Give me back my ''normal'' anxiety!

[smogie]

Just a bit of a rant really Ive suffered with anxiety and panic on and off for most of my adult life talking 30 years now but have managed to live an okay kinda life mainly by avoiding things and situations that evoked the anxiety so kept it under control in a way although sometimes my life is quite limited. Now though since having anemia diagnosed in may have been suffering really severe health anxiety and compared to my other run of the mill anxiety is the worst thing i have ever experienced in my life. It is totally debilitating and there is no escape for what is going on in your own head! Whereas before i could escape the ''danger'' and the anxiety would subside there doesn't seem to be any escape from HA I would honestly relish having my ordinary anxiety back than this constant torture does this make sense to anyone out there?

[Anxious_gal]

I used to have normal anxiety, except when I was having a migraines because those symptoms are very scary!! Mine mimic strokes too so that sucks for me.
Then about 4 years ago my throat felt too tight and bam came the heath anxiety :(
Its sucks to be terrified my body is going to kill me some how, before it was anxiety but now it's more physical symptoms that freak me out cause I think the worst :(
I seem to spend most of my time trying to ignore symptoms and not to freak out about them, it's utterly exhausting and I find I feel very numb emotionally at times and so disconnected from life.
Even simple things like numbness can freak me out :/

[smogie]

I really feel for you i truly think this ha is probably the next worse thing to having a ''real' illness since may i have convinced myself i have stomache/bowel cancer throat cancer now since having some skipped heartbeats am freaking out about my heart:weep: It totally sucks the life out of you i didnt think there was anything worse than anxiety and panic attacks how wrong was i!

[PokerFace]

Yep, makes total sense to me and probably everyone else with Health Anxiety! I hate that feeling, the feeling of being trapped inside your own body with nowhere to run. No description does it justice, it's just horrible!!

Your anxiety is like your "normal" anxiety though, it's just the situations changed and instead of being able to run away you're stuck with it all day everyday. Though it's extremely awful it can kind of help you learn to face your fears and calm yourself down instead of running away from anxious situations, which could help you with overall anxiety.

Because the "dangerous" situation is now inside you instead of outside, try to focus your thoughts outside your own body. When you feel panic rising and every bodily sensation seems magnified x 100 just really try to focus your mind on your surroundings. Really concentrate on every single word being said on the tele or listen to every noise you can hear, count them and name them in your head, like a car going past, fridge humming, rain falling etc.

Focus on relaxing and thinking positive thoughts instead of negative and try to stay away from random medical websites because they'll always give you the worst outcome of your symptoms!

Health Anxiety can get better, I know when it's at its worst it feels absolutely hopeless and you're gonna be like this forever but that's not true. With a lot of hard work I'm a lot better than I was 3 years ago, it can be done! :)

Hope you feel better soon x

[smogie]

thanks for that advice i know it makes sense its just hard actually doing the fear is overwhelming i ran out of work this morning cause i was convinced i was going to have a heart attack have been to see the doc this morning who has tried once again to give me reassurance i am a lot calmer but very low am due to start cbt in two weeks thanks for listening though really helps x He also checked my bp pulse ect and were all fine x

[PokerFace]

Yea, it's really hard to do! It's good you're going for CBT though, that's a step in the right direction and hopefully it helps you lots! :) Won't be this way forever x

[abby38]

Can totally relate to what you're saying. Suffered anxiety and panic attacks for years but ha about a year or so. Its awful, thinking everyday you have something sinister. I'm currently worrying about melanoma.,its always cancer with me. Wish it would sod off and I could stop worrying all the time. I am also waiting for an appt. for Cbt. I hope it helps you x

[smogie]

thanks guys im really pinning my hopes on the cbt cos i dont know how much more i can take x