Feel like something isn't right??

[MyNameIsTerry]

Thats great. Exercise is a good one for boosting confidence & self esteem too so it will help with everything else. Losing a bit of weight will do the same as you are going to feel happier for it.

It depends what kind of office job you want. If you do admin you are less likely to come across confrontation, but it can be boring so it depends what type of stuff you like, but if you end up in call centres you will still gets the muppets. Even in admin, it depends on the kind of work because if its a dept that data processes, you can still get targets that are annoying. It differs place to place though. Maybe something where its a desk but with some walking around too so you are still active? There is plenty out there, admin/call centre jobs are usually available all the time. There is lots of different stuff you could try in those places.

I often think about a cabin in the woods. I used to think about the Grisley Adams life. I'm probably showing my age here but being somewhere in the woods in a cabin like him (probably Canada) kind of appeals to me. The simple life, no information overload.

Next time I'm near a Poundland, I'll have a look.

[MrAndy]

Andy I'm so glad you are doing better! It's amazing to watch how far we all come in this journey at it gives me hope that one day I will get there too.
I'm at I would say 85% at the moment, the other 15% is me worrying too much about things I don't need to worry about but I was like this before my breakdown so I guess I'm back to normal, but looking back on it I've never been fully right, maybe now is my time to make it happen!

Andy just say your last message about work..... What is it about your job that makes u anxious? Maybe we should both win the lottery and quit lol

ive worked at the same place for nearly 20 years its a toxic environment ,people back stab and bicker.As I work in the export sales department its very high pressure,you have targets that are sometimes impossible to reach.You get no support and the boss is an accountant that sacks people without a care or thought.
But I am to scared to leave and find another job because of the security here,i have a company pension ,car and I am relatively well paid
When i broke down work was one of the main triggers so ive found it hard to come back and settle in,i suppose i worry a lot about being able to support my family and pay the mortgage
85% is a big improvement pingu,keep battling on slowly you will make steps in the right direction
winning the lottery sounds good !

[Pinguanxious]

I also work in a target based environment, very high pressure and the company keeps hanging the bar higher so it feels impossible, then u reach it and they raise it again, the repercussions of making a mistake too could result in job loss, so it may be retail but it's not just retail if that makes sense. But I'm the same as you Andy, I've got a health plan, dental and a company phone and I'm also wel pie and very secure in my job so I'm scared to leave but it does cause a lot of stress and when I get the angry customers I find it hard not to bite back, I have a very low tolerance for patience and I don't handle stress well at all!!
We should do a lottery sweep stake lol!!!

And terry please do look the oil burners are amazing! And for £1 it won't break the bank either!! I got lavender oil and mix it with a bit of water and it's awesome!

---------- Post added at 22:37 ---------- Previous post was at 22:36 ----------

Well paid* not wel pie lol!!! Clearly getting sleepy

[MyNameIsTerry]

I just assumed you were up north, Pingu...I know how popular pies are up there

I understand stressful environments. My first real job was 3 years in a call centre which was stressful but there was a great atmosphere between a lot of the staff which made you want to be there and we did a lot outside work too. My last one was in business analysis & project work so it was all targets. I did it for quite a few years but the ludicrous demands on my time and always been planned up years ahead took their toll on me. I used to live for stress & pressure but I guess you can only keep it up for so long.

How you feel changes as you age too.

I had all the contractual benefits. It means nothing if you hate your life and start to hate yourself. Sometimes taking a step back works, I know people who left my place and took more junior roles and they were happy because they had escaped all the stress we had. Sometimes you can find something you feel a passion for and its less money but job satisfaction isn't about money, its about many things of which money is only one. Without liking what you do, money becomes a poor substitute.

Its more complicated for MrAndy with having a family but if you are single or have less financial commitments, its worth considering. If I had done what I had said and left my place years before, I wouldn't be in the situation I am in now. I think the appropriate smiley is...

I will have a scan next time I'm in one. There isn't one near me, I have to go to the city centre which I can't do right now with the sleep issue but I used to go in there when I was up there before. You get some good stuff in there thats more like £3-4 in places like Tesco.

[MyNameIsTerry]

Hey Pingu, hope you are doing well.

I was just reading a couple of articles about studies of anxiety and the olfactory senses. It stated that when in a state of anxiety, the olfactory area of the brain works with the area that controls emotions and heightens our sense of smell. It also looks for possible threats through this sense so will hone in on them and make them stronger. It will also take neutral smells or things that don't smell at all and make them negative smells.

So, I'm wondering if you can work with smell to help with anxiety? Could you use your relaxation methods along with something that smells nice? Maybe if you can create that experience in your subconscious, you can then utilise it when you feel anxious in order to evoke those images again when smelling the same smells?

I know if I smell something nice, it tends to very temporarily change how I feel.

[MrAndy]

Hi Guys hope you had a good bank holiday weekend
Terry if I was young free and single i would move abroad and work in a job that gave me satisfaction not financial reward.It definitely makes things more complicated having people that depend on you ,it increases the pressure ten fold
I am back at work today and things are busy and going well ,but I have lost the passion I had for this job.Once upon a time i worked all hours here and you couldnt get me out of the place,I think I simply burnt myself out :(

[Pinguanxious]

I'm good guys just been very busy at work this weekend, I'm also finding I'm not thinking about the past that much any more! Ohh I may have to look into those articles, I do find smells trigger emotions for me, they make me happy if associated with happy memories! I would love to move away from everything but my partner wouldn't and i wouldn't go without him.
I'm def getting better, I'm looking forward to lots in the future so I think I have reached a turning point in my illness. The only time I get anxious now is for example Saturday I have friends coming over and I'm nervous because there will be alcohol involved and alcohol triggers unhappy memories. I can get through it though I've gotten through enough already

---------- Post added at 21:35 ---------- Previous post was at 21:34 ----------

Ps Andy I understand being burnt out! Have you thought about taking a holiday?

[MyNameIsTerry]

At least you've got the hog, MrAndy. You also have some things someone young free & single doesn't have and I know you will think they are more than worth it. Who knows, maybe in years to come you will have a family seat in a stadium watching your daughter compete for us?

Pingu - thats sounds very promising. Learn from the wobbles and the good periods. Use the good periods to build your life more and each time you pull further away from the bad.

I posted the studies I read in this thread:

http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=168976

[MrAndy]

I'm def getting better, I'm looking forward to lots in the future so I think I have reached a turning point in my illness.

thats nice to hear Pingu ,well done
Im not complaining Terry looking from the outside logically I have a nice house, car and a good job,I have nothing to be unhappy about but our illness doesnt work with logic does it.But even when I feel really down and anxious I still believe I can recover fully ,its just a matter of getting on with things and not trying to battle it to hard

[MyNameIsTerry]

Yeah, thats it. Living in the present. Its not easy since most of our world is more geared towards the future. Its all around us in our culture (I wonder why so many of us have anxiety disorders? ) and its all rush.

The nice weather is coming so perhaps some nice walks and taking your daughter to see the countryside will all be useful in the relaxation stakes.

Things like this are good for clearing out the mind. Failing that, I quick blast on the new hog!