jennytot
23-08-11, 18:52
Hello,
I've been lurking on this forum occasionally for ages and finally decided to sign up today. I'm 32 years old and in a happy, loving relationship with my lovely boyfriend of 7 years but have lifelong issues which have been unmanageable lately.
I've always been a panicker and worrier, even when I was little. If my Mum was late back from somewhere, I'd lie in bed wide awake, stressing, imagining all the terrible things that might have happened to her, while my sister was happily fast asleep in the bunkbed below. 25 years later, and I am still a nervous wreck! My problems have got massively worse since I was made redundant a couple of months ago from a job I loved, and totally out of the blue. The impact on my (already limited) self esteem has been huge and, added to that, being stuck at home alone most days, has given me all this extra time for worrying! My main problem was previously always depression, but I think I managed that pretty well myself most of the time. There were always blips, and times when it got worse, but on the whole, I coped and never sought professional help.
Now, however, my anxiety has reared its ugly head and is having a huge impact on my life. The redundancy was stressful enough, but since I left my job, I've convinced myself I've had several serious illnesses, all in a matter of weeks :wacko:
It turns out that my most recent health anxiety hysterics have not been anything serious and have been actually caused by the following things: Ovulation pains, IBS, harmless eye "floaters", sinusitis!
I have finally taken the step of speaking to my GP about my "issues": depression, panic attacks, anxiety... and am now on the waiting list for CBT, having been seen for assessment last week. I was originally prescribed a low dose of Citalopram by a different GP, but didn't really want to use medication until I had tried CBT as I really felt CBT might be the answer for me. I have also started practising yoga, taking Omega 3 supplements and multi-vitamins and trying to re-discover things which used to bring me happiness, such as cooking, reading, learning new things.
I'm not sure how much I'll be using this forum, but I thought I would sign up and say hello to all you like-minded people out there! There are so many brave people on this forum and skulking around reading their posts have helped me in the past, so I hope I will be able to help others at some point :)
I've been lurking on this forum occasionally for ages and finally decided to sign up today. I'm 32 years old and in a happy, loving relationship with my lovely boyfriend of 7 years but have lifelong issues which have been unmanageable lately.
I've always been a panicker and worrier, even when I was little. If my Mum was late back from somewhere, I'd lie in bed wide awake, stressing, imagining all the terrible things that might have happened to her, while my sister was happily fast asleep in the bunkbed below. 25 years later, and I am still a nervous wreck! My problems have got massively worse since I was made redundant a couple of months ago from a job I loved, and totally out of the blue. The impact on my (already limited) self esteem has been huge and, added to that, being stuck at home alone most days, has given me all this extra time for worrying! My main problem was previously always depression, but I think I managed that pretty well myself most of the time. There were always blips, and times when it got worse, but on the whole, I coped and never sought professional help.
Now, however, my anxiety has reared its ugly head and is having a huge impact on my life. The redundancy was stressful enough, but since I left my job, I've convinced myself I've had several serious illnesses, all in a matter of weeks :wacko:
It turns out that my most recent health anxiety hysterics have not been anything serious and have been actually caused by the following things: Ovulation pains, IBS, harmless eye "floaters", sinusitis!
I have finally taken the step of speaking to my GP about my "issues": depression, panic attacks, anxiety... and am now on the waiting list for CBT, having been seen for assessment last week. I was originally prescribed a low dose of Citalopram by a different GP, but didn't really want to use medication until I had tried CBT as I really felt CBT might be the answer for me. I have also started practising yoga, taking Omega 3 supplements and multi-vitamins and trying to re-discover things which used to bring me happiness, such as cooking, reading, learning new things.
I'm not sure how much I'll be using this forum, but I thought I would sign up and say hello to all you like-minded people out there! There are so many brave people on this forum and skulking around reading their posts have helped me in the past, so I hope I will be able to help others at some point :)