Slower recovery than 'normal' from physical illness?

[~glowly worm~]

Has anyone else had problems with recovering from what should be a quick illness (like a cold/slight flu) due to their health anxiety?
Once i get ill i am afraid of making things worse and tend to not know which is panic feeligns and which illness. This makes having a functional life very difficult.
And if so any tips on how to recover faster? Please let me know as its a real prolem for me.

many thanks!

[anthrokid]

Ugh tell me about it! Everytime I come down with a cold or flu it lasts forever!
And I understand exactly what you mean by confusing illness symptoms and panic symptoms!

My advice is to stock up on the vitamins. I always improve faster with lots of vitamins. Drink lots of water too and make sure you get enough sleep. Try not to overwork yourself either and make sure you try to keep calm, because the less stressed you are the faster it will improve I know it's horrible and hard, but it will pass.

[~glowly worm~]

Thankyou Aimee

Sorry to hear you find it too :(

However it is very assuring to know im not alone and this means there is something we can maybe do about it if it is as it seems stress related?

Vitamins is good plan Would you mind please telling me which ones you take?
I'm currently taking a multivitamin and zinc combo from Boots but wondering if i need something stronger?

Do you manage to work/study at all and if so how do you manage this with the long spells of feeling ill an anxious?

One good piece of news is that with help from NMP and people here i made a long journey yesterday depite feeling awful and the ill feelings had gone by the return journey and no reduced enough to go out again today!
Hope this gives you some hope too x Not sure if you find it as hard as me to get out and do stuff when u feel ill but if so it may help?? Altho everyone is very diffeent and it may help you more to rest

Warm gentle hugs and thnaks for sharing the advice ... ~glowly/worm~

[agnes]

I know exactly what you mean, glowly. I'm on my fourth day of a heavy cold/cough etc and I'm feeling really anxious and imagining all manner of "nasty." My anxiety levels are fairly high.

Although I'm feeling my usual feelings of wanting to distract in some way, I'm sort of stuck as I'm off work, I don't want to see family or friends and pass this on to them, and I don't feel up to going out.

So I'm trying to "stay with" the anxiety as much as I can and talk gently to myself, even if I can only do it for a minute or two.

Incidentally, I went on to the NