Freaking out over the littlest things...

[GlitterPawsAU]

Ok, so I've had anxiety for the last 5 years or so (possibly longer) but lately it's been worse due to being unemployed (I am actively looking for work but nothing has come up in the last 2 months) and basically sitting around doing nothing all day (no money to do anything = not being able to do much).

This means the littlest things cause me to panic. The latest thing? I was reading some urban legend about some poor girl that died, anyway at the end it said "If you read her story, she will come to you within a month" seeking vengeance, that kind of thing..... Silly stuff, right! (right on par with those silly chain emails that did the rounds a while ago) :blush: But it's FREAKING ME OUT!

So now I'm having this internal tug-of-war because I know deep down that everything's fine and it's just a story but there's that darn little niggling voice that's trying to convince me otherwise.

Cue the downward spiral of freaking out over it, trying to convince myself that everything will be OK, and feeling stupid over letting something so silly almost paralyze me with fear.

Does anyone out there have any words of wisdom, or advice for helping kick these feelings to the kerb? I don't really want to be feeling like this for a whole month :scared15:

Thanks in advance :byebye:

[Kayleigh100]

I'm a good one to speak as I don't practice what I preach but can you fill your time with things that are free to do? Maybe take up walking (with a view to walk/run and later running) are you able to do this sort of thing? Or maybe take a room and clear it out? Joins freecycle and ask for paint etc and even redecorate simply? To to an Old People's Home to play games with them (not sure if this is allowed!) just trying to think of things to keep you occupied.

[GlitterPawsAU]

I'm exactly the same, giving out great advice but not heeding it myself. It's just tough to break through. Usually I can confront what's causing my anxiety but in this case, I can't. And once I start to feel better, something pulls me back and says 'hey, you're supposed to be stressing about something'....

[Kayleigh100]

To some extent I am facing mine but to get to be free of my triggers is going to take some time, but I have started. I am the same as you. If one thing clears my mind, another quickly takes over. I need to start looking seriously at the mindfulness book I have.