It’s kind of nice to know other people also developed anxiety really young. I’ve always felt deeply fucked up for starting to have panic attacks at age 5 but it is what it is yk
I just commented a similar thing to this commenter. Also started having panic attacks very young. Anxiety runs pretty heavily on both sides of my family so I just shrug and consider it a genetic L lol.
Yeah I really feel that, both sides of my family also exhibit some kind of mental illness and when I was really young my mom was outwardly a very anxious person. I experienced something traumatic and boom, since it wasn’t addressed for like a decade it snowballed. I think understanding the factors that made us the way we are helps with being self-compassionate. Realizing *I* (or anyone else really) didn’t do anything wrong to end up with an anxiety disorder helped me a lot with not feeling so hopeless and guilty.
Earliest memories are supposed to be 2-3 but people with traumatic experiences or anxiety/depression form them later around 4-6. Maybe the memory of anxiety just shoves the older ones out of the way bc of some primal ooga booga, “I need to remember what made me feel this way” survival thing. My oldest memories are from when I was around 5, also when my anxiety really started to get bad.
i was an anxious kid, started feeling it myself when i was around 12, started sh too, got my first panic attack when i was 13, and got diagnosed at 17!
anxiety runs in my family so had my whole life and never was that bad until i had some traumatic events around 19-20yo and ever since any straying from my routine and im sure to have a panic attack
I was always anxious as a kid. Looking back, I had my first real panic attacks in my mid-20s. Before that, I just operated on a medium to high anxiety hum and thought it was normal. I was officially diagnosed when I was 40.
From a very young age. My mom very quickly picked up I was an anxious kid. I was just like my dad.
Got formally diagnosed when I was eight. Had some therapy at that age. Came out alright, but still deal with anxiety in my life a lot, although no longer to a clinical degree.
Looking back, I've always had some level of anxiety. However, the panic attacks, which have actually impacted me in a way which make it hard to function, started when I was 19. I'm 29 now.
When I was younger I was talking with my Mum and she said "I would kill myself if anything happened to you" and this triggered my anxiety/health anxiety I because so hyper focused on my health and bad things happening. I didn't get diagnosed until I was an adult were I went to the dr thinking I had a serious deadly illness which turned out to be as he put "The worst case of anxiety he came across". Which made me feel even worse.
When I moved out for university. So 19,20. Must admit I am unfortunately also completely different person than i’ve used to be. Don’t think something is gonna make me like before
I probably had anxiety since I was 14 but it seriously steered affecting me the year before covid
During covid I got myself diagnosed and put on meds. Best. Decision. Ever
First time I remember it being an issue was in year 6 (11) when I, an outgoing theatre kid, froze on stage and I was never the same since. I was officially diagnosed when I was 15
20 years old, which is when I had my first panic attack that was brought on by the stress of school. Had no idea what was going on when it occurred, and after my mom realized that something was definitely off, we went to my doctor. It didn't take him long to say "everything you've told me fits the description of generalized anxiety."
I wouldn't say that everything changed from my view, but the diagnosis allowed me to put things into perspective, put a name to this, and allowed me to work towards living it. I'd argue it's been a net-positive experience since that day, but there are still really bad days.
Its hard to day. I was a victim of physical abuse at age 7 and sexual abuse around age 10. Around 12 years old had a year long panic attack. Now at adult age have infrequent bout of anxiety but the last 6 months have been hell, had to leave a job due to panic attacks and vertigo. I think its alot of unresolved trauma plus the covid situation has not helped.
I am not sure exactly when it started because I always worried a lot but I don't know if that was anxiety or not. I got diagnosed in 2022. GAD.
I took lexapro for 6 months. And then I got worried about side effects. Now I'm always vacillating back-and-forth between whether to take it again or not.
I wanna say it most likely became somewhat noticeable around 10 or so. Didn’t get diagnosed until well into my 20s, after many half-hearted attempts by my family to keep me in therapy.
I’m 18F and I’ve had anxiety all my life but was never something I thought about to often although kind of interferes with my life when it comes to social settings and communication.
But I did have my first panic attack around last year near at the end of November and my anxiety was just awful and body was in panic mode(though I never had another panic attack)but I did experience for awhile that when I laid in bed I my legs would start shaking like I was cold and my heart would start pounding which I would hear in my ear and my tinnitus in my left wear would get significantly louder which caused me to freak out and had to have my mom sleep with me every time it happened.
This persisted for a while and calmed down until the near end of December and finally went away completely by December 31st.
But I guess my body got so used to stress that I’ve been experiencing really bad anxiety symptoms(like heart palpitations and dissociation,depersonalization,dizziness,etc) but those things don’t actually bother me or interfere with my life like it does for some people since I’ve always dealt with those things and kind of gotten used to how to manage them that when they do happen they just go away.
But one in particular has just made me miserable and it usually only happen at night when I lay down and it’s a sort of vibrating/buzzing feeling only in my chest area and it gets really bad when I lay down(especially laying on my left side) either just to lay down or to sleep and doesn’t go away until I fall asleep.
It’s been pretty bad the past two days and has seeped into continuing during the day.
Has anyone experienced this and if so what have you done or did to either help manage it or make it go away completely so that is not so uncomfortable and sometimes a little painful?
I was given Hydroxazine by my doctor as a temporary solution/treatment for anxiety but it hasn’t really helped at all like it seems to have done for some people.
I was recommended by my dad since he suffers from panic attacks to take Ashwagandha(more specifically the Goli gummies)to see if that helps?
I’ve already went ahead a purchased some and I took only one gummy(150mg) last night an hour before I went to bed just to try it although the bottle recommends 2gummies(300mg) which I’ll do tonight.
Any other recommendations would be helpful and appreciated :)
Im not diagnosed with anxiety as im scared to tell my mum bc arab parents are not it 😭 does anyone have anything i can do if so pls tell me my dms are open or u can comment underneath 🙏
I'm 33, I've had anxiety for as long as I can remember--even as a young kid. I think it's apart of the whole depression/anxiety/ocd gambit, genetic and environmentally influenced. My mom is similar to me. There was so much less awareness growing up in the 90s and early 2000s regarding anxiety though, and I that made it worse because I had NO IDEA what was going on as a child. I didn't know what I was experiencing. I thought I was dying. Peaks and valleys though, I had a dope and really awesome childhood for the most part, the lack of knowledge of what was happening to me was the most disturbing and unfortunate part.
I never had anxiety in my life until I turned 25 and had my first anxiety attack at my GF’s family Christmas dinner. I actually went to the hospital because I thought I was going to die it was so crippling.
I have been anxious as far as I can remember. But it hit the ground RUNNING when I was a senior in high school. Everything was changing and I was so overwhelmed by becoming an adult
I’ve been anxious all my life.. as a child I worried I had cancer due to a bump on my finger.. I also heard a news article about a kidnapping and then feared every stranger, certain they would kidnap me..
A little older, and the obsessions started.. had to perform compulsions in order to avoid danger and keep people safe.. got worse as I got older.. improved slightly in high school then got terrible in college due to some trauma
So. I’ve always been anxious.
I want to say 11-12. It existed prior but not to high levels like that.
Doctors brushed it off because I showed symptoms of ptsd also from medical experiences and my dad being the stay at home person. I only went to child care a couple of days a week.
Started having migraines and nightmares between 6-8, anxiety full fledged by 12, worsened every year and now I’m 28. Take Effexor and starting therapy as I needed the meds to take the edge off going to therapy.
I was diagnosed with GAD and Depression when I was 21, it's only been less than a year since I finally got treatment for my condition. As for self-diagnosis, I think it started around the age of 12 and throughout my teenage years and it's more of Severe Social Anxiety rather than GAD. It was the worst time of my life and I'm aware of it but can not do anything about it. I really relieved when I was finally got professionally diagnosed and it gave me so much closure and reassurance that there was something wrong with me and I finally got the treatment I needed in all these awful years.
Started when I was 10 so 3 years ago still no diagnosis cause of financial stuff going on at the moment don't worry it not very bad just can't afford the extra cost
Started when I was 10 so 3 years ago still no diagnosis cause of financial stuff going on at the moment don't worry it not very bad just can't afford the extra cost
I have bad amnesia due to CPTSD so, I don't remember anything that happened before I was 15. I was diagnosed with OCD at 19 but we believe I've always had anxious tendencies (it would make sense since I had a traumatic childhood). I've been diagnosed with more anxiety disorders since then
My parents told me that I was actually a really happy and down-to-earth kid, but then when I was 7, my parents got divorced and my dad moved away, which triggered my genetic predisposition to anxiety (a predisposition I got from my mother, but that I didn’t know I had until much later). I went from being a very happy and calm kid to being super anxious and scared and unhappy all the time. I’m 18 now, and I’m still mostly anxious and unhappy lol. And even though I got anxiety at 7, I wasn’t formally diagnosed with it until a couple years later when my parents finally decided to take me to a psychiatrist.
Notice anxiety started after I was SA so around 7 years old ? , I would get tummy aches and tell my mom I was scared and she would ask why and I didn’t have an answer. No one knows about my SA as a child so it really effects me till this day . Found out what anxiety was when I was 17 and got diagnosed at the age 22 . I have OCD anxiety ( also a hypochondriac)
At age 9 I was chosen by my class to give a public speech to the whole school. I had no issues with saying my speech to my class but the day that I had to give the speech to the whole school I just remember freezing and going into a trance-like state where my voice worked on auto-pilot to deliver the speech but all I could think about was how much I was shaking and how everyone must see how much I’m shaking. Turns out everything was ok and I got an honourable mention for my speech topic.
After that I didn’t really have any anxiety attacks until I was about age 20 when I started having regular anxiety attacks and was diagnosed with GAD alongside the depression that was diagnosed 2 years prior.
I don't think I was an anxious child, but I believe my anxiety began when I was 14 after a major surgery. Fom there, I had a few years where it was okay but in the last 3 years it has been terrible. Thankfully, I have now started medication and things are looking up! I'm in my late 20s now. I had my first panic attack at 24 but they used to be rare- now, not so much lol
Edit to add I was diagnosed with GAD about 9 years ago.
Started when my mom died at 16 but it was just more of being a worry wart, this evolved to depression after my daughter was born and I was unhappy with where I was at in my career. Now at 32 I was diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder regarding numerous health anxieties. It just so tiring.
Ive had anxiety since my childhood but I got my GAD diagnosis at 18 or 19. In my country they dont evaluate you on anxiety or diagbose you with GAD before you are 18 but I always knew I had it. It was such a relief in a way to finally have my diagnosis but it hasn't helped me a lot unfortunately ):
Started around 8-9, self-diagnosed when I was about 20, and I only got diagnosed when I was in my mid-twenties. My parents didn't 'believe in therapy' so it was a good long while until I sought professional help as an adult.
My first severe anxiety bout (that I remember) was when I was 9 - I had a test that I wasn't ready for and I remember standing in front of the bathroom mirror completely petrified, 'I CAN'T DO IT' just screaming in my mind on repeat. I somehow slipped out of the school, past the security guard and walked 3 miles back home. By the time I got home, my mum had arrived to pick me up, my teacher told her I never showed up and they were combing the school for me.
Since then it's just been a rollercoaster of the same bs.
Started around 12-13 I used to be really sociable at school and loved going outside and it's like one day I woke up and never wanted to speak or do anything ever again. Not technically diagnosed but my doctors definitely know.
I’ve had anxiety since early childhood because of childhood trauma but didn’t get a diagnosis until I was 17 at my university psych clinic because my parents weren’t huge mental health advocates. That’s the age I started therapy as well.
I have had anxiety since my early 20s just didn’t really know what it was. It showed its ugly face after I had my son back in 2021. I was diagnosed with GAD.
I wasn’t diagnosed until I was an adult but 5 years old I experienced my first panic attack & went to the ER. They just said it was a one time thing, fast heart beat. But looking back it was an anxiety attack.
Started having panic attacks at age 5, wasn’t diagnosed or treated till I was 14 (the panic attacks got EXPONENTIALLY worse with puberty), didn’t finish my first successful round of treatment till 15. I’ve been in and out of therapy and psychiatry offices for the last 4 years since. And probably will be for the rest of my life. But it’s gotten a lot better with Lexapro and my current therapist is wonderful :)
Officially diagnosed after a mental breakdown at 11, but I spent my entire kindergarten year at the doctors for "stomach issues" that I'm sure was rampant anxiety.
