does anybody EVER recover [Archive]

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pete24

15-10-10, 10:20

As it says does anybody?Igo through the day constantly checking everything and when i reach bedtime i am pleased....until i wake.Iknow we are mostly in the same boat but i would do anything to jump ship.Ihave been reffered for cbt since june and still waiting pete[aged 54]

nicky26

15-10-10, 11:15

hi pete i havent recovered but i am learning to live along isde my anxiety yes sometimes it does get the better of me but i can still function properly something i couldnt do 3 years ago... i live in hope that i will wake one day and feel anxiety free x

itoldyouiwasill

15-10-10, 19:58

The prognosis for total recovery from health anxiety and/or a somatoform disorder is unfortunatly notoriously poor.

I think that the best thing anybody can hope for in the first instance is to adjust to a managable day to day standard of living and hope that this can then lead onto better times. I have suffered from health anxiety for 4 years and had a tentative diagnosis of undifferentiated somatoform disorder about a year aga and whilst I have improved a hundred fold it is still so easy to regress.

Zee

15-10-10, 21:08

I recovered from HA 11 years ago. It was my first experience of it and took 7 months to get through.
It resurfaced 8months ago after an 11 year gap.I understand now the similarities in the two episodes and am working through it..I think there is always the potential for HA to return unless the root cause is discovered.

missykat

15-10-10, 21:11

i would love to wake up someday without that dreaded feeling. its like a constant cloud over ure head :( constantly thinking and worrying about things and u know or may not know are in your head etc its a nightmare and i just wanna wake up sooooooon :weep:

margaret jones

15-10-10, 21:51

Hi Pete I dont think with Ha that we ever fully recover , it is just how we manage it really . I have been suffering this time for about 18 mnths but the help and support I have recieved at NMP and some counselling have helped me handle it .
Now my HA is almost under control and every ache/pain or sympton is not automatically serious i try and think how many times i have had that particular ache/pain?? and what was it ?? usually nothing .

What a rant that was hope you soon feel better xx

Maj

15-10-10, 23:16

I agree with Margaret, it's all about managing it. If you are a naturally anxious person then you have to learn to manage it. You can learn to cope with it comfortably, even if it does rear it's ugly head now and again!! These are just wee blips. It sort of keeps you grounded though and you never lose your empathy for anxiety sufferers, I feel anyway! So don't despair!!:flowers:

pete24

17-10-10, 10:11

thank you for your replies///i do try to manage things on a daily basis ,but it seems baby steps forward ,giant strides back

MissChampers

18-10-10, 15:19

No I don't think you do. I've had HA/panic attacks for 20 years since I was 19 and they're worse than ever. Not a day has gone by in 20 years that I haven't thought about death and dying. I would love to know why I suffer from it but I doubt I'll ever get rid of it now, it's ruined my life that's for sure.

pete24

18-10-10, 16:49

hi miss Champers genuinly feel for you that you have suffered for 20 years.Have you tried medication or cbt?or they just dont work

PokerFace

18-10-10, 17:01

The first person I ever met on here is doing really well. She had therapy and shes at Uni doing really really well. She still has moments but she doesn't let it stop her anymore so I'd say yea, people do recover!

westofengland

18-10-10, 17:27

I know how you feel. The last 2 years it's just been one thing after the other for me, everything from HIV/Aids to pesticides from fruit to skin cancer, to now panicking about I may have been exposed to asbestos when doing a bit of work on the house. Writing it down it's kind of funny, but not when it's happening to you

What can I say... I think you have to manage HA, it's never going to totally go away. Maybe the fear of getting ill is actually worse than the reality and a kind of 'calm' descends when (or if) the worst happens.

I've seen this from my wife and mother, both diagnosed with cancer in the last 5 years :(

So keep on working at it, keep calm and carry on, winners never quit and quitters never win, etc, etc

(I am crap at it by the way, I still can't help compulsively checking stuff on the net, even though I know it makes everything worse. I think it's maybe a distraction activity from all the other crap in my life!)

Geoff

Blinkyrocket

10-01-16, 00:38

MyNameIsTerry

10-01-16, 05:33

I'm willing to bet that most of the people here on this forum are the people who didn't benefit as much from conventional anxiety treatments. Most likely, the prognosis is a little more hopeful for most people. The prognosis is hopeful for everybody, some will just have to work harder for it.

I agree. I know people who have and from depression too which the same question is asked out. There are reasons these are called "disorders" and not recognised as a life limiting disability by any government, medical system, WHO, etc. The issue is lack of "quality" in systems & treatment as well as resources.

