worry anxiety

[Humly]

Hi. I was thinking about stuff, as usual, and my problem is that I basically just worry about things TOO much. If something in life happens, as it usually does, I worry excessively over it and always expect the worst. I am always making a mountain out of a molehill. I was reading a post by Psychopoet (hope you dont mind me mentioning it) and apparently there is such a thing as "worry anxiety" where you can dip into different anxieties such as health, ocd,gad etc from time to time and it made such sense to me. Thats totally me. The thing is what can I do about it? I am a highly anxious person so how do I change that if that is just who I am. How do I stop worrying? Is therapy the only answer? Can anyone relate?

[Stormsky]

The thing is with worry is it doesnt solve anything and it wont stop or avoid things happening in life.. Pointless emotion really.
All it does is make your life uncomfortable to live day to day... Does your worry change the outcome of things? I know we need to think about things , like bills, decisions that need to be made, but no point in actually worrying about them....
Easier said than done i know... Try to rationalise your worries, and ask will spending your time consumed with worrying about a certain situation actually change it? Take action to change things if you need to , but try not to worry your way throught it...

[Humly]

Thanks Stormsky. I know you are right. Worrying is pointless and does not change anything. But no matter how many times I tell myself this, I still do it.

[Kendra]

Hi there,

That totally sounds like me!!! I worry for worry sake about anything at all.... I worry about what people will think if my house isint tidy, my job (having to re-apply for it the minute) I worry on behalf of other people incase they won't worry. On Christmas day I worried thinking family and friends would think I have bought my son too much for christmas and ended up telling people how much I had paid in the SALES for them!!!!!!

I am a nightmare. I think I started my own anxiety off through worrying about re-applying for my job as I started having panic attacks again and just worried!!!!!

Its hard but we have to try not to worry and be positive about everything!! I'm trying at the minute but it is really hard but WE can do it!!! x x Take care x x

[theharvestmouse]

I am also a worrier, I always have been, I always think of the worst that could happen, in certain situations it stops me from making progress in life.

I have tried to look at things differently since doing CBT and it has helped me a bit.

[Kendra]

Last week my firend told me of some meds she was taking for anxiety. I looked them up on the internet. I then panicked for the rest of the day about them. I didn't even have them to take nor was I going to ask for them but I worried and panicked all day long!! How crazy is that??? :ohmy:

[Humly]

I must get rid of the "what if" way of thinking and change it to "so what". I fear that its so far ingrained in me that I cant change. Dont get me wrong, I an not fearful of everything and anything, but sometimes, when in certain situations which are a bit out of the ordinary, I can totally overreact. For example, I once went through a traffic light on amber, just as it was about to turn red and I worried for weeks that I had been caught on camera and was going to be arrested for careless driving. And what if I had? It wouldnt have been the end of the world, but at the time I was so worried. I didnt even tell anyone that I was worried as i knew I was being silly and they would laugh at me. Its think maybe its things that I dont have control of that I cant do anything about that are the worst. Just messed up basically.

[suzy-sue]

Theres no such thing as WORRY ANXIETY ..Its CALLED G.A.D ..Short FOR General Anxiety Disorder ..Worry is ANXIETY ......Sue

[Humly]

Hi Sue. I do have GAD and a few others mixed in I think. Sorry if I sound a bit thick but I am just repeating what I read on another post. Just trying to make sense of it all.

[Kendra]

I must get rid of the "what if" way of thinking and change it to "so what". I fear that its so far ingrained in me that I cant change. Dont get me wrong, I an not fearful of everything and anything, but sometimes, when in certain situations which are a bit out of the ordinary, I can totally overreact. For example, I once went through a traffic light on amber, just as it was about to turn red and I worried for weeks that I had been caught on camera and was going to be arrested for careless driving. And what if I had? It wouldnt have been the end of the world, but at the time I was so worried. I didnt even tell anyone that I was worried as i knew I was being silly and they would laugh at me. Its think maybe its things that I dont have control of that I cant do anything about that are the worst. Just messed up basically.


I need to get rid of the "what If" way of thinking and think "so what" my mother in law works in mental health and came to see me 2 weeks ago when I was at my lowest!! She was a loads of help and thats what she said to keep doing "so what" "so what". She also told me to make a list of everything and then write next to them what was the worst possible thing that could happen. I did it and it was really hard to think of the worst possible outcome of the majority of the stuff that I worried about!! Give it a go it might help a little!!!

[Humly]

Thanks Kendra. I will.

[theharvestmouse]

that's like what I did in CBT, and it does help you.

[Kendra]

I'm hoping to get some CBT harvestmouse. I'm waiting for the phonecall to assess me. Takes ages to sort out. How are you finding it??

---------- Post added at 18:02 ---------- Previous post was at 18:00 ----------

If you ever need to chat Humly feel free to PM me? x x

[Pipkin]

Hi Humly,

There are so many people who will be able to relate to the feelings you describe and I know it's just awful to have that knotted feeling in your stomach and that wave of anxiety that hits you when you are really worrying about something. I'm exactly the same and, although you can help others to rationalise their worries, it's hard to do that for yourself. On the odd occasion I'm not worrying about something, my brain worries about that and digs up something for me to worry about!

I find that talking to someone understanding helps me, as does coming on here and seeing that others feel just the same. Remember, you're not alone in this and we can get through it.

Take care

Pip x