please ca.n this be just a bad day?

[tricia56]

Sorry to post but allday ive been feeling so anxiouse more than i usually am, my mind racing allday, been having intrusive thoughts ,the feeling that something isnt right this cant be anxiety, and i cant seem to be able to bring it all down .ive done relaxation ,distraction , gone for a walk even went round my daughters for a hour to bring the anxiety down but its hasnt helped much at all , i keep telling myself im just having a bad day thats all im ok but even that isnt helping much.

[pulisa]

You're having a challenging day, Tricia. I'm afraid it happens with GAD when your thoughts run amok. I hope tomorrow is more manageable for you.

[uru]

I've not had a great day either :(

[MyNameIsTerry]

How are you now, Tricia?

Sadly, these days do happen. Moving beyond them can be a matter of getting to a better place overall in your recovery and until then you can be treading water a bit.

Did anything cause it? Xmas is a very challenging time with various triggers for many of us.

[tricia56]

Hi terry i had a stressful week the run uup to xmas day as i had to look after my 3 grandchildren while my daughter went into hospital to hsve her baby and i have got a appointment today with the mental health team as i self referd and ive been worring alot about because i know i have to travel to get there and worried wat they will say and try and fmake me take meds and refuse me n help i dont take them so im sitting here worring shal i go or not and feelong quite anxiouse at the moment.

[Elen]

Tricia not much to add, these days do happen and the appointment must be adding to your stress levels.

Go to your appointment, you will just kick yourself if you don't.

Let us know how you get on.

[tricia56]

Thk u elen i will let u know how i get on , i always seem to get myself so worked up every time i know i have to go out especialy when i have to travel by car or other transport to get there if i knew i could walk to ware i have to go i would do iteven tho i feel very anxiouse but for some reason when it comes to useing transport to get there the anxiety and fear takes over and thats when i end up not going places because of the way i feel .

[Elen]

You are far from being alone but you can do this and you need to do it hun.

Think how proud of yourself you will be once it is all over.

Don't be so hard on yourself, you are making an effort and that in itself deserves some recognition.

[Sunflower2]

Tricia, I really hope you can manage to get to your appointment! I've been the same and wanted to cancel appointments because of this but once you've got it out the way it will be such a relief. Thinking about doing something is often much worse than actually going out and doing it too.

You can do this, good luck :)

[Fishmanpa]

Rootin' for you Tricia! You can do this!

Positive thoughts

[tricia56]

Thk you all so much im overwelmed by all your kindness and support you are giving me ,so im damn the anxiety im going to go im not letting it win this time no matter what xx.

[Carolin]

Tricia I just wanted to give you a little bit of support.

I am far from well at the moment, so I understand your anxiety about the appointment. I hope you are able to go, and get a positive response.

If it helps, write down what you want to say. I always do that, so that if my voice lets me down, I have a piece of paper I can hand over to the doctor.

Good luck xx

[pulisa]

Please go, Tricia, you will be so frustrated if you don't and this could be a major breakthrough for you. Whatever happens they will have seen it all before. Please find the strength to go even if you are experiencing anxiety symptoms?

[tricia56]

Hi everyone just thought id update u i done it :yahoo: im proud that i went but think it was abit of waste of time seeing the physciatrist as basicaly after she had gone thro the iintial assessment with me her diognosess was that i had H/A which i already knew that , i asked her if i had GAD as that was what i was diognosed with in 2011 by another dr or is it just H/A ive got but all she replyed was its anxiety so im abit confused now as to wat ive actualy got as i thought H/A was apart of GAD. Anyway she said will arrange some talking therapy but i will have to also take antidepressants as apparantly talking therapy will only work along side taking ants as she said that every person who suffers with any kind of mental health issues has to take them along side any other therapy they have to get better, dont know if its true in wat she is saying, i did tell her that i dont really want to go down that road with meds but she just said that well if i dont then then i will only get 50 per cent better with just the talking therapy. So i dont think it helped me very much going to see them really.

[Fishmanpa]

You just took a big step forward in conquering your fears and going to the appointment! All they're doing is asking you to take a couple of more steps....

Ok... try to look at it this way....

Let's say it's cold and rainy out and you have to walk a few miles to get somewhere. Just doing the talking therapy will be like walking to your destination without an umbrella. You'll get there but you'll be cold, wet and not feeling all that comfy.

Now... taking the meds along with the talking therapy will be like taking that same walk with an umbrella. Not only will you get there, but you'll stay dry and warm and the journey will be much more comfortable.

Isn't it so much better to be dry and warm?

Positive thoughts

[Sunflower2]

Tricia, I wouldn't worry about the specific diagnosis names, a lot of people just call all the different types 'an anxiety disorder' since so many people have a variety of types. Or if you're one of the lucky ones you get 'significant' or 'severe' put in front of 'anxiety disorder'.

The important thing is getting the treatment to help you feel better. And that's really good you are getting therapy sorted now! You should be really proud that you went to your appointment, proves that you can do something even if you're really anxious!

[Carolin]

Well done Tricia :)

You have taken a big step today, and you should be very proud of yourself. You are in the system now, and on the road to recovery.

I hope you can now access the help you deserve xx

[tricia56]

Thk you all so much hopefully the talking therapy might help me, today tho all i have done is worry about taking the floxatine the dr gave me as i really dont wanto take them at all as even the thought of taking them even looking at them sends me into a panic even tho she said she cant force me to take them , but i just cant take them as i know that if i took even just one i would be in a right panic, i know my gp etc are only trying to help me and incourage me to take them but i think apart of my anxirty is around taking any kind of meds and that maybe alot of people may think im not helping myself by not taking them but i do try and help myself and push my self to help myself and yes i do sruggle sometimes but i get thro it somehow , i just wish that maybe they could understand how bad it really makes me feel about takingany kind of meds , i just wonder if any one one here feels the same as me about medication .

[jadedreams]

Hi Tricia, I too have med fears - they just started this year, I have found that I need to stay away from Google and do not look up side effects. My fear is that I will feel worse when taking a medication. I am on a couple now, but I don't think they are helping too much, so I may be up for a change soon. Kind of worried about that. All I know to do is try taking the med, then if you have any kinds of problems with it you can always let your doctor know and quit taking it.

But remember, the med could help you - so it is worth trying at least.

[MyNameIsTerry]

Well done, Tricia! Be proud of yourself because we are all proud of you!

I used to have that issue in the car as it started right at the beginning when my anxiety took me away from work that first day. I felt sick in the car just like in the office and that haunted me for ages. I also developed being very anxious in the car, needing to escape (like with the sickness feeling) and the tight breathing would start from being pressed into the seat. I was being driven to my doom each time!

What could help me was having something to play with in my hands in the car, going for a walk before to burn some adrenaline off or getting out to walk part of the journey for the same reason. I had safety behaviours at the beginning like carrying extra dog poop bags in case I was sick (never needed a single one) and a bottle of water to sip.

Meds. Well, NICE & the NHS don't state you have to use meds and there are many studies proving therapy to be as efficient as certain meds anyway. There are even Mindfulness ones now showing the same relapse prevention rates as some in it's MBCT form.

So, the psychiatrist is wrong on that score. It may be his/her personal belief or based on the severity of your anxiety disorder though BUT meds can be very helpful alongside therapy indeed.

It's true, they don't understand the issues with fear of meds. They treat this issue like telling a housebound agoraphobic to pop out for a jog! Ideally therapy to work on an exposure hierarchy is the best way in my opinion but we have a big problem with these medics - they treat you for what you are referred for, so only want to focus on that and not the barriers.

So, no they can't force you to take meds but they can refuse treatment. If they are unwilling to treat you without, can they treat you with a view to starting them midway? This isn't ideal because any start up side effects will probably halt the therapy but it may be a way to get you onto meds to beat this meds fear and then after any side effects you may be more responsive to therapy so it could be a long term win. But if you are having IAPT therapy, it will likely be too short too short in some cases but I would hope you are in for long term therapy now with reaching the mental health teams as they sit above IAPT for more severe or treatment-resistant anxiety.