katieloveshoes
16-01-13, 22:24
Hi everyone,
Im not sure how many of you have had counselling, however I had an assessment a few days ago and the advise I got has absolutely helped me so much.
A Few Tips:
Delayed Worrying ; one which has helped me the most. Every time I get a twinge, pain or feel a bit funny, I now try to say to myself 'OK - This is weird, but its not unbearable, I dont know what it is but im busy right now so what I'll do is make a note of it and set a time later on to worry about it - say 7pm' - Then at 7pm, take a look back at everything youve written down.
The reason its helped me is because I wrote down so many things which I couldnt quite believe - Felt sick, ears popped, back hurts, jaw hurts, arm hurts, chest hurts, twinge in right side, tingly arm.. All of which at 7pm, I didnt have. I think thats the trick, you are tricking your mind into thinking you are dealing with it - but later. And therefore it seems to help subside.
Making a list of safety behaviours and reduce ; I have a few such as checking my pulse in my wrist, my neck etc everytime I have a pain. And also holding my chest and drinking water. Make a list of how many you do a day, say 10 (or the worst of us 50!) - and try to reduce them slowly each day.
If you have 50 and do 49 - that's an achievement.
Rational against irrational ; every time a pain comes, make a list of rational and irrational thought processes, e.g your chest hurts. Irrational thinking would be heart attack, cancer etc. Rational would be stress, could have moved funny, acid, anxiety, normal aches and pains. If you do this every time you get a pain, its almost 99.9% likely you will have more listed under the rational thinking list.
Dictaphone ; If you have a dictaphone (most phones have them!), every time you get a pain, talk into the mike and explain the problem your having. Then play it back to yourself and imagine a friend was asking you advice. What would you tell them? This helps because theoretically you might be able to detach the issue from it being yours and imagine if it was someone elses, and rationalise.
I was recommended a book called 'Overcoming Health Anxiety' (as there is a 4 month waiting list for CBT and I need something!) which ive ordered from Amazon for around £7-8 - Its meant be very good, like a coursebook so very interactive. Ill let you all know how it goes.
If some of this manages to help any of you just a little bit, it would have been worth my achy fingers (lol)
Stay strong guys. You'll get there (like me hopefully!!).
Finally, if your like me, music helps sometimes. Try singing the good old Fleetwood Mac song when your feeling extremley low.. works for me (maybe i'm cookoo!)
xxx
:whistles:
"If you wake up and don't want to smile,
If it takes just a little while,
Open your eyes and look at the day,
You'll see things in a different way.
Don't stop, thinking about tomorrow,
Don't stop, it'll soon be here,
It'll be, better than before,
Yesterday's gone, yesterday's gone.
Why not think about times to come,
And not about the things that you've done,
If your life was bad to you,
Just think what tomorrow will do.
Don't stop, thinking about tomorrow,
Don't stop, it'll soon be here,
It'll be, better than before,
Yesterday's gone, yesterday's gone.
All I want is to see you smile,
If it takes just a little while,
I know you don't believe that it's true,
I never meant any harm to you.
Don't stop, thinking about tomorrow,
Don't stop, it'll soon be here,
It'll be, better than before,
Yesterday's gone, yesterday's gone.
Don't you look back,
Don't you look back...." :whistles:
Im not sure how many of you have had counselling, however I had an assessment a few days ago and the advise I got has absolutely helped me so much.
A Few Tips:
Delayed Worrying ; one which has helped me the most. Every time I get a twinge, pain or feel a bit funny, I now try to say to myself 'OK - This is weird, but its not unbearable, I dont know what it is but im busy right now so what I'll do is make a note of it and set a time later on to worry about it - say 7pm' - Then at 7pm, take a look back at everything youve written down.
The reason its helped me is because I wrote down so many things which I couldnt quite believe - Felt sick, ears popped, back hurts, jaw hurts, arm hurts, chest hurts, twinge in right side, tingly arm.. All of which at 7pm, I didnt have. I think thats the trick, you are tricking your mind into thinking you are dealing with it - but later. And therefore it seems to help subside.
Making a list of safety behaviours and reduce ; I have a few such as checking my pulse in my wrist, my neck etc everytime I have a pain. And also holding my chest and drinking water. Make a list of how many you do a day, say 10 (or the worst of us 50!) - and try to reduce them slowly each day.
If you have 50 and do 49 - that's an achievement.
Rational against irrational ; every time a pain comes, make a list of rational and irrational thought processes, e.g your chest hurts. Irrational thinking would be heart attack, cancer etc. Rational would be stress, could have moved funny, acid, anxiety, normal aches and pains. If you do this every time you get a pain, its almost 99.9% likely you will have more listed under the rational thinking list.
Dictaphone ; If you have a dictaphone (most phones have them!), every time you get a pain, talk into the mike and explain the problem your having. Then play it back to yourself and imagine a friend was asking you advice. What would you tell them? This helps because theoretically you might be able to detach the issue from it being yours and imagine if it was someone elses, and rationalise.
I was recommended a book called 'Overcoming Health Anxiety' (as there is a 4 month waiting list for CBT and I need something!) which ive ordered from Amazon for around £7-8 - Its meant be very good, like a coursebook so very interactive. Ill let you all know how it goes.
If some of this manages to help any of you just a little bit, it would have been worth my achy fingers (lol)
Stay strong guys. You'll get there (like me hopefully!!).
Finally, if your like me, music helps sometimes. Try singing the good old Fleetwood Mac song when your feeling extremley low.. works for me (maybe i'm cookoo!)
xxx
:whistles:
"If you wake up and don't want to smile,
If it takes just a little while,
Open your eyes and look at the day,
You'll see things in a different way.
Don't stop, thinking about tomorrow,
Don't stop, it'll soon be here,
It'll be, better than before,
Yesterday's gone, yesterday's gone.
Why not think about times to come,
And not about the things that you've done,
If your life was bad to you,
Just think what tomorrow will do.
Don't stop, thinking about tomorrow,
Don't stop, it'll soon be here,
It'll be, better than before,
Yesterday's gone, yesterday's gone.
All I want is to see you smile,
If it takes just a little while,
I know you don't believe that it's true,
I never meant any harm to you.
Don't stop, thinking about tomorrow,
Don't stop, it'll soon be here,
It'll be, better than before,
Yesterday's gone, yesterday's gone.
Don't you look back,
Don't you look back...." :whistles: