On a downer today ... is anyone really 'cured' ?

[cloudbusting]

Hi folks

What a cruddy day. I have felt anxious almost all day for no discernible reason. I attempted some housework with music playing, husband made lunch, my daughter and stepson were doing their own thing quite happily.

I got out of breath quickly, that panicked me, then the heart started going like the clappers. My digestion is bad because of the anxiety, I am assuming, and so I can't manage more than a few mouthfuls of food. Just on and on today , I am so TIRED of this.

Has anyone actually got over this completely ? I don't mean coping from day to day but actually eliminated it and gone on to have a full life that isn't under this cloud ?

I am so sorry to post negativity when we are all struggling but I am rapidly losing hope that I am ever going to be free of this. My husband is losing his patience, I can tell. His answer to everything is 'have a drink'. I am not a drinker anyway but the last time I had a glass of wine it made me feel worse. He doesn't get this.

:weep: Lisa x

[LunaLiuna]

I think a cloud will always be there if we follow it, I always use to sit and hope the sun would burst through, and it did, only temporarily though. which has inspired me to let the cloud float away on it's own :)

We are all tired, but trust me with a lot of acceptance and perseverance we can all do this, you included, keep going!

Whenever I feel a little doubt in myself, I think of all the places and people I want to see and meet once I get better :)

Good luck, the sun will always come out in the end :D

[Annie0904]

My motto is to feel the fear and do it anyway. A year ago I spent most of the time at home crying and so anxious I couldn't eat. I began to 'make' myself' do things and since then I have been abroad on holiday and done many things that I thought I would never be able to do again. For every negative thought I get, I change it to a positive. I am not sure I am cured but I have learned to deal with it.

[Phuzella]

It would take way too long to tell you my story but yes it can get better and I don't mean just coping day today. You'll get there:)

[harasgenster]

Hi folks

What a cruddy day. I have felt anxious almost all day for no discernible reason. I attempted some housework with music playing, husband made lunch, my daughter and stepson were doing their own thing quite happily.

I got out of breath quickly, that panicked me, then the heart started going like the clappers. My digestion is bad because of the anxiety, I am assuming, and so I can't manage more than a few mouthfuls of food. Just on and on today , I am so TIRED of this.

Has anyone actually got over this completely ? I don't mean coping from day to day but actually eliminated it and gone on to have a full life that isn't under this cloud ?

I am so sorry to post negativity when we are all struggling but I am rapidly losing hope that I am ever going to be free of this. My husband is losing his patience, I can tell. His answer to everything is 'have a drink'. I am not a drinker anyway but the last time I had a glass of wine it made me feel worse. He doesn't get this.

:weep: Lisa x

Hello! Hope I can be your beacon of light!

I suffered for 14 years from a list as long as my arm of various mental health disorders (anorexia, bulimia, panic disorder, agoraphobia, social phobia, depersonalisation disorder, generalised anxiety and depression....not all at the same time, thank God!)

I'm now fully recovered, although because of the way may perspective changed while I was in therapy, I kind of think I was never 'ill' as such. I was reacting to my environment and the thoughts/emotions I developed due to the environment I was growing up in. I no longer see any of the above as terrible, doom-laden illnesses, but rather a totally human reaction to the stuff that was going on in my life when I was a kid, and as an adult the stuff that was going on in my head.

I'm not always happy now, or anything like that, but at the moment I've been going through a very stressful period (breaking up with a long-term partner) that would make ANYONE stressed! However, I have coped with it pretty well and unlike anytime before, I'm able to go out and have fun, have a laugh with my friends, and just continue as normal despite the fact there's really stressful things going on. It just doesn't consume me now. I feel a 'normal' amount of stress, you could say - a healthy amount.

When I had panic disorder I was having panic attacks one after another all day long. It was like as soon as my heart reduced in speed a little bit, another panic attack would rush in straight away. It would take ages to get to sleep because of the relentless attacks, and then I'd wake up having panic attacks several times during the night. Panic disorder is absolutely exhausting! I'm not surprised you're tired and fed up. But I think that if someone like me can get better and just feel so free of all that stuff, then everyone else can too. I was in some pretty bad states in my time - including on this forum, rather embarrassingly now! - but I feel totally changed. I guess I feel more like myself than I ever have, in a weird way.

