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W.I.F.T.S.
28-04-06, 12:09
I've been having real trouble shaking off a feeling of unreality. Last night, I had a genuine crisis that kind of snapped me out of it. I got a call at about 2 am to say that my dad was on his way to hospital in an ambulance. I was very concerned and called my brother, but put it down to him having an angina attack and I was ok with it.

A little later I got a call to say that it was actually a small heart attack. I was very anxious after that .

I recently posted something about how my dad dying of a heart attack was one of my greatest fears, He's 54, he's got heart disease, he smokes a lot, drinks a lot, eats crap, never exercises and he's been having stress with work.

I didn't handle it that brilliantly- i relied on my brother to go to the hospital and see how he was, because i was too afraid of freaking out. But I didn't go to pieces totally, so that's a plus.

this morning I didn't want my girlfiend to go to work because I was afraid of being home on my own and dwelling on it too much. I've actually been to the gym, which is pretty good.

Ok, so I didn't know what to do and I didn't take command of the situation, but I didn't go to bits totally. The shock has kind of cleared my mind. I feel a bit shaky, but more real, like I have to really act and I haven't got time for self-absorption

My dad should be ok, I hope, it was only a minor heart attack. I've been trying to visualise him coming home and being ginger at first, but gradually getting back into the swing of things. I'm hoping that it will act as a spur for him to change his lifestyle and also for my brother to give up smoking too.

I'm not sure if I'm actually still in shock and it will hit me fully later.

Weirdly, once I had had the telephone call, I wanted to tell people. maybe it's a selfish thing, with me wanting to elicit (?) sympathy. I think also that it's me wanting to quickly shift responsibilty for dealing with it from me to someone else and getting them to look after me.

I was lying there awake, thinking what I would advise myself to do. I think that panic attacks are to do with not wanting to deal with things yourself, wanting someone else to take care of things for you. My advice would be to find my own strength, accept what has happened and look for the positives.

Ships in harbour are safe..but that's not what ships were built for.

jackie
28-04-06, 14:21
my dads heart attack 12 years ago triggered both my anorexia and then a health anxiety about heart related issues so i know what your going through. thankfully i made a full recovery from the anorexia but still struggle with the heart thing. 12 years on my dads still here and loves life but i am too cautious to live and am cautious with him too. i love him so much it has fuelled alot of fears in my life . i love his attitute to life too.

my dad gave up smoking then and there and has never looked back

im here if you need to talk

hope hes ok

jackie

SickofIt
11-05-06, 11:40
I am having some of the same problems (unreality, etc) since I have had some major stressors in my life over the past few weeks.

Last week on Monday I was told I was being laid off and that Thursday would be my last day. Ok, I was a little shocked, but I was kind of expecting it. I actually didnt' like my job, so you'd think I'd be glad, right? Well, the day after my last job, I started feeling weird and having depressed feelings. That same day, I had a job interview and I thought it went really well. I was expecting to get the job, but on Monday of this week, they called to say that someone else got it. I couldn't believe it and I was actually crying about it for quite awhile on Monday night. I don't know why I am feeling this way because I really have been wanting to find something else for awhile. The shock and rejection have left me feeling lost.
I know this feeling will eventually go away, but it doesn't really help when you're in the middle of it.