Prescribed 10mg Propranolol.

First day I took it, the calmness I felt was truly beautiful.

I know it's a beta blockers and has no input on mood, but I truly felt tranquility to the point where my brain was quiet.
No outside noise, no overthinking.

Thought it was a placebo effect, but after taking for three days the feeling remained.

It feels so good I can't wait to take again.

I've been on antideoressants, stimulants for ADHD and nothing has made me as calm as this.

I excelled the first day I took it at work, no nerves just stillness.

Truly done me wonders.

I have an amazing family, I love my career, and I love life in general, but my quality of life is at zero.

I am not suicidal, but the pain I deal with everyday makes me not want to live.

I have had chronic migraines for over 20 years, chronic stomach issues, and of course ocd and health anxiety.

I have tried everything, literally everything. Chiro, massage (I go every 2 weeks), PT, acupuncture, heat, cold, and I get no relief.

I have occipital neuralgia and trigeminal neuralgia. I have RCPD and cannot burp so my bloating and pain is awful. I am afraid to take medications so I only take Tylenol, ibuprofen, and pepcid. I have tried every natural remedy and get no relief.

I have taken xanax a few times and honestly if I could take it all day everyday I would, but I know after 2 days my body wants it and I get rebound anxiety so I don't take it. I have been prescribed Lexapro so many times and refuse to even try it. Migraine meds as well... won't even try them.

I am so hypersensitive to my body. I feel a twinge and I'm focused on it and thinking it's worst case scenario. I am my own worst enemy and I know that. I know that I could try medications that may help me, but I'm also too anxious to do so.

My greatest fear is dying and leaving my kids behind, the world behind, but yet most days I feel at peace because I feel so awful.

I own a business, which I love. I have a great house, cars, take vacations, etc. But when your health sucks, none of that matters!

I just needed to vent in hopes that someone could give me some encouragement, prayer, and that maybe you feel the same way.

I’m jsut sitting here at 33 years old and realizing my whole life has been this. Me suffering on a constant basis, always operating off what ifs and never facts. And I’m genuinly at my end with it. My entire childhood stripped from me, watching the other kids go to the park while I sat inside, never being able to socialize and growing up in constant fear. And at this point I’ve realized my life is half gone and I’ve spent all my time preparing and fearing something that’s going to inevitably happen and instead of enjoying life I’ve spent it trying to make sure I don’t die. Have people actually found recovery? Has anyone’s brain actually been able to find peace? Or is this it? Stoicism doesn’t work, pretending it’s not happening doesn’t work, medication doesn’t work

I honestly don't even know where to start. I've been holding so much inside lately that I feel like I'm slowly falling apart, and I don't know who to talk to anymore. I just need somewhere to let everything out without being judged, dismissed, or told to get over it.

I'm 25, married, unemployed, struggling with my mental and physical health, and trying to figure out what the hell I'm supposed to do with my life. From the outside, maybe some of these things sound manageable individually, but when everything piles up at once, it becomes unbearable.

I've been dealing with anxiety for a long time. I've been on medication, trying to manage my symptoms, trying to understand myself, and trying to become a more stable person. I've had episodes of intense panic, physical symptoms that scared me enough to go to the hospital, and days when even getting through the day feels like an achievement. I also have ongoing problems with my nose that may require another major surgery, and the thought of going through that again is exhausting in itself.

On top of all that, I've been struggling with work. I've changed jobs, tried to find my footing, and tried to prove to myself that I can actually build a stable future. I recently lost my job, and now I'm back at square one, except this time I feel like I have even less energy left to start over.

The worst part is that I already have so little confidence in myself. I forget things, I struggle with my mental health, and I worry about whether I can keep a job, take care of myself, and eventually provide a stable life for my wife and our future family. I am trying to pursue my MBA because I want to improve my prospects. I want to accomplish something. I want to feel like I'm going somewhere instead of constantly falling behind.

But instead of feeling encouraged, I often feel like the people closest to me have already decided that I'm going to fail.

My wife has told me that she doesn't believe in me anymore. She has questioned whether I can keep a job, whether I can take care of myself, whether I can think independently, and whether I'll actually succeed in my studies. She has made me feel as though my current abilities are the best I'll ever have and that nothing I do is going to change that.

