Does anyone suffer from Anxiety ?

On a bad day I can't even walk in a conference room full of people without sweating or getting nervous.
I can barely walk down a busy street without feeling like everyone is looking at me and judging me. Most of the time I'd rather stay home and only go to the mailbox.
The only time I don't feel the pressures of anxiety is when I've had some type of alcoholic beverage and then I can take on the world..
My girlfriend does not understand my problem but she helps as much as she can...
I really feel alone with this... can anybody relate ??

Thanks Everybody For All The Wonderful Advice..I read Each and Every One of Your Responses and I Truly took notes...I thought I was alone but you made me realize that I'm Not.......Once again Thank You and have a Blessed Night !!...

I feel the same. I've been suffering from depression and anxiety for a while now :(

Sounds like you've become dependent on alcohol. The first time you did it, it made you feel better for whatever reason. So. now in order to have more alcohol, your mind remembers what you did the first time. You then suffer from anxiety and want the alcohol again. My suggestion: Stop drinking for a while. See what happens, it could be keeping you in a cycle and just be making your situation worse. Who knows, I may be wrong.

I do not suffer from anxiety - but I however am always tense and nervous when in a room with a lot of people, and in unfamilar situations. I also often feel like people are judging me. I also don麓t like to take the bus cause I feel it is sometimes strange to sit next to a stranger.

It is however not so bad that it affects me that much. And I also know other people who experience similar things...

So I would say that many people can relate to this - and feel really awful about the way you have it - cause they know, like I know, that if it had been worse, had it affected me more, maybe like you feel that it is affecting you, than I dont know what I would do....

ohh yeah

wouldn't use alcohol to medicate could cause more problems than answer
counseling good, antianxiety meds yes
helps if you get a good nights rest
talk to your doctor for meds and referrals
it don't get better on its own

I understand a little- I have bad days too, when I feel like if I go up to friends to talk to them, they'll be annoyed by my presence, and hoping I'll leave. I feel like people are secretly rejecting me, and interpret innocent(?) comments in this way. It's very isolating and I hate myself for feeling that way, because I know it doesn't make sense- however, once the self-criticism starts going, it only makes things worse.

That's why I enjoy musical theater- it makes me so caught up in the energy that I can loosen up ten times more than I would if I were in a therapist's office, for example. My advice to you would be to find a hobby or something that will let you enjoy yourself, because the more "caught up" you are in the moment, the less you'll have time to think about these things. You just need to get past the initial fear of meeting new people! For that, you could ask a close friend to come with you. I also like adventure movies and rock music because they make me feel powerful and free. You could find whatever does that for you and use it instead of alcohol (unless it's drugs, which would pretty much put you back in the same boat. You don't want a whole new set of problems!)

I hope I've helped a little. Good luck with everything!

My husband's whole family has the same problem.His sister was prescribed the medicine Lexapro and it changed her life.Then my husband:who is a Parkinson's patient:started taking it and it changed his life.He couldn't sleep all nite without getting up to take medicine but now he does. It has been a miracle for us.

There are medications that can help you with this. There are also therapies that can help without medication. You need to contact a Dr. they can advise you.

Anxiety and "panic attacks" are very common. Most people try to disguise it or fail to admit the problem for fear that others will see them as weak or "crazy". I think guys are very reluctant to seek help in this area. They wait until they have some type of full blow panic attack, go the the E.R. thinking they are having a heart attack of some sort and find out its "only a panic attack". If you only knew how much meds can help here, you would give it a try. I was a 100% workaholic with so much stress and responsibility. Because I was good at what I did and others saw me as successful, I was in shock when things started to chew at me or if I became anxious about things. It was so out of character for me. I finally told a Dr. friend and he prescribed some meds which made all the difference in the world, I could stay on a level course all day, sleep well, not turn to food or alcohol for stress relief. I highly suggest some type of treatment so that you don't ruin your health or your relationships.

I have direct experience with anxiety and depression. Anxiety is your body telling you that you have an unresolved emotional issue. Anxiety will keep coming back, and often gets worse until you address the underlying cause of it. Yes, you can medicate your feelings, but if you want to overcome the anxiety, you must face the root cause of it. It isn't fun, but it is well worth the time, money and emotional energy you put into it. I have been there. I won't say that therapy is like a magic wand to cure you of your anxiety. But dealing with your issues will lessen the effects of anxiety and allow you to go abou tyour daily life without feeling under a microscope. Many times medication is used in conjunction with therapy, but I want to emphasize that medication alone does NOT solve the problem....it simply tones down your emotions so that facing the cause of your anxiety is not so overwhelming and scary. The real solution lies within YOU.

You are definitely suffering from an anxiety disorder.
I was fairly anxious when I was younger. Then I quit caring what anyone else thought of me and it went away.
Alcohol is a stimulant and a depressent, it can turn you into Superman or a crying mess. It lifts you up or crashes you, depending. But it is not the way to deal with your anxiety. It causes more problems than it solves.
Sounds to me like you need to develop more self confidence and quit caring what anyone else thinks.
If you can't work through this on your own, you might consider taking some self confidence classes or get some books from the library. If it continues to be a problem, see your doctor or make an appointment with a mental health center.
Oh, and watch what you eat. Certain dyes and chemicals in foods can cause allergies and reactions that could be causing your symptoms or making them worse.