relapsing...

[grimboddy]

(possible tw for mentions of scary illnesses)

hi everyone... after a short period of doing pretty well with managing my anxiety i'm coming back around the bend and i've landed right back in a dark place.

it seems like every little thing sets me off... last time i was hitting a rough patch with health anxiety i was absolutely convinced that i'd contracted rabies from my (vaccinated) dog after he left a surface scratch that didn't even break the skin. that lasted for nearly three weeks before subsiding and looking back on it it was unbearable. my physical symptoms became absolutely debilitating

NOW i'm worried about limb threatening illnesses after a patch of skin on my right arm warmed up a little bit. i KNOW i know better but it kind of feels like that doesn't help. no matter how much i try to reason with and fight against those feelings of worry and dread and tell myself that "i'm going to be okay, it's nothing", i just get even more worked up.

i'm really at the end of my rope; i cannot end up back in that place again. i can't take nearly another month of non stop anxiety and panic attacks. does anybody have any words of advice or comfort? it would really be appreciated.

[Blondie0583]

I'm in the same boat as you - barely functioning because my anxiety is so high. I wish I had some advice but the only thing that has been helping me is my ativan

[jrcoleman]

That which does not kill me, only makes me stronger. Work off the past memory of the rabies scare. You blew it out of proportion for nothing and wasted all that time worrying about it. Give it a week and see if it improves, I bet it will. The body has an uncanny way of healing itself. Heat in an area of your skin is probably nothing more than a slight allergic reaction to something that will take care of itself in a couple of hours. Or it could be heating as a result of your constant touching it and irritating an area that wasn't irritated to begin with.