Can you lose your mind/ go mentally ill?

[baldy_1812]

That is my biggest fear and probably why i still suffer from anxiety attacks from time to time. Am i just worrying over nothing? Can you all of a sudden just go mentally ill?

[rocklover]

I don't think so to be honest. If you're losing your mind you are unaware of it. But all of us anxiety sufferers analyse our feelings and thoughts constantly, so there is no way we are going to go mad lol.

I think if anything can happen, it's that our body and mind get exhausted from all the stress and can need "time out" to recover, which is when depersonalisation and derealisation steps in. That can often make you feel if you are losing your mind, but it is actually the opposite (as with a panic attack) it is the mind and body's way of trying to protect itself.

[Yvonne]

I think anyone who has suffered bad anxiety/panic/depression has a fear of going mad - especially when going through a bad breakdown. It's not madness though, the mind is playing tricks for sure but it isn't madness in the true sense of the word. I know cos I asked my shrink.

I was told that if I was going mad I wouldn't think I was which is exactly what rocklover is indicating.

This illness is about fearing all sorts of things - sadly we are in fear of lots of things - but we defo aint mad!!!!! Take care.

[Nechtan]

Hi Baldy,

You will not lose your mind. As far as I have read there has never been a case of someone with anxiety/panic that has led to them losing there mind. We all know it can certainly feel like we are on the brink of it at times but we will never go over the edge.

What we experience is irrational fear and like any fear it is scary. It is not the thoughts themselves that are the problem though. It is our reaction to them and that is what we must try to change. It won't happen over night but if we can stop adding our own fear to that initial irrational fear then we will stop the cycle and in time improve.

All the best

Nechtan

[panicradio]

Q. What's the difference between a psychotic and a neurotic?

A. A psychotic thinks that two plus two equals ten. A neurotic knows that two plus two equals four, but he worries about it. :winks:

As much as it feels like it, you are not going to lose your mind or become insane. If you were losing your mind, you would not be aware of it, nor would you be worrying about it.