Gutted

[PAULF]

Cant believe it, last week i thought everything was fine, i was going to the gym, keeping my mind occupied and things seemed to ok. I went out on thurs night, fri night and all day saturday - then, out of the blue in the car i got all paranoid and my mind started to go crazy like before, i got out of the car and calmed myself down, well tried to at least.

I cant belive this is happened, im at work know and i can feel anxiety/paranoia/worry coming on. One classic example is, one of my close friends has just moved back to her mums in Blackpool, she starts her new job today and has a 40 mile trip to do each day, she said she would phone me tonight - my mind is thinking "what if she doesnt", "what if this/that/the other".

Wish i knew why this was happening, thought i was strong and could deal with it, how can i stop these silly thoughts, its doing my head in. Please help.

[Mell1988]

Hi there,

I'm not sure whether this will help but I can sympathise with your situation - I have periods where I am feeling fine and everything feels in perspective, then out of the blue (or triggered by some minor event) I will feel myself slipping back into the old pattern of anxiety.

All I can say that has helped me is just accept that this can happen and try not and be too disappointed. I felt like this yesterday and after a short time of feeling bad and telling myself that I thought I had this under control - I eventually just said to myself "OK, I feel bad now but I'm not going to let it drag me into the downward spiral I used to" and just took a few minutes alone and "had a word with myself" and fortunately this time managed to snap out of it.

But the thing that definitely helped me was just to accept that this is part of the recovery process.

I hope this helps in some way !

Take Care

[apm]

Hi Paul,

This sounds like a blip- a necessary and perfectly normal dip on your road to recovery. My experience is that these come less frequently and with less severity as time passes- so keep the faith, carry on doing what you're doing and as Mell says, try not to be too disappointed.

Alex.

Outside a dog, a book is a man's best friend.
Inside a dog, it's too dark to read.
-Groucho Marx.

[PAULF]

Hi Mel/APM

Thank you for your words of encouragement, im determined to get through this. I just know ill be in a state tonight if my mate does not phone me up - ill be thinking all sorts.

Thinking of going to the doctors about it tomorrow, i havent been yet, thought i could get through it without them but it really has brought it home that might not be as easy as i first thought.

Paul.

[mico]

Hi Paul

Like the others have said, this happens, and when I say this I mean it happens to everyone. It's not because your weak, useleless or whatever, we all struggle in the same situations and it's all part of the recovery process, 2 steps forward, 1 step back. You've just took that step back that's all.

I know exactly how hard it is too, you take that step back and it just destroys any confidence that you've been building up for so long and it feels like your back to square one. This is the time you really have to try hard though and pick yourself back up and keep plodding on, forget about the fact that you feel worse than you did last week, you will probably feel as though your getting nowhere even though your trying so hard, but if you keep up the effort then you will get there eventually.

You said you went out Thurs, Fri and Sat too, were you drinking? Alchohol is a stimulant and if you drank 3 days in a row it may well have been a factor in the way you feel now.

Try to find a little time to relax, maybe a relaxation tape or something will help. I find sometimes in these situations that you can sometimes take some of the edge off with some relaxation, which also helps to focus your mind a little so that you can get back on track.

Good luck

mico

[HB]

dont worry!!! Its just a "blip" yeah? keep going on and on and see if you can bring yourself out of this hole. Stay as strong as you can!!

H

[sal]

Hi Paul

Hope things have calmed down for you.

Its horrible when you get all anxious/paranoid as stupid thoughts do rush round in your head and however irrational you feel they are you can get them to stop.

Pity we cant just stop and empty it all out of our minds.

Hope you friend is enjoying her new job.



Love Sal xxxxx