Teens with anxiety disorders

[Kaylin]

Hello!

I was wondering if anyone here is a fellow teenager with an anxiety disorder. If you are a teenager with an anxiety disorder, what do you find to be the most challenging about it? For example, with me personally it's getting friends to understand that it is an actual problem, not just something I made up or I'm overexaggerating, and that I can't just 'turn it off'. Do you think a teenager with an anxiety disorder faces some different challenges than adults? If so, what?

 

[Jesus4Life777]

Hello!

I was wondering if anyone here is a fellow teenager with an anxiety disorder. If you are a teenager with an anxiety disorder, what do you find to be the most challenging about it? For example, with me personally it's getting friends to understand that it is an actual problem, not just something I made up or I'm overexaggerating, and that I can't just 'turn it off'. Do you think a teenager with an anxiety disorder faces some different challenges than adults? If so, what?

I hate that as well. I'm not a teen but I can contest to people/friends who have really ticked me off in the past because they think your problem is something so simple and that going to a psychiatrist/therapist is something you do just because you need a grownup to listen to you.

Some friends might never understand, and sometimes it's hard to explain when they are such goons about it. It's also hard to explain mental illnesses in general, especially when you don't have the best speech communication skills.

I still get angry about one guy who got to me by saying something about how fake anxiety disorders are and how people blow normal stress/anxiety out of proportion. That was perhaps the meanest thing anyone ever said to me because it hurt and I had nothing to say to defend myself at the time.

Going back I wish I had set him straight somehow. But what can you do now? Forget about it.

 

[Kaylin]

I'm sorry that the other guy wasn't understanding, but you're right - what can you do but forget about it?

I'm working on a lot of my friends right now, trying to get them to understand. I'm lucky in that my parents really understand.

About what that guy said about people blowing normal stress/anxiety out of proportion? Well, that's kind of true, at least for me, but that doesn't mean I can just stop it. And it doesn't mean that it's fake - it's very real fear and stress and anxiety that I definitely feel and that definitely affects my everyday life.

 

[Kaylin]

Edited by recovery staff

I'm asking about others who have the same problems with me because I feel alone. Everyone feels alone at times, but one of the things I've noticed is that the more I feel alone with my problems, the more likely I am to believe that it's not really a problem, it's just me being stupid and blowing things out of proportion and that it's all my fault and if I would just stop being such an idiot, and I must be going crazy if I actually can't deal with my problems - after all, doesn't everyone else manage to deal with them? And so on and so forth - that's the way my thinking runs when I feel alone. When I can talk to other people who have the same problems, I feel like I'm not alone, and I'm not going crazy, and I do actually have a problem. If I have a problem, then it stands to reason that it can be helped.

Thank you for the link to the other website, it looks interesting. Have you had personal experience with them and anxiety disorders? Actually, first of all, do you have an anxiety disorder, and if so, has it been succesfully treated through them (obviously it won't disappear fully, but has The Universal Church of the Children of God been able to help you reduce anxiety and cope with it when you are stressed?)? How good are they?

And most importantly, why do you say that my problem is a spiritual one? How do you know?

 

[BlessEwe]

Hello!

I was wondering if anyone here is a fellow teenager with an anxiety disorder. If you are a teenager with an anxiety disorder, what do you find to be the most challenging about it? For example, with me personally it's getting friends to understand that it is an actual problem, not just something I made up or I'm overexaggerating, and that I can't just 'turn it off'. Do you think a teenager with an anxiety disorder faces some different challenges than adults? If so, what?

Hello Kaylin

Many people have anxiety ( especially a teen with so much on your plate to deal with, plus hormones coming in rapidly) so no you are not alone . I for one dealt with anxiety while I was losing my hormones and there are many wonderful tools to help you with
Have you talked at all with your parents about this?
Perhaps seeing a doctor to make sure it is not physical and
there is great help out their to teach you how to work through the anxiety.
My sister had some problems and was told she was dealing with spiritual warfare.. It was so damaging to her, so only listen to a professional who has been trained or have been through it themselves, and may have some tools for you.
Just remember this is a normal thing to have people not understand and tell you all kinds of stuff, this is why it is good to talk to your parents and see a medical doctor.

 

[Kaylin]

Hello Kaylin

Many people have anxiety ( especially a teen with so much on your plate to deal with, plus hormones coming in rapidly) so no you are not alone . I for one dealt with anxiety while I was losing my hormones and there are many wonderful tools to help you with
Have you talked at all with your parents about this?
Perhaps seeing a doctor to make sure it is not physical and
there is great help out their to teach you how to work through the anxiety.
My sister had some problems and was told she was dealing with spiritual warfare.. It was so damaging to her, so only listen to a professional who has been trained or have been through it themselves, and may have some tools for you.
Just remember this is a normal thing to have people not understand and tell you all kinds of stuff, this is why it is good to talk to your parents and see a medical doctor.

Thanks for the advice! I have talked with my parents about this, and I'm kind of seeing a counselor (licensed in cognitive behavior therapy) about it - I had been going every week, and now I'm going whenever something major happens and I need extra help. Mostly, though, I can deal - I still feel the stress, but I'm better at coping with it. Although sometimes that fails miserably...

Again, thanks for the advice and reminding me that a) I'm not alone, and b) it's normal for people not to understand. That's so hard to remember at times.

 

[broken_one]

Hello!

I was wondering if anyone here is a fellow teenager with an anxiety disorder. If you are a teenager with an anxiety disorder, what do you find to be the most challenging about it? For example, with me personally it's getting friends to understand that it is an actual problem, not just something I made up or I'm overexaggerating, and that I can't just 'turn it off'. Do you think a teenager with an anxiety disorder faces some different challenges than adults? If so, what?

Hey!

I just saw your post...I'm a teenager (for a few more weeks ) who has battled through Panic Attacks, but still has Social Anxiety mixed with a bit of BDD (Body Dismorphic Disorder). It's pretty tough, because I like talking and interacting with people, too.

I simply can't talk to women. Like 100%, if you're an attractive woman you have a next-to-no chance of me ever talking to you. (yeah. ) I also find myself avoiding talking to people about random things, like going to the cleaners to pick up my suit or whatever. But I've been seeing a counselor to do some Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for the past couple years, and that has really helped.

What I do with my friends is have boundaries. There are few things that I won't do, but whenever people say I'm "chickening out", I just take it. If they're real friends, they will understand or just let it go.

So yeah.....you are not alone

 

[Mrs. Luther073082]

Well, I was a teenager with an anxiety disorder once. It effected every aspect of my life (family, friends, school, work, health, etc). I didn't know what it was at the time, either, and no one else did, either. I guess there wasn't as much information out there about anxiety at the time as there is now. Anyway, it is good that you know what the problem is and it appears that you are getting help for it. Don't get too worried about setbacks, they happen. Just keep on going.