Back with a bang again - please help!

[Fishmanpa]

Its hard to see as you remind me very much of myself a few months back I was in a very bad place posting everyday afraid of my symptoms I decided that enough was enough I needed to get out of this .i tryed cbt and it didn't really help me as much as I hoped.so I had no choice to try meds.(please don't be afraid to except help from meds its amazing how many people take them) .I've started the meds bout 2 and a half months ago and feel alot better doing cbt with it.don't get me wrong I don't think ill ever be cured bout they've def eased my anxiety and starting to feel myself again if u ever need to chat private message me.i no only to well what its like take care ��

Beckie, I can't tell you how happy I am to see this post and you finally taking control of your anxiety. I know how difficult it was for you to take the first steps but it's quite apparent you're making great progress. Your posts are markedly different and calmer. Looking back at your post history, it's amazing what the last two+ months of meds and therapy has done for you. Truly, I'm so pleased to see this. Keep up the good work!

Reb... Please, please listen to Beckie. Look back at her history. You'll see a lot of replies by me urging her to get help. I was tough on her too as nothing seemed to get through at all. Many, many others did the same thing and the reaction was uncannily similar to yours as she went right back into the dark hole of her fears. People got very frustrated as well.

You can treat this. You can gain control but it's truly up to you to do so. I know you're on a waiting list for CBT but based on what I and many others see, you should at least consider meds in the mean time as well as a self help CBT on-line course. There are many that are helpful. I know you're vehemently against meds but ask Beckie... she was the same way. If you're fearful of SSRIs, there are several non-SSRIs that may help. I have a chill pill I can take when things get a little rough from "scanxiety" (Buspar). I can start and stop without the side effects of going on and coming off SSRIs. It's really helped me when I needed it.

Anyway... I'm probably talking to the hand here but as I said in a previous post, I can only hope some of the words get through and make a difference.

Again Beckie. Great going girl! Show the dragon who's boss!

Positive thoughts

[Beckie4567]

Thankyou fishmanpa I really was in a bad place still have bad days but no where near how bad that I was.have the suggested meds to u reb ?

[helenhoo]

Nope, not on meds and still opposed to them. Glad to see they work for others but I'm almost a hippy on that sense.

[ServerError]

Yeah, those clean-living hippies. No mind-altering substances for them.

[MyNameIsTerry]

Buspar isn't licenced over here for long term use although I've seen some people on it via a psychiatrist. There is a lack of clinical evidence for it working long term. And they do have a side effect profile, just a lesser one. A GP may offer it short term like they do Benzo's but they won't go with it long term as the guidelines are quite clearly the SSRI route.

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Thankyou fishmanpa I really was in a bad place still have bad days but no where near how bad that I was.have the suggested meds to u reb ?

Some people must be eating their words now eh Beckie? Maybe now they realise the complexity of mental health issues but sadly Reb's had some of it too.

It's great to see you getting somewhere.

[Beckie4567]

What do u mean Terri ?

[MyNameIsTerry]

That it is indeed possible to exhibit anxiety the way you did and equally that you wanted to get better. Now you have taken the step forward and have seen how your life can improve hence why you can show Reb how much it affected you, that it can be how anxiety manifests in some and that it can also be recovered from.

[Josh1234]

It's worth you blocking those articles until you are ready for exposure work in your therapy. Permanent blocking is reinforcement of anxiety but early on some avoidance can help reduce anxiety a bit so you can gain some ground. See what your therapist thinks too because excessive avoidance is something that had made my recovery so much harder and I think it can be a fine line at times.

Remember you saying using written methods to challenge your thinking was helping? This is exactly the time when you need to practice it in order to rationalise, re frame and build self reassurance.

---------- Post added at 23:20 ---------- Previous post was at 23:16 ----------



Why not just give advice, Josh? Attaching our personal feelings when they are negative is adding unnecessary elements and encouraging disputes. Click off, basically the same advice you just gave Reb.

That was advice. She needs meds and therapy, ASAP.

[MyNameIsTerry]

That was advice. She needs meds and therapy, ASAP.

Yes, that part was. Whether she needs meds is a personal decision and a matter of assessment but it's certainly possible.

I just don't understand why the need for the frustration? It's not Reb's fault her referral has been lost. She's been very clear about what had happened and that she has been referred again, now she goes in the queue with the rest.

[Hypo]

Health anxiety is a battle and I think even the strongest of us flag at times. I've seen a few posts of those who push me back up from my lowest recently.

I had 9 months almost HA free. Last night was the only night I didn't have a panic attack in around 5 weeks. I flagged big time and I've been working on my HA for years.

I am now back in the wellbeing service, this time trying to work on triggers for the future and a top up of CBT. I didn't think I would end up here again. I knew it would be a life time struggle but I didn't think I would flag quite this hard again.

Reb, you are only at the beginning of trying to get better and haven't had therapy yet, so you are still likely to have bad days no matter how hard you try, but slowly you will notice you have had better moments and those better moments are something to celebrate. I was over the moon that I didn't have a panic attack last night. I am having a small one right now but I'm enjoying the good moments when they come because eventually you will notice the good moments turns into good days and so on.

So enjoy your good moments when you have them and celebrate them because with how ill you are they are huge achievements. Like Terry said, eventually you will need to be able to deal with 'triggers' but right now keep off social media if it's worrying you. I can't avoid things that scare me due to my job but if anything that has made things better, avoidance causes more fear in the long run but I agree with Terry that until you are having therapy blocking websites that trigger you might be useful.