Please help - chronic intense feeling of dread

[vert_igo]

I cannot shake this awful awful feeling that something terrible is going to happen to me. This has been going on about two weeks, but I always had a small anxiety problem that wouldn't manifest in panicking or fear - but shutting things out altogether. Now all the sudden I feel like I'm scared to death, I feel so alone and I just honestly feel like I'm going to die soon or something.

I live in a big city, and had the displeasure of witnessing both a drive by shooting and the aftermath of a shooting in the subway(body still uncovered, police everywhere, blood everywhere, whole nine yards). I have never feared for my well being before, but last night two men followed me home and I very very nearly avoided a confrontation. I've been a wreck since. I don't feel safe, ever. I feel so isolated. All my friends are home for Thanksgiving and I'm stuck here working until I can make the drive home Thursday, spend a few hours with my family, and drive home.

I just want to hide away from everything for a while, recuperate, but I can't my life won't allow any slowing down!

I have had this kind of anxiety before when I was a little kid, a childhood friend passed away in a fire and I was so scared the house would catch fire that I completely lost the ability to sleep. That type of terror is the closest thing I can equate this to. I just don't know what to do about it.

I should make it known that I live in a stable neighborhood that borders some dangerous areas and I moved to this neighborhood knowing that there was a fairly serious problem of people getting robbed/mugged/petty theft/etc trickling in from the other neighborhoods - it's actually a bit nicer than the other neighborhood I moved from. I have acknowledged and dealt with the crime in the city just fine in the past, and I feel that this anxiety(which occurred well after the shooting issues and well before the issue the other night) is not always..logical..like, sometimes I go out and I literally feel like everyone in the entire world is just staring me down. Not like I'm being followed - but everyone and everything(even like, the buildings, for instance) is just leering in at me and closing in. I am pretty unfamiliar with anxiety disorders, I don't get anxiety in social situations, and I have never had a problem with panic attacks except once every few years after ALOT of stress, but this constant feeling of dread is just..something else.

[FillingWithHope]

Your not alone, i get that feeling all the time! It may be because of your anxiety. I wouldn't think of it as much if you think it is a huge problem then i would talk to a trusted adult about this feeling.