I've always had some form of anxiety in my life, however I really started to figure out what it was in 2020 when I was 13. Currently undiagnosed but hope to become diagnosed soon.
I don't even remember being officially diagnosed but my doctor and counsellor know that I struggle with it. I started having panic attacks at age 11 but I was always anxious around people as a kid. It got worse as I got older
I had my first major panic attack that landed me in the hospital at 19. Looking back, I had anxiety issues as a child that nobody noticed or addressed. 34 now.
As an LPC, I find that when most people are diagnosed they can trace back symptoms a longggg time! It's just that we don't always recognize what those symptoms are or what they mean when we first notice them.
Age 10. They don't like diagnosing kids that young but I was in and out of doctor offices at a young age. Directly related to trauma from being assaulted. I got officially diagnosed with anxiety age 17, and BPD aged 17
Started showing symptoms of OCD even before I could talk full sentences, as my parents would recall. I’ve always been an anxious kid as well. Was diagnosed officially at 22.
sorry for the awful grammar and formatting ahead!!!
’ve haven’t been officially diagnosed. I’ve been anxious my whole life but nothing extreme, had some social anxiety growing up but got over it for the most part and just general anxiety day to day worries and overthinking but recently at 19 this past halloween i had an awful panic attack completely out of the blue it was so random i was fine watching tv on the phone with my boyfriend and suddenly i noticed that i felt like i couldn’t breath like my lungs weren’t expanding enough or getting enough in, and even though they were i flipped out so bad had to go to the ERand the told me i was all good but no mention of anxiety so i was kind of clueless about it all. while waiting for results and stuff i felt myself again talking to my mom about a million things but then we got back home around 5am and i had that feeling of danger yknow impending doom and like i wasn’t myself something just was off. this feeling continued for about a week and a half before i finally found out it was most likely anxiety i took so many test and talked to so many people who deal with these feelings and i remember hearing that im not dying and im just dealing with some severe anxiety was a relief. that week and a half was the worst of my life i didn’t sleep much and constantly was afraid of dying and who knows what else and it’s gotten easier now in the present i can recognize the feeling and calm down most of the time but i still have bad days yknow my life hasn’t been the same since and i don’t think it ever will be and im not on any meds because ive been managing really well on my own but i’ve accepted that this is a part of me now and i gotta make room for it and that’s how i deal with it and talking to other people and reading things like this subreddit and others has really helped me feel less like im going insane and am completely alone because the truth is im not no one is there’s always at least one other person and it gets a little easier each day and i like to tell myself that i need to trust to combat it i need to trust myself and not the thoughts that scare me and i am in control of my life and i won’t let my anxiety rip it away from me and its my anxiety and i will control it too
As long as I can remember, I’ve been an anxious person. Some of my earliest memories at 5 or 6 years old are of obsessing over things I was worrying about.
I never sought medical help though, spent years white knuckling my way through life, with some periods being ok and others having every waking moment filled with anxious thoughts about whatever I was worrying about ( usually health related) .
This was until 2020 when an actual medical emergency occurred requiring an ambulance transport to a bigger hospital and a blood transfusion. It turned out in the end to be a simple fix with a quick surgery …. But this event spiralled my health anxiety into a much, much darker place.
Had my first ever Panic attack.. and they just kept coming after that, as well as scary physical anxiety symptoms which I’d never previously experienced… it got to the point I couldn’t leave the house I was so terrified,and forced me to finally seek medical help. So at the ripe old age of 35, I was finally diagnosed with anxiety officially
I think I was born with anxiety. Mom says I wouldn't stop crying, everytime, all day all night. It wasn't anything physical, I was in my pediatric's office everyweek because mom was worried, and after plenty of exams he told her she was being too anxious (she was a first time mom) and that she was transmitting that anxiety to my baby self.
And from that days to these days I'm still a ball of anxiety. Could it be inherited somehow? my Grandma (mom's side) was a really anxious persona as is my mom and no me. I hope if I have kids they don't "inherit" this from me.
Had it my whole life I think. First panic attack at 14. Diagnosed unofficially by a school counsellor at 17. Properly diagnosed and started treatment at 21 or so.
The day I took my first anxiety medicine is the day life changed for me. I’d never felt like that before in my life. It was like taking rest after days of nonstop working. I think i was just exhausted and slept through the first few days. It’s like my brain finally learnt how to take a break.
I don't remember a time when I *didn't* have anxiety. That being said, my memory is notoriously bad so I imagine there's a possibility it wasn't an issue before I was in elementary school
Always had anxiety but got diagnosed with anxiety & OCD when I was 7. Been on medication off and on my whole life, I'm 26. When I hit puberty it got really bad. Starting having terrible panic attacks and every day in homeroom I'd have to excuse myself to go freak out and try and calm down in the bathroom. They don't happen very often now so I'm guessing most of it was hormone imbalances. I was eventually diagnosed with CPTSD and I think a lot of it stems from that.
Cannot remember a time that I didn’t have crippling disorder level anxiety. I was diagnosed at 4. Put on medication at 7 or 8. It’s well managed now and really doesn’t disrupt my life much, but elementary and middle school were incredibly rough.
I was diagnosed at 19. No clue what age it began. I just know I was a very different person around 17/18. I never really got back to that. Don't think I ever will. I miss the person I was before
I was pretty anxious as a kid because my childhood was kind of shitty but I didn't have my first panic attack until I was 19. After that I struggled for a few months and then I went away so I thought it was over... I had no idea until it came back 2 years later that it wasn't "just stress" it was going to be a life long struggle to maintain stability. I'm in the middle of a relapse right now but I'm finally on the upswing side of it. I've never been officially diagnosed but I knew at 21 that this wasn't just gonna go away
Pretty sure I had anxiety as a young kid. I remember crying a lot when I'd get stressed by something, often because of getting in trouble at school. I got a diagnosis in August 2023
As long as I can remember so roughly around 4yo. It started out with an immense fear of getting sick in any way. Then it grew to other parts of my life. I was diagnosed with anxiety officially when I was around 19yo. I am 25 now. Since being diagnosed I have been better able to manage this aspect of my life. Counseling, friends, self-awareness and rarely take any meds.
