How do you get yourself back on track after a stressful period?

[GingerFish]

I have GAD, PD and agoraphobia so I am used to stressing and having panic attacks but over the last few days, its all been through the roof and now I feel pretty burned out. I wasn't sleeping well for days and I had toothache so the pain, panics and lack of sleep has really got to me. I'm glad to say I went to the dentist yesterday and got the tooth out and I am no longer in pain and I am proud of myself for going. I still feel very burned out though and just not quite right. I managed to get a decent nights sleep last night which was good.

I have a friend coming up in 2 days for a few days and I don't want to feel like this when she is here. She is very understanding about my anxiety and has told me not to worry but I obviously want to be in tip top form for her visit so we can have a laugh.

What do you do after a stressful time to make yourself feel normal again?

[sial72]

Hi
Congratulations on the dentist!!
The first thing I would do to recover from the stress is not put pressure on yourself to be 100% when you friend comes as this will only add more stress, if she is your friend and she is understanding don't even worry about that.
A great thing to destress is deep breathing, so do as much of it as you can. If you don't know how to do it have a look on Youtube, I do Pranayama breathing which is very helpul, or Kirtan or any simple exercise.
Hope it helps. Enjoy your friend's visit!! X

[GingerFish]

Thanks. I'm still in a state of shock about going to the dentist tbh! Been panicky ever since. Probably just the left over stress from the last few days I am guessing.

I went for an hour long bath and then went over to see my mum's new kittens for half an hour. That really helped. I feel a lot better but still not 100% yet.

Thanks for your tips. Always nice reading how other people cope.

[Davit]

I don't take it with me, the past stays in the past, today is a new day. If you screw it up it becomes the past and doesn't count. This is the only way to live with constant pain, physical in my case and the mental that goes with it.

[GingerFish]

Feeling a lot better today. Still a bit panicky and not quite right but a lot better. Starting to feel more excited instead of dreading my friend's visit. Felt awful for dreading it because she is great and very understanding but I'm the sort of person who hates showing people how I really feel especially when it comes to having a panic attack.

[GingerFish]

My friend came up and we had a great time and luckily, I had no panic attacks when we were out! I felt a few little blips bubbling away at times but no one noticed. Now she is gone I feel panicky, maybe its just from the stress as I was worried about her coming up and then in case my panics got in the way. The heat hasn't helped either. My anxiety keeps telling me I have heat stroke or something so my anxiety is through the roof.

[sial72]

Glad that you enjoyed your friend's visit. It is always tirying to have people over (even for non-anxious people) plus the heat...so don't worry about it. Just have a little rest and rekax c

[Soulcatcher71]

After a really bad bout of panic/anxiety I usually find it takes days to settle down, but even though at the time it seems like you'll never be normal again, it does go, by itself most of the time.
i think your brain almost has to forget about it, like its a habit that needs to be broken somehow.

[GingerFish]

Yeah you're right, in the moment, it always feels like you'll never get back to normal again. I think a good nights sleep and a good meal is what I need. Wish this heatwave would go away too.

[Soulcatcher71]

yeah but then it would be cold and we'd only moan about the weather again lol.

In my case (and not necessarily everyone elses) the panic is almost habit forming, and somehow you have to find away not to think about it, for longer and longer periods of time, until your brain doesn't panic as a first impulse.

Don't know if this is making any sense - am not good at getting the thoughts in my head onto paper, as it were.

[sial72]

Complete sense Soulcatcher!!!

[GingerFish]

yeah but then it would be cold and we'd only moan about the weather again lol.

In my case (and not necessarily everyone elses) the panic is almost habit forming, and somehow you have to find away not to think about it, for longer and longer periods of time, until your brain doesn't panic as a first impulse.

Don't know if this is making any sense - am not good at getting the thoughts in my head onto paper, as it were.

That makes perfect sense to me! couldn't agree with you more. What is annoying is, I have noticed when I am calm or feeling care free (well, as care free as you can feel when you have anxiety problems!) my brain will notice that I am calm and then it feels like it gives me something to worry about and a lot of the time the thing I worry about is the fact I am not worrying! Sounds so silly but like you said, worrying and stressing almost becomes a habit.

[Soulcatcher71]

That makes perfect sense to me! couldn't agree with you more. What is annoying is, I have noticed when I am calm or feeling care free (well, as care free as you can feel when you have anxiety problems!) my brain will notice that I am calm and then it feels like it gives me something to worry about and a lot of the time the thing I worry about is the fact I am not worrying! Sounds so silly but like you said, worrying and stressing almost becomes a habit.

Reading that made me smile, because thats EXACTLY what my brain does - it sometimes finds things to worry about even when I'm totally contented.

Sometimes it looks for new things for me to worry about - its almost as if there is a part of my brain that i cant control - like there's a little demon with a remote control that randomly presses the 'fear' button just for kicks.

I used to wonder, and still do, is this all me? Is it all my fault for not being able to cope with life like everyone else, or is it a medical thing that is actually out of my control.
if i could pay £million just to know that answer for sure, i think i would.

[Davit]

It is called feed back, you can stop it.

[GingerFish]

Reading that made me smile, because thats EXACTLY what my brain does - it sometimes finds things to worry about even when I'm totally contented.

Sometimes it looks for new things for me to worry about - its almost as if there is a part of my brain that i cant control - like there's a little demon with a remote control that randomly presses the 'fear' button just for kicks.

I used to wonder, and still do, is this all me? Is it all my fault for not being able to cope with life like everyone else, or is it a medical thing that is actually out of my control.
if i could pay £million just to know that answer for sure, i think i would.
That's spot on what I am like. I was even like that before I started having anxiety problems! I always say that my worry and panic attacks feel like there's some little demon up in my head controlling it because when I feel like that, all logic goes out the window and it does feel like someone or something else is controlling me instead.

[GingerFish]

This is the first day in over a week that my anxiety has been more like a low hum in the background as opposed to a deafening shout as soon as I wake up. Hoping that's a sign that this setback is slowly leaving :)