On a knife edge - help please?

[popsy]

:weep: My GAD is feeling worse, i feel like im on knife edge, like really edgy, my throat feels tight and i feel like im slipping into a much worse phase again!
I dont know how to stop it! Can anyone offer me any advice? I need to relax and have tryed breathing and relaxation techniques but i just cant get in the right mind set, I just think 'oh this doesnt work!' how do others do it? :shrug:
I know my negatives thoughts are taking over again and im getting very shakey again.
Id love to hear from other poeple who have to deal with this, i feel like i wanna throw in the towel again and give up, because it would almost be easier! So while im on the knife edge i want to fall off the right way!!! :blush: :wacko:
Any advice, please i would appreciate so much i really dont want to go backwards again!!
HELP????
C xxxx :hugs:

[Tom_M]

Hi popsy, when I was very anxious like you, I used to do vigorous exercises to tier myself out. I know It's not easy trying to relax when you are so wound up, but doing exercises did help me to get rid of the nervous energy and then do the relaxation thing afterwards.

Tom

[sheba2]

Hi Popsy

Sorry to hear that you are having a difficult time. Its really hard when you can feel yourself slipping down and it happens to me a lot. I keep telling myself that there are good times and bad times and that each time I slip back I will move forward again. Distraction whether by exercise or some other means is great. Even if you feel that it isn't working it is getting you through the time of greatest doubt. I think one of the scariest things is feeling that this will never go away. I am at the stage where I still have days when I believe this and have probably got to the stage where I can even accept that this is ok I know that there will be times when I find things difficult because my anxiety levels are high but I also know that there will be times when it is controllable and even not there at all. The whole idea of accepting my life for what it is has been difficult but I am getting there through constant practise. When you say that yu find relaxation difficult in times of stress is that cos you only try to do it when you are stressed. That is what I used to do. Then I was told that you need to practise daily until it becomes a part of your everyday life. I now do this and I would say it is the one thing that has calmed me more than anything else. I used to find it really difficult to relax my muscles and even when I thought i was relaxed I wasn't. Daily practise really helped.

Start believing that you can cope with this don't try to make it disappear because it isn't that simple. I think of my anxiety as a sore place like a cut. It is there and I can't make it go away but I don't need to pick at it and make it more irritable. Sometimes it gets knocked (by life) and then it hurts and bleeds a bit but if I accept that and look after it it scabs up again and begins to heal. Your body is able to heal itself and you can help it by taking care just don't try to rush it.

Hope this garbled rambling makes sense and helps a little. Give yourself a hug and just accept today as not such a great day take care and don't pick the scab!!

[milly jones]

aww pops hun

come here for a big snuggle xxx

sorry ive not caught up with u in chat lately

and then dad came this morning when we were msning

im sorry hun

i think exercise is a good idea. i walk so hard and fast until my calves burn and ache. but i find that this is a safer way to punish myself when ive been daft than others ways. it allows my brain time to wander aimlessly and i often talk to myself as i go. look a bit of a wally all red faced and chatting to myself but hey ho.

i loved the analogy by sheba bout anx being like a cut, that makes real sense to think of it like that.

pops it will get better hun. it will always be there but ur just on a down on the pathway at the mo. the road will level off and ull soon be tramping upwards and feeling high. thats our life hun.

just remember what a supportive, kind and compassionate mother, wife and friend u are, but most of all what a wonderful person u are too.

love u loads pops

millxxx

[thedood]

I was feeling just like this on Sunday...I thought it was gonna be the beginning of another bad patch - we always think this way, its the nature of our negative thought processes. I can tell you that its eased off a lot since the weekend. All these sensations you are feeling right now won't hurt you, its ok to feel them...just don't be afraid. Release the fear and then wait for a short while. You'll find that once you've decided not to be fearful, the sensations will reduce... Say over and over again in your mind or out loud "There is nothing to be afraid of...I release this fear...I know I am safe!" Eventually it will take hold in your subconscious. Saying it while looking into a mirror can help even more.
Just let go of the fear...the racing heart and rapid breathing etc will eventually follow.
You are safe!
x

[Oceanblue]

Hi Popsy,

It's a such a horrible feeling, I know too well. I totally agree with Tom, Vigorous exercise to burn that horrible negative energy off. I do this all the time, it's the only thing that works for me, and then I move on to relaxation afterwards. I find that when I'm feeling this bad it's almost impossible to exercise through just relaxation itself - It just doesn't work, so as Tom has said, try and go for a run/fast walk or cycling is good. (If you're unable to go out) run up and down the stairs, on the spot or try a fast exercise DVD to keep you motivated.