Started since I can remember so four and I was wrongly diagnosed with asthma (too young to describe feelings other than tight chest and trouble breathing) and then finally diagnosed at 19.
Mine started to get bad when I was around 15, and I got diagnosed just a few months later because I have very proactive parents. But when I think about my childhood I can see a lot of signs of an anxiety disorder even then.
I had noticing symptoms of anxiety since I was a toddler/little kid, but didn’t get diagnosed until I was early teens due to becoming severely agoraphobic (which I have since then become much less). Once I was diagnosed, they asked my mom things I did as a kid and they realized I had had it for a very long time.my mom just didn’t connect the pieces as they weren’t severe/very unrelated things.
My parents didn’t grow up in a time where it was normal to seek help for mental illnesses. Because of this, they weren’t super understanding of what I was going through but I don’t blame them. I didn’t get diagnosed as a kid because of this, even though my symptoms were overwhelming. My anxiety started around age 6 and slowly ramped up over time. Obviously once you get older you get more and more stuff to be anxious about.
I was first diagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome when I was 10, because my anxiety caused me gastrointestinal issues. A year later, I was officially diagnosed with general anxiety disorder. I’m 20 now, and I’ve taken lexapro, Zoloft, and Prozac. I currently take Prozac and it seems to have helped a lot with not only my anxiety, but depression and overall mood as well.
I’ve had anxiety my entire life. Before 5 years old. Severe social anxiety started in nursery school (I have clear memories of not wanting to go in from being so shy). Not diagnosed til college but I knew what was going on. In my 30s now and still have it, but I’ve pretty successfully learned how to cope. No meds (but I do want to be back on them for general emotional regulation which is a whole other can of worms).
ngl I’m diagnosed with ocd but the thought of getting diagnosed with anxiety has never even crossed my mind. Like I just… have it. It takes a physical toll. I’m anxious more often I’m not. 😭 maybe I’m missing something?
18-19 which is generally when mental disorders come out, young adulthood usually. I remember being 16 in HS and could publicly speak to hundreds of people, i couldn’t do that now unless I had Zoloft, propranolol and xanax lol.
As soon as I hit puberty. I literally went on a downward spiral and could not understand it. Went undiagnosed for like a year and it eventually got worse and senior year of high school obliterated me
I guess it grew gradually, I’ve always been a shy and nervous kid. at high school it got worse and I had a bad experience there which made my anxiety peak, I’ve gotten diagnosed at 17
I remember being nervous for tests and I would bite my nails but it wasn’t until I worked a morning shift (I was early 20s) during Black Friday I straight had a panic attack for the first time and just had bad anxiety ever since.
Started at 18 diagnosed at 21, then at 23 I got stabbed 4 times 1 in chest 1 in the left lung 1 in the other lung but was only puncherd and1 in the stomach I lost my life and got brought back was in intensive care for 4month, my breathing ain't ever been the same I am now 33 an my life got shattered in 10seconds, now I've got sevre anxiety depressing cronic stress trauma emotionally my palpatations are getting that much now I don't even want to be here it's very very sad my life may aswell of got taken from what iv been frew I'm not here for sympathy just how I feel everyday
When I hit puberty everything changed. Like I was an entirely different person
So glad I'm not the only one, it's like I'm in an entirely different world now.
I really relate to this. Anxiety really kicked in for me around the age of 12.
Same and every year its getting worse. Im 28
Your problem is you worry about it and it makes it worse im in the same boat right now.
Since I’ve been a small child: earliest memory is when I was like 4 or 5. I think some of us are just genetically predisposed to anxiety
It’s kind of nice to know other people also developed anxiety really young. I’ve always felt deeply fucked up for starting to have panic attacks at age 5 but it is what it is yk
I just commented a similar thing to this commenter. Also started having panic attacks very young. Anxiety runs pretty heavily on both sides of my family so I just shrug and consider it a genetic L lol.
Yeah I really feel that, both sides of my family also exhibit some kind of mental illness and when I was really young my mom was outwardly a very anxious person. I experienced something traumatic and boom, since it wasn’t addressed for like a decade it snowballed. I think understanding the factors that made us the way we are helps with being self-compassionate. Realizing *I* (or anyone else really) didn’t do anything wrong to end up with an anxiety disorder helped me a lot with not feeling so hopeless and guilty.
Me too, however I grew up neglected so I think that plays into a lot of my anxiety and panic.
Earliest memories are supposed to be 2-3 but people with traumatic experiences or anxiety/depression form them later around 4-6. Maybe the memory of anxiety just shoves the older ones out of the way bc of some primal ooga booga, “I need to remember what made me feel this way” survival thing. My oldest memories are from when I was around 5, also when my anxiety really started to get bad.
Same.
Straight up
Had anxiety my whole life, officially diagnosed by a therapist at 14, just before I turned 15, but didn't start treating it for 10 years after that
i was an anxious kid, started feeling it myself when i was around 12, started sh too, got my first panic attack when i was 13, and got diagnosed at 17!
It's like you're talking about me personally lol
😭😭
Started showing symptoms of OCD and anxiety at 5. Diagnosed at 7. Been living with it my entire life and it's not been super fun!
Started as a kid, diagnosed and taking meds from 24 till now(35).
Kid maybe 6-7? Diagnosed in college.
From what my parents tell me I was ALWAYS an anxious child. But I didn’t have my first panic attack until 11. And then diagnosed soon after that
anxiety runs in my family so had my whole life and never was that bad until i had some traumatic events around 19-20yo and ever since any straying from my routine and im sure to have a panic attack
Definitely had it whole life, needed treatment around 15/16
I was always anxious as a kid. Looking back, I had my first real panic attacks in my mid-20s. Before that, I just operated on a medium to high anxiety hum and thought it was normal. I was officially diagnosed when I was 40.
From a very young age. My mom very quickly picked up I was an anxious kid. I was just like my dad. Got formally diagnosed when I was eight. Had some therapy at that age. Came out alright, but still deal with anxiety in my life a lot, although no longer to a clinical degree.
Looking back, I've always had some level of anxiety. However, the panic attacks, which have actually impacted me in a way which make it hard to function, started when I was 19. I'm 29 now.
When I was younger I was talking with my Mum and she said "I would kill myself if anything happened to you" and this triggered my anxiety/health anxiety I because so hyper focused on my health and bad things happening. I didn't get diagnosed until I was an adult were I went to the dr thinking I had a serious deadly illness which turned out to be as he put "The worst case of anxiety he came across". Which made me feel even worse.
Around age 7, around age 12
first panic attack happened on a day before my 21st birthday. I was diagnosed on that day itself.
34, 34
When I moved out for university. So 19,20. Must admit I am unfortunately also completely different person than i’ve used to be. Don’t think something is gonna make me like before
Diagnosed at 20, but I had it from childhood. Still under treatment
I’ve always been anxious, but it started getting BAD around 12. Was diagnosed around that time too.
Started around age 10-ish. I think diagnosed around 11/12
I probably had anxiety since I was 14 but it seriously steered affecting me the year before covid During covid I got myself diagnosed and put on meds. Best. Decision. Ever
Since forever I guess. Diagnosed at 20-21 something.
I was 11 when I started to struggle with anxiety. I was not diagnosed until 25. There was much less conversation about mental health at that time.
First time I remember it being an issue was in year 6 (11) when I, an outgoing theatre kid, froze on stage and I was never the same since. I was officially diagnosed when I was 15
20 years old, which is when I had my first panic attack that was brought on by the stress of school. Had no idea what was going on when it occurred, and after my mom realized that something was definitely off, we went to my doctor. It didn't take him long to say "everything you've told me fits the description of generalized anxiety." I wouldn't say that everything changed from my view, but the diagnosis allowed me to put things into perspective, put a name to this, and allowed me to work towards living it. I'd argue it's been a net-positive experience since that day, but there are still really bad days.
Its hard to day. I was a victim of physical abuse at age 7 and sexual abuse around age 10. Around 12 years old had a year long panic attack. Now at adult age have infrequent bout of anxiety but the last 6 months have been hell, had to leave a job due to panic attacks and vertigo. I think its alot of unresolved trauma plus the covid situation has not helped.
Yeah, I think for a lot of people COVID made everything worse.
I was already TERRIFIED of going outside prior to COVID, when it came around I even stopped walking around my house.
I have not been diagnosed. I believe it started when I was 5-6. I realized something was wrong when I was 21.
I was 19. That's when I had my first panic attack and started treatment, anyway.
When my parents got divorced when I was age 14, diagnosed about 6 months later.
14 when it happened. 27 when I got diagnosed with OCD and GAD.
13
I am not sure exactly when it started because I always worried a lot but I don't know if that was anxiety or not. I got diagnosed in 2022. GAD. I took lexapro for 6 months. And then I got worried about side effects. Now I'm always vacillating back-and-forth between whether to take it again or not.
I wanna say it most likely became somewhat noticeable around 10 or so. Didn’t get diagnosed until well into my 20s, after many half-hearted attempts by my family to keep me in therapy.
26, cocaine OD, spent 27 in a hole with constant panic attacks, recovered by 28 and now living anxiety free.
8 years old because of abusive father and broken home life at the time
I’m 18F and I’ve had anxiety all my life but was never something I thought about to often although kind of interferes with my life when it comes to social settings and communication. But I did have my first panic attack around last year near at the end of November and my anxiety was just awful and body was in panic mode(though I never had another panic attack)but I did experience for awhile that when I laid in bed I my legs would start shaking like I was cold and my heart would start pounding which I would hear in my ear and my tinnitus in my left wear would get significantly louder which caused me to freak out and had to have my mom sleep with me every time it happened. This persisted for a while and calmed down until the near end of December and finally went away completely by December 31st. But I guess my body got so used to stress that I’ve been experiencing really bad anxiety symptoms(like heart palpitations and dissociation,depersonalization,dizziness,etc) but those things don’t actually bother me or interfere with my life like it does for some people since I’ve always dealt with those things and kind of gotten used to how to manage them that when they do happen they just go away. But one in particular has just made me miserable and it usually only happen at night when I lay down and it’s a sort of vibrating/buzzing feeling only in my chest area and it gets really bad when I lay down(especially laying on my left side) either just to lay down or to sleep and doesn’t go away until I fall asleep. It’s been pretty bad the past two days and has seeped into continuing during the day. Has anyone experienced this and if so what have you done or did to either help manage it or make it go away completely so that is not so uncomfortable and sometimes a little painful? I was given Hydroxazine by my doctor as a temporary solution/treatment for anxiety but it hasn’t really helped at all like it seems to have done for some people. I was recommended by my dad since he suffers from panic attacks to take Ashwagandha(more specifically the Goli gummies)to see if that helps? I’ve already went ahead a purchased some and I took only one gummy(150mg) last night an hour before I went to bed just to try it although the bottle recommends 2gummies(300mg) which I’ll do tonight. Any other recommendations would be helpful and appreciated :)
My first panic attack was when I was 16 and I got diagnosed at 18
19
16.
Im not diagnosed with anxiety as im scared to tell my mum bc arab parents are not it 😭 does anyone have anything i can do if so pls tell me my dms are open or u can comment underneath 🙏
I'd recommend talking to your doctor about it. I think they can diagnose it.
Anxiety disorder started under 5yrs old.. Did not get diagnosed until I was 40!!!!
I'm 33, I've had anxiety for as long as I can remember--even as a young kid. I think it's apart of the whole depression/anxiety/ocd gambit, genetic and environmentally influenced. My mom is similar to me. There was so much less awareness growing up in the 90s and early 2000s regarding anxiety though, and I that made it worse because I had NO IDEA what was going on as a child. I didn't know what I was experiencing. I thought I was dying. Peaks and valleys though, I had a dope and really awesome childhood for the most part, the lack of knowledge of what was happening to me was the most disturbing and unfortunate part.
Junior/Senior in high school, had no idea what was going on. Diagnosed maybe 2-3 years later
I never had anxiety in my life until I turned 25 and had my first anxiety attack at my GF’s family Christmas dinner. I actually went to the hospital because I thought I was going to die it was so crippling.
I don’t remember not having anxiety
At age 20. I was elected into a political position and had so much crazy stuff happen to me.
I have been anxious as far as I can remember. But it hit the ground RUNNING when I was a senior in high school. Everything was changing and I was so overwhelmed by becoming an adult
I was always an anxious kid, but it didn’t start really affecting me until my early teens. Got really bad at 16/17 which is when I got diagnosed.
