Most likely it didn't matter as much - "you'll grow out of it" and then you don't.


Also if one's anxiety partially stems from mentally illnesses, quite a few do start in your 15-25 age range.

 

Most likely it didn't matter as much - "you'll grow out of it" and then you don't.

Also if one's anxiety partially stems from mentally illnesses, quite a few do start in your 15-25 age range.

This is pretty much what happened with me. I was very shy as a kid (from what I remember - although according to an old report card I was talkative when I was a young child). My parents assumed I would grow out of it, but I didn't. I was overlooked as one of five kids in the family, and my issues were never properly addressed.

I remember first becoming aware of my social isolation around age 10 or so, which makes sense when you think about it. When you're a little kid, your parents are responsible for your social life. Then, when you get older, you're supposed to make friends on your own. I didn't.

 

Mine started around 14-15. I think I was around 19 or 20 when I was diagnosed with Generalized Anxiety Disorder and Panic Disorder with Agoraphobia. Was at its worst late teens and early 20's, then came back pretty bad around 30. Been better since then.

I don't remember being anxious about anything as a young child. In high school I stopped talking in classes and skipped all my speeches in speech class. I think I was 17 or 18 the first time I had a panic attack. I went to the emergency room thinking I was dying. Haven't had a full on panic attack in years now.
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No sadly I've had anxiety issues my entire life.

 

+1

 

But then shouldn't it stop after puberty goes away?

 

I remember being really shy/quiet as a young child but still had a few friends, I didn't become a full on recluse till 14, I think people prone to anxiety type disorders are just more sensitive to both positive & negative stimuli in the beginning, everyone knows life is not kind to those sensitive or different for the most part in schools, other "normal" kids etc.

I think depending on what they're on the recieving end more off is what they can develop into & of course everyone is different with different childhood situations, people also have different levels of sensitivity/tolerance to get to their breaking point so it's conceivable people can make it to adulthood before the sum total of their Constitution & experiences manifest.

 

I think that's because everyday life challenges and responsibilities start to become more oppressive later on in life and worsen a pre-existing mental illness. I think anxiety and depression are highly influenced by your lifestyle so it makes sense they would worsen over time rather than when you're a child and don't have many responsibilities.

 

Hmm this is what I think too. But I wonder if really rich people go through this (the ones who have anxiety disorders). Because after a certain point of wealth, all the regular anxieties that people have don't affect you because money is security.

 

For some people it can manifest early in life - either due to trauma and/or having an easier predisposition for it. Others can develop it later because something can 'activate' their predisposition which didn't occur to them earlier on in life. I think the more severe cases tend to come from the former since added time and life experiences can enhance it.

 

Yeah this is what I feel too. I wonder if an overprotective childhood could have something to do with it too......if kids don't get used to tackling with issues, it could become overwhelming in the future because they haven't gotten any exercise with it when they were young.

 

Funny that so many here can date it back to 14-15 years. Mine also started at 14 and got worse till 19-20, than, after 24-25, it started to get a little better.

 

I think my problem must have started in my teens because I was a pretty confident little kid. I wasn't anxious at all when I was little - had friends at school and was never bullied. I became quieter at high school but I saw it more as I was just always studying - until I got sick of it and left at 16. Even then I went to work and was fine (after another year studying something else to appease my father a bit.)

I'd say my anxiety is very strange and I don't always understand how it's developed and changed. Aspects of it are worse now than then - which is a bit worrying.

 

My GAD and SA has been with me since my baby years, but it snowballed into Nightmare Mode at 13ISH, actually that's when my dysthymia / cyclical depression started.
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My GAD and SA has been with me since my baby years, but it snowballed into Nightmare Mode at 13ISH, actually that's when my dysthymia / cyclical depression started.
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Did you have trouble socializing as a young child?

 

Experiencing of social trauma later in life perhaps.

 

For the same reason snow gets deeper the longer it snows. Accumulation.

 

Again, I became aware of my anxiety in my teens. Bullied due to weight issues by people that had been friends. Before then I was relatively happy, could talk and engage with people well.

They should erase the teenage years from our existence.

 

I think anxiety usually occurs later in life bc as you're developing, your gene expression shows up more. You could have a hereditary gene expression from generations ago.

 

I think anxiety usually occurs later in life bc as you're developing, your gene expression shows up more. You could have a hereditary gene expression from generations ago. Also I believe nutrition plays a role. My mom told me that in her generation she could just pick up a fruit and there wasn't any pesticides on them. If you're well-nurtured from inside the womb to when you're an adult especially, then it's probably a lot less likely you'll have mental-health problems bc you have a strong physical constitution and you can handle stress/trauma better.

Hmm maybe.

Nutrition definitely is important because your physical and mental health are connected. I've always noticed my mood drop down whenever I eat a lot of junk food. Energy levels are the first to go down, and then you feel depressed and sluggish.

 

Also, just had a thought.

When you are younger you feel like you have time to change and make something of life. As time ticks away the hurdles become bigger. A lot of people on here talk about not having had relationships, jobs, still living with parents etc... I think as time passes this alienates people. They begin believing they are outcasts, not worthy of the things they used to want. This only gets worse as you get older unless you can jump over some of those hurdles, which can seem impossible for some.

 

Also, just had a thought.

When you are younger you feel like you have time to change and make something of life. As time ticks away the hurdles become bigger. A lot of people on here talk about not having had relationships, jobs, still living with parents etc... I think as time passes this alienates people. They begin believing they are outcasts, not worthy of the things they used to want. This only gets worse as you get older unless you can jump over some of those hurdles, which can seem impossible for some.

I have thought about this too. Your perceived self esteem has got a lot to do with how you compare yourself to other people. So when you see other people do stuff that you aren't doing, it makes you feel unworthy......but this is a trick of the mind.

 

Does anyone else find this weird? People say these anxiety disorders are usually neurological. So shouldn't it be there from the very start? If its in someone's neurology, shouldn't they be experiencing it from the moment they turn 4 or 5?

Why does it manifest so late? Could it be that we were doing something right in our childhoods which we aren't doing as adults?

I remember always being somewhat shy but got much worse when I made it to middle to about 5th or 6th grade. That is the age when a lot of metal illness shows up so it makes sense. The teenage years are very tough anyway so I think that brings a lot of mental health issues out at that time.

 

mine manifest at birth. my mom said i never slept even as an infant and was always anxious. i recall having panic attacks in preschool and earlier, not recognizing them for what they were until late into adulthood. the culture i grew up in did not recognize anxiety issues as being true issues. the term then was 'chicken' or 'coward.'

 

That's horrible mate - must have been very hard. I think it's still largely true tbh - people have no real understanding of anxiety issues at all unless they've experienced it themselves.

 

I was very "anxious" of things as a child, like my bed breaking if both my parents sat on it, sleep problems, etc. I didn't become anxious of people specifically until social norms started becoming a bigger thing in middle school.

 

I had it my whole life, but it's just developing constantly...