She has said that she's tired of me and my problems, that I seem to have a new problem every day, and that sometimes all she asks of me is to exist. She has also expressed fears about having to support me financially if I lose my job and has put pressure on me to prove that I can maintain employment or succeed in my MBA before we have children.

I understand that she's worried about our future. I understand that financial stability matters. I know being married means responsibilities, and I am not pretending that my struggles affect only me.

But there is a difference between being worried about your partner and making them feel like a lost cause.

When you're already terrified that you aren't good enough, hearing those things from your wife doesn't motivate you. It makes you question whether the person who knows you best has already given up on you.

And it's not just about work or money. Things that make me happy, even small things, have been dismissed as childish. I've been made to feel embarrassed about liking things such as gaming, LEGO, and other simple hobbies that give me something to look forward to. At one point, things that used to make me happy started feeling like things I had to justify.

For a long time, I've wanted a gaming PC or a decent laptop. It wasn't just about buying a toy. It was something I had been looking forward to for years, something I could enjoy, something that could give me an escape and help me feel like I had something of my own to work toward. I spent so much time researching computers and imagining what I could do with one.

Now I'm unemployed, and I can't afford any of it. I don't even have a proper screen to use my old PS4. I know there are more important things in life. I know a computer isn't a necessity when you're struggling financially. But it still hurts to watch even the small things you were looking forward to become completely out of reach.

When I tried expressing how upset I was about it, I was essentially told to get over it and get a job. It felt like my sadness meant absolutely nothing because there were supposedly more important problems to worry about.

I don't expect my wife to solve all my problems or buy me everything I want. I just wanted to be allowed to feel disappointed without being made to feel pathetic for it.

Money has become another source of shame. My last paycheck was supposed to help me cover our living expenses, contribute to the household, give my wife her share, and leave me with a little money for myself. I also had money I owed for a car repair. By the time everything was paid for, I was left with almost nothing.

Now I'm unemployed, and I'm struggling to figure out how I'm supposed to get through the coming weeks with barely anything left. I have responsibilities, bills, and financial worries that don't simply disappear because I've lost my job. It's frightening to feel like I have so little room to breathe financially, especially when I already feel emotionally drained.

I don't know how to explain what it feels like to be an adult who wants to enjoy life, support his wife, study, build a career, and occasionally buy something that makes him happy, while barely having enough money to get through the month.

I even cancelled plans with a friend and lied about why because I didn't want to be pitied. I spent time looking at things I couldn't afford, knowing perfectly well that I wasn't going to buy any of them. It sounds ridiculous when I write it down, but sometimes looking is all I have left.

And then there's my marriage.

I love my wife, and that's part of what makes all of this so painful. Her opinion matters to me. I want her to be proud of me. I want her to feel secure with me. I want to become someone she can rely on.

But lately, I feel like I'm constantly being reminded of everything I'm not.

Sometimes it feels as though her problems deserve understanding while mine are treated as inconveniences. I feel like I'm expected to understand her fears, her frustrations, and her decisions, even when they hurt me, while I'm supposed to swallow my own feelings and keep moving.

We've also had conflicts about trust and reassurance. There was a situation where she wanted my live location and photos to reassure herself about whether I was working. I understood that she wanted reassurance, but I felt uncomfortable with what seemed like surveillance. I wanted us to find a middle ground where she could feel secure without me feeling constantly monitored. Instead, the situation escalated until I had a severe panic attack in my car.

I don't want a marriage where either of us has to live in constant fear of the other person's reaction. I want to be able to talk about difficult things without everything becoming another reason to question my character or my future.

There have also been disagreements about other people and boundaries that have left me feeling hurt and frustrated. Sometimes it feels like I'm watching situations unfold that I know could cause more pain, while struggling to explain why they bother me without creating another argument.

And the hardest part is that I don't have an easy place to put all these feelings. I'm already struggling with my own thoughts, and when the person I would normally turn to is also the person I'm hurting over, where am I supposed to go?

I've spent so much time feeling like I have to defend my pain before I'm even allowed to express it.

