Annoying thoughts

[HelpNeeder]

Since my anxiety started I have been alternating between good days or weeks and bad days or weeks. When the bad days come they’re usually followed by extreme insomnia which only intensifies the whole problem. It’s so easy to forget the good days and feel hopeless those days. When I’m going through the bad days I usually get two particularly annoying thoughts that are very persistent in my head and unhelpful.

The first idea that keeps appearing in my head when I’m feeling anxious for days is: “This is it, I’m going to feel this anxious for the rest of my life. I’m doomed”. So far the anxiousness has always disappeared and the good days arrive until the next time.

The second annoying thought I get is that when I’m having difficulty sleeping and in some cases am not able to sleep for a whole night I start thinking: “This is it, I’m never going to be able to sleep again. I will be tortured until my body gives up and I die from lack of sleep”.

What I want to ask you guys is whether these thoughts aren’t entirely unreasonable. Is it possible for someone who suffers from anxiety to be stuck in a never-ending panic or anxious-state? Also, aside from super rare things like fatal familial insomnia, is it even possible for people with anxiety or insomnia to never to be able to fall asleep again? I know that once I had to go to the hospital after not being able to sleep for a few days and the injected me with something to calm my system down. I've never heard of someone dying because their body simply wouldn't let them sleep.

[trq&skq]

These aren't unreasonable thoughts. I used to be the exact same! Anxiety has a way of making you feel like you're doomed and it's the end of the world for you and that nothing will ever be the same again. But, that's just it, it's the anxiety's way of messing with you. You've got to keep reminding yourself of this when these thoughts keep coming to your head. Stop falling for it! Just laugh it off and keep repeating positive phrases to yourself and reassure yourself. A lot of people feel like this at times in their lives and it's something that can be helped or prevented.

Things I did to help combat my anxiety:
- I spoke to my GP and was prescribed some medication and offered some counselling.
- I tried to always remain positive and be grateful for the good things in my life.
- I did things I knew would help relax me and distract me like... read books, have a bath, have cuppas, watch new tv series (lose myself in a fictional world basically), watch movies, surrounded myself with friends and family
- I spoke to close friends and family about anything that was bothering me and asked for advice.
- I exercised a lot more because after a long work out, I was too tired to even think, let alone worry haha.
- I got a new hobby and started up projects for myself to keep me occupied.
- I also stopped caring so much about things and over analysing things I couldn't make sense of. Once you accept things for what they are, it gets easier.

By doing all this, I slowly got rid of my anxiety. I mean I still sometimes get anxious which is a natural thing because people need some anxiety in their life (fight or flight for example) but never to the extent where it impacts my health. And even if I did go back to being anxious again, I now know that I can get better again. It's not the end of the world and this isn't "it". Things get better, trust me. The key is to just do things that make you happy and distract yourself from your anxious feelings. Eventually, they will realise that they no longer have a grip on you and they will fade away! Stay positive and just know, you're not alone! :)