Health anxiety triggered by losing my Mum

[GuyB]

Where do I start? Up to just over a year ago everything in Guy's world was going ok.. Enjoying living back with my loving parents after being away for 13 years and getting my feet back on the ground with a new job and meeting new friends then BANG Guy's world came falling all around him after my mum suddenly collapsed on a Wednesday night and passed away on the Saturday morning. Up to this point I've never even thought about high BP Stroke or Heart attacks and now I think about it on what feels like every hour of every day of every week of every month. In the early days I suffered terribly with anxiety/panic attacks day and night lost lots of weight and became a recluse. I am now back to my normal weight and touch wood the day time attacks have stopped but the night time ones just wont go away on a nightly basis I get woken up by surreal dreams what feels like a lightening bolt running through my body I get hot and my mind starts racing..... and then find it very difficult to get back to sleep and the less sleep I get the higher my brain fog is the following day.

I'm not sure what I expect to achieve from posting this reassurance maybe that I'm not going mad and one day it will pass or maybe some advice how to help calm my HA..

Thanks for listening

Guy x

[Althea]

Guy, I'm so sorry for the loss of your mother. Of course that's distressed you, and it takes a while to adjust even without anxiety.

Have you looked at the online free CBT4panic course offered through here? It can really help you train your mind away from the habit of anxiety. I don't know if it'll help with the dreams or not, but I wouldn't be surprised if it did--I suspect the brain just keeps flashing the anxiety light after you're asleep, and if you got a little better with the light switch it might stay off more reliably.

[MRS STRESS ED]

Guy im sorry to hear about your mum,its understandable why your feeling like you are ,I had two family members die within two months of each other ,one was very sudden ,thats when my anxiety heightened ,I couldnt stop thinking about dying and illness ,just like you I couldnt sleep and constant pa ,I got referred to a thearapist also went to a panic group and gp put me on sert and I slowly got better the thoughts subsided ,I still have the odd bad day but I count my blessings x wishing you well

[eccat]

So sorry on the loss of your mom.
My anxiety started after my dad dropped dead in front of me and my mom fell apart~I was only 19 and had to take on the role of adult and care for her and my younger brother. 7 years after this ordeal we lost a friend due to heart failure and that's when it dawned on me that I could also die from it. Anxiety hit me like a ton of bricks.
Now whenever someone I know has heart problems or dies from a heart attack I go into a panic trip that lasts me around 6 months.
My advice go see your gp and ask him to run tests on you. If they come out all clear then you know you're safe. This works for me. Relaxation tracks also help.
You are not alone and you def are not crazy.
Take care

[saab]

Sorry to hear about your loss. A traumatic event like that often triggers anxiety and panic. Self Help for Your Nerves by Dr Claire Weekes is a great book. The Tara Brach site has some good guided meditations for relaxing, and the Insight timer is a good free app with meditations. Hope you feel better soon.