Hi guys, how’s it going? I’m super new here, but I really need some help atm. My anxiety is being an absolute pain, and I was wondering if anyone has any coping mechanisms they could suggest for me?

Some background on my anxiety:

aight. So it started when I was in year 5, and 6 years later ITS BACK. My anxiety causes me to feel constantly nauseous, and bad unable to eat, or even drink with me feeling I’m going to throw up. Anyone have any advice on how I can make myself eat? When I first got my anxiety, my mums says I was really underweight, and she could feel my spine when she rubbed my back. I really really don’t wanna go back to that again.

Im honestly scared. 🙂

Dear Cat Mum~

Welcome here to the Forum, it is a friendly place and I'm sure you will find everyone helpful and understanding. A good move.

You sound as if you had a tough time in year 5 and also were underweight then. Do you think the weight and the anxiety were linked? For many people they are.

Can you remember what happened that made the anxiety come on then go away?

Now, and I'm guessing you are in your mid to late teens, you have been feeling anxious bad, nauseous and unable to eat -which is itself a worry - again. Yes I can understand it being a scary situation. I'd be very scared too, there is nothing worse than being carried along without any control.

If you do not mind me asking has there been anything to upset or worry you recently?

There are things to do, and they can help a great deal. First though may I ask how you get on with your mum? Is she understanding, someone you can talk to?

If she is I'd suggest setting out exactly how you feel to her -and drawing the comparison with 6 years ago. If your mum is not the right person can you think of anyone else in your family or at school, a teacher or councilor perhaps?

Talking to someone else can give you two things, a person to share your worries with - which can be a real comfort - and at the same time someone to organize for you to have proper medical support.

Anxiety does respond to treatment, and the earlier you start the better. I made the mistake of hanging on for far too long, and that not only made me keep getting worse, but harder to treat too. I'd strongly suggest you take action right now

I may be mistaken, you may already be under medical care. Obviously in that case the treatment is not working and you need to let the doctor know quite quickly. Not eating is harmful (as I'm sure you know)

If you feel you are absolutely stuck with no one to go to then please ring the Kids Help Line (1800 55 1800) who will be familiar with your conditon and be able to really help. Thy are professional but sensitive and caring - you can contact them more than once.

If talking on the phone seem too hard they have web-chat 24/7

https://kidshelpline.com.au/get-help/webchat-counselling/

(The page has the actual chat link at the bottom.) Sometimes they are a bit slow as they are popular.

I am concerned about you and would really like to hear from you again

Croix

Hey, what you've said is super relatable. In fact, just half an hour ago when I got out of bed I was experiencing quite a bad wave of anxiety and didn't want to eat breakfast. It's always tough, feeling like you're too sick to eat but also knowing that you need the energy to get through the day.

In this situation, I think it's really important to sit down and pinpoint, "what exactly is causing me to feel my anxiety coming on at this exact moment in time?" I know that everyone is different, but maybe this strategy can help you. When I ask myself this question, the answer is often, "I feel like I'm not in control, I don't have much structure to my day and I need something to help me get into a good routine."

Personally, what's helped me is trying my best to do a little bit of meal planning. It helps calm my anxiety by allowing me to be organised and prepared for the day so that I have one less thing to be thinking about. Every morning I eat overnight oats that I prepared the day before - just plain rolled oats, milk and chia seeds which has been in the fridge overnight. In the morning I add some sliced almonds, blueberries, strawberries and pepita seeds. I literally eat this every day because I know that otherwise I get stressed when I have to choose what I'm going to eat for breakfast in the morning. In fact, I'm eating it right now as I write this post.

Remember, it's important to acknowledge and celebrate when you have had the strength to eat something, even when you didn't feel like it. Always say to yourself that you're proud that you tried to eat something, even if you couldn't finish it.

It's true that we have the tendency to beat ourselves up about not having the strength to eat something. In saying that, we rarely allow ourselves to feel accomplished when we fight that feeling and doing something good for our bodies. Doesn't sound very fair, does it?

Remember that not everyone is perfect, what you're feeling now is not who you are, it's just a product of your mental illness and things will get better. Anxiety is a horrible feeling and it impacts us on a daily basis, but that means we can also practise fighting it on a daily basis too. Hopefully this helped a little bit