Alllllll the negative thoughts and feelings

[cattia]

I've started on a low dose of meds to try to get my anxiety under control. They are making me feel much worse. I know this is normal at first and I was expecting it but I'm struggling :(
I'm back at work later this week after my summer break and I lie awake at night catastrophisng in my mind about not being able to cope, losing my job, not being able to keep our house etc etc. I feel like I'm losing all my confidence to do things I used to find easy. I wonder whether I will ever feel back to normal. This anxiety has been building for a while which is why I've decided to take the meds to try to get back on my feet again, but I can't see the light at the end of the tunnel right now :(

[Jools33]

I've started on a low dose of meds to try to get my anxiety under control. They are making me feel much worse. I know this is normal at first and I was expecting it but I'm struggling :(
I'm back at work later this week after my summer break and I lie awake at night catastrophisng in my mind about not being able to cope, losing my job, not being able to keep our house etc etc. I feel like I'm losing all my confidence to do things I used to find easy. I wonder whether I will ever feel back to normal. This anxiety has been building for a while which is why I've decided to take the meds to try to get back on my feet again, but I can't see the light at the end of the tunnel right now :(

What are you taking?

[cattia]

Sertraline 25mg

[Jools33]

Sertraline 25mg

My niece is on this one her major problem is insomnia. I started on meds for the 3rd time since 2004 four+ weeks ago & start up is awful I know. Everyone is different as are the initial side effects. I had to drop my dosage of Venlafaxine to half after 3 weeks due to horrible side effects. I now take 15mg. of mirtizapm at night & there has been an improvement. Good luck.

[cattia]

Thanks, I hope yours settle down soon for you. I have been off meds since about 2008, before that I was on prozac a couple of times and the start up was brutal. It helped in the end though. I'm hoping this one will work out for me.

[snowghost57]

Find a good therapist. I learned to challenge my thoughts. Do they have any value? Are the interfering with my goals? Live in the moment.

You are lying in bed worry about your job the house. What are you supposed to be doing? Sleeping. Meditate, think about the soft sheet, relax each muscle. In the morning write down solutions to your problems and the steps you need to take t solve them. When intrusive thoughts enter your head remind yourself, I have that written down with a solution and now its time for rest.

We can't live in the future, now is all we have. The next moment even arrives in the now.

[cattia]

Thank you Snowghost, I definitely intend to find a good therapist. I have done CBT in the past, a long time ago, and it did help, I had a notebook and I would write down all my negative thoughts and then more positive or realistic alternatives on the opposite page. I'm going to give it a go again.

[palspals]

I totally agree about therapy. I used to be cynical about it, but now I look forward to my sessions. Having someone to listen and give advice and not act as though you are crazy, is invaluable. With respect to thoughts, it can be as simple as asking yourself, 'Is this a helpful thought?' and if it isn't, try to banish it or at least, not to indulge it too much. If perhaps, it's helpful, then think about what you can do to be proactive about the thought, but do not dwell or obsess and if it's the middle of the night (unless it's an emergency), give yourself the permission to say, 'I can wait and figure this out in the morning.' Indeed, things are usually a lot clearer then.

I also agree about being present. I have awful health anxiety fears and there have been times where they've kept me in bed (ditching work and school), unable to both eat and communicate. I truly hope never to reach that state again. Even though the HA persists, I focus on living each day. I exercise, I go to work, I go to university, I maintain relationships, and I do my best to ensure that my thoughts (and my responses to them), are healthy. It's hard, but it's not impossible at all :).

Maybe make a list of the things you want to achieve in the day and focus on that, systemically knocking each thing off. It may be easier to break things down like that as you sound quite overwhelmed. This strategy works for me when everything feels too much and it gives me something other than my worries to focus on. Also, give yourself time to do things like visit this forum and listen to good music or to go for a run...Anything that you know soothes your worry is important. Make that a priority too. Hope this helps.

[cattia]

Thank you Palspals, this makes a lot of sense and I really appreciate it. I'm trying to figure out how I got into this black hole again after so many years when I managed without medication. This has been building up for a while so I need to unpick it one step at a time and breaking down thoughts like this is a really helpful approach. I know I can be happy again but it feels a long way off just now!