Health Anxiety > General/Social Anxiety

[RVP]

Hi all, I have a lot I want to talk about but I will try and keep it short and succinct.

Brief history, I have suffered from health anxiety for roughly 11/12 years now and it was brought on by suffering testicular cancer when I was 16. The HA didn't actually start a few years after when I used to go to my Drs for check ups. I guess the start of this was high BP.

Since then I have gone to uni where I suffered HA quite bad, but nothing that stopped me from attending classes or doing exams.

Generally my HA has been on and off over these years and when I think I've seen the last of it then BAM something happens to me and I go down a quick spiral.

Recently however, during the pandemic I have been suffering from more general/social anxiety when leaving the house, again something that was likely to happen to a lot of people due to the nature of our brains and how it's already been programmed to fear a certain type of anxiety.

The turning point for me was driving at 6pm (so it was dark) to pick up my wife from work I suffered a full blown panic attack whilst on a dual carriageway so had no where to stop and just had to ride it out and keep going.. this was by far one of the worst attacks I have had. Ever since that day, when I get into my car now, or go out into social situations I really struggle. I struggle to focus on my breathing and when I am focusing, I feel like I can't breath properly. This is happened on a number of occasions now where I have had panic attacks again in the car, or panic attacks in shops. I even had a panic attack at home where I called the ambulance (something which I haven't done for about 7 years) this was a really low point in my anxiety life because I feel like I've hit rock bottom and I'm back to square one. I could write so much more, but this is the jist of it. I'm scared to drive, especially at night (even though I absolutely love cars and love driving) and now I panic when I'm in a social situation. My wife asks if I want to go cinema or to a restaurant, the first thing I think is, "will I have a panic attack?" "what will I do if I do start feeling anxious" my breathing goes funny and my heart beats so fast it feels like it's going to stop.

So far, I have not reached out for any professional help apart from when I was in University and health anxiety wasn't a known thing so the help was very limited. I have now reached out to Vitaminds, which was recommended to me by my wife and I'm on a long waiting list. (almost a year)

I also reached out to my Dr, who has prescribed me with Sertraline, which I have not taken, because I'm scared of the side effects after reading other peoples experiences on here.

Right now, my life is a bit of a mess, I have a fantastic job that I started in May, but I can't even give it 110% because of my anxiety, what was just health anxiety has now turned into general anxiety and I'm really struggling.

[Catkins]

You are going through a rough time at the moment and to be honest quite a lot of people have really struggled what with the pandemic on top of all our normal stresses/anxiety.

It's good that you've asked for help from your GP, did they mention any referrals on to mental health services for CBT/counselling? Personally I think they both work hand in hand with medication.

You can get through this, it takes a bot of work, but you can get there.

[RVP]

You are going through a rough time at the moment and to be honest quite a lot of people have really struggled what with the pandemic on top of all our normal stresses/anxiety.

It's good that you've asked for help from your GP, did they mention any referrals on to mental health services for CBT/counselling? Personally I think they both work hand in hand with medication.

You can get through this, it takes a bot of work, but you can get there.

He mentioned that me going to vitaminds was the correct thing to do and then just referred me to the website. I think the only other option is to go private, something which I haven’t really thought to long about but if it meant getting back on track to how I was before then I don’t really care about the cost.

[Catkins]

When I fell to pieces earlier last year, I had CBT on the NHS, but went private for counselling. Honestly it's been worth every penny.

[SG1977]

Hang in there mate... Ive got hit with crippling HA the last few days... slowly coming out the other side. I think handling it is accepting it for what it is no matter how much you question yourself. :(

[pulisa]

I'd definitely opt for some private counselling if that's possible for you. I've had lots of obsessive focusing on breathing issues in the past and being in my car is definitely a trigger when I have been under stress for a prolonged period of time. The waiting list for Vitaminds is ridiculous but there's also a very high demand for private therapy so I'd advise you to start looking online for a therapist now. The good thing with private therapy is that you can choose someone yourself rather than get allocated someone who is available at the time on the NHS.

[RVP]

I'd definitely opt for some private counselling if that's possible for you. I've had lots of obsessive focusing on breathing issues in the past and being in my car is definitely a trigger when I have been under stress for a prolonged period of time. The waiting list for Vitaminds is ridiculous but there's also a very high demand for private therapy so I'd advise you to start looking online for a therapist now. The good thing with private therapy is that you can choose someone yourself rather than get allocated someone who is available at the time on the NHS.

Thank you guys for your suggestions.

Can you please tell me the difference between CBT and counselling? which one do I need or do I opt for both? I understand Vitaminds is CBT, so where does counselling fit into all this and how does it help? Also when you say private therapy, is that private CBT?

Thanks

[Catkins]

CBT is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. For me it taught me different techniques to cope/deal with things. Therapy/counselling is different in so much as it trys to look at the cause of the problems, works on understanding and acceptance and also can help with coping techniques. So quite different although CBT is used by some counsellors within the umbrella of therapy.

I think that's right.

[RVP]

CBT is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. For me it taught me different techniques to cope/deal with things. Therapy/counselling is different in so much as it trys to look at the cause of the problems, works on understanding and acceptance and also can help with coping techniques. So quite different although CBT is used by some counsellors within the umbrella of therapy.

I think that's right.

Thanks, I still don't know which one is right for me though. As I am waiting for CBT, it seems only right to go with something like that and then perhaps supplement that with counselling if need be or advised.

The other thing I'm finding difficult is in choosing an actual practice or individual.. I'm just picking random ones on CBTregister and finding which one looks good based on their website. Many of them don't have reviews on google, probably due to individuals privacy

[pulisa]

In my area you can either opt for CBT or for Counselling for Depression on the NHS.

In some private practices you can have an initial free phone consultation with a therapist and then you can get some idea of what they could offer you and whether they sound as if they could help you. CBT offers practical advice and potential coping techniques for managing anxiety which can be very helpful with panic attacks. Other forms of therapy are often offered such as ACT(Acceptance and Commitment Therapy) and various types of psychotherapy for longer term issues.