For the past 6 months or so, I’ve been experiencing moderate to severe anxiety, worry, and an unsettled feeling almost every day for major portions of the day. Recently, it’s gotten much worse. I wake up in tears and panic, and I hyperventilate and can’t calm myself down or get back to sleep. I also have been throwing up often during the day and when I wake up at night, due to the unsettled and anxious feeling. It’s severely interfering with my daily life and my relationships.

I know this isn’t normal, and I feel I should talk to a doctor about it, because I’m tired of feeling like this. But my mom and I are not close. I don’t tell her much about my personal life, and she never questions how I am or anything about me. She’s also the type of mom to brush off problems (for example, “It’ll be fine! You don’t need a doctor! You’ll get over it!”) no matter how serious.

Any ideas on how I could talk to her about it?