Hi I am 28 year old male and I am suffering from anxiety from the past few years. And it gets worse when there is someone counting on me or when I have to perform and I mess things up. I try to stay calm and do yoga which helps but certainly not upto the point where I would feel confident doing day to day task. It shatters my confidence and lately I have been very low on confidence. I know I should not compare myself with others but I feel that I can deliver but when I have to my nervous system just gives up. My hands go cold and heart starts pounding and it takes days of rest to stop thinking about an incident. I look very weak certainly I was not like this. But after taking a medication for hair loss named propecia it has made my symptoms worse. I gave up that medication all of a sudden and have never been the same ever since. Normally I would be fine but I keep thinking negative thoughts of things I dint do well at office meetings and how I got nervous. I need help. I feel I expect too much from myself. I want to be confident like I used to be. Please help me.

Dr. Saul PereiraPsychologist46yrs exp

92% (37780 ratings)

Ask Free Question

You are suffering from performance anxiety, which comes from high expectations. The anxiety is bordering on hysteria too. Prior to the performance, there is existence and there may lie some issue that is unresolved. Where you, for example, rejected or told that you are not as good in doing things as others in the family? These questions must be explored with a counselor and the necessary help may be provided to resolve this issue. Sometimes this kind of nervousness could be genetic too. In the meantime you must do certain things to build your constitution physically, spiritually, emotionally, and mentally. Mental stability can be achieved by learning a few skills in handling emotions in an appropriate manner. Stress management skills, which have a lot to do with expressing emotions, will need to be a major part of your recovery program. Emotionally you need the help of a counselor and that will help you tremendously to move from anxiety to normal fear. Please persevere and cooperate through all the support you need and you will come through successfully. Develop your body?s health by physical fitness through exercise, good rest (sleep), and a proper diet. Any way what you need to focus on is to do vigorous exercise of the aerobic kind for the heart?s fitness; meditation for the brain?s fitness; sleep for a well rested mind and body; a sound spiritual well being for good confidence and stability; and a diet with lots of vegetables, fruits, and whole grains. Vigorous exercise, especially of the callisthenic kind, will make your heart, which is a muscle, grow larger; and then your heart will need to beat less often and you will respond to the anxiety with a calmer disposition. If your mind, constitution, and your emotions are in check and fit, you will never be disturbed again. The earlier you tackle this, the easier it is going to be. 

3 person found this helpful