mood and overall health. Because of that simple but huge fact, you need to read How Can I Snap Out Of Depression? and start implementing my nine suggestions into your own life. You cannot go through life without stress, but you can reduce stress. Identify stressors and get rid of them. Determine what is anxiety that has a true cause versus what you have no control over.
Learn diaphragmatic breathing, which can calm the nerves and help you relax. Breathing shallow breaths can contribute to anxiety as well as fatigue. Also, Katie, set your alarm five minutes earlier and make it a habit of starting your day with positive thoughts. Five minutes every morning of thinking about all the good in your life can work wonders. The more positive your thoughts, the better.
If, after you've made these positive changes within your life you still feel anxious and/or depressed, then by all means seek out professional help for a diagnosis. Good luck.
