CBT update

[Scass]

It might just be that doctor. I’m sure there a plenty of others doing work remotely.
But also, you are at home signed off from work with lots of time on your hands. Why don’t you start helping yourself and not wait around for someone else?

[phil06]

It might just be that doctor. I’m sure there a plenty of others doing work remotely.
But also, you are at home signed off from work with lots of time on your hands. Why don’t you start helping yourself and not wait around for someone else?

True but I only have one more day off and I have to go back to work my worry is the anxiety will return?

[MyNameIsTerry]

Everything is taking a back seat. We have a national emergency right now and the NHS are swamped. Remember a psychiatrist was first trained as any other doctor therefore they can redeploy them anywhere any non specialised doctor could go.

Everyone is in the same boat. Regular appointments have been cancelled, follow ups are on hold, hospitals are cancelling appointments. They need all the staff they can get and don't forget some of them may be off sick due to this virus and the NHS have to plug that gap.

[Scass]

True but I only have one more day off and I have to go back to work my worry is the anxiety will return?

So make your last day off count.

[Carys]

Yep, everything is on hold, including my yearly cancer follow-up mammo and appointment. I understand why, it makes sense, deal with the critical and chronic situation first. Its the way it is Phil for most people at the moment.

[Elen]

my worry is the anxiety will return?

But has it ever left Phil?

[phil06]

I admit these issues have been troubling me a lot the bins the thoughts creep back. I am still worrying over flying again or driving. The social media one has been eating away at me daily right now I worry I have to delete certain pictures of me I had an old email address on Facebook so I worried about that. I mentioned before how I wouldn’t post about my partners birthday night out and then it became I would ocd about who I would add now my anxiety has moved onto existing friends. I try and ignore most of this mind jargon. When my ocd says avoid or don’t do something I just avoid it to stop the anxiety. For example people here said quit social media I’m not sure that’s the right advice to be honest as I would be isolated I seem unable to beat my social media fears. For example my boss mentioned how I slagged Poundland online but he doesn’t even have social media so it makes me worry who sees this stuff?

I am on a path to not using social media not by a lifestyle choice but my anxiety meaning I ocd about every person or aspect. It’s very deliberating having to live this way for example I had a dream about one of the singers at my partners birthday so my ocd says that’s another reason not to post about it. Sure I know it’s not wise to post everything on social media but I feel a degree of it you can post sensibly.

Basically I over think. Stuff which caused me no anxiety months ago is worrying me now. I feel I have to just not add people that worry me or I choose not to fly but the carrot grows and I see others flying or I have people I won’t add it becomes very limiting. I have no idea why social media bothers me more than ever and unsure what the trigger was. Can anybody help? I worry about stuff being tainted..it seems stuff I use to do now troubles me

[MyNameIsTerry]

My stance has always been if you avoid something due to fear you have to accept that you feeding your subconscious feedback to keep that fear in play. Until you work on that fear whether through something like exposure or retraining you leave a foundation of irrational fear.

It's like the alcohol debate we've seen on here many times. Some say avoid it as you don't need it but I disagree with this. Avoiding it because you are afraid of it is not tackling anxiety. Changing how you feel about it so that you no longer fear it but choose not to have it in your life does both. That's the difference between avoidance and what is called adaptive behaviour.

The same with social media.

This is why I always disagree with those that say you can cut the media or Dr Google out of your life. You may need to do it for a time whilst you work in recovery but part of the end goal is to be able to normalize behaviour so that these are no longer triggering for you and you can choose whether to use them or not with negative reactions.

When you slated off Poundland you must have done it on your name or told people connected to your work. As a consumer you can slag they off if you don't work there. Your manager may view why you were doing it and wonder what you think of them. But managers shouldn't be do naive as to think employees don't complain...managers do plenty of it themselves.

[phil06]

The problem is everything about social media is troubling me from adding people to posting. Often I do a post then remove it this is how my ocd is operating. Again I go back to why did I once have no anxiety or ocd over it to now suffering? Same goes for bin germs. This wasn’t always an issue it’s been one thats developed. If I quit social media the anxiety would win. My brother is single and I worried if I add his new partner when he gets one I worry I spoke to them before and they are tainted and if I add them I worry it taints my character or it’s some how making me feel bad. It’s a complicated issue and I have no idea where this came from? I can add the social media anxiety first came in 2018 when I worried about posting about Amsterdam. At the time I said to myself this is stupid now to share a nice holiday I had to push through the anxiety about it worrying about stereotypes and In the end I did post. However I have in past two months avoided adding people, never posted a gig I went to and it’s starting to become a real issue for me. Again this goes back to how the anxiety limits my life. So what do I do? Post little, add few people and I’m ok then it’s something else?

[Carys]

I've answered about social media Phil before, its a life choice, you don't have to do it - if you gain nothing positive from it, then don't do it.