Help/advice needed on taking positve steps to another bad anxiety attach

[Pigeon]

*Edit - title should say *avoid another etc etc...

Hello I'm wondering if any of you have advice you can offer to help me avoid spiraling out of control ? In my later years (I'm 61) I have come to recognise that I have a chronic anxiety disorder. Usually it's manageable but there was one occasion 5 years ago where it became acute and affected me quite badly. It made me quite ill and unable to function normally for a few months. In fact, I shut-down almost completely. It was triggered by some family and work issues - some serious, some not so much - that eventually got resolved. Perhaps surprisingly , I do think I am quite a resilient person having coped with lots of trauma before and since this, but that time I really couldn't cope.

Fast forward to now and to my horror I can feel the horrendous anxiety symptoms starting again, triggered by mainly family, or my own personal worries and the horrible stuff on the news. They are pretty typical - physically, nausea/stomach problems, feeling weak and jelly-like, exhausted, sleepless, loss of appetite etc. I also find myself obsessing and ruminating on the problems - some of which are beyond my control or not strictly my problem at all, but a family member I feel responsible for and who I worry about a lot. I am trying to help myself by distraction and focusing on the things I can control, but its not easy as some of them are quite difficult. And the exhaustion etc doesn't help as my appetite's gone and so energy levels are low.

I can feel myself starting to shut down and I want to stop it before it gets out of hand. I would appreciate any ideas/tips you have that would help me.

Thanks in advance to anyone who replies

x

[Scass]

Hello,
Sorry that you can feel yourself start to spiral again.
I’m sure you are a very resilient person, and you seem to really want to be strong & not let this affect you.
How did you get out of your last attack?
Do you have to bear the brunt of this, or are there people who can help and/or support you? Obviously, we are here as a sounding board and hopefully that will help you a bit.
Do you get time to wind down at all? What could you do in that time?

Sorry to ask lots of questions!


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[DustingMyselfOff]

Sorry you're going through this and don't have much in the way of advise, only compassion, since I am 62 and have been fighting this anxiety demon on and off for many, many decades. I've tried (and am still on) some meds, meditation, yoga, etc. etc. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. This week I tried a hypnotherapy session and will go back for another next week. So far, the one thing I asked him to help me overcome has worked but it's really too soon to tell if the affects will be long-lasting or not.

You've come to the right place for support.
Sue

[Pigeon]

Thanks for replying Scass and Sue

Scass, I think it was just time and the things I was worried about turning out better than I thought. As soon as I wasn't so overwhelmed, I started to think a bit more clearly and that helped with perspective and reduced the anxiety levels. I made a very gradual recovery after that. I also saw a counsellor and got support from family as well as coming on here. My husband found it difficult at that time as he didn't understand that my anxiety was causing me to catastrophise and was telling me to pull myself together. He is better this time as he understands more.

Sue, thanks for your kind words which do help and sorry to hear you're suffering too. The hypnotherapy seems worth a try

I'm feeling a bit better today so hopefully this time is just a blip