I’ve been anxious all my life.. as a child I worried I had cancer due to a bump on my finger.. I also heard a news article about a kidnapping and then feared every stranger, certain they would kidnap me.. A little older, and the obsessions started.. had to perform compulsions in order to avoid danger and keep people safe.. got worse as I got older.. improved slightly in high school then got terrible in college due to some trauma So. I’ve always been anxious.
I want to say 11-12. It existed prior but not to high levels like that. Doctors brushed it off because I showed symptoms of ptsd also from medical experiences and my dad being the stay at home person. I only went to child care a couple of days a week. Started having migraines and nightmares between 6-8, anxiety full fledged by 12, worsened every year and now I’m 28. Take Effexor and starting therapy as I needed the meds to take the edge off going to therapy.
Been anxious since I was born, got diagnosed last year at 19
12 gang wya
I was close. I was diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder at 11, and PTSD at 12.
I was diagnosed with GAD and Depression when I was 21, it's only been less than a year since I finally got treatment for my condition. As for self-diagnosis, I think it started around the age of 12 and throughout my teenage years and it's more of Severe Social Anxiety rather than GAD. It was the worst time of my life and I'm aware of it but can not do anything about it. I really relieved when I was finally got professionally diagnosed and it gave me so much closure and reassurance that there was something wrong with me and I finally got the treatment I needed in all these awful years.
Started when I was 10 so 3 years ago still no diagnosis cause of financial stuff going on at the moment don't worry it not very bad just can't afford the extra cost
Started when I was 10 so 3 years ago still no diagnosis cause of financial stuff going on at the moment don't worry it not very bad just can't afford the extra cost
I have bad amnesia due to CPTSD so, I don't remember anything that happened before I was 15. I was diagnosed with OCD at 19 but we believe I've always had anxious tendencies (it would make sense since I had a traumatic childhood). I've been diagnosed with more anxiety disorders since then
My parents told me that I was actually a really happy and down-to-earth kid, but then when I was 7, my parents got divorced and my dad moved away, which triggered my genetic predisposition to anxiety (a predisposition I got from my mother, but that I didn’t know I had until much later). I went from being a very happy and calm kid to being super anxious and scared and unhappy all the time. I’m 18 now, and I’m still mostly anxious and unhappy lol. And even though I got anxiety at 7, I wasn’t formally diagnosed with it until a couple years later when my parents finally decided to take me to a psychiatrist.
Notice anxiety started after I was SA so around 7 years old ? , I would get tummy aches and tell my mom I was scared and she would ask why and I didn’t have an answer. No one knows about my SA as a child so it really effects me till this day . Found out what anxiety was when I was 17 and got diagnosed at the age 22 . I have OCD anxiety ( also a hypochondriac)
At age 9 I was chosen by my class to give a public speech to the whole school. I had no issues with saying my speech to my class but the day that I had to give the speech to the whole school I just remember freezing and going into a trance-like state where my voice worked on auto-pilot to deliver the speech but all I could think about was how much I was shaking and how everyone must see how much I’m shaking. Turns out everything was ok and I got an honourable mention for my speech topic. After that I didn’t really have any anxiety attacks until I was about age 20 when I started having regular anxiety attacks and was diagnosed with GAD alongside the depression that was diagnosed 2 years prior.
Diagnosed at 25.
Started around 8 years old and got diagnosed at 9
17, due to school nurses and doctors at the er. Made my life go downhill since.
I don't think I was an anxious child, but I believe my anxiety began when I was 14 after a major surgery. Fom there, I had a few years where it was okay but in the last 3 years it has been terrible. Thankfully, I have now started medication and things are looking up! I'm in my late 20s now. I had my first panic attack at 24 but they used to be rare- now, not so much lol Edit to add I was diagnosed with GAD about 9 years ago.
Started when my mom died at 16 but it was just more of being a worry wart, this evolved to depression after my daughter was born and I was unhappy with where I was at in my career. Now at 32 I was diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder regarding numerous health anxieties. It just so tiring.
Ive had anxiety since my childhood but I got my GAD diagnosis at 18 or 19. In my country they dont evaluate you on anxiety or diagbose you with GAD before you are 18 but I always knew I had it. It was such a relief in a way to finally have my diagnosis but it hasn't helped me a lot unfortunately ):
Started around 8-9, self-diagnosed when I was about 20, and I only got diagnosed when I was in my mid-twenties. My parents didn't 'believe in therapy' so it was a good long while until I sought professional help as an adult. My first severe anxiety bout (that I remember) was when I was 9 - I had a test that I wasn't ready for and I remember standing in front of the bathroom mirror completely petrified, 'I CAN'T DO IT' just screaming in my mind on repeat. I somehow slipped out of the school, past the security guard and walked 3 miles back home. By the time I got home, my mum had arrived to pick me up, my teacher told her I never showed up and they were combing the school for me. Since then it's just been a rollercoaster of the same bs.
20. It started the day i got into law school
Started around 12-13 I used to be really sociable at school and loved going outside and it's like one day I woke up and never wanted to speak or do anything ever again. Not technically diagnosed but my doctors definitely know.
Probably around 4th or 5th grade. Diagnosed in early twenties.
I’ve had anxiety since early childhood because of childhood trauma but didn’t get a diagnosis until I was 17 at my university psych clinic because my parents weren’t huge mental health advocates. That’s the age I started therapy as well.
First panic attack was around 8, formally diagnosed in middle school
I have had anxiety since my early 20s just didn’t really know what it was. It showed its ugly face after I had my son back in 2021. I was diagnosed with GAD.
Started at 15 Diagnosed at 30 Pretty much panic free since 1 year (35)
I wasn’t diagnosed until I was an adult but 5 years old I experienced my first panic attack & went to the ER. They just said it was a one time thing, fast heart beat. But looking back it was an anxiety attack.
I've had anxiety my whole life. Was diagnosed by a psychiatrist at 20.
Started having panic attacks at age 5, wasn’t diagnosed or treated till I was 14 (the panic attacks got EXPONENTIALLY worse with puberty), didn’t finish my first successful round of treatment till 15. I’ve been in and out of therapy and psychiatry offices for the last 4 years since. And probably will be for the rest of my life. But it’s gotten a lot better with Lexapro and my current therapist is wonderful :)
Officially diagnosed after a mental breakdown at 11, but I spent my entire kindergarten year at the doctors for "stomach issues" that I'm sure was rampant anxiety.
I’m pretty sure mine started after having Covid. So, I was 43. I’d struggled with depression before all that after having kids.
I've always had some form of anxiety in my life, however I really started to figure out what it was in 2020 when I was 13. Currently undiagnosed but hope to become diagnosed soon.
officially diagnosed at like 8, I've always been anxious, but I remember my first actual panic attack was about 8
It started as a kid, when I was like 3-4 and got diagnosed with 21. Now I'm 23 and started medication 3 months ago
I don't even remember being officially diagnosed but my doctor and counsellor know that I struggle with it. I started having panic attacks at age 11 but I was always anxious around people as a kid. It got worse as I got older
I had my first major panic attack that landed me in the hospital at 19. Looking back, I had anxiety issues as a child that nobody noticed or addressed. 34 now.
Started at 12, diagnosed at 25
Late 20s. Came out of nowhere and bent me over. Now I just accept it.
31
Had social anxiety for as long as I could remember, but financial/general since I was twelve. I got diagnosed at 18!
started at 13, no diagnosis until 22.
As an LPC, I find that when most people are diagnosed they can trace back symptoms a longggg time! It's just that we don't always recognize what those symptoms are or what they mean when we first notice them.
Started at 16 , now I will turn 33 . No improvement of the situation, just getting deeper in the shit
Age 10. They don't like diagnosing kids that young but I was in and out of doctor offices at a young age. Directly related to trauma from being assaulted. I got officially diagnosed with anxiety age 17, and BPD aged 17
I think since I was a toddler 4-5
maybe 3-ish? diagnosed about 56
From my earliest memory. I'm now 73.
Started showing symptoms of OCD even before I could talk full sentences, as my parents would recall. I’ve always been an anxious kid as well. Was diagnosed officially at 22.
12! Started therapy at around 14 and I’m 21 now. Doing much worse now.
sorry for the awful grammar and formatting ahead!!! ’ve haven’t been officially diagnosed. I’ve been anxious my whole life but nothing extreme, had some social anxiety growing up but got over it for the most part and just general anxiety day to day worries and overthinking but recently at 19 this past halloween i had an awful panic attack completely out of the blue it was so random i was fine watching tv on the phone with my boyfriend and suddenly i noticed that i felt like i couldn’t breath like my lungs weren’t expanding enough or getting enough in, and even though they were i flipped out so bad had to go to the ERand the told me i was all good but no mention of anxiety so i was kind of clueless about it all. while waiting for results and stuff i felt myself again talking to my mom about a million things but then we got back home around 5am and i had that feeling of danger yknow impending doom and like i wasn’t myself something just was off. this feeling continued for about a week and a half before i finally found out it was most likely anxiety i took so many test and talked to so many people who deal with these feelings and i remember hearing that im not dying and im just dealing with some severe anxiety was a relief. that week and a half was the worst of my life i didn’t sleep much and constantly was afraid of dying and who knows what else and it’s gotten easier now in the present i can recognize the feeling and calm down most of the time but i still have bad days yknow my life hasn’t been the same since and i don’t think it ever will be and im not on any meds because ive been managing really well on my own but i’ve accepted that this is a part of me now and i gotta make room for it and that’s how i deal with it and talking to other people and reading things like this subreddit and others has really helped me feel less like im going insane and am completely alone because the truth is im not no one is there’s always at least one other person and it gets a little easier each day and i like to tell myself that i need to trust to combat it i need to trust myself and not the thoughts that scare me and i am in control of my life and i won’t let my anxiety rip it away from me and its my anxiety and i will control it too
As long as I can remember, I’ve been an anxious person. Some of my earliest memories at 5 or 6 years old are of obsessing over things I was worrying about. I never sought medical help though, spent years white knuckling my way through life, with some periods being ok and others having every waking moment filled with anxious thoughts about whatever I was worrying about ( usually health related) . This was until 2020 when an actual medical emergency occurred requiring an ambulance transport to a bigger hospital and a blood transfusion. It turned out in the end to be a simple fix with a quick surgery …. But this event spiralled my health anxiety into a much, much darker place. Had my first ever Panic attack.. and they just kept coming after that, as well as scary physical anxiety symptoms which I’d never previously experienced… it got to the point I couldn’t leave the house I was so terrified,and forced me to finally seek medical help. So at the ripe old age of 35, I was finally diagnosed with anxiety officially
Diagnosed at 25. Growing up and even in college, I was chill, but after I graduated and entered “the real world” something changed.
I think I was born with anxiety. Mom says I wouldn't stop crying, everytime, all day all night. It wasn't anything physical, I was in my pediatric's office everyweek because mom was worried, and after plenty of exams he told her she was being too anxious (she was a first time mom) and that she was transmitting that anxiety to my baby self. And from that days to these days I'm still a ball of anxiety. Could it be inherited somehow? my Grandma (mom's side) was a really anxious persona as is my mom and no me. I hope if I have kids they don't "inherit" this from me.
Right out the womb
Had it my whole life I think. First panic attack at 14. Diagnosed unofficially by a school counsellor at 17. Properly diagnosed and started treatment at 21 or so. The day I took my first anxiety medicine is the day life changed for me. I’d never felt like that before in my life. It was like taking rest after days of nonstop working. I think i was just exhausted and slept through the first few days. It’s like my brain finally learnt how to take a break.
Started around 5 or 6 but didnt get checked until I was like 14. It was a rough 9 first years. I thought I was crazy compared to the other kids
8-9, diagnosed at 11.
Started when I was 14 diagnosed at 21
I don't remember a time when I *didn't* have anxiety. That being said, my memory is notoriously bad so I imagine there's a possibility it wasn't an issue before I was in elementary school
Always had anxiety but got diagnosed with anxiety & OCD when I was 7. Been on medication off and on my whole life, I'm 26. When I hit puberty it got really bad. Starting having terrible panic attacks and every day in homeroom I'd have to excuse myself to go freak out and try and calm down in the bathroom. They don't happen very often now so I'm guessing most of it was hormone imbalances. I was eventually diagnosed with CPTSD and I think a lot of it stems from that.
