Overwhelmed. How do I do this?

I've had issues with anxiety for years and have had this silly, misinformed hope for too long that perhaps if I just ignore it it will magically disappear and one day I will wake up confident and better. Needless to say, it seems to be getting worse. I'm usually anxious in social situations and over the last few months it has almost become unbearable. I panic when anyone says anything evenly remotely negative to me and find I can barely breathe or talk at the end of a conversation with someone at work. I've also started to get so frustrated with myself that I've been on the verge of tears in front of people and it's completely humiliating. I don't feel in control anymore and it's terrifying.

I'm no doctor but gut instinct tells me that much of my problem may be post traumatic stress triggered by mother's death when I was a teenager. I think I've always just been a generally anxious prone person anyway and the fact that work is hectic beyond words at the moment and I'm doing so much overtime just to keep on top of my workload is not helping matters either. The managers have put me in this situation by not getting in a replacement soon enough for a colleague's maternity leave. I've tried putting my foot down and leaving on time to relax at home for longer but this just means there is even more work the following day and then people get irritated at me for things which they feel should have been completed sooner. I'm angry, tired and stressed. Citalopram has helped in the past but I now feel too fearful to even sit waiting in the doctors surgery to see my GP. I'm sure I could do it but I think I'll probably end up bursting into tears and panicking as soon as I get into the room. I'm embarrassed about how much of a wreck I've turned into.

How have other people overcome the initial step of admitting there's a problem to a doctor? I think I'm here for inspiration, if there is any to share here. I feel so scared of going to the doctor, even though I've done it a couple of times before and felt better for it.

I was diagnosed with Acute Severe Anxiety in 2001, and just recently a few months ago. In 2001, I had no idea I had it. I went to the pych ward with cuts in my arms and I was diagnosed there, along with other things. I don't care, I am way past any guilt or shame or this or that or blah blah blah it goes on and on and on. The reason I don't care and accept it is because about twice a month, I have nervous breakdowns that last 2-4 days (I call them anxiety events). I twitch and shake really bad, I grind my teeth so hard it wakes me up, thats if I sleep. Usually, I pace the house all night writing, talking (to me) tidying/organizing things or rearranging stuff, along with crying spouts and cutting. And if I sleep I usually wake in the morning to an electric shock, like a high voltage shock in my chest and no breath and trembling. yes, I think Im going to have a stroke and I just lie there and feel the vibrations and burning and gasp. I can't go anywhere and usually don't eat or shower during the time. I can't have a job, and I can only do 2 classes at Uni a semester. Then I go to therapy once a week. I am happy and thriving most of the other times outside the events I have, but it's because I know about my disorders and my conditions and I learn how to deal with them. I know why and how these conditions effect me personally. I am very connected to this part of myself, because it's the part of me I know best. I am constantly living in management mode, because I have reached that level of understanding my disorders. They do not go away, and if they are ignored they are only being pushed deeper and they will have to scream louder for your attention