Alone and scared

[natalie yog]

I'm very nervous about the next 2 weeks since I'm going to be home alone and when I say alone I literally mean no one around at all. So adding this up with my health anxiety and my main fear of having a brain tumour/aneurysm I'm terrified that something is going to happen. After having these symptoms (feeling like I'm on a boat when walking and laying down) for going on 7 weeks I keep telling myself surely things would've gotten a lot worse by now.
So for me the next 2 weeks will feel like 2 years.

[kiiing]

just relax and hmmm alone for 2 weeks and no one around
would be a perfect time to relax i would actually love 2 weeks to myself with no one around
but the easiest thing to do is just distract yourself
blast some music loud, dance like no one is looking, stuff your face and watch marathons of your fav tv shows, call a friend to come stay with you have some girl time i assume girl time because of your handle
i cant predict the future for you but if for 7 sweeks you have felt this way and nothing has happen yet.....99% chance NOTHING will happen i mean if it was it would happen a long time ago
and yes you posted in the right section its nothing but healthy anxiety
although brain aneurysm's are possible if you dont have any serious health issues or brain issues the likelihood of it happening is slim to none

learn how to meditate and try and conquer your fears of being alone look intoexposure therapy i mean the more you train your brain that things like being alone, going to the store is normal then your brain will say oh ok were good sorta like saying retrain your brain

seriously the more you feed your fears the stronger they become
youll be just fine ill even take time out of my day everyday to check up on you for those 2 weeks

[natalie yog]

I know your right but it's always hard when anxiety/depression joins up with my health anxiety and brings all my worries back in full force. I'm trying my best to try and take up doing art again during these 2 weeks to see if that can distract me. Also seeing my doctor on Tuesday about my medication. It's so kind of you to offer but your right I really need to fight these fears even though sometimes it feels like a losing battle.

[inha]

Hey, I totally relate to your post because just like you, I will have to stay in my new flat for two weeks before my flatmates arrive !
I'm terrified. My concern right now is my heart, I won't go into details so that you don't get triggered or something, but I'm super scared of having literally no one around (not even in the city).
For me, the biggest relief is when I realise the symptoms have been on for too long for it to be serious... but it's hard to choose a period after which you can dismiss them.
I don't have much advice because I'm basically in your situation, but just so you know, you're not alone !

[Gary A]

Your symptoms would certainly have progressed in 7 weeks if it were anything like a tumour or anuerysm. The brain is such a vital organ that anything like that becomes fairly obvious rather quickly.

Your symptoms are most likely being caused by chronic hyperventilation. When people think of hyperventilation, they think of deep rapid breathing and struggling for air. Of course that IS hyperventilation, but this is known as an acute episode. Chronic hyperventilation is far more subtle. You're probably taking short, shallow breaths because you're anxious. This caused your CO2 balance to become thrown off. This causes a whole host of horrid symptoms like dizziness, tingling extremities, blurred vision and nausea. The blood becomes too alkaline and starts firing off nerve endings that just shouldn't be firing. Your body is constantly trying to readdress the balance and this can cause these dizzy lightheaded feelings.

Look on the Internet for some relaxed breathing methods and practice them on a regular basis. When we start to chronically hyperventilate, it becomes a subconcious habit and you literally need to retrain your brain to breathe in the correct manner.

Hope this helps.

[sial72]

Hi Natalie
I was like you a few weeks ago, afraid because my Mum was going away and I always think something will happen to me...but, my therapist explained that there is always help available even if family and friends are not around and that in fact if something happened it is always better to call professionals (ambulance, police...) because that is their job and will be better at helping us x

[humbug83]

I live on my own but my parents aren't far away so when they went away for a week recently I didn't think I would manage. I made sure I had lots of things to keep me busy and my sister stayed a few nights with me so it wasn't too bad.

[natalie yog]

Thank you all for your replies. I didn't want to burden my family with how I was feeling but health anxiety can sometimes make me act a bit selfish. Like last night when I was trying to sleep I felt like my bed was floating on water and when my eyes were closed I could see flashing colours. It took everything in me to not ring my family up but I know I have to learn to cope with it.

[humbug83]

Well done Natalie. I have been burdening my parents a lot especially my dad. I don't want to but feel like I need them a lot at the moment.

[natalie yog]

It's so hard not to ring my Mum up but I don't want to disturb her especially right now I'm having a bad anxiety attack, my face is burning and it's hard for me to control my breathing because I'm thinking too much about illnesses. I'll also be going to my first doctor's appointment alone tomorrow so I'm really nervous.

[humbug83]

How did you get on?

[natalie yog]

The doctor was great and really listened to my worries about tumours and told me that if he honestly thought anything was seriously wrong he would've sent me for tests by now. So he upped my dosage of propranolol since my heart rate is quite high.

[humbug83]

I've had propranalol but only took it a few times. What is your heart rate if you don't mind me asking.

[natalie yog]

To tell you the truth I never asked but I've been suffering from palpitations for years and the Dr told me to up my dosage and see him in a month's time. He also gave me a phone number for a counciler because he thinks I need to get to the root of my anxiety/depression and he's the first dr to recommend this to me I'm going to trust his judgment.