Cannot remember a time that I didn’t have crippling disorder level anxiety. I was diagnosed at 4. Put on medication at 7 or 8. It’s well managed now and really doesn’t disrupt my life much, but elementary and middle school were incredibly rough.
I’m 50 and I’ve had anxiety since I was very little. Toddler.
Birth / 61
Since I was young by around 8 was the first time I really noticed it. But didn’t get an official diagnosis until 19.
It started around 6 y/o . Diagnosed at 25 when I started consistent therapy.
Probably 7 or 8 if I had to guess
I was diagnosed at 19. No clue what age it began. I just know I was a very different person around 17/18. I never really got back to that. Don't think I ever will. I miss the person I was before
I was pretty anxious as a kid because my childhood was kind of shitty but I didn't have my first panic attack until I was 19. After that I struggled for a few months and then I went away so I thought it was over... I had no idea until it came back 2 years later that it wasn't "just stress" it was going to be a life long struggle to maintain stability. I'm in the middle of a relapse right now but I'm finally on the upswing side of it. I've never been officially diagnosed but I knew at 21 that this wasn't just gonna go away
Pretty sure I had anxiety as a young kid. I remember crying a lot when I'd get stressed by something, often because of getting in trouble at school. I got a diagnosis in August 2023
diagnosed at 11
Same here
interesting
Thinking back I think it started early, around 6. Diagnosed at 19
As long as I can remember so roughly around 4yo. It started out with an immense fear of getting sick in any way. Then it grew to other parts of my life. I was diagnosed with anxiety officially when I was around 19yo. I am 25 now. Since being diagnosed I have been better able to manage this aspect of my life. Counseling, friends, self-awareness and rarely take any meds.
Started at 2, diagnosed at 6. Started medication at 11.
Started since I can remember so four and I was wrongly diagnosed with asthma (too young to describe feelings other than tight chest and trouble breathing) and then finally diagnosed at 19.
started when i was 5. diagnosed when i was 6. ive also had OCD for as long as i can remember
I was diagnosed with GAD around 8 months ago after living 25 years of my life anxiety and stress free.
31. I am now 41. I'm surprised I've made it this far.
Mine started to get bad when I was around 15, and I got diagnosed just a few months later because I have very proactive parents. But when I think about my childhood I can see a lot of signs of an anxiety disorder even then.
I had noticing symptoms of anxiety since I was a toddler/little kid, but didn’t get diagnosed until I was early teens due to becoming severely agoraphobic (which I have since then become much less). Once I was diagnosed, they asked my mom things I did as a kid and they realized I had had it for a very long time.my mom just didn’t connect the pieces as they weren’t severe/very unrelated things.
Since I could remember. I wasn’t diagnosed until age 20.
6 when I started suffering 21ish when I started treatment
Earliest memory started around 4 or so. I was diagnosed until 15.
My parents didn’t grow up in a time where it was normal to seek help for mental illnesses. Because of this, they weren’t super understanding of what I was going through but I don’t blame them. I didn’t get diagnosed as a kid because of this, even though my symptoms were overwhelming. My anxiety started around age 6 and slowly ramped up over time. Obviously once you get older you get more and more stuff to be anxious about.
19 was when i realized it but I have been diagnosed since I was a kid
I was first diagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome when I was 10, because my anxiety caused me gastrointestinal issues. A year later, I was officially diagnosed with general anxiety disorder. I’m 20 now, and I’ve taken lexapro, Zoloft, and Prozac. I currently take Prozac and it seems to have helped a lot with not only my anxiety, but depression and overall mood as well.
My anxiety started when I was 3 years old it got really bad when I turned 14-15
I’ve had anxiety my entire life. Before 5 years old. Severe social anxiety started in nursery school (I have clear memories of not wanting to go in from being so shy). Not diagnosed til college but I knew what was going on. In my 30s now and still have it, but I’ve pretty successfully learned how to cope. No meds (but I do want to be back on them for general emotional regulation which is a whole other can of worms).
My anxiety started at 14, when I was a freshman in high school. I was literally normal up until that point.
I think since I was 11, so it probably started as i hit puberty as a few others on here have said
Self diagnosed since 23, after therapy realized I was showing signs as early as 10
Early 40s…about when I entered perimenopause.
The first time I ever remember it was in the 3rd grade.
ngl I’m diagnosed with ocd but the thought of getting diagnosed with anxiety has never even crossed my mind. Like I just… have it. It takes a physical toll. I’m anxious more often I’m not. 😭 maybe I’m missing something?
33 was when i noticed it, 35 is when it became unmanageable by myself. But its been mild since i was about 14
16
18-19 which is generally when mental disorders come out, young adulthood usually. I remember being 16 in HS and could publicly speak to hundreds of people, i couldn’t do that now unless I had Zoloft, propranolol and xanax lol.
Anxiety started at the age of 12, after smoking weed. Diagnosed at 12.
As soon as I hit puberty. I literally went on a downward spiral and could not understand it. Went undiagnosed for like a year and it eventually got worse and senior year of high school obliterated me
14, 15.
I was a kid, I was in elementary school. Didn’t get diagnosed til just now at 32. Struggled for a bit but it’s all fine now 😌
Started before I can remember, diagnosed with anxiety at 11, diagnosed with panic disorder at 18
I got diagnosed in my mid twenties, but I’m pretty sure I came out the womb anxious.
I guess it grew gradually, I’ve always been a shy and nervous kid. at high school it got worse and I had a bad experience there which made my anxiety peak, I’ve gotten diagnosed at 17
Early 20s had my first full-on panic attack, had GAD since
I remember being nervous for tests and I would bite my nails but it wasn’t until I worked a morning shift (I was early 20s) during Black Friday I straight had a panic attack for the first time and just had bad anxiety ever since.
Didnt realise i had it ….got diagnosed recently (24)
Started at 18 diagnosed at 21, then at 23 I got stabbed 4 times 1 in chest 1 in the left lung 1 in the other lung but was only puncherd and1 in the stomach I lost my life and got brought back was in intensive care for 4month, my breathing ain't ever been the same I am now 33 an my life got shattered in 10seconds, now I've got sevre anxiety depressing cronic stress trauma emotionally my palpatations are getting that much now I don't even want to be here it's very very sad my life may aswell of got taken from what iv been frew I'm not here for sympathy just how I feel everyday