Backstory, i've only had 2 periods of extreme anxiety that lasted months.

Both where triggered by undiagnosed pain/health issues, one 3 years ago and 1 now that started 3 months ago.

Usually at the start of the anxiety spiral im constantly hyperfocused on the thing im anxious about and cant eat,sleep, drink or function anymore. I also lose large amounts of weight and have non-stop panic attacks where I puke and hyperventilate. Only medication can help me at this point.

Then when I find the cause and get insight i can take proper actions to heal and i become less anxious.

It just makes me so sad that i don't feel like myself and that it takes ages to process the trauma and even the fact i went through all this, its very exhausting.

How long do anxiety spirals last for you? What triggers them? How do you prevent it from getting this bad?