i don't want to relapse...

[neon_skyline]

i recently went away for a week to plymouth and while i was there i felt great... i was sleeping absolutely fine and my health anxiety seemed to be going completely. i also tried emdr while i was there and it made me feel great.

however, now i have come back to sheffield and am starting to feel the thoughts creeping back into my head. i have felt so anxious this evening that i have had to get out of bed altogether because i was getting so panicky. i could feel my heart beat all over my body and couldn't shake the thought that something awful was about to happen to me.

then the loss of feeling in my leg started again (which i think is restless leg syndrome) and it was also keeping me from sleeping.

i have now just had to take a zopiclone for the first time in 2 weeks because i know it'll stop me having a full-blown panic attack and i need to sleep because i have work tomorrow. i can't become reliant on these again - i was starting to think my insomnia was going away! but it's the nasty thoughts which keep me awake...

how do i stop myself from falling back into the trap of terrible health anxiety? i was just getting on with everything last week, and now every little feeling immediately leads to me thinking the worst in my head. i'm most scared of something sudden, like a heart attack (mainly because i'm getting that weird empty feeling in my chest again) or a stroke.

any help/advice would be really appreciated.

sally xxx

[Phill2]

Hi Sally,
I don't know how practical it is for you but I improved outasight when I moved house.
Phill

[spacebunnyx]

i'm not sure what to suggest - wouldn't be on here if i knew the answer! but i find forcing myself to keep doing normal things like seeing friends, going out helps. and actually exercise helps MASSIVELY!!! if you go for a jog or something i can think"well, i managed that, so i'm not as near to deaths door as i thought i was, my heart didn't give in then, so i must be ok!" also in the longer term it boosts your seratonin levels and so stops you being so morbid and pessimistic... if only i listened to my own advice!

hope you feel better soon!

[neptuno]

Try to do something else when you feel panicky - listen to music, read a book, phone a friend ...... I realised this was a really obvious thing to do because your body can't panic and relax at the same time ! So anything that distracts you from panic is a good thing.
Be kind to yourself

[neon_skyline]

Hi Sally,
I don't know how practical it is for you but I improved outasight when I moved house.
Phill

sadly i am a student and have just moved into a new flat! i don't think it's that which is the problem because my old house was making me much worse!

x

[ceecee]

hi sally
perhaps you felt great cause you were down in plymouth(thats where i live!!!!!)
but seriously i have been going through the same thingi too have terrible health anxiety and have been fine for a couple of months(well sort of!!!!)and now its creeping back in when really i just want to tell it to*%$# off!!!
take care
feel free to pm me anythin=me
take care
rach x x x