# Anxiety Disorders > Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) >  >  What spikes your anxiety?

## rachelchloe

Whenever i'm in a car, or when i'm alone. 

Mostly when i'm alone.:c But yeah...what makes you stressed?

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## fetisha

having to do too much in one day, not going to a self check out at the store, people staring at me more than 3 seconds, crowds,public speaking,having a bad hair day, wearing a short skirt, college,

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## CityofAngels

> Whenever i'm in a car, or when i'm alone. 
> 
> Mostly when i'm alone.:c But yeah...what makes you stressed?



I'm your opposite, not being alone stresses me.

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## Xmen

College really --------------

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## Blossom

Uni studies & exams, public speaking, arguments, thinking about my health..

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## davidjvista1

Having too much on my mind can cause a bad trigger of anxiety...

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## CaduceusGUILT

Having nothing to do triggers my anxiety since I start to over-think and reflect on my life. I try to keep myself occupied.  ::):

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## Sym

Public speaking, thinking too much, talking to people I don’t know, and getting important things done.

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## stephanie13021988

Walking around at the mall.. when people stare it freaks me out

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## foe

public speaking, walking on the sidewalks of heavy traffic, talking to girls i'm interested in.

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## pljunkie

Leaving the house by myself, crossing the road, walking in areas with lots of traffic/people, social gatherings and being alone at night time.

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## BananaExpress

Social gatherings, fear of not finding someone to share my life with, fear of the fear itself..

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## Katelyn

In class or in a crowded hallway

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## rachelchloe

Meeting new people...
When i'm depressed...
When i'm trying to be sneaky...
And when I like a boy.

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## musicnic16

having fights with my friends..
talking in front of people..

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## rachelchloe

Boys. Relationships.
Jealousy. 

Did I mention boys?

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## rachelchloe

Oh! AND not eating. That stresses me out.

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## girlyone1

Lack of sleep really triggers my anxiety.

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## Ironman

Being overwhelmed with things to do, like Fetisha.  I had a lot of that in August, September, and October.  It's a huge triumph over SA to know what I have accomplished, though, so it ends up working in my favor.

My SA threshold has increased significantly due to all of the standing up for myself - I have had to make a ton of phone calls, etc.  The thought that I needed to get things done under deadlines kinda made SA play on the highway :lol.

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## Sparrow

^Same here  ::(: .

Also, anticipation of pretty much anything outside of my normal routine causes me to have anxiety.  Also, work deadlines, bills, and when my dogs get really sick...

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## Ironman

> ^Same here .
> 
> Also, anticipation of pretty much anything outside of my normal routine causes me to have anxiety.  Also, work deadlines, bills, and when my dogs get really sick...



Anytime my dog got sick, I would freak.  Their colds aren't quite the same and then I would be afraid that it would affect other areas.
A warm dry nose was not a good sign.  

I love how he would plop himself on the air conditioning vent on a hot day.   I would give him ice water, too.

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## CaduceusGUILT

Work is starting to spike my anxiety. Although it does help improve my social anxiety through the constant interaction with customers, I do have anticipatory anxiety when I wake up every morning and I come home somewhat depressed. I'm considering finding another job, but that process is also making me quite anxious.  :Razz:

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## WintersTale

College can spike my anxiety, if I don't understand the assignments.

For the most part, though, people spike my anxiety. Having to deal with social interactions is, in it and of itself, draining.  ::

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## Katie

Smoking.

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## WineKitty

> College can spike my anxiety, if I don't understand the assignments.
> 
> For the most part, though, people spike my anxiety. Having to deal with social interactions is, in it and of itself, draining.



I hear you on that.   I have a very interactive job and that drains the life out of me sometimes.  Even going to the store can be hard because I live in a smaller area and seem to run into people too much.  

Other times I am not sure what drives my anxiety.  I have been on benzos for 2 years now and it used to help quite a bit but now I view them as a source of anxiety and am self tapering.  I have slashed my dose by 50% so far.

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## Oswell

Going to parties

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## Koalafan

New things that are outside of my daily routine  ::(: , also group work, having to talk to strangers, one on one conversations, the list goes on and on  :Tongue:

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## CityofAngels

My anxiety is specific to getting close to people. I can talk all day about sports, weather and politics with anyone and never get anxious. Though I avoid politics now cuz I just hate the subject but thats not related to this thread. But anything which could involve getting close to people freaks me out.

This part is hard to put into words, I don't think people will understand what I'm trying to get at. But I also have a problem with roles. Its really hard to put into words. But I don't like roles and it freaks me out. I'm not sure I can ever say it in a way that people will understand.

