Preparation for my medication review, and how I've improved
Tomorrow I've got a doctor's appointment for my 3-month (or 12-week) medication review. To help me during the appointment, I've made a list of the ways I've improved over the last few weeks. I thought I'd share it here. I hope it will help people to realise that it is possible to get better.I will update this thread tomorrow saying how I got on at the doctor's.
How I’ve improved (29th October 2012)
·I’m sleeping much better. Now I almost always fall asleep within about 5 minutes, whereas it used to take me longer as I used to have too much on my mind. I don’t wake up in the middle of the night so often, and when I do, I usually fall back to sleep straight away. I no longer wake up at 5am in the morning and struggle to go back to sleep. I listen to relaxation/mindfulness MP3s before I go to sleep, and I’ve found these very helpful to clear my mind and relax.
·My heartbeat has slowed down. When I had a rapid heartbeat due to my anxiety, it would make me feel even more anxious and I’d find it difficult to get to sleep. I no longer get this, so I’m sleeping better.
·Fewer intrusive thoughts. The intrusive thoughts have calmed down a lot – I hardly ever get them now, and when I do get them I’m able to dismiss them/rationalise them more easily.
·I find it easier to relax my muscles. The progressive muscle relaxation CD I was given during the Stress Control course has really helped with this, along with other relaxation tracks I’ve listened to. I can now recognise when my muscles are tensing up during the day, so I can let go of the tension.
·I feel calmer and happier in myself. I no longer feel down like I used to. I no longer feel like I have a black cloud following me wherever I go.
·I hardly ever feel panicky, and when I do, I can control it better so I can recover more quickly.
·I feel more confident at work. I feel that I can cope with my new job, whereas I used to worry that I wouldn’t be able to do the job properly. I have been in the role for 3 months now and I’m getting on well. My manager is aware of my diagnosis and when I returned to work after my sick leave, he arranged for me to have extra training, which really helped me. I can also concentrate better at work without getting distracted by intrusive negative thoughts.
·I’ve got my social life back again. I feel able to go out with my friends and my social club again, whereas in the past I felt that I couldn’t enjoy myself and I didn’t have the energy to go out much.
·I can think more rationally about things. I can work through problems more easily, without feeling I have to worry about them.
·I no longer feel jittery/shaky all the time. My nerves are calmer.
·I feel like I’m returning to normality. I feel like I’m going back to how I was in June, before this anxiety episode began.
·I feel things have particularly improved since Tuesday last week. That was the last day of my Stress Control course. Previously, I still had some underlying anxiety (only for an hour or so each day), but I’ve finally managed to get rid of this!
·My Stress Control course has gone well. I feel like I’ve learnt a lot of techniques that will be helpful both now and in the future.
Future steps
At the end of my final Stress Control class, I was asked what I’d like to do next. There is an 8-week evening course on Mindfulness that I’m interested in. I’ve put my name down for it.
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