Anxiety disorders anyone?

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Lolli1986
Lolli1986 Posts: 500 Member
in Motivation and Support
I fell off my other wagon today. I seem to have some sort of fairly generalised anxiety disorder and some ocd-ish behaviours... sometimes I get 'stuck' in my room. Sometimes I get 'stuck' at work, which is a bit weirder. It's weirder still since I have been known to switch between the two within the space of a couple of months.

Today I got 'stuck' in my room for the first time in almost 6 months. When this happens, I can't even bribe myself out with a chocolate craving, lol. The good thing is that every time it happens I have more 'data' to gather to tell my psychologist, and she is able to present me with solutions that actually usually work. Sometimes I forget these solutions, or sometimes I am too overwhelmed by something, or too 'stuck' to even consider using them.

I am improving rapidly and amazingly, but today is the first time I've lost it and fallen off the wagon. I saw a lot of correlations with the wagon we're all on here - the weightloss wagon. I need to forget this happened (apart from telling my psychologist) and otherwise start afresh tomorrow.

I thought that something that might support me is hearing about other people coping with anxiety. While it is fairly common for me to come across people coping with depression, anxiety seems to be a bit of a different kettle of fish.

Anyone feel like talking? Add me if you like.

Replies

  • LauraSmyth28
    LauraSmyth28 Posts: 399 Member
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    I suffer with anxiety (and also depression, but the anxiety is more severe).

    The only thing that helps me is meds I'm sorry to say. I'll add you now. If you want to talk pm me.
  • Lolli1986
    Lolli1986 Posts: 500 Member
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    Oh, I should add that I am on meds for it and have been for about 6 months. They definitely help a lot... they seem to decrease the strength and duration of a physical reaction to an anxious thought, and this sometimes helps to decrease the amount of anxious thoughts. I can still get stuck though if the thought is cyclical enough and I can't interrupt it...

    Yeah, depression does seem to come as part of the deal. Today was definitely some combination of the two, plus a lot of cyclical thinking.
  • kocat
    kocat Posts: 3
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    I've been that soldier but no meds......

    I get great results from a simple system in a book from a countrywoman of yours...

    Dr Claire Weekes - Self Help for your nerves.

    The main focus is that your body has become hyper sensitive to anxious situations and that any nervous thought can have a gut wrenching reaction as a result. Then you end up in a downward spiral or worrying that you are going to end up in a bad place again as a result. The system helps you face up to the anxious situations as they occur until you realise that its the anxiousness that you are afraid of and not the anxious situation itself.
  • amyy902
    amyy902 Posts: 290 Member
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    i used to have terrible anxiety. like i couldnt leave my house, i wouldnt go to school or see friends. but i also had anorexia. so i was parinoid. i still get anxiet attacks even though im near enough recovered from anorexia. but say the scales change, i wont eat or leave the house, and i'll say stuff like i cant let people see me etc and i wont leave my house.
  • cherriewilliams
    cherriewilliams Posts: 107 Member
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    I have social anxiety problems. i was always shy when I was a kid and moved to different schools. Then I married a controlling guy and I was stuck at home with kids and lost my friends. I find now that i am single and my kids are older I get really nervous and want to leave when i go shopping alone. I can't even go to my regular hangouts unless one of my friends is with me. I feel like people are watching me. It's even worse now that i had knee surgery and have to use a cane to walk at the age of 37.

    The only thing that helps is taking a deep breath and focusing on what i am supposed to b doing.

    I haven't tried meds because talking on the phone and the thought of seeing a therapist makes me anxious in itself. What do you do when you're too anxious to make an appointment to get help?
  • Lolli1986
    Lolli1986 Posts: 500 Member
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    I haven't tried meds because talking on the phone and the thought of seeing a therapist makes me anxious in itself. What do you do when you're too anxious to make an appointment to get help?

    Yes! It's tough...! I used to be extremely bad with phones... somewhere along the line it helped me to remind myself that in any non-social situation the person on the other end is getting paid to listen to me and to help me - in fact answering my call and questions is their JOB. My phone anxiety circles around the idea that I am putting someone else out when I call, so that is why this helped. LOL, i still hate making social phone calls and HAVE to text first so that I feel like I'm not being rude. sigh~

    I remember I once needed to see a counsellor when I was young (when I was still very scared of phones) so I went to the establishment to make an appointment in person.

    I was also very anxious about the idea of meds and a psychologist. I had to spend a lot of time rationalising the pros and cons with someone who was willing to spend a lot of time listening to me (my mum) before I was willing/able to make the appointment. For me, it also got to the point that it was so severe that fear of losing my job outweighed fear of getting treatment... that is not a particularly nice motivator, however.

    Before going to the doctor and the psychologist, I made the decision that if I for any reason did not like that particular practitioner then I would LEAVE the appointment and seek someone else - the power was entirely in my hands. Powerlessness and mistreatment were what I was afraid of, so I needed a plan to escape these.

    In short, things that helped me to seek help were:
    - support from a friend/family in the form of listening to me (writing a list will do just as well... write down everything, including why you want to avoid help and try to counter it, pros v cons style. asking help here is an option)
    - finding alternative ways to make the appointment (this could be asking someone else to make the phone call)
    - knowing what it is I want from the appointments, and knowing that I can leave and find someone else if I am not getting what I need.
    - a list of questions for the doctor.

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