advice please.....anxiety overload

[mark777]

Hi everybody..

Going through it at the moment.

I've had anxiety for as long as I can remember, last January I was diagnosed with ocd and anxiety. I went for cbt for quite a few months and although it didn't totally go away it certainly got a lot better.

However I could feel just before Christmas, that I was getting edgy again.
A liitle problem would transform itself into a major worry. As soon as that problem was solved my brain found something else to set the worry train off again.

At the moment it's money, or lack of it .
I'm convinced we won't get paid, or something will happen and I will not be able to feed or house my family.

I keep thinking I'm going to do something wrong at work and get sacked .

It's really crap at the minuite.
Now this maybe sounds really stupid but when I was in full flow with my ocd, and was constantly checking and tapping, I felt like I had some form of release. (Brief albeit), I don't tap and check half as much now, but Im Still obsessing .And still feeling on edge most of the time.

The stupid thing is I am SO LUCKY., I have a brilliant family that have helped me so much.

Any thoughts
Thanks mark

[beatroon]

Dear Mark,

Sorry to hear you're going through it. I can relate: it is really awful when you're in an anxiety spike and I do feel for you.

It sounds like you have already realised that your worries are, to some extent, irrational and unlikely to come true, and that your anxiety themes switch.

You've said that you've done CBT - is it worth going back to your notes and starting to implement the exercises again? I've found using the 'worry tree' and worry time very helpful recently.

I read a very helpful book recently too, called The Upward Spiral. It is more aimed at depression and is quite neuroscience-y, but it explained that when we worry (or check or do OCD routines) we are actually releasing a small amount of feel-good chemical into the brain. So, by worrying, we do actually feel a little better - but it's a short-term solution, and doesn't help us get out of the downward spiral we're in, when problem-solving would be a more helpful approach. I mention this because it made me understand a bit more why worrying/checking can seem so seductive, and also how important it is to focus on longer-term solutions.

Wishing you lots of luck with feeling better,

Beatroon

[Chocolateface]

Hi

I totally understand where you are coming from with the work issues, as I think the same way too. It's hard but remember as long as you do your job well and as expected they can't just fire you they have to have good grounds, there is a very good person on here who has responded to me a lot and has helped me no end.

Clare