Relapse! Coping, Symptoms and Tips.

[Carnation]

Why no words from Carnation?
She's in the throws of moving.
Oh my, I've been so busy, anxiety has had no chance at the moment, I just haven't got time to accommodate that as well, lol.
I got the keys on Monday and I wisely gave myself a month's overlap to move in.
Just as well, because the last 5 days, I've had the whole place decorated, put in the kitchen appliances, bought curtains and shades, wardrobes and a bed. Sorted out all the utilities and in between that the current home is on the market and 5 viewings within the first few days.
I'm so stupid, I must have done too good a job of making the place attractive, I've made a rod for my own back.
I love my new place and it's coming together nicely. I'm actually excited about it and so impatient to move in and find myself just sitting in the garden for a couple of hours a day. It's small, but it makes me feel secure and safe.
It has a pretty little garden with hardly any backbone work.
I'm transferring stuff over bit by bit, so when the time comes, I can walk in and just be without panicking to get everything sorted.
I can't help wondering where the anxiety symptoms are with all the stress, hard work and dealing with stuff.
Can it be that when it comes to the crunch of an event such as this, that we find the strength and courage to get the job done?
I also can't help wondering if anxiety will hit me bad when I stop and settle down to just be again.
That I will only know when I am at that point.
I really can't get my head around it. No blurred vision, no freezing in fear, no stuttering or twisting of words , no sweats or shivering, no heavy head or brain zaps, body jolts or muscle twitching.
Yes, I am tired, mentally and physically, but I wonder whether I have been cocooning myself too much and now I have something to focus on and put my mind to, well, I seem like a completely different person.
Mr C has barely helped, even though it is his home too, but he has expressed an eagerness for a new start for the both of us.
So, in a few weeks time, we should be settled and pray I have been given a new lease of life.

[KK77]

So, in a few weeks time, we should be settled and pray I have been given a new lease of life.

Was that an intended pun or a Freudian Slip?

In any case, so pleased to read that you're coping so admirably and actually sound as though you're enjoying and revelling in the whole process of moving, which even for non-anxiety sufferers is usually a stressful and anxious time!

Keep up the good work and may the Force of NMP be with you

[Carnation]

KK, just slipped out that way, it's the way my brain works.

[Buster70]

Good look with the move and fresh start , being unavoidably busy is a great distraction, sitting thinking is the enemy for us . It’s a completely different tiredness to the exhaustion from worrying all day .
Hope you and Mr C find some peace of mind in your new place .

[DustingMyselfOff]

Yup, you're too busy to feel the anxiety right now. Probably why I'm noticing my anxiety symptoms (and exacerbating them) now that I'm not frantic at the office anymore. Who knew there was a bad side to being able to relax? This too shall pass, RIGHT????
Sue

[pulisa]

I think it's all about forgetting how to relax and panicking when you have the dreaded "spare time", Sue? You are "transitioning" from being frantic at work to a whole new way of life and it's not always easy to just "relax" to order.

Congratulations on your new home, Carnation! It all sounds very exciting and a new start for you both with the Summer ahead too!

[Carnation]

Thank you Buster and Pulisa for your best wishes. xx
Sue, bless you. I am relaxing in the new garden. Nearly a couple of hours a day and no symptoms. That is what is confusing. I am really busy getting everything sorted out, but finding time for that chill time, which at the moment is exactly that!
With yourself and believe me, I've been there, you are going through a transition and I know it makes you angry, especially as you have the time to do something YOU want to do now, but you have to go with it.
It's like a virus, it has to take it's course.
Nerve damage is very complex and you have to make room in your life to allow it heal. x

[Darksky]

It's all sounds just lovely Carnation. It's the most glorious weekend for sitting at peace in a garden. I have a feeling this is going to be just what you and Mr.C need ( and deserve) and it's perfect the way you are doing it, slowly moving in somthere will be no shock new place to get used to.

Once moved in and the busy 'doing stuff' has stopped you may well feel another wave of anxiety. Expect it, so if and when it comes, you won't be knocked for six by its arrival. Just say, oh, I knew you'd show up at some point, you party pooper.

Bank holiday Monday, I bet you'll be in B &Q along with half the country buying plants for your new garden. I wish you both the very best in your new home. Consider a virtual welcome home card sent and a bunch of flowers for your window.

[DustingMyselfOff]

I love you all - what a wonderful, warm, supportive group of people! I can't even imagine what my life (or any of our lives) would be like if we actually had family members who are even half as understanding and supportive as this group. It makes me cry to think how different life might have been, but there's no sense in regrets about that - we all do the best we can with the hand we're dealt.

I suppose you're all correct about this being a major transition and that anxiety symptoms should be expected and accepted. But there aren't many people I could talk to about being MORE anxious and panicky now that I'm living the good life so of course that makes me feel like the weirdo, takes me back to my childhood of being told there's something wrong with me and I will be locked away in a nut house if I don't stop these physical and vocal tics, etc.

I will try to be patient with myself and my anxiety, but I am holding out some hope that seeing a hypnotherapist next Tuesday can also offer some relief and assistance. Done properly, I really think it can be a powerful tool. And you'll all be the first to know how it went!
Sue

[Darksky]

Hope it goes well for you Sue I had it once, donkeys years ago. I was very resistant to it...although he sent me off quite easily, he tried to get me to go back to my very first panic so he could treat from there. I was having none of it and somehow forced myself out of the trance. I can remember very well, forcing myself to keep my eyes shut and keep chatting to him about what I could see, what I was doing etc. But I was sat there making it all up quite ' in the room '.
He was a bit of a tutter and used to click his tongue when I said something wrong. There was no way I was going to admit I was sat there awake and then get tutted at. He was pretty crap really.