Hello

[clatho4415]

Hi everyone,

I am typing this with tears in my eyes, all alone as I wait for my husband to come home. I suffer with GAD, and this anxiety has increased since a recent miscarriage, I feel drained of confidence.

My current panic concerns a trip of a lifetime, on Saturday I am going on holiday. I am panicked however that my teeth are going to fall out while I am away (as I am typing I can see how silly this might sound!). My teeth are not a good point, they are wonky and I have bad gums and recently had a tooth abscess. I think though that my panic comes from an expectation that everything will go wrong.

Anyway thank for taking the time to have a read!

[venusbluejeans]

Hiya clatho4415 and welcome to NMP :welcome:

Why not take a look at our articles on our home page, they contain a wealth of information and are a great starting place for your time on the forum.

I hope you find the as site helpful and informative as I have and that you get the help and support you need here and hope that you meet a few friends along the way :yesyes:

[OwenIsNotDoingSoHot]

That's an interesting notion; ones teeth falling out. I've managed to convince myself of every disease under the sun so honestly it doesn't come as that much of a shock, your teeth.

What I've managed to piece together out of several sleepless nights reading books on anxiety, is a CBT practice which involves you recognizing offending thoughts, understanding the feeling that comes from said thought, and then the action associated. To which you observe with indifference.

Thought: What if (Or worse, They will) teeth fall out, it'll be so embarrassing, I might choke, I won't be able to eat and I might starve, I'll look ridiculous.
Emotion: Dread, embarrassment, sadness.
Action: Google symptoms, complications and ultimately consequences.

Now that's all well and good, but how does it help? Well, I look at it like this. 1) How ludicrous a notion it is, it's almost comical. (This isn't specifically about you, I convinced myself of having Ebola)
2) The "So f*cking what" mindset. Doesn't always work but it can be effective.
3) Precautionary measures. Look we know its our mind tricking us because its got an obsession for self preservation and it doesn't want you to overlook anything. But even recognizing that we can undertake some contingency planning despite that knowledge. In your case, you mentioned taking a trip, try looking up emergency dentists in the area you're visiting. Communicate your problems with your significant other, things are seldom as scary when we've got someone else with a sword & shield battering the f*ck out of your demons. Your teeth falling out while sleeping, trust me, your body is really great at not dying, we've got several million years of instinct keyed into that very thing, you will not choke. You probably wouldn't even notice it.
4) Breathing techniques in addition to the "indifference mindset", breathing is good. In fact I'd go as far as saying it's pretty damn great. Deep breathing is better it's like getting high without the prison sentence. When in the throws of a bullsh*t thought extravaganza "You've got HiV, Owen (I'm Owen)" "Shush Brain, I acknowledge your ludicrous "what if" notions, however I know it'll pass. I know it probably isn't true. Excuse me while I suck in some oxygen to the comedy styling of Bill Burr."

5)Ignore it! Yeah, it sounds dumb. But it ties into indifferent acknowledgement. Just accept it, and go about your day. Don't repress it, but act as if it's a fly buzzing around your head. It's annoying, but what can it do? Go about your day as normal and if the fly won't leave you alone invest in some you-time with a cup of Chamomile tea and happy thoughts. There is a fly, but there won't always be a fly. (S)he's just visiting for today.

In addition, you mentioned you thinking that your obsessive thoughts might stem from an overwhelming sense of over things going awry! That's a reasonable hypothesis, to whit I would:
1) Discuss your worries regarding that fact, going back to what I said earlier, demons look 200% (I'm doing a heavy-math based degree in Uni, so trust me on numbers!) less intimidating when you've got someone beside you.
2) Itemize what could go wrong, and cross reference this with your partner for rationality. For example, your car breaking down is a reasonable worry. Encountering a huntsman spider in Lidl because f*ck quality control isn't. Car breaking down -> Ensure we have breakdown cover, or the means to get about. Huntsman spider in Lidl -> Question your relationship with your chosen higher power, no one is that unlucky.

Now lets hope that made coherent sense! Just trying to aid in anyway I can!

[clatho4415]

Thank you, I started CBT last week so those methods are really useful. I will have a try, thank you for the support I just feel better seeing that I'm not the only one to feel like this.

[yassin3]

Hi clatho4415 and welcome to nnp

[Vanilla Sky]

Hi and welcome to NMP :)