really could do with advice

[tricia56]

hi today im really suffering with the intrusive thoughts I feel sick and really anxiouse because of this morning got a new intrusive thought as i went down to local garage to get some fags before they shut and as i waited to cross the road all of a sudden out of noware came the thought jump infront of on coming car and it has scared the life out of me and ever since i cant stop asking myself why did i get that thought and even got scared to go back out side incase it came again , i tried to laugh the thought off and told myself it sonly intrusive thoughts and they are not real, but for some reason i just cant seem to believe that they are not real no matter what i try and tell myself,and have got it in my head that the thoughts are real and what if i act on them which is scareing me even more, sorry to post yet again just want them to go away but i don't know how to or even get my mind to believe that thoughts are not real so hoping maybe some one may be able to help me with advice .

[venusbluejeans]

Everyone gets intrusive thoughts like that "what if I jumped in front of this car" "What if I jumped out of this window" "what if I Taunted that dog over there" "what if I carried on and ran all these people over"

BUT it is just passing thoughts that you would in no way act on... so best let it go out of your head, as the more you are thinking of it the more you will convince yourself you would have done it.... but in reality you wouldn't!

[Fishmanpa]

i went down to local garage to get some fags before they shut ... hoping maybe some one may be able to help me with advice .

Please quit smoking. Intrusive thoughts aside, this is not good your physical or mental health.

Positive thoughts

[Oosh]

Yeh they shake you up don't they.

Don't let them, because they ARE just --->suggestions<---

The power is given to them by the panic brought about by the DOUBT

"What if I did, What if I lost control. What if I lost control of my mind"

And there it is, the revelation that you're just an anxious person with the same clichéd fear about losing control, losing your mind as every other anxious person.

While that doubt is there the uneasiness will continue to be there.

You're an anxious person Tricia. You're NOT out of control or losing your mind.

You heard a suggestion, that's all. Don't give it any power. Don't doubt yourself.

Bury it in other equally ridiculous suggestions to ridicule it.

"Oh hang on, why don't you suggest for me to run like the bloke out of the Matrix over all the cars ?
Then next maybe suggest for me to hand glide over Tesco.
After that maybe suggest I could streak down the high street shouting "HEY, CLOTHES ARE RUBBISH YOU KNOW. YOU SHOULD TRY IT. WEEEEEEE"
Maybe suggest to me I could run in front of a cow and pull faces.
Suggest for me to climb up onto the next single decker bus, sit in a meditating position and meditate as the bus goes down the high street.
Suggest to me anything ! They are all random, useless thoughts that pass straight through my mind and into my mental bin.
NONSENSE. They are not productive to me. They are a waste of mental energy.
They are like the interference on the radio, annoying useless background chatter that should be ignored.
From now on when I see one of these suggestion sentences start ill forward you straight to mental bin before you have even had a chance to finish and complete the message you wanted to give me.
You are a waste of my time "

You are in COMPLETE control !

Do not give them a second thought Tricia.

[flossie]

You have become so used to the negative thinking that you have given all the focus to these thoughts and completely overlooked that you went out, crossed the road, went into the garage and made a purchase then made your way back home. Now that is worth feeling great about :yesyes: Well done Tricia for getting to the shop.

[tricia56]

hi thk you all for replying back to me it means a lot to me know I can come to this site and get help and advise and reassurance when im really struggling and get panicky, so thk you once again xx

[Fishmanpa]

Tricia,

I know from your posts you've struggled for many, many years. If the desire for a cigarette is strong enough to get you out of the house despite your anxiety and fears of doing so, then you possess the inner strength to get a leash on the dragon and quit smoking.

Positive thoughts

[nomorepanic]

Maybe she is not ready to stop smoking though and I do know that doctor's tell people not to quit when their anxiety is sky high as it just adds more problems so I don't think we need to keep telling her to quit despite that we know it is not good for people.

[Fishmanpa]

Maybe she is not ready to stop smoking though and I do know that doctor's tell people not to quit when their anxiety is sky high as it just adds more problems so I don't think we need to keep telling her to quit despite that we know it is not good for people.

Just don't want to see anyone go through what I went through....

Best wishes, good luck and positive thoughts

[nomorepanic]

Yeah I know but we can't make people stop smoking and drinking and sometimes telling them to stop makes them rebel more - I see this a lot and have first hand experience of it.

[MyNameIsTerry]

I've had this myself.

On one of my walks I cross a bridge over an old dried up stream and whilst standing there I had the thought "jump, go on". I found myself strangely amused by it though hence not reading into it.

It's like someone daring you "go on, do it, I dare you" and you feel a strange compulsion.

The fact you reacted in the way you did proves that you don't want to do it.

Whilst its hard, the worst thing you can do is read into it. Science shows that if we react with strong emotion then our subconscious has more chance of created associations between thoughts, feelings & sensations. It can start to store it and then recall it later and this is when you get anxiety disorders.

I still have these thoughts now, but I have taught myself not to care and now they float through without judgement or I may even laugh. The result is that they don't make me react anxiously anymore.

There was a thread raised a while back that had a link to a clinical study of people without anxiety disorders and it proved that they also get these intrusive thoughts, they just didn't know. Its just that due to our anxiety, we notice them more.

What helped me? Mindfulness meditation was the only thing, not CBT. Look into it, it can help you greatly with anxiety disorders.

One thing at a time on the fags I think, set it as a goal if you wish to quit but prioritise the anxiety as you will find quitting easier.

[tricia56]

thank you terry and every one as you can see ive had anxiety long time now tried cbt but never took meds as im typing this to u all Im :weep: because im so scared of the anxeity that has been my problem ever since i got it even tho I tell myself over and over its only anxiety it cant harm me or hurt me but for some reason my brain wont except it. im petriefied of taking meds. I don't know why the anxiety has got so bad the last two weeks or why im feeling that im going crazy and got the intrusive thoughts back again , the only reason I can think of is that it started was that I went to see cbt therapist on the Tuesday as I hadn't seen him for two weeks as he was on holiday and at the end of the session he told me it was my last session as he felt he couldn't carry on with the cbt because im not on meds because he said that without the meds I wouldn't be able to finish threapy even tho he all ready knew I wasn't on med and how scared i was to take them, I rember when I got outside I started to think omg wat am I going to do now will the anxiety get worse or will I go crazy because Im not taking medication so I don't know if that's got anything to do with why the anxiety has got bad ever since. I try every day to do house work go to local shop when im feeling anxiouse, but I do avoid going out to visit my children who live the otherside of the city ware i live or only go out on public transport if I really to as I let the anxiety take over,I don't socialize I have no friends ware i live so I spent a lot of time on my own at home even tho i have my son and daughter who live with me but they are18/29 so they just do their own thing so I do get very lonely , and know its only me who can help myself by going out etc meeting new people get a hobbie etc for some reason I don't know how to and feel scared to try ,as all ive ever known is bringing up all my children as I had 8 of them so didn't have time for myself sorry for posting so long just wanted to try and explain so thk you

[MyNameIsTerry]

CBT doesn't work for everyone Tricia, I found it partially useful but I found I was more open to achieving the goals after it ended as my anxiety was decreasing.

Mindfulness meditation and relaxation techniques helped me more than CBT did to be honest. Mindfulness was recommended in the CBT and it was the most useful element of it because from having anxiety for years, and researching about it, CBT wasn't that new to me and I found its tools to be very similiar to those I used in my career (not in healthcare).

I think you can be resistant to CBT if the anxiety is too strong and Mindfulness teaches more than relaxation, acceptance, not judging thoughts, etc it also teaches you to be more resilient.

Could you join some form of club, possibly something that interests you? Or volunteer? I used to attend a self help group run by a charity and they promoted things like this as well as ran their own groups which was good because they only included other anxiety & depression sufferers.