So don't worry, there is definitely hope and this is not a 'forever' illness. My advice for right now would be to have compassion for yourself. You feel like shit right now. I don't know if you have kids - I don't but I imagine I do to do this exercise! - but imagine that your son or daughter was feeling like crap. Would you say 'oh pull yourself together you've got stuff to do', or would you say 'go get in bed and I'll bring you icecream :) It's ok to feel anxious. Don't go around trying to fix it all the time, just accept that right now you're anxious. You won't always be anxious, but right now you are, and if you stop trying to push against it in order to 'act normally' then it will run its course.

It's helpful for you to work out why you're anxious and how you've ended up where you are so you can avoid it in the future too. If you haven't already done so, get thee to a therapist. It really works wonders.

Good luck :)

[cloudbusting]

Thanks so much for your replies, very much appreciated :bighug1:

Am having a much better day today. A little bit of anxiety here and there but nothing compared to yesterday and I got a LOT done today, too !

I saw a YouTube video listed on another Forum post that I thought, in my fed up state yesterday, that I may as well give a try, but not really believing it would help. Well, it has in just one day
http://youtu.be/3ArtxNt606U
Hope that link works.
I listened to it yesterday and tried it out this morning as I felt the morning anxiety start bubbling up. It worked. I then ran a few errands and started to feel 'on edge'. I told myself just what it suggests in the video ... it worked again. :yesyes:
Worth a try ?
Lisa x

[pinkofire]

Hello Lisa!

I feel that way sometimes too :weep: it just feels never ending and it seems to get worse a lot easier than it gets better. Once upon a time I was cured for a while but ever since I stopped going to college it crept back. So it can be done it just drags :hugs:

Anna x

[cymraig_chris]

Think of it this way.

Anxiety is just fearing the normal and harmless sensations of stress.

Stress is only bad for you if you believe it is bad for you. This is a scientific and measurable fact.

But ... Your fear causes you to feel alert.

Your stress sensations seem more than they are, because you are alert. Awaiting that next panic.

Rest to release the stress, let your fear of the stress wash over and through you until you realise it has no teeth.

What are you fearing ... A panic attack.

What is a panic attack ... It's the body's way of flushing out unnecessary stress chemicals.

It's the body doing exactly what it is supposed to do. There is nothing wrong with you.

Let it flush, let it flow.

Panic is a rubbish word. It's an energy surge. It is your body burning up all the unnecessary stress chemicals built up over time. It is a good thing ... It is a healthy thing, it is a beneficial thing ... It is a safe thing.

You may experience some of these sensations ...

Yes ... it causes your heart to thump, yes it causes your eyes to blur, yes it causes your skin to tingle, yes it causes your body to feel hot, yes it causes your body to feel icy cold, yes it causes your body to sweat, yes it causes your legs to feel like jelly, yes it causes your head to spin, yes it causes your arms and legs to feel numb, yes it causes your body to feel out of itself, yes it causes the world to look unreal, yes it causes your breath to feel tight, yes it causes your chest to feel tight, yes it causes your head to feel like its in a vice. Or whatever else it does when it flushes out.

You can't die.
You can't go mad.
You can't lose control.
You can't faint.

Everyone on earth has a body that builds us stress.
Everyone on earth has these energy surges ... Adrenaline dumps/purges

I used to have panic disorder, I don't any more.

If I am active, eating fresh foods and keeping fit, my body naturally removes the unnecessary chemicals as I go about my day.

If I have work pressure, I eat rubbish food, stay up late studying until the wee hours and don't have a means of burning off the extra energy I have built up, I will get an energy rush to burn off the adrenaline. I have no fear of them so they will be tiny for me. I couldn't give a monkeys if I get one or not.

The is nothing harmful about panic whatsoever. You could have thirty a day for thirty years and you would come to no harm. You would just be very tired. That's it. That's all. And even tiredness is not a bad thing. It's not harmful in any way.