Who has severe anxiety?

Have you considered eloping? Maybe it would relieve some of the stress your experiencing.

I have severe anxiety and in part for that reason FH and I are planning a miniature wedding with immediate family and wedding party only (we're celebrating with a big party later without the pressure of it being a "wedding" and just doing champagne and cupcakes in the park in may. I also take anxiety meds, but highly recommend yoga - it is the best for cleaning your mind of toxic thoughts and clearing out the stress!

I feel your pain. I work only part time so luckily having the extra time on my hands helps, but it's hard. Especially when things feel out of control or when things don't go as planned. I have some tips that I wish I would have known.

You can't make anyone do anything. Some of my bridesmaids still haven't bought their dresses and there is nothing I can do to make them buy them or show up.

Allow yourself to have a night off to do something fun with FH here and there. If you stress too much it will rub off on him too (at least it happened with me)

Keep bridal party small to avoid dealing with everyone's schedules, shopping out in public, etc.

Keep your guest list small, the less people you have to get up in front of the better and if you keep it to close friends and family you will feel more comfortable.

I hope this helps. I have severe anxiety and depression. I have had a few panic attacks since the start of the planning. Now I am just worried about making sure everything falls into place the day of. If you need a friend, we could exchange emails. Best of luck to you, dear.

My mother wants me to have a VERY LARGE wedding (250 ). I wanted to elope, but it's not possible. I know too many people to even have a small wedding. My family alone is very large (100 people are just family). Also I work a 40 hour work week in a family business. It's hectic. I have a wedding planner and my mother is helping me, but it's basically "her" wedding. Long story. I just hate anxiety.

I'll probably have to take a chill pill the day of the wedding, but if I do I won't be able to drink. I want to elope, but it's not possible. I'd have "to have" a party even afterwards. I'm not a party person. Eh, anxiety...

I have complex PTSD, dysthymia and anxiety disorder. My biggest fear is actually having PTSD nightmares before the wedding.

My therapist and I talk about making plans for me for in case I do have mental health problems that day. A lot of it has to do with building a "care kit" of sensation type stuff that I associate with safety and calmness. So some lotions, my mini pillow pet, and a few other things are there and I practice using them.

I have anxiety and MDD. My therapist has been working with me as well to develop a plan to keep myself from spiraling. The most helpful advice I can give is to communicate as openly as possible with your FS. My FH has not been very involved in the planning until recently, but I have also made my BP aware of my anxiety so they can act as a buffer on the day of if I need to slip away and calm myself down.

I have anxiety and depression, I too to go to counseling for it and take medication. The planning has been very stressful but nothing so far I can't handle. I am very nervous about once the wedding gets closer and the day of, trying to remain calm and not let it get the best of me!

I have severe anxiety and that's partially why I decided on having a very small ceremony for my wedding. Planning was very stressful and it made my anxiety shoot through the roof. I could hardly eat or sleep. Have you considered eloping? Maybe that could help and cut down your stress levels

I had a full blown breakdown on the New Years. Got in a huge fight with my parents and didn't talk to anyone for 2 weeks. I'm worried about having one again. Eloping is out of the question sadly.

We already have our marriage license though! Maybe I'll talk to my therapist about making a care kit!

I have severe anxiety and panic disorder as well as depression. I had a few break downs in the beginning, but I've learned how to lay things out for myself so I know exactly what needs to be done without being overwhelmed. I've also been working with my therapist to mentally prepare for everything as well and work on different coping mechanisms.

I have anxiety. Given my wedding is a year away, I have been under alot of pressure and stress, I was so stressed I broke out in hives which has NEVER happened to be before. I was under alot of pressure, but I think once everyone saw how stressed out I got and all the panic attacks I started to have, they finally backed up. I really give full credit to my FH because he has really been there for me when I know dealing with me is not a piece of cake.

Yes! I posted a few days ago about me freaking out. We're about 4 months away and I have asked FH often about pushing the date back because I'm getting so nervous between the planning and the actual day. The wonderful people on this app gave me reassurance that it will be ok lol. I'm terrified to walk down the aisle. Not because of seeing FH there, but because of all the people seeing me all "bridal." Anxiety in me wants to elope. Me-me (non anxiety) has dreamed of a big wedding and an epic party after. I just don't want to be center of attention. I am going to channel my sole focus on FH. And he knows me well enough to know when I'm reaching a limit. He knows what to do to help me, and my mom is a backup. I'm complicated too lol. Sometimes I need a touch to feel grounded, other times I need space to find myself again.