I have a bachelor's degree. I'm pursuing an MBA. I have goals. I want a career. I want to be financially stable. I want to have children someday when I'm in a position to provide for them. I want to be a good husband.

I'm not sitting around because I don't care about my future. I'm not happy being unemployed. I'm not proud of struggling. I don't enjoy being anxious, forgetting things, or feeling overwhelmed by responsibilities that other people seem to handle more easily.

I'm trying. Even when my efforts don't look impressive to anyone else, I'm trying.

And I'm so tired of feeling like none of it counts because I haven't reached the destination yet.

The truth is that this has started affecting me in ways I don't know how to describe properly. Every couple of nights, I find tears running down my face, sometimes without even intending to cry. I wake up hoping that maybe things will finally get better, only to feel like I'm telling myself the same joke over and over again, except the joke isn't funny anymore.

I feel lonely even though I'm married. I feel like nobody really sees how much I'm hurting. I feel like I'm slowly disappearing while still being expected to function normally.

Lately, I've caught myself not wanting to be alive anymore. I want to be clear that I don't have a plan to hurt myself, and I'm not saying that I'm about to do anything to myself. I'm describing how emotionally exhausted and hopeless I've been feeling. I want the pain to stop, and sometimes I struggle to see how things are going to get better. I'm not saying this for attention or to make anyone feel guilty. I'm saying it because I'm genuinely struggling, and pretending otherwise is becoming exhausting.

I don't want to keep waking up every day feeling this way and wondering whether tomorrow will bring another disappointment, another argument, or another reason to feel like a failure.

I want the pain to stop. I want to feel safe in my own head. I want to have one conversation where I don't have to prove that my feelings are valid. I want someone to listen without immediately comparing my problems to theirs or telling me what I should have done differently.

I want to believe that losing a job doesn't make me worthless. That struggling with mental health doesn't make me a burden. That having hobbies doesn't make me childish. That making mistakes doesn't mean I'm doomed to fail at everything. And that the person I married can see more in me than the problems I'm currently dealing with.

I don't expect my wife to be responsible for my entire happiness, and I know I have things I need to work on. I'm not claiming to be a perfect husband or that she has no struggles of her own.

I'm just a person who feels broken down by life right now, and I wish I didn't have to feel ashamed of admitting that.

I miss being excited about things. I miss having something to look forward to. I miss feeling like my life was actually going somewhere. I miss being able to cry without feeling like I have to hide it, and I miss the feeling of believing that the people I love actually believe in me.

I don't know what happens next. I don't know when I'll find another job, when I'll feel financially secure again, whether my marriage will get better, or whether I'll ever feel like I'm enough.

Right now, I don't need someone to tell me to work harder, stop being sensitive, grow up, or look at the bright side. I already spend so much time criticizing myself that I don't need another person adding to it.

I just needed to say all of this somewhere.

I'm tired. I'm hurt. I'm scared about my future. And I'm desperately lonely.

I wish someone would look at me and see a person who is struggling, rather than a collection of problems that need to be fixed.

I wish someone would tell me that I don't have to have my entire life figured out right now to deserve love, patience, and kindness.

And I wish, for once, that things could stop hurting so much.

Holy I’m so tired of people omg. Bruh I struggle with anxiety so bad and I started using salicylic acid and every time I put it on I get a lump in my throat and I spiraled really bad and I’m just wondering if I’m boutta die cuz I was scared I was having an allergic reaction, half joking half serious. So I was just going on [r/ask](r/ask) a doctor or sum, just confirming. And 40 year old gert, cut, with his dih size in his bio, tells me im mentally ill and I got like 50 downvotes, feels like people are throwing tomates at me 😭✌️bro how am I that much of a nuisance dude. It’s just stuff piling up on top of each other constantly man, that makes me so sensitive. Life’s so exhausting. I just wanna chill and play Minecraft or sum 😔✌️ and then I wanna complain to [r/vent](r/vent) but you can’t complain about Reddit. Yo. Thats a valid vent if you ask me and idek if I can even post this here every community has so many rules. It’s those small things that pile up bro and I just end up spiraling tbh. Why people gotta be mean. Stress makes my anxiety much worse😢

I’m very clearly not everyone’s cup of tea😅

I feel completely overwhelmed, like I hear too many things that are potentially scary on social media and when I look closer at what's going on in the world I realize how fragile the system we live in is and I cant help but think its all gonna come crashing down soon.

