View Full Version : How Long Does Anxiety Actually Last!?
I know this a "how long is a piece of string" question but I was sat there thinking last night how long will it be before I am back to my usual self again?
I counted how many times I have had different tests/dr appointments etc in the past 4 months and it was astonishing!
I have had 29(!) :ohmy: different blood tests, x-rays, MRI's, ECG's, Echo's, eye tests, and physical exams/Dr appointments and apart from only 2 results which showed slight issues (most recent heart results) everyone single one has come back normal - yet I am still sat here 4 months later feeling a little down, pains in body, dizziness, weight loss, tingling in head, worried about heart etc. You know - the usual!
So as I am into my 4th month (nearly my 5th) - does it get any easier or better from here? How do you cope?
how long will it be before I am back to my usual self again?
The same amount of time as the question...
How long will it be before you make changes to the way you think?
The same amount of time as the question...
How long will it be before you make changes to the way you think?
This is it! I have been doing CBT and it did help but still getting these "sensations". It is such an up hill battle with thoughts
It is such an up hill battle with thoughts.
It is if you think it is. :winks:
What are the sensations?
This bit -
- yet I am still sat here 4 months later feeling a little down, pains in body, dizziness, weight loss, tingling in head, worried about heart etc. You know - the usual!
Ok, it always helps to take a step back and to see things "as they are."
So when I read that, the only things that are "sensations" are...
pains in body, dizziness, tingling in head
And the last two are essentially the same thing. So you have "pains", and some diziness.
feeling a little down
Everyone feels a "little down" from time to time.
weight loss
How significant a weight loss? It kind of goes without saying that if you are worrying and stressed, you generally lose weight.
worried about heart
You've had an all clear. You have two options. Keep worrying irrationally. Ignore those fears and move on.
It is such an up hill battle with thoughts.
It is if you try and fight them. The goal isn't to stop having negative thoughts. EVERYONE HAS NEGATIVE THOUGHTS. Even people without anxiety.
What separates us and them is how we react to those thoughts. Most of our thoughts are stupid, and not based on reality.
The moment you realise that life becomes so much easier. Take a step back and realise how much of a knot you've tied yourself in.
Thank you mate! Also just been watching your videos on YouTube! Very helpful.
Regarding the weight loss side I have lost 21 lbs (1.5 stone) in the 4 month period.
Yeah the heart thing - not entirely the all clear - just a few anomalies on recent heart tests that has prompted the dr to now do a stress mri on my heart but he said at this stage there is nothing serious to be worrying about
Thank you mate! Also just been watching your videos on YouTube! Very helpful.
Regarding the weight loss side I have lost 21 lbs (1.5 stone) in the 4 month period.
Yeah the heart thing - not entirely the all clear - just a few anomalies on recent heart tests that has prompted the dr to now do a stress mri on my heart but he said at this stage there is nothing serious to be worrying about
It's a weird one isnt it?
I feel in a much better place physically and mentally than I did back in April/May/June when my Anxiety was at its height. But I still don't feel "normal"
My head CONSTANTLY feels "dense" or something, I have constant tremors in my hands and jaw and I keep getting these dizzy sensations. Its these things that are holding me back from a total recovery.
But it's a bit of a catch 22 and goes back to old question, is it anxiety causing the symptoms or symptoms causing the anxiety?
Will they ever go while I think about them? Will they ever go while I'm striving for my recovery?
Ones thing is for sure the doctors can find nothing wrong, and I'm no worse after 9 months of this.
It's all so f*ing annoying! :scared15::mad::buttkick:
at this stage there is nothing serious to be worrying about.
ScaredLizard
12-01-17, 00:18
My anxiety comes in waves. I've had it for 24 years now. I honestly don't remember who I was before anxiety
The sensations can linger for months after your anxiety has settled down. I've dealt with this in the past, as well. What happened to me was that those lingering sensations would eventually weigh heavily on my mind and cause anxiety, which would in turn start the anxiety cycle all over again. It's important to acknowledge that there will be lingering symptoms and that managing them is part of managing your anxiety as a whole. Hang in there
Anxiety is like a campfire. When you're in the midst of a spiral the fire is burning bright and hot. When the flames die down, there's still a bed of red hot coals burning away just waiting for some more fuel. So you may "feel" you're not anxious but your body is on high alert and has a bed of hot anxiety coals inside just waiting to flare up. Just like a campfire, the hot coals of anxiety take a long time to finally go out.
Positive thoughts
Everyday i am anxious about something.
How long is a piece of string ;)
With therapy it lasts less time than without because you are given the tools to tackle it. However it is hard work. Still there is no way to say how long it lasts. My first experience lasted less than 6 months. I was then anxiety free for over 10 years. My second time around it lasted about 3 years. I did nothing different and even went to the same psychiatrist. If he is correct and HA's root cause is fear of dying then I guess the fact I was older the second time may have added to its severity. You know how it goes, when you are younger the possibility that you could have something serious is smaller. The older you get the greater the possibility. So maybe that explains why it took me 3 years the second time. Who knows?
Anxiety with all it's symptoms is caused by fear.
So if you fear the symptoms, it will cause the anxiety and you end up having a continuous circle of anxiety, fear, symptoms, anxiety, fear, symptoms and so on.
At some point, you become either resilient to the symptoms or just plain fed-up with it all and coping mechanisms come in to play and all three of them become less and less. You can not put a time on your healing or force the recovery, but the important thing here is that you will. x
Anxiety (as in disorder) lasts until you find a way of not reacting WITH FEAR to the symptoms that anxiety creates. A certain amount of anxiety is normal.
I had a calm day yesterday and I freaked out about it. I didn't like the way feeling calm felt, probably because I'm not used to it. How messed up is that? I had an abdominal scan and didn't have a panic attack and it FREAKED me out.
The day I accept how I feel, good or bad, will be the day I beat this pain in the arse (and everywhere else) disorder.:whistles:
What was Claire Weekes used to say?
Accept Accept Accept!
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