recovery

[conan]

hi. just a quick post to mention that after about a year of crippling health anxiety i have been feeling more or less fine for about two months now. this is in spite of the fact that my wife got (normal) MRI results back a few days ago, after her GP suspected MS. throughout the wait for results i felt pretty much fine and to me that really illustrated that i have come quite far.

for me, it was a combination of three things that helped hugely. it's a pretty boring and familiar story but i'll tell it anyway:

1. therapy, and digging into some of my natural thought patterns and how to subvert them. in october last year i was so convinced my wife had cancer i was making enquiries into local widower groups. i've gradually gotten better at banishing myself from these rabbit holes. one thought that i've found surprisingly soothing is this: i am not allowed to think deeply about my or my family's health. other people can do this. most people. i am not one of those people. i am capable of many things, but thinking rationally about health is just not one of them. so instead, i need to make a doctor's appointment, then do everything humanly possible to ignore thoughts about health until then. i. am. not. allowed.

2. my psychiatrist, whom i've been seeing for nearly 20 years, upped my medication dose. i went from 10mg of lexapro to 20mg, which is not high but it's more than i've been on before. took a while but eventually started feeling better.

3. this is the one i suspect has done me the most good: a TONNE of cardio exercise. got way, way back into running, cross trainer, rowing machine etc. i know from experience that focusing on cardio fitness does wonders for my brain and i can really see why my GP badgered me to get into a fitness routine.

so who knows what has helped the most but i can honestly say i've started to think about health things a lot more rationally, and live a normal life even when there are nagging health concerns (which there always will be, to some extent).

just thought i'd post this here because i always enjoyed reading recovery stories at a time when i was really relying on this forum. thanks. :)

[ServerError]

Well done you. I also found therapy, meds (sertraline) and better self-care made a huge difference.

Keep moving forward and remembering what you've learned. :)

[EKB]

3. this is the one i suspect has done me the most good: a TONNE of cardio exercise. got way, way back into running, cross trainer, rowing machine etc. i know from experience that focusing on cardio fitness does wonders for my brain and i can really see why my GP badgered me to get into a fitness routine.



Thanks for posting this! Cardio is really something I need to get into - but I've had a real hard time getting started. I mostly want to lose some weight, but I've been told by more than one person it would help on the anxiety front too!

[Fishmanpa]

Well done... not boring at all as it's the effort put in and persistence that yields results. The part about learning why you react the way you do ("digging into some of my natural thought patterns and how to subvert them. ") was key in my recovery from depression after my first heart attack. The lessons learned through therapy have been crucial to maintaining my positive attitude in the face of adversity.

I hope others take on board what you posted.

Positive thoughts

[dale12345]

Good Job!!

[swajj]

I just logged on today after being away for many months. I am happy to say that I am 95 percent better. I agree that the three things you pointed out have been major contributors to getting well. I also think you need to get to a point where you basically think to yourself that you are sick of it and what will be will be. Getting to the point where I started to truly believe the latter was the turning point for me. I think it is the turning point for many people.

[GadGirl]

well done :D