Long time lurker, first time poster here 👋

Me and my partner (together 10 years) recently went on our first abroad holiday together as a couple (we’ve been abroad with our families before) It’s taken us a while as I feel a LOT of anxiety around travelling - Like a lot of people here, I feel building anxiety in the lead up for the trip, but once I’m there, the anxiety doesn’t go away completely but subsides enough for me to generally enjoy most of the holiday. I’ve had bad luck with holidays in the past (being very poorly abroad, breaking a bone etc…)

Our trip was mostly really nice, except for the last day when our 1 hour direct flight (we chose our holiday destination because of the short flight) was cancelled and we ended up having to get 4 planes and transfer 3 times just to get home. Turning our 1 hour flight into 17 hours to get home. It was awful and I spent the entire 17 hours feeling like I was on the verge of a heart attack.

We got back this morning, and today I just can’t stop crying. I’m worried that any semblance of wanting to go on holiday again has just been crushed and I don’t know how I’ll cope with anxiety flying going forward.

I don’t want to rule out going abroad ever again, but I’m seriously feeling like the universe is trying to tell me I’m just not meant to travel.

For those of who feel intense anxiety around travelling, my questions are:
1. How do you cope with it and go abroad?
2. OR how have you decided if for you, going abroad just isn’t worth it?

My partner can’t wait to go abroad again and I just feel so much fear and can’t imagine wanting to do it (I hope my mind will change on this in a few months)

All advice appreciated x

I recently started lexapro in May of this year I started barely weighting 120lb. I’ve always been a super skinny person with a fast metabolism. 120 already was already the most of gained in my entire life because I started working an office job in August of 2024. Now I’m 140ish pounds and I cannot tell if I had a rapid gain because of the lexapro? I haven’t changed my eating habits at all or activity. Has anyone else had a massive weight gain difference since starting lexapro? I started noticing the weight gain in August since none of my jeans fit me anymore. I also have a history of ED in the past so weight gain has been a huge anxiety factor of mine I don’t want to get off the lexapro because my life is so much better mentally since starting it. It’s helped my relationship with my family, friends, and boyfriend since starting it. So don’t let this weight gain scare you because I honestly rather this weight gain than feel insane 24/7

Hello everyone,

It's my first time posting here. Around one year ago, my therapist diagnosed me with an anxiety disorder. I am particularly afraid of dying someday; it's a constant thought in my mind that comes up every time I'm calming down. My symptoms are: discomfort in my chest, an increased heart rate, "dizziness" (I compare it to the shock of realizing you forgot your keys, multiplied by ten), and a general sense of fear paired with mood swings.

​The problem is that it's very difficult for me to talk about the disorder with my partner, or even my therapist. I always just want to get it over with so I don't have to confront the problem anymore. This creates a situation where I struggle to move forward with my treatment, even though I really want to. I'm still trying to hide from my therapist how unwell I actually feel sometimes.

​I'd really like to hear your advice: Have you ever been in a similar situation? What is the thing that helped you the most?

I’m 30F and have struggled with an intense fear of death since childhood.

My biggest fear is that death means the permanent end of consciousness so that I’ll never experience anything again. I don’t believe in an afterlife or reincarnation, and I find it incredibly difficult to accept that life is finite.

My anxiety attacks started around 10 years ago, after my grandmother died. Losing her made the idea of never seeing someone again feel real. My grandfather passed away two years ago, and my fear has become even stronger since then.

I’m also terrified of losing my parents. My mother has a chronic illness that affects her life expectancy, and I feel like I’m living against a clock. I struggle to spend time with her without thinking that it could be my last. I’m scared of losing my parents and of having to live in a world without them.

At the same time, I constantly fear dying myself. I monitor my health, overanalyse physical sensations and worry that if I miss a symptom, I might lose my chance to get treatment in time. Reassurance helps, but only briefly, before another worry appears.

