Anxiety comes back with vengence

[Matthewray]

This last week I had the most anxiety free weekend since I started down this road of GAD. I stayed with my dad in my hometown for the weekend while I was there on business. No fear of going crazy, no thinking I was hearing voices. I finally thought it was all over, until I come back to my to my city. Its almost as if the anxiety was making up for lost time. I really thought I went crazy at one point. I'm just so fed up with this anxiety. I am at the point where I just want my body to go crazy, I want all my worst fears to just come out and do what they must. At least that way I can get proper help. Unfortunately my anxiety keeps me in fear. It always finds a way to keep me like that. None of my usual methods were working to calm myself down. I was pretty depressed today because of such a horrible night with it. Does anyone else get this bad after a good day(s)??

[Poppy Girl]

Hi
Anxiety sucks doesn't it? I have been in the same position as you. I had really bad anxiety for 6 months and then went away for 2 weeks on a holiday. It was a great break and my an iety pretty much went away - I just had a tiny bit in the mornings. Anyway, I thought it was finally gone and life could go back to normal.
However, when we got home the anxiety came straight back - almost like my mind was saying ok this is it, back to normality so back to feeling like rubbish again every day. It kind of felt worse because I'd had a glimpse of feeling normal but now had to put up with being on edge all day every day again.
Anyway, to cut a long story short I bought the book "At last a life" by Paul David and it changed my outlook. I stopped trying to fight the anxiety and basically let myself go crazy as you put it. I think I cried for about 3 hours solid and then when I stopped I just decided that even though I felt like crap I was just going to carry on as normal and if normal for the time being meant having to feel anxious all the time well it was just like having to put up with a permanent headache and eventually if I continued taking my meds and was distracted enough in other ways then anxiety might fade into the background.
It worked - by no means overnight. I think it took another 2 months and a slight increase in my medication (slow release venlafaxine / Effexor ) before things started to improve again and there have been a few blips along the way but I've been "normal" for over 2 months now. I'll probably have more setbacks but as long as I just accept them for what they are then hopefully the full blown anxiety won't come back.
Be nice to yourself and remember that recovry from any illness is a slow process and mental illness is no different.
:whistles::bighug:

[GingerFish]

This always happens with me after a good period. Currently going through a bad blip at the mo after a good few weeks. The weeks before this blip were so good I was going into town myself again for the first time in 2 years, planning on going back to driving lessons, looking for jobs etc and then about a week ago, all this anxiety came from out of nowhere. It was mostly health anxiety and I managed to convince myself I had this and that and got myself worked up and had constant anxiety and panic attacks since.

Anxiety does pack a powerful punch after a good period, but it will pass and the good periods will come back and after every blip you have after a good time, it will make you stronger and help you in the long run.