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alienobserver99
Butterfly
Butterfly

Joined: 29 Dec 2015
Posts: 17

12 Aug 2016, 12:09 pm

I've recently graduated college in Fashion design, a subject I had liked when I was a teenager but now I feel like my interest has decreased to the point I wonder if I even really want to do this for life. But regardless I know I must continue because I do not want to waste my parents' money that they worked hard for to school me. But now ever since the 2 months I've graduated I don not know what to do next and I feel, what I is best described as an unbearable lightness and feeling like I'm floating in uncertainty and confusion and anxiety....... all I want to be is anchored and stable. My life is now filled everyday with anxiety crippling enough that I can't go outside without feeling lightheaded and unstable on my feet. I feel instantly bad and I can't take taxis without fearing of a panic attack which causes a panic attack in the taxi. I have this vicious cycle where I get attacks in certain places for no reason and then everytime I go to that place I fear the next attack so much it causes an attack. I feel so bad all the time. Going out is hard. I feel so worried all the time and I can't get rid of that feeling of worry.
I don't know how to deal with this, to get rid of that unbearable feeling of lightness, to stop fearing attacks whenever I try to go out.



woops
Hummingbird
Hummingbird

Joined: 13 Aug 2016
Gender: Male
Posts: 21
Location: UK

13 Aug 2016, 10:03 pm

Anxiety narrows your perspectives and options. If you deal with anxiety well, opportunities will begin to present themselves. Therapy and / or medication (e.g. ssri's / beta-blockers) seem warranted, if you have not already tried that. You're not alone here - panic attacks are the worst, but can be very responsive to the right medication.

Could the loss of interest be depression or perhaps due to having to deal with anxiety and panic? On the other hand, are you in this state partly due to feelings of guilt associated with genuine disinterest in the subject that your parents (and you) put such effort into? If you are really not interested in the subject any more, I think it is wrong to continue on this path merely because of your parents' effort. Going to college is not a wasted experience in any case.

And don't stop going to the places that trigger the attacks - anxiety is best confronted head on, directly. It's a master of trickery and deception - whatever it is that it tries to deceive you into not looking at is precisely where you must direct your attention - and the feeling of wanting to avoid something can become a hint that this is just what you must not do.



BitterCoffee
Blue Jay
Blue Jay

User avatar

Joined: 4 Mar 2016
Age: 35
Gender: Male
Posts: 83

15 Aug 2016, 10:07 pm

After graduating college many people find it hard to decide what to do next and struggling with the idea that they've wasted money and years of their life. Try to remember this and not be too hard on yourself. 2 months out is a very short time period and you should not expect to have done anything big or note worthy.
Many times anxiety and panic come after cognitive distortions so try to write down what you were thinking before panic ensued and see if there are any logical errors and such in your thoughts contributing to anxiety.
Anxiety is a biological response to perceived danger for what ever reason your body has convinced itself that it is threatened; reminding yourself that you are safe can counteract some of the biological processes. Deep breathing, can do this as well.
Panic attacks suck. You've had them in the past and they did not cause any permanent damage so there is nothing to fear about them only stuff to dislike.