How do you bounce back?

[catsandnaps]

Just curious what you do when you've been having a good few days (or hours, or minutes, depending on your situation), and then the panic rears his ugly head again? How do you keep yourself from getting discouraged? I've had a few good days, then today was just something I'd rather forget. I'm now struggling with how to not drop into that hopeless spiral again.

[MissyMischief]

Hey. I struggle with this constantly. I hate setbacks, they are so disheartening. I usually let myself have a good cry and talk to my mom who is very supportive and helps to give me hope. I try and remind myself that the road to recovery is almost always one step forward, two steps back. I also try and figure out what else I can do or try to feel better that I haven't tried already. I had a big setback recently and was super depressed. But then I pushed myself to make an appointment with a CBT counselor. That is giving me a good feeling of hope. And the more support you have, family, friends, partner, doctor, counselor, this forum etc...the better. I also like to read success stories. There are a lot of people who were a lot worse off than I am now who have made full recoveries.

Hang in there!

[GingerFish]

I've noticed my anxiety always comes back 10 times stronger after a good period, no matter how long or short the good period was. Yesterday was a good example. I went out of my comfort zone and drove to a lovely seaside town 60 miles away from home and usually the furthest I travel is about 10 miles from home. I panicked on the way down but was relaxed when I got there and on the way back and had a good day out but the minute I got home, my anxiety went through the roof. Panic attack after panic attack. I was restless and couldn't relax. I put this down to stress from exposure.

How I bounced back (I'm still not 100% yet but I'd say I am about 90% which is not bad in the space of a day) is, I went for a bath as soon as I got and ate something. I also downed a lot of water. So many of my panic attacks have been caused by me and not eating and drinking enough. Doing all of those things didn't fully calm me down and that started to get me agitated as I was drained and wanted to feel fine again. So I lay in a dark room and listened to my Dr Claire Weekes audio tapes and instantly I felt a wave of relief and understanding as she explained why I was feeling this extra anxiety after a good period and that it was nothing to worry about. Listening to them made me feel finally relaxed enough to go to sleep.

In terms of longer setback, the longest I had was about a month and a half, its so easy to fall down the train of thought that this will be the longest set back you will have or you wont ever recover but there is always a way out of setbacks and as soon as you remember that, even if you don't fully believe it at first, you are on the right track again. The best advice for setbacks is make sure you are eating enough, exercise - I know it feels like the last thing you want to do when you feel down but even just ten mins around the block or housework if you don't feel like going out can make all the difference to your mood, especially if you listen to upbeat music while you do it. Take an hour (or even just 10 mins if you have a busy life style) every day to do just do whatever the hell you please - it can be go for bath, just sitting alone for a bit - anything at all as long as it gives you peace. No matter how busy you might be, you have to find that time. Also make sure you are getting enough sleep. I know how hard it is to drift off but lack of sleep is a sure fire way to have heightened anxiety.