Up and down?

[flatterycat]

Hi there

Have been through a big bout of anxiety recently and was starting to think I was coming out the other end. Just wanted to know if it is normal when you are getting better to still have moments when the anxiety seems to engulf you giving you a sense of real fear. For instance, I have just got back from town and as I was driving home the feeling swept over me. I get scared that it's gonna get really bad again and that I'm never going to get back to my normal self.

As I said in a post yesterday I seem to be on edge and not quite 'right', but going in the right direction. Then I get these horrible feelings where my stomach lurches and the heat of fear floods through me. More often than not I am just pottering around. I also find that memories can set me off - memories of the last few weeks of feeling bad. Does this make sense to anyone out there?

Sarah x

[jill]

Hi Sarah,

It is very normal when we are moving forward to have little set backs like this and YES, memories of just how bad it can get, can set it off again.

What you have to try hard to remember when feelings like this come on, is just how far you have come, look more on the positive side of things, try dame hard to dampen these fears down.

I have not had a pa in a long time, just some anxiety symptoms from time to time and yes I do remember at these times just how bad it can get, but I try dame hard to distract myself form my negative thoughts.

I went out with a friend in the car the other night, she had to slam on, a car in from pulled up quick, ohhh my goodness, the fear went through me, it was like a firework at exploded in my tummy and it was working it way around my hole body, this happend very quick and I new I had to change my thought pattens, my friend helped alot too. We had been to blackpool that weekend and never went on any of the rides, (thats another story nothing to do with my anxiety) but she said just after she slammed on """"just thought I would give you a scare, since we never scared ourselve silly on the rides at the weekend"" I did find this funny, which helped alot.

Sarah, you are doing just great, don't let Mrs anxiety scare you, these are just little hiccups, which in time, they do get less and less, or they don't bother you anymore.

Hope this helps a litte.

You take care

LOVE JILLXX

[cattttt]

Oh yes, this makes so much sense to me. I've just come out of a bad 6 months and I'm feeling so much better, but every now and then I have a little flap and have to talk to myself to make it go away; I remember so much what it was like when I was really bad and don't ever want to go there again, so I do all sorts of things to stop thinking about it and keep myself on track.