Are You a High-anxiety Person?

Me, I don't sweat the small stuff or the bi stuff for that matter. It wastes way too much time. I am just pretty easy going. A lot of it comes with age. You realize what matters and what does not.

I do think everybody has something they are anxious about. I tended to worry a lot about my kids (older now). The first couple yrs of college for my oldest drove me crazy enough that I have changed and have lessened anxiety. I still have trouble going to sleep at night so I watch tv till I am very sleepy because I don't want to listen to myself worry! Really, after I have prayed, whatever is going to happen, is going to happen. Worry effects nothing but me. Its ineffective.

I do keep a prayer journal. It helps me to know I have taken it to God and that's all I can do. I come boldly to that throne of grace.

My H has more anxiety. He is the most prepared person i ever knew. It's been my saving grace and the Bain of my existence. I have no organization skills. I have those scattered artistic instincts.

Sometimes he has no priorities in what he is anxious about. In a serious instant moment of chaos, you want me around. You really don't want him around, lol! If the kids threw up, I would shout for a towel and he would stand there and look like:
1. He had no idea where a towel could be found.
2. He had no idea WHAT a towel WAS, lol!
He designs software for planes. Perfect for him. Never slips a schedule.
I was a respiratory therapist. I was first one to a code doing CPR. I thrived on crazy, instant pressure. It's the slow building anxiety that burns me out.

I am like the reverse of OCD and anxious.

It's not always the best, because I will just do things and in the process...realize I should have been a little more cautious about it!! I pretty much fly by the seat of my pants on a daily basis. I do think balance is really valuable. I have to force myself daily to try and strike a healthy balance.

My husband is an artist by profession and personally. I also love to create. I am just now dabbling my toes into the artist by profession thing. Our minds are not made for organization. He tends to be more anxious then I am, but about his own ability. (That plagues many artists.) We struggle with order, because our minds aren't very organized.

I do get anxious sometimes. I never did 5+ years ago...My age has brought on some hormomal changes and along w/ that comes some anxiety. Plus, there is alot more going on in the world today that can freak me out if I think about it too much...people texting and driving (almost got hit a few times), violence on tv/movies/on the news, this crazy weather (tornadoes/fires, etc), genetically engineered food, and so on and so forth...

The other day, I stopped at a very high quality health food store that has drs and nutritionists on staff. The dr was was talking to a lady about anxiety and showing her some Non-GMO, organic supplements she could try. I could get the name of them for you, if you'd like...

Daily excercise really helps !!! Also... For me, if I stay off processed foods, drink water and avoid foods that are genetically engineered, I feel much better...I google the non-gmo shopping guide for assistance !
Sleep helps me, too. No less than 8.5 hrs a night.

Yes, I have stress and anxiety. I have a frustratingly low tolerance for uncertainty which sets off my anxiety and stress. I developed the condition after a series of life events over which I had no control, but which impacted me greatly. My stress and anxiety has been so bad lately that it has increased my blood pressure (I saw the doctor yesterday about it). I am taking medication, lowering my sodium intake, and attempting to exercise more to alleviate the whole business.

I think I'm a lot like NYMetroMom in that I am also a planner. My lists and forethought are a security blanket of sorts, they curb anxiety, knowing that I have things more or less planned out in advance.

Things less within my control will bring about a bit more anxiety. Certain personalities within my family can bring about huge anxiety, depending on what's going on and the event. (My folks, for example, used to have unrealistically high expectations for Christmas, which put my anxiety through the roof. I had to stop going.) I have some social anxiety at the larger social gatherings, so some I skip (and send my husband on to with my blessings) and some I just go and make the best of. Once I realized that I didn't have to be 'interesting' to anyone else but me, that was a relief.

My son-- I am not typically worried about. For example- I have strong feelings on which teacher he'd do his best with next year, but whoever he gets, I know he'll be okay.

I AM super-anxious about traffic. I've got you beat there! Perhaps that's because I've been a pedestrian for so long-- there are so many horrible drivers out there, simply not paying attention. I see so many distracted drivers as I walk my son to school, texting, doing their makeup, not paying attention--- I have to make eye contact with them before I step out to cross the street. I've almost been hit several times due to distracted drivers. I see some stupid moves when I am a passenger in my husband's car-- people cutting each other off, etc. (Can you tell I have HUGE anxiety about this?) ***There is not a medication on the planet that I could take which would induce me to drive.*** (or maybe there is, but I'd be so looped it wouldn't be safe!) I KNOW how to drive. I just hate it. I'd rather take the bus or walk, thanks. Much more pleasant and we have amazing public transport here, so this actually saves us a lot of money. Both my husband and I are okay with this-- and I've actually gotten to see more of my world, meet more people than I might have. I don't perceive my choice not to drive as a hindrance or a bad thing.

So, maybe I'm a nut in the 'driving' area of my life, I don't know. I don't really even care. I've got most of the other stuff down pat!

You're not a nut.
Almost everyone on the planet has a worry or an anxiety about something
Even laid back people worry about kids or money or death etc.
However, having said that there are those that worry too much or have
OCD tendencies.
Now while you think "chill" about those that worry about their kids, others
read your post & think "eek, chill about your worries" so you see it is all
relative to the individual.
I think it's just hard when we let our worries get the best of us & take over
our lives.
If I start to worry, I stop myself in the moment & think to myself "hey now,
ok no use worrying about it.....just relax".
Having said that I take precations "lock the door, map out when driving
somewhere new etc.).
I think it's when it takes over our lives that we need to go to counseling to
try & get a handle on it.

I go through periods when I am super anxious...refusing to drive on the highway, etc. and then other periods when I feel fine.

I do tend to get stressed out easily, but nothing some sleep and deep breathing can't fix.

you should not feel like a nut. you are simply different . i was anxious but then i started to really really work on it last year and i'm way better than i was. i still try to plan out my trips b/c i just can't leave without a plan & knowing which way i'm going & having a backup plan and a backup plan to that plan. i was really proud b/c i drove to some other very far cities on my own several times in 5 months.

I'm kind of like you. I definitely need order to allay anxiety. But not about driving, and I'm okay with being alone at night. But I do exist with a certain amount of anxiety. That's why I'm an exercise nut. It's the only thing that keeps me sane.

Re Patty's answer below: I consider myself easygoing and someone who gets "what matters" -- anxiety is not about that. As long as I'm not surrounded by physical chaos in my home, I can roll with most things that happen. But there is still a general unease that it hard to describe if you don't have it.

OMG I swear until I read the part about how you view your kids and your lack of stress with that/them I would have thought I wrote this post. I was like you as a child and like you my parents never noticed anything. It wasn't until I was in my early 20's that I finally sought help and was officially diagnosed with OCD. I refuse to take meds everyday so I just deal with it as best I can but its tough. I have severe anxiety some days and some days are okay. I found, just like my Dr. said, that when I had kids my anxiety would most likely get worse and damn was she right. I stress about everything when it comes to my kids. But on the same note the other day we all went to an indoor play land and I just let go and let my kids be kids and it literally was one of the best feelings to relax and take in the huge smiles on their faces
At this point of course I would rather not have to be this way but I have learned to 'cope' now I worry a lot about whether one or both of my kids will end up having to live like I do. I certainly hope not because I often feel trapped in my own head with the OCD. It sucks but I guess it could be worse

When I was a senior in high school, we took a first aid class. The day of our midterm, our teacher told us that there were 2 rules for the test. Rule #1: Don't sweat the small stuff. Rule #2: It's all small stuff. Whenever I get stressed out, I think about that and I feel better. And trust me, I have had some major anxiety attacks, especially after I had my daughter.