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## Sagan

Any crowded place, neighbor's dogs barking, passing people on the sidewalk are just some things that will do it.

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## L

Being watched, 
voicing my opinion
when I am sitting in class and then I become aware that I am really quiet and put pressure on myself to speak up
Being around a lot of people I am expected to talk to but do not know
the phone
When the car behind me drives to close

*The fact that spell check does not work on this site and I am dyslexic*

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## OhKay

Being the centre of attention within a large social group.

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## autecho

mine are directly related to autism; when outdoors am constantly worrying if theres going to be something unpredictible or an unpredictible sound as am profoundly sensitive to sound, if support staff have put some sort of visit out of the building on the timeline of mine [require to have specific details on it like a PEC of what car we are going in,what places we are going in and in what order etc],then am worrying they are going to change the transport we use without even saying.
if someone gets the hoover out to do the hoovering whilst am out of the house,and its left out when am back but not turned on-am really worrying about that one because the ld-institution that used to live in used to have abusive staff and one of their tactics against self was to chase with the hoover whilst it was turned on,which created a phobia of hoovers.
am also worrying if a particular fellow resident [who is really unpredictible with his fists and high pitched shouting] is going to kick off.

the current learning disability pysch of mine is also an good autism specialist and he said autism in all forms is so built up of anxieties.

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## SmileyFace

When I'm alone, but not all the time. To be exact, it's when I'm not keeping myself occupied and productive, whether it's with things I need to do or fun things I want to do. If I sit around and do nothing whatsoever, my mind easily wanders off, and I start to worry about 937598739853 things, and next thing you know.. my anxiety's going through the roof.

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## Yellow

Going out, especially when alone  ::

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## rachelchloe

> Going out, especially when alone



Same!D: I hate going alone, even more so to places like the mall or grocery store, because there are so many people.

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## brighter

Doing anything new where there's a chance for mistakes. Actually, making any kind of mistake usually spikes my anxiety for the rest of the day.

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## jsgt

Standing in one place for too long with other people around 
Being the center of someones attention(creepy stares)

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## Chantellabella

Mostly when I feel like I've failed with something. It's like I'm waiting for the punishment.

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## SmileyFace

Oh I forgot to mention -- caffeine makes me experience anxiety attacks. So I avoid coffee (as much as I love iced coffee) and heaps of soda. Sometimes I'd take sips of soda, not much.. but if I drank a whole lot, like 1/4 of a can even, then I'd feel very anxious and panicky about 15 minutes later.

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## Chieve

Screwing up and awkward silences and trying something different

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## KramersHalfSister

Starting a new job, being around crowds of people, driving and praying I don't get in accident (I've had 4 when I was younger), and meeting someone for the first time. Oh yeah, I HATE when all spotlight is on me or when someone draws attention to me. Being on display makes me extremely anxious. On my medication, I can handle all these things now without a problem. If I were on nothing though, all those things would send me into panic mode and bring on panic attacks.

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## Ironman

People jumping to the wrong conclusions about me.

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## The Wanderer

A lot of things.  Calling people on the phone, meeting new people (mostly applies to work), making stupid mistakes, family gatherings

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## FireIsTheCleanser

People laughing. I always assume they're laughing about me.
When I've procrastinated too much and have all my schoolwork to do in one night.
When I have any form of social situation (party, celebration, etc) that won't be for a while so I'm just sitting there waiting for it to come knowing that I will have to go there.

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## Arcadia

Crowded public transportation, when I catch a stranger looking at me, certain people.  Really any setting where the focus is on me..doctor visits, performance reviews at work, presentations, etc.  Being around very loud people.

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## Maliblue

.

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## Xmen

The day makes me anxious.

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## Grand Jete

Criticism. And the opposite sex. But especially criticism coming from the opposite sex.

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## Nelly

Going out, especially alone.

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## WintersTale

> Criticism. And the opposite sex. But especially criticism coming from the opposite sex.



This, most definitely.

As, of late, especially, when the criticism is over things I wasn't even thinking. My professor seems to think I was complaining about my grades, and I never was. I am extremely happy with my grades. It's better than the SQL class, that I am going to scrape a C in because I bombed the first test. 

I am coming to realize that intelligence should be rewarded, but ignorance, especially in humans, is limitless.

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## Chantellabella

I think the unknown triggers some of my anxiety.

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## JustGaara

Having to talk/deal with strangers or people I don't know well. 
Being in social situations where I only know 1 other person or no one at all.
Interviews and presentations.
When people look at me on public transportation.
Large groups of teenagers.
Having too much work to do and too little time to do it because I procrastinated.

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