Anyone else? It's not exactly heart-pounding anxiety, and it's not quite hopeless depression. It's somewhere in between there, with a heavy focus on fears related to getting older (and weaker and less independent) and a bleak outlook on the world (especially the US) in general.
I call these “the dreads” and it’s everything from hospital visits to loss to homelessness to ecological failure. My mind just locks on something bad from the news and “what ifs” for hours if I’ll let it. Helped immensely knowing the sad was normal from the drop in progesterone and the panic palpitations are from lower estrogen. Doesn’t make them easier though.
I look in the mirror and see a face I don’t really recognize, well I do, it’s my mother. So many things inside of my body are changing. My ideas are changing and then to top it off the world is like a dumpster fire everyone keeps driving by hoping someone else will deal with it. So I have moved back and forth between skepticism, nihilism, and existentialism crisis. not to mention I am the slow walker in my family now. Yeah, so I feel the doom. The only positive of the world issues is maybe it’ll wipe out my student loans that I have had since 2000.
I mostly ignored the aging stuff up until recently, it's starting to catch up to me which is why I am here I guess. Bit I've had thst kind of feeling about reality in general for most of my life. Just a whole lot of why does it have to be this way kind of thoughts and what not. Some days I just want to give up. Also, aging, especially as a woman sucks. Glad I found this group.
Yep. Am experiencing this lately. Fears for my cat who seems to be not feeling well, last week i wasn't feeling great myself and was on the verge of calling the doctor, but I'm feeling better now. I think i overdid it on vacation. Distressed about the environment--all these damn wildfires, and now they're saying ocean currents could shut down between a couple of years from now and the end of the century due to climate change, which would probably be pretty catastrophic to a lot of the world. There's a lot to be worried about these days. I'm just trying to not let it run away with me and trying to be grateful for the good in my life. Take care. ♥️
Yes! That and anxiety overall has increased. I don't think I can blame it all on hormone changes but definitely has increased the last few years into my 40's. It's not really focused on any one thing, more of a general sense of dread or fear of someone attacking me. Mindfulness has helped but not entirely.