Excitement turning into anxiety/panic!

[BellaLuna]

Hi Everyone!

Well I've had an anxiety disorder for about four years now and I'm usually concerned with health related stuff, but this has also been bugging me a lot lately. It seems that almost EVERYTIME I have something exciting going on in my life, I automatically go from feeling happy to high anxiety. Things that in the past would bring me joy now just cause me to feel sick to my stomach or just very on edge.. Kind of like my default emotion is now always anxiety or fear.

We are adopting a dog (finally after looking for months!) and at first I was so happy about it. Today they are bringing the dog to our house and my whole family is so excited.. But I'm here wide awake at 4 am with a churning stomach and feeling like I can't take in a deep breath. This happens when I'm going to visit with a friend I haven't seen in a while, or when I hear really good news about various things. Anyone feel like they are stuck feeling only one emotion no matter what???

[All1Spirit]

Eustress - good stress......distress - bad stress. Any type of change is stress - happy or bad!

To a sensitized nervous system they both have the same reaction in the brain

[lcfrogs]

Oh yes  , I always feel very anxious when I'm excited. It feels exactly the same as when I'm stressed about something. You are not alone.

[Mishpaz]

Funny, I had the same thing when we adopted our dog. I was so anxious I took a gravel to help calm me down when the dog arrived. I have troubling distinguishing good excitement from anxiety and so in general I have a tendency to not get excited about things because the feelings are too similar. Just know that once the dog arrives you may still feel anxious but there will be much distraction too and it won't be long before the anxious feelings turn to happy ones. There is a lot of responsibility that comes with being a dog owner and this could cause some added pressure. Again, it will go away and soon you will be wondering why you waited to adopt.

[BellaLuna]

Thanks everyone for your replies.. They helped me realize I'm not alone with this! Everything went fine but the anticipation beforehand was rough. I just kept reminding myself that everything will be OK and took deep breaths. :)