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Uncontrollable anxious crying fits... but not panic attacks?

Posted , 7 users are following.

ArminsBabe
ArminsBabe

Hello,

For as long as I can remember, I've been having these odd crying fits when I get anxious, especially in public. It usually happens over something small or irrelevant that adds up with other things or has morphed into something bigger because I overthought it. What happens is I begin to feel anxiety for some reason (there is always a reason, though usually small... this is something that doesn't come out of the blue) and begin to choke back tears. Then I reach the point where I can't handle it anymore and start crying uncontrollably. I know I am not crying because I'm sad; I'm just extremely anxious or stressed at the moment, and for some reason this is my body's way of handling it. I then become aware of the fact that I'm crying no reason and that those around me probably think I'm insane, which in turn stresses me out more and causes me to cry more. I eventually reach the point where I can't stop crying and can't think straight; my thoughts just become a clouded mess. I begin to sweat, feel shaky, and have hot flashes, and feel as if I have absolutely no control over my emotions. I've also had points where I feel like I'm losing my mind. I always feel like I just want get away from the situation, like I just want to run and hide, and it's over, I usually feel exhausted, though that just might be from the crying. I feel like these episodes aren't normal and I've reached the point where I fear having them, but there's nothing I can do to prevent them. I've tried to find information on something like this, and have wondered if perhaps I'm having a panic attack, but what I experience isn't nearly as severe (I don't feel like I can't breathe, my heart doesn't beat irregularly, and I don't fear death).

I'm posting this here because I can't seem to find information on it anywhere else. I understand that I probably won't be able to get a diagnosis with such little information, but I just want if others know what it is that I'm going through and if other people feel the same way.

Thanks in advance.

0 likes, 9 replies

9 Replies

  • Quando62
    Quando62 ArminsBabe

    Posted

    I can relate 100 percent with everything you just explined. I don't have panic attacks like I used to but sure know what they are. I have Generalized Anxiety Disorder over 20 years.... Please do a search if not already on GAD.... I'm anxious over being anxious....!!!!! Crazy stuff

  • sally91356
    sally91356 ArminsBabe

    Posted

    OMG, this is me, exactly!  I have been like this all my life and I’m now in my fifties.  I think or I believe they stem from the fact that I was never allowed to cry as a child or even express any other emotion apart from happiness.  I was never comforted if I was crying, I was ignored or told to stop it now, enough is enough.  Even now if I have a crying attack my mum will say she knows exactly how to handle me and tellls others to ignore it and it will pass eventually.  Like you, I fight and fight to stop the tears from coming but once they come, the floodgates open and there is no stopping them and I just get worse and worse.  It’s kind of like a panic as I’m totally enveloped by it but I don’t feel like I’m dying or can’t breathe.  I feel like I just want to run away from people around me as I feel stupid, mentally deranged and totally alone.  I avoid situations where I fear I’m going to have a crying attack and totally show myself up.  My family are so used to it that I feel they’re all just waiting for me to start and then it’s like, oh no here we go, for God’s sake, what’s wrong now .... stuff like that.  

    Reading your story, it’s like I could have written it myself.  I thought I was the only person in the world like me, I’ve never met anyone else like this.  I know people who have “normal” panic attacks and wish I could have those instead as they can be more easily hidden.  A crying attack is so visible and once they begin that’s it, there is no stopping and It’s totally visible on my face that even if I manage to stop, for the rest of the day it’s there, visible signs of having cried, red swollen eyes and then get people asking me if I’m alright which just starts it all off again.  Usually I’ll run away and be on my own so it’s so isolating.   I wish I could just have a panic, feel like I’m going crazy for half an hour and take myself off somewhere without crying and then no one would know.  

    Im ready now to d something about this, I can’t keep going on like it, living in fear of crying.  I would love to know if you’ve conquered it or what you may have tried.  There has got to be something or some way of controlling these attacks.  

    My my heart goes out to you, I know exactly what it’s like xx 

  • Cannr8058
    Cannr8058 ArminsBabe

    Posted

    Reading this sounds identical to me.  Have you ever been able to find anything to help.   
    • sally91356
      sally91356 Cannr8058

      Posted

      Hi again,  yes I saw a therapist for two hours and she gave me a book to read called “The Emotionally Absent Mother” which was brilliant and helped a lot.  My therapist surmised that I’m suffer No from Childhood emotional neglect (CEN) and I’ve also read a book about that.  Its also been suggested to me that I may have Aspbergers but I haven’t had this confirmed and I’m not totally convinced of this even though I can relate to a lot of the symptoms of it.  I’ve been on antidepressants for years and recently swapped to an antidepressant/anti anxiety medication which is working better.  

      I discovered by accident, after I’d been given cocodamol for an operation I had, that these really helped me to stay calm and now I take them about an hour before I go anywhere where I think I might get a crying attack but they can be highly addictive so I only take them as a last resort.  

      After i I read the two books though, they really helped me understand myself so much better and I’m learning to accept and feel emotions as they arise, rather than fighting them off.  I think I’m making progress, slowly.

      how about you?  Have you been like me all your life too?  I am amazed that there’s someone else out there like me, I have never met anyone else like me and you, have you?  I wouldn’t wish this on anybody but being honest, I’m happy to have connected with you and it would be so great if we could help each other.  Thank you for replying to me 🙂

    • Cannr8058
      Cannr8058 sally91356

      Posted

      Thanks for your suggestions on the book .  I am going to order it a nd give it a try. Hopefully it will help.  I have had this for a long time but due to some recent high levels of stress it has got a lot worse and just don’t know what to do. People do not understand what it is like. Feel badly for anyone going through something like this
  • hyperkooki
    hyperkooki ArminsBabe

    Posted

    I’m 15 years old and i’ve been going through something super similar. i dont have a therapist/psychiatrist so i’ve never been diagnosed with anxiety and i’ve never had a panic/anxiety attack, but i do get extremely anxious for no valid reasons and have had to leave a party to sob because i felt like everyone in the room hated me. i get really controlling in situations where i’m anxious, just to make sure i can do everything the right way... but yeah, i do the crying when anxious thing too and i’m just wondering if its a valid anxiety thing 
    • sally91356
      sally91356 hyperkooki

      Posted

      Bless you, it’s really hard.  Please excuse me if I’m replying to posts which don’t concern me as it’s a bit confusing whether this is a group chat or not.  Every one of us still has an inner child within and if that inner child is hurt then we need to learn to parent ourselves.  I would strongly advise looking on the website by Dr Jonice Webb about CEN (childhood emotional neglect).  When it was first suggested to me I was horrified as I would not want to blame my parents for anything as I always knew they loved me very much.  But ... parenting comes in all guises and children can be affected badly by a parent who is too laid back as much as one who is too strict.  Have a look on the website and see if any of it rings true.  Her books are brilliant too.  I’m 40 years older than you and all my life I’ve suffered so I have a lot of work to do to fix the past and heal so my biggest regret is not doing something about it sooner.  All anyone wants is to be understood, really understood and to know they’re not alone.  Good luck to you xx
  • Kiara0
    Kiara0 ArminsBabe

    Posted

    I go through this exact same thing. My anxiety attacks never become severe. I get overwhelmed and I began overthinking then I shut down. In addition to that, I want to be left alone. I feel pitiful for myself and wish time would just hurry up. I just want to be left alone. I have never been diagnosed with depression. Once that happens everything wrong in my life begins penetrating my mind. I am already anti-social but when I get anxious I become isolated more than ever. I shut down and began crying out of nowhere. Sometimes I lose interest towards things I typically adore. I have never been diagnosed with anxiety or depression because I never talk about it; I do not want to be looked at as crazy and put on medicine. I am glad that I am not the only one that experiences these attacks. 
  • jj47215
    jj47215 ArminsBabe

    Posted

    This is something that I go through as well. I totally understand what you mean. It is difficult to hold back my tears. I end up sobbing a lot. I feel so embrassed when this happens in public. It's just the way my body reacts when something gets stressful or confusing. Usually I try to hold in my breaths and it kind helps .

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