Recently, it’s gone beyond physical symptoms. Almost everything I do seems to remind me of my own death, even when there’s absolutely no reason to think I’m in danger. Yesterday, I got my hair cut and later caught myself thinking that I’d been getting ready for my own funeral. I know there’s no reason to believe I’m going to die anytime soon, but my mind keeps making these connections.

I recently travelled to a different country, and I found it incredibly difficult to enjoy the trip. Every insect bite, sneeze or unusual sensation triggered fears of potentially fatal illnesses. I felt constantly on alert.

I’m already in therapy, but I’m still trying to understand this fear and learn how to live without it controlling everything.

For anyone who has experienced something similar, what has genuinely helped you improve? Thanks!

My husband has anxiety and does everything he’s supposed to do in order to manage it. However when we have a plan of any kind, a trip, helping friends move, an appointment. He wakes up incredibly angry/frustrated. He doesn’t want to go no matter how much time he’s had to anticipate it or cancel. I think if he doesn’t want to cancel he avoids saying it because of my feelings or the anxiety associated with not showing up.

Usually there is an outburst, venting/anger. We discuss that we can’t really cancel day of as we already spent the money and made promises. We talk about the fact he pretty much always ends up enjoying himself and glad he follows through.

It is usually me making these plans, if it was up to him he might not pull the trigger on anything ever but that’s not conducive to having friends or community or experiences.

Does anyone else experience these jitters to this extent? How can I better support him?

I swear anytime I get oversomething and my fuckass brain catches me having fun or being at ease, it HAS to look for something or worry about something it used to. It's as if it's default state is not calm, but fucking scared or worried. I feel like I'm not in control of my mind or being, there's also my brain whose hellbent on being my worst fucking enemy and making my consience a hell put on repeat while also shitting itself. It makes me want to scream my lungs out.

Propranolol has been a life saver for me as far as my anxiety, but unfortunately I have one side effect that really concerns me, causes a lot of vasoconstriction. Every time I take it my feet are just solid purple for weeks. I've heard you can move to Atenolol or Metopropol instead and it can help this kind of issue. Anyone tried other beta blockers like these? Did you find them to be as effective?

I feel like I have anxiety that doesn’t stop. It’s just this constant feeling of something bad is about to happen or that I could lose everything in an instant. I don’t really know how to stop these thoughts, and even though I can’t really rationalize them, they stay anyway. I’m just really struggling and I’ve been struggling for a while. I’m not so much looking for advice with this post, just ranting about my dumb brain.

Hey all. I am really struggling with my breathing over the last few months. It has been getting progressively worse. It is a constant feeling of shallow breathing that gets worse with a position change (like standing up) or exertion. If sitting it gets better if I lean forward slightly. I had a lung function test done. All fine. Doctor has scheduled some heart tests- I’m sure those will be fine. Doctor really thinks it’s anxiety/ panic and I agree. It seems to go away if I can focus on something else or find myself in a better mood. But as I type this I am sitting in my chair alone. Everyone went to a concert tonight but I didn’t go because I don’t want to panic while sucking for air in a public place. I have read breathing exercises are the fix. Belly breathing and 478 breathing. Not seeing any benefits but it’s only been a few days. Anyone else experience this or have any advice? Thanks!

Please help me guys am really dying inside I can’t handle this
I tried all medication for anxiety nothing is working then went to EMDR and my therapist was not good with it and fucked me up ..
my medication that I have been using so far is cymbalta 60 mg dose
My doctor told me to switch to Effexor…
I don’t know i am suffering from withdral now and have no idea how I can Handle the withdrawal now it’s awful .. I did tried Effexor before and it worked perfect but same time have very negative said on my sex drive

I kinda of gave up to be honest
Nothing is working …

My anxiety is destroying my health my relationship and everything …..As well I have anxiety attachment

Any advice?
I am deeply suffering I wish I am not on the earth

Like whenever I have to give a presentation and stuff I’m fine. I’m able to speak without any problems as long as I’m prepared. But when it comes to one on one conversation with someone new, it’s like my heart starts racing and all of a sudden I’m hyper aware and self conscious about what they think of me. Like, do they think I’m a try hard or boring and I hate it so much. Idk, any advice on how to overcome this?