Worried it will come back?

[nianxiousguy]

I've had a pretty great week, anxiety has tried to get at me a couple of times but I have managed to accept and float through it and it never amounted to anything. I've been back to my old self really, doing all the things I previously enjoyed with no fear. It feels like a storm that's stopped raging and I am noticing it not there and it feels odd. One little annoyance though is one particular what-if thought. "What if this comes back again" Ok I know how to handle it if it does but still it was a pretty dark place I was in for a couple of months and certainly wouldn't want to go back there.
I know recovery takes time but this was different prn't my first dealing with anxiety, No about 20 years ago I had a rough time for about a year with panic attacks, had to give up my job as I became agoraphobic, 24/7 DP. I am looking at this recent episode as a setback as it certainly wasn't as bad as my first episode so I am hoping if it does return again it won't be as bad.
Any thoughts on this folks?

[ankietyjoe]

It almost certainly will come back, but the key is to accept that it will. When it does, deal with the start of it differently. Just because it comes back, doesn't mean it has to go on for months. Anxiety becomes a panic disorder when we practice bad reactions to sensations. When it comes back, mentally shrug it off. You know it passes, and you know what to do, so why make it a mental problem?

[nianxiousguy]

Yes, I can see I went about it all wrong at the beginning and it spiralled, I was unprepared for it after 20 years.