Just because your mom wants you to have a huge wedding doesn't mean you have to! She should care about your mental health, and if it's too stressful for you, then plan a smaller wedding or at least consider eloping. I know you say it's not an option, but maybe you should. I have pretty bad anxiety as well, my therapist has said that wedding planning can be good for anxiety- being forced to do things that make me anxious(making phone calls, interacting with people I don't know) can be good for me since it will de-sensitize me. Maybe you could try to look at it that way, maybe it will end up being good for you?

Sending positive thoughts your way!

Me...I would've been happy eloping. My FH wanted a bigger wedding. We're having about 100. I actually like planning but it is very stressful and my job is very stressful so I'm like kinda a little cray cray right now.

I have had severe anxiety since I was 6 or 7. It got to the point where it was so bad, I missed a month and a half straight in 8th grade. Over the years it's become under control, but I still get anxious very easily. I've taken the laid back approach to the whole wedding planning, which hasn't made me stressed or anxious at all! I also have my mom and aunt who want to be as involved as I'll let them when it comes to planning so I take advantage of that and if I feel like a decision is going to make me anxious even a little bit I go to them for help/advice. I've been planning for a year now and haven't had a problem yet. Now that I'm done to the last 4ish months I'm hoping it stays this way!

You have your marriage license already- how long is it valid for? I know it varies state to state- but where I am it's only good for 60 days.

OCD and anxiety so they go together. I feel like a large portion of time goes to checking doors and locks and stoves. Ugh. But FH is usually good with it. I trust him to lock everything up so I don't have to have a panic attack. Stress brings it out worse. I carry my straightener in my purse. If it's going to make you stress more elope and have several mini parties and see everyone spread out over time.

I have bipolar disorder and anxiety. I take medication to even out my moods, but I've always refused to be so medicated that I don't have any moods at all, so I still swing from high to lows.

The thought of the wedding itself doesn't freak me out too much (I'm also an extrovert), but the planning is waaaaay more stressful than I thought it would be. I just had a bad episode tonight, in fact...after having a great day in which I booked my makeup artist, paid my cake deposit, and had a lovely chat with my DOC, I broke down in ugly crying because FH hadn't talked to the priest today, and he promised he would this week, and it's Thursday and tomorrow is Friday, and so now we aren't going to get married... (so on and so on--my bipolar mind isn't always rational).

I second PPs recommendation of yoga--in fact, working out in general has helped me deal with my panic attacks. I'm also working on finding a therapist (haven't had one since I moved) just for me--we're doing premarital counseling with our priest, but I want to be proactive to take care of my mental heath while all of these transitions are happening. Plus, FH is my rock.

You really don't have to have a big wedding. And if you decide you want to go ahead with it, there are lots of ways to take care of yourself. Make sure you surround yourself with people who calm you. Avoid people who stress you out. And it might help you to find a coping mechanism. For some reason, something that always calms me down is singing hymns, so there might be some breaking out into song with my mom and sisters, and I'll probably have a playlist with music that helps too.

I have Asperger's, C-PTSD, and a bizarre variety of other things, and I totally get this.

I'm more than a year away and I'm already trying to build in some protection from anxiety. I'm also praying that medical MJ is legalized here prior to my wedding to help me get through this.

FH's family is a big, crazy Catholic Mexican family, which means his immediate family alone puts us well into double digits. Our bare minimum guest list was 121 people.

Your name says animal lover. Does your venue allow animals? It may be helpful for you to have your four legger by your side if circumstance allows, no matter how this may ring with the etiquette crowd.

Do you have close friends or family that might be helpful? I created a secret Facebook group with the girls I'm close to so that I can get feedback on things pretty much instantly from a number of sources without inconveniencing them.

You know eloping isn't an option for you, so decide what is that'll help you. Being your own advocate is so hard with anxiety, but there will be no wedding if the bride isn't taking care of herself properly.

Bipolar and anxiety. Currently weaning off all meds because we want to try for a baby right after the wedding. It SUCKS. I had to come downstairs just now because I can't sleep, no matter how hard I try to have the same bedtime as FH. My brain won't turn off lately. Wedding planning is not exactly helping the situation.