Masonn

10-01-16, 06:12

MyNameIsTerry

10-01-16, 06:32

I think it's something that once you come across it and have the mindset it'll never go away for sure. I've had months where I've felt completely fine and health wasn't even on my mind then suddenly it's back and I'm worse than ever.

I think there is a difference between truly recovering though. Some people have never had it back at all. Like my dad who had depression for two years, recovered and has gone 40 years since without a relapse. Depression sufferers ask the same question - can you recover. My dad did, fully.

MrAndy has posted many times stating his mum's anxiety has never come back.

So, the potential is there or else they haven't recovered either. I think 40 years is a good track record. There was no help in my dad's days of depression, just the older meds and you got left on your own.

Some people may never get out of the mindset like you say. I agree with that. But I don't dispute the fact some people do because I've witnessed it as others have. Some people learn to manage it instead too, this is something different to full recivery to me as that's not how my dad & MrAndy's mum are, and some people seem to come & go with it. I've seen plenty of people on the HA board come back after quiet periods.

So there is no one answer to this.

Magic

10-01-16, 11:13

I have had anxiety for as long as can remember. It never goes away for me.
I have tried many medications over the years
I can get out and about though. There was a time I could not face it.
It must be awful not to be able to get out.

rsanchez

10-01-16, 12:06

Whoever recovers probably stops posting online about it.

Fishmanpa

10-01-16, 16:23

Whoever recovers probably stops posting online about it.

Bingo! I know of many members that have moved on from the forums and have stayed in touch with quite a few. Are they totally healed? IMO, pretty close and they're well on their way, focused and determined to keep the dragon at bay. For those on the healing path, the forum becomes a hindrance and a trigger. They realize the reassurance cycle that is so prevalent here is not healthy and stop coming here. In fact, a couple members started a FB page focused on recovery. They go so far as to not allow reassurance seeking.

Personally, I've dealt with some depression and "scanxeity". I've sought professional help for both. The depression is totally gone and the "scanxiety" is waning the further I go into my recovery from cancer. So yes, depending on the person and situation, I believe one can be totally healed.

Positive thoughts

Gregg_

10-01-16, 18:13

rsanchez

10-01-16, 22:26

For those on the healing path, the forum becomes a hindrance and a trigger. They realize the reassurance cycle that is so prevalent here is not healthy and stop coming here. In fact, a couple members started a FB page focused on recovery. They go so far as to not allow reassurance seeking.

That is honestly the main reason I visit the forums, for reassurance. It's not as bad as it was before but I still have a long way to go.

MyNameIsTerry

11-01-16, 05:43

It's a logical question to ask - whatever you recover from, do you frequent the support systems anymore? If you had cancer and recovered, would you keep attending support groups and frequenting forums? Or would you be relieved and be getting on with you life?

The same applies to mental health. At the charity I went to, there were quite a few people committing to training up as meeting co-ordinators and some wanted to go into counselling & therapy fields and saw this as a good entry point. My own CBT therapist had worked at that charity as a meeting coordinator and every member & member of staff is a current or ex sufferer. So, she had been through it at some level.

But not everyone wants to work in the sector. Not everyone wants to blog or create products to sell to help others. It's noble for those that do but the majority will just want their lives back.

I've seen one or two come here. Some get swamped by people asking for help. I think most people wouldn't have the time and would be deciding between their own lives and supporting sufferers.

If I ever fully recover, I doubt I would be here. It would be nice to help others but unless there are a load of you, I can't see how you can commit to helping people without getting snowed under from feeling obligated to help as many as possible. That's possibly another reason, a lack of enough to team up. That has been said about support across the forum many times anyway and it's why some people announce they are leaving when they don't get any replies.

A load of the HA crowd left last year to join the Facebook group. The issue was that NMP was more about reassurance-seeking but these people we rarely seen across the other boards a lot of the time. I've found the HA board is mostly a separate forum to the rest of us as not many people post elsewhere other than symptoms so they are missing out on the positive boards. My take was that rather than commit to change NMP, the FB group started with a clean slate as it's easier. It is. Not all left for this reason, some just preferred a certain type of HA discussion (in my opinion) that was more suited to some. Some of them pop back now & then, which can be seen.

louise123_uk

11-01-16, 14:02

I hadn't worried about health seriously for about 4 years or so until yesterday when I've convinced myself I have tonsil cancer :-( With me I think its having spare time and nothing else to worry about that is to blame! Over last three years have had an evil boss making my life hell and causing me to develop severe anxiety over work but now that I have a new job and all that is fine I've switched back to health worries :-(