Terrorism Fear!

[cweightman82]

Hi all,

I am fairly new to this site so please be gentle!:)

I have suffered anxiety for all my adult life, I seem to develop random phobias (I've feared asteroids hitting the earth, storms, ebola to name but a few). At the moment I seem to be obsessing about the current terrorist attacks, this kind of thing has NEVER bothered me before but I am finding it hard to be rational about it. Yes it is likely a concern for most but I am being irrational in my thoughts. I know the risk to myself is very low (according to some statistics I have read I am more likely to be killed by a bathtub than a terrorist), however I can't seem to cope with it at times.

I am having counselling and taking citalopram which is certainly helping, but I feel a little hopeless today :meh:

[swgrl09]

First welcome! Glad to have you here.

I think a lot of people have gotten shaken up about the terrorist attacks ... I am flying this weekend and am nervous about it. I know rationally its probably safer now because of hypervigilence, but can't help but worry.

It doesn't help that it's all over the news all the time either.

[cweightman82]

Hi swgrl09, thanks :)

I know, I mean it is a very serious incident but the news is about nothing else, makes it feel overwhelming.
I had the same reaction when ebola was in the news.

I am such a worry wart and I tend to let my imagination run away with me :blush:

[fizzle90]

Hi OP.

I've not logged in for months but felt I needed to reply as I am feeling exactly the same as you. This morning I was really struggling and unloaded onto a friend. I was seriously considering phoning the doctor to get something, which is huge for me as I have been managing my anxiety alone for years now after coming off meds, that's how I knew it was a big deal.
It's so hard because I feel like I have an angel on one shoulder and a devil on the other. I know the facts, I try and rationalise with myself and tell myself all the things I know to be logical, but the devil on the other side is pecking at the inside of my head and it's a constant battle between rational and anxious, it's awful.

I'm flying to Germany next week and I must admit that it causing about 60-70% of my anxiety at the moment. I don't really have any advice, I just wanted to let you know that you're not alone. Do you have someone you can talk to? I didn't realise just how much I needed to unload how I felt until I did to my friend this morning, and just talking to her and her talking some sense has made me feel a little bit better.

[cweightman82]

Thanks fizzle.

Us worriers do tend to over exaggerate in our minds.

I am having counselling which is helping, I was feeling loads better then it got worse over thexweekend. In a way it's been a good test to see if the counselling has helped and I've taken some comfort that it has. I think I'm in the 'I'm just so fed up with it now' stage.

I've been looking around this site and it seems a nice, supportive place. It's nice to know I'm not alone :-)

[Randara]

Hi there! Just thought I'd say that I have the exact same worries as you! I was talking to my counsellor about it earlier and it made me realise it is a fear of things I cannot control. I tend to see a news story and fixate on it and then the worry and anxiety builds up! It doesn't help that the newspapers and websites focus on events so much and read into every little detail!

[MyNameIsTerry]

I used to be triggered by wars being reported on TV. The same with weather warnings. But back then I had many triggers.

If you keep working on your overall anxiety levels you might find this disappears like mine did but I guess it depends how strong this is over other fears so could need more individual work.

Fear is like this though, it zooms in on extremes and conveniently forgets about the many more probable ways we could die or be injured in daily life. People who are more general and more extreme may struggle with those too though. Perhaps use that to beat it back?

[girl20]

Hello everyone! I also have a fear of terrorism right now given the recent and terrible news. I've actually had this fear ever since 9/11. The first time I went to a plane trip was a year after and I remember myself , at 10 years old, worried about a terrorist being on the plane and looking at everyone around me to see if they had an "evil look". Now I'm 24 years old and everytime this kind of attacks take place, my anxiety seems to build up again. I'm already a plane claustrophobic and haven't been able to fly for years, and this only makes it worse.

I am a constant worrier (about everything really! :P) and I really don't have an answer or a solution to offer for this but I just wanted to let you know that indeed you are not alone. No matter where we come from, we all share the same fears. I'm miles away in South america and I still feel the same way as you do. Knowing that I'm not alone, makes me feel better. Fears are universal, and even though they can be crippling sometimes, I also keep believing that we are always strong enough to overcome everything.

A big hug to everyone!

[freshy666]

Hi everyone. I just replied in another similar post. I too am having extreme anxiety/panic attacks over the last couple of days. They have been undoubtedly triggered by the Paris attacks. I try to rationalize everything, but it is just too much at the moment. It has really dug up a lot of my already existing anxiety about death, so it's really hitting a high point. I got some meds from my doctor, but it's really only helping with the physical effects and I can't seem to shut off my brain. I really feel like everything is closing in on me, and very quickly. This sucks, big time.

[cweightman82]

Thanks for the replies. Not been on here in recent days.

Mynameisterry you talk a lot of sense and I often feel better just reading your replies to other posts! Yes I do tend to focus on extremes and ignore the little things. I cycle to work, every day, on the road, I am aware of the potential dangers and yet I get on my bike each morning without a second thought.

I have found the counselling very helpful and and using the techniques I've learnt to help me cope.

Am thinking more rationally now and feel confident that I can get through this latest episode!

[MyNameIsTerry]

Thanks I really appreciate that, cweightman82. :flowers:

Thats just anxiety for you. I struggle with the daily routine stuff yet have dealt with emergencies and even confrontation in the street. Then it would be back to the routine things worrying me again despite what I had just got through much easier. :doh:

I think I mentioned it before on another thread that whilst I felt my anxiety rise from the news all the issues that went off in my head were not ones real to war/terrorism but how it would alter my daily routines which I felt reliant on and thats where the anxiety really hit me. Typical need for enviromental controls in my case I guess.

I am glad you are feeling better about all this. Did you learn techniques like Thought Records and concepts like Cognitive Distortions? The latter shows the automatic negative thninking styles we use in anxiety/depression so they are worth looking up (Wiki's are accurate) and the Thought Record is a template allowing you to challenge thoughts with evidence to come out with a new positive/neutral conclusion. If you use Thought Records though, be aware of language used as this impacts us too e.g. "should" implies a fixed goal which adds pressure whereas "could" implies choice and takes pressure off. Davit's "Words" thread on the Panic board explains all this very well and there are some useful links in there too.