I'm so FRUSTRATED. :( I can't talk myself out of this one

[MandySlade]

I've been in CBT for 4 weeks now. I've gotten a little better about disputing my health worries and fears. However, my "big phobia" is going crazy or having something wrong with my brain. Well, here's what happened today:

Every morning I turn the AC up to 75. I don't touch it again till I go to bed at night. This morning was no different... accept that 2 hours later I noticed it had been set back down to 71 and was climbing back down from 75. Meaning, at some point I turned the AC back down and have no memory of doing so. Not to mention that I wasnt hot or anything and I NEVER do this.

So, unable to shake my extreme worry that this means something is seriously wrong with my mind... I email my therapist telling him about it. He sends me back this:

"Remember, if you are going crazy you are going crazy, it might not be such a bad state. You can not control the future and the only evidence you have is you do not remember turning the AC down, Screw it, it is what it is!"

That's all well and good accept that I'm freaking TERRIFIED of going crazy. So if I'm having a really hard time saying to myself "ok, so maybe you ARE losing your mind.. oh well." If I could say that I wouldn't have the phobia in the first place. :( I don't know what to do. I've been obsessing about it the entire day. I'm so scared and worried.

[LisaLisa]

Hi

I think the main thing here is that you are worrying and obsessing over you sanity. That really is your only problem. I think that you therapist was simply trying to get yu to lighten up and thats becuase the more importance you give these worrying thoughts, the more of them you will have. Your problem is not going mad - you just wouldnt be aware of it!! Your either mad or not....no... you are just worried about being mad!

Your gole is to deal with the throughts of going mad not actually going mad.

The less you react to these thoughts when they are triggered by things like the absent mindedness with the ac the less they will come and the more you will shrug them off it they do!

Try not to fear these thoughts, normally if you werent so anxious you would notice the ac thing and then think about something quickly writting it off as maybe even funny? Am I right?

Lisa
xxx:hugs:

[MandySlade]

*sigh* I know, but then I tell myself "ok, you're not going crazy.. but you probably have some sort of degenerative memory disease or a brain tumor" :(

Then I try to do the CBT work for that..... but I don't always "believe" the disputes. I mean, I can DO them and the therapist says I do a good job coming up with logical disputes, but they don't always "feel" right. :/

[brandywright]

sometimes i get these weird tingly feelings in my chest, not all the time but ever once in a while..like when i hear loud sounds or get scared by something,,or somethings by nothing,, but i haven't been feeling great today bored and anxiety bugging me a little bit for some reason, im worried its my heart, but a like a month ago i had a ekg and the docter told me my heart was ok, but i still worry tho..its just me,,need a nice person to talk to with the same problem =(