This feeling is just rotten, I'm feeling just the same right now, i've just come back from a couple of hour's training in Aerobics, I cycled there and back 12miles in all, and I still feel jittery, so am going cycling round the woods in a minute. I know that later, I will be able to relax much better and I should feel better for it.

Try it, I promise you that it really does work.

I hope you feel better soon xx

[polly123]

Hiya Popsy
I tend to agree with the others about exercise, it really helps me when i get the dog on the lead and off we go for a power walk, another thing i find hekps, is to get stuck into a good book, that will help take your mind off things for a while
Hugs to you
POLLY XX

[mandie]

Hi Popsy

:hugs:

how u doing now hun.

It will get better. I no how u feel.

love mandie xx

[Nibbles]

Hi Charlie,

I've been on the knife edge myself recently so know exactly how you're feeling. :hugs: Take comfort in the fact that worrying about slipping back shows you've made progress and therefore have the strength to overcome this. I worried about the same thing as I was going through a tough patch and had the tight throat and other nasty symptoms but am now coming out of the other side again. You'll come through it too as this is just a blip.

I find that relaxation exercises are difficult because you're consciously trying to not feel anxious. Instead I do something I enjoy such as photography as this forces me to concentrate on something else. It really works wonders so I'd recommend turning to a hobby when feeling anxious.

Take care,

Mike :)

[Humly]

Hi

I know what its like to be on the edge. Apart from the distractions of exercise etc that the others have mentioned, I find that what helps me is writing. I get a pen and a notebook (the old fashioned way) and just write everything down. Every little worry and fear and however much you ramble on, just get it all out of your head and onto paper. I used to do this a lot, often crying my eyes out as I wrote, and strangely did feel better for it. Every day I would write, sometimes the same thing as previous days. Later, sometimes days or even weeks, I would shred the lot. Try it and see.

[never2late]

Charlotte, this is going to happen from time to time and is to be expected . . . not just now, but again later on as well. However, each time will be less in intensity and shorter in duration. But there is nothing to feel badly about -- other than having to go through it.

In other words, please don't feel as if things aren't working at the moment -- or that you're going to slide downhill and never be back up again. Trust me on this . . . I know all too well.

It's horrible to feel the way that you're feeling right now. In fact, its like a living nightmare, minute by minute. But, chin up, and just let those minutes pass by. I know that not everyone is tough -- and its is most definately harder for some people than it is for others -- but I have gotten the sense that you're a "stick with it" person and can ride it out.

Use this opportunity to practice what needs to be done. Your practice at this stage of the game may not even be very successful -- but it WILL be MORE successful the next time . . . and the next . . . and so on UNTIL YOU FIND YOUR BETTER DAYS BEATING OUT YOUR BAD DAYS.

I wish I could do more for you other than just sitting here comfortably in my chair and typing words on a screen for you. But, right now that's all I have to give to help you feel better.

[popsy]

Thanks to all your your replies, i know you are all right that this is going to happen from time to time in my recovery, i just find it very hard to ride it out never knowing how long its going to last. Your replies though honestly help, they remind me that i will feel better again sometime soon, you are all great thank you! Still having bad days, today feels worse again, i havent had a panic attack for weeks but today feels like it might just be the day, but i know ive got to get through it to the other side.
Thank you, thank you guys, it means so much to me being a member here and actually having people who understand me....oh no tear dropped onto keyboard, i must stop that if i start i know i wont stop!!!
HUGS xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx