Facing my fears

[Emma1027]

It's really difficult managing the stress I have at the moment but I am trying to find solutions to problems and look at things in a positive light by changing how I feel about situations. I am making ''me'' time whatever happens by doing things that I enjoy such as curling up in the on the sofa watching a film because somehow the chores can be done later or hit by bit. It's hard to relax sometimes but I've got to try to put my health first, myself first this time. I was in tears yesterday and everyday at the moment seems gray but I am holding onto hope that I will get better because I've got so much to look forward too and he thankful for. I guess when you have a health scare you appriciate things that little bit more. I will beat anxiety and depression.

[Bill]

Something we often say to ourselves is that "we hope we will get better" like hoping we'll win a race. If we don't have the training and are not shown how to run, we can never win so no hope in itself will ever be enough.

You know like sometimes we can be doing something over and over and failing to win and wondering why until someone says oh by the way, did you know you keep making the same mistakes in your actions but either you never realised it or you felt you couldn't change it even though you knew it was holding you back. Practise makes perfect but hope will help.

I can give you an example of what I mean from another of your posts which I hope will help you..."Starting antidepresents tonight and feeling anxious about it- mainly the side effects and how I will adapt and react to them over time."

Anxiety loves to make us worry, especially when we try something new. Our minds will start worrying about all the what if's. What if I react to them, what if the side effects surface, what do I do if they do, how will I react to them, what if they don't work, what if I have to stop them etc etc etc.

It's a bit like standing at a start of a race worrying about all the things that can go wrong before you've even started to run.

So, when we say we hope we will get better, as I say, we have to learn how to avoid making the same mistakes otherwise we'll never win our race.

It's perfectly natural to feel anxious about anything new because we're going into unknown territory but instead of allowing anxiety to rule us by looking for all the negatives about what might go wrong, try changing the thought process to I'll try taking them and wait and see what happens because until I try them I won't know and with any luck they'll make me feel better. After all, that's why they were prescribed for me.

If you experience problems, worry about them if and when they surface.

If you try to adopt the same attitude as soon as you realise you're starting to worry, you can train your mind to "run properly" and prevent making the same mistakes so that you will win your race with hope to keep you going.

One other thought, try not to sit too long doing nothing or just watching tv because our minds get bored and get distracted by thoughts very easily. Keep your mind occupied and entertained by something enjoyable and interesting because it's the thoughts and worries that a bored mind creates that can start making us feel anxious.

Hope that helps.