is anxiety stealing my life?!!

[holly23]

hi. Im new here and not sure if im doing this right but here goes....
Ive always noticed ive had issues and been nervous however was always able to shrug it off over the years. Two years ago i took some heavy drugs for a while before a few bad experiences and then coming to my senses.!!
Ive always been a bit lost in life because of my past but in the last year i have been doing a degree in musical theatre and have changed as a person.(in a good way). The problem is that when i started sorting myself out i noticed anxiety getting much worse.!and Just after easter my boyfriends father was diagnosed with cancer.. things got a lot worse in my head. i ended up dropping out of my end of year show and giving up on everything i used to love. im in therapy now and things are very slowly getting easier but im so afraid that i wont be able to change this way of living. Is that common? i dont feel i have a life anymore and it is almost a chore to get through every day. i now understand that this will never go bt can be controlled but i dont know what i want or where im going.at the moment im so afraid of growing older.?! im 23 and scared of my own thoughts and especially memories. can anyone offer any advise on where to go from here.?

[Bill]

When anxiety grows to rule our lives, we live in fear which takes away all our energy and willpower. We become too anxious to attempt to do anything because we often feel the need to avoid added stress but by doing so, anxiety take control and forms a barrier.

It's rather like a ghost appearing saying "Boo" making you feel frozen in fear, unable to move or strong enough to fight back so the ghost just stands there preventing us from living.

When too many stresses build up, they can eventually tip the balance causing overload and that's when the ghost appears.

The ghost will stay for as long as we remain frozen in fear and yes, we can confront it by telling it "So what" but often it's too difficult when it's sapped all our energy.

There is though a less direct way to confronting fear. By not giving it the attention it wants. By saying to the ghost "Ok, you stand there but I'm not going to take any notice of you".

The way you do this is by slowly releasing its grip...

giving up on everything i used to love.

Bring as many of these things you loved back into your life no matter how difficult or anxious you feel. The mere fact that they are things you Love will make the effort worthwhile.

Once you start working on this, your mind will gradually start re-focusing on what you Love rather than on what you Fear...and as a result the ghost will gradually melt away because you won't be giving it the attention it's after by dwelling on it.

Fear feeds on fear so learn how to starve it by focusing your thoughts on what you enjoy. Don't allow anxiety to hold you back because that's what it wants you to do to keep control over you.

It will take time but you WILL get there.:hugs:

[simona57]

Welcome to the forum, you will get a lot of good advice here and make some new friends.Try to deal with each problem seperately, and take small steps to resolve each one.Do try to go to therapy as this really can help, I did a CBT course and it really turned my life about, and put me on the road to recovery.
And you can try making a test with the below given link.

Take care

[holly23]

i checked out this test. i was a bit worried by my result but its let me to a book i now really want to get. i think this could help so thank you.xx:)