Fear of Fear - anxious about being anxious!

[RosieBelle]

Hiya!
I was just wondering if anyone else experiences similar - I actually feel anxious about having anxious/panicky thoughts and a bad anxiety episode.
I worry about not having enough to distract myself and that I'll go into that vicious anxious thoughts circle.
I'm actually scared of being anxious/panicky, as when I've had bad 'episodes' of anxiety, I get suicidal thoughts because it just becomes unbearable :( and it lasts for weeks.
I worry about days off from work and that I will have too much time on my hands to think about being anxious and reliving the awful anxiety experiences of the past.
I guess I'm worried that it will push me over the edge.
Does anyone else get this?

Many Thanks :hugs:

[BikerMatt]

Yes that's me in a nutshell! Anxious about being anxious, always thinking that will make me feel anxious about absolutely everything. Your not alone.

[RosieBelle]

Thanks for your reply Matt! :)
Sorry to hear that you feel that way too {hugs}

[MyNameIsTerry]

Same here Rosie, I'm very symptom focussed so I find it hard when they start up and it can spiral for me for a while (like it is now).

The thing is with GAD, its not always about situations although they can also be involved, it can just be 24/7 anxious feelings for nothing. I had this and I found it very very hard. It caused me to do a lot of retreating.

[RosieBelle]

Aw I'm sorry that you feel like this too Terry. Thank you for replying.
How are you doing today? I hope the feelings will pass soon for you.
I can understand the continuous anxious feelings that are there for no reason.
{hugs}

[SarahH]

Fear of anxiety is terrible in the early days of recovery. But the longer between the "attacks" the better I t will be. The "fear of the fear" will lessen with time. Two years ago I was so bad that I ended up in a psychiatric hospital for 18 days and I never thought I would be free from that horrible feeling again.... but I am.... it gets better with time, education, medication and rest.

Sarah

[RosieBelle]

Hi Sarah :) Thanks so much for the reply. I can understand what you're saying - when I've had bad panic/anxiety episodes before, after time the fear lessened and lessened. It's just so annoying when it starts up again!
Sorry to hear what you went through - I hope you're doing ok now? And well done on your recovery :)
:hugs:

[one day at a time]

That's me too , I know the symptoms are harmless but I fear them because I hate them !! You fuel the anxiety with fear and there's the cycle , we have to learn to accept them and not fear them , give them no thought and carry on , very very hard to do

---------- Post added at 18:43 ---------- Previous post was at 18:42 ----------

The longer you fuel them by fearing them and the longer the symptoms and added ones go on

[RosieBelle]

Aww yeah I totally understand what you're saying - even though we know it's not gonna harm us, I actually dread it because I hate the way it makes me feel!
Thanks for your advice - I need to learn to accept the anxiety and not fear it, as it's not gonna kill me, it's just unpleasent.
I know it is hard to do and I worry about not having enough to distract myself from getting the fearful thoughts. But you're right - it's the fear of it that keeps it going.
Thanks! :)
:hugs:

[one day at a time]

The fearful thoughts are part of fuelling it ;) you can't stop themaybe but you can change your thought process , you start to feel anxious by a thought ( because you may have felt a symptom) STOP , belly breath steadily to calm yourself ( look up belly breathing , that good googling :)) recognise what you are fearing ( symptoms) and change your thought towards them " its just anxiety , there's no fear so you're not needed " kind of difuse it rather than fuel it with more fear , the more thoughts that come and the more anxious you are good no to get . I've learnt a lot from reading this last week and now the hard part , implement it but I can tell you I've had a good 2 days just doing the above and actually slept

---------- Post added at 18:58 ---------- Previous post was at 18:56 ----------

Claire weekes has put me on track and I highly recommend her book

[RosieBelle]

Thanks so much for your advice! :) Yes it's all about changing the thought process and not fearing the anxiety.
I'm glad you have had 2 good days and I hope it continues for you :) You give some great advice! :)
Thanks, I'll check that book out!
:hugs:

[MyNameIsTerry]

Aw I'm sorry that you feel like this too Terry. Thank you for replying.
How are you doing today? I hope the feelings will pass soon for you.
I can understand the continuous anxious feelings that are there for no reason.
{hugs}

Thanks RosieBelle,

I'm feeling a bit better now, my blip has passed but they keep coming out of nowhere most of the time and I never had this the first time around so its got me wondering if its because of the different medication. Its something to look into I guess.

When my blip has passed, I don't have as much anxiety but I can feel a bit 'tweaked' which is likely due to being on a SNRI which works with adrenaline too.

[one day at a time]

Also remember the mixed signals to your brain from the release of adrenalin and stress hormone needs time to calm , the symptoms may persist for some time even when you don't feel anxious

[RosieBelle]

That's ok Terry :)
Glad you're feeling better - keep going! Maybe you could keep a diary so you could notice patterns of when the blips arise...might give you a clue as to what's triggering them off. I've just read in a book called 'When Panic Attacks' that although it may seem like they come out of the blue, there is actually something that sets them off. But yeah it could be because of the different meds.
Ah I'm on an SSRI too - Citalopram, so I can understand that. It's like my body is on high-alert still looking out for signs of danger.
Thanks for the reply one day at a time - damn hormones eh?!
:hugs:

[MyNameIsTerry]

I've read before that panic attacks can be triggered in the same place as a previous one. This makes sense to me and may explain about them coming out of the blue. I know I've been battling with increased anxiety just sitting on my settee for a long time and thats because when I was at my worst I was there just suffering it and the side effects of the medication. I can be out in shops and no problems as I've learnt to habituate to the anxiety that had developed and it has gone but its still a minor issue being at home.

The right Amygdala is the fear centre, and along with the hypothalamus, makes associations between thoughts, feelings, emotions, etc that leads to our anxiety disorders. So, it has the ability to store memories in there with all this and then we get these issues of being anxious when we go to X.

[RosieBelle]

Aw I can understand how you feel Terry, as I get anxious being out and being with people, but I can cope with that. It's the anxiety about being at home that seems frightening and hard to deal with. I guess it's 'cause the real bad panic attacks I've had have been at night at home. Also, being at home without much to distract me worries me that I'll get into that anxiety thinking cycle.
Many thanks for your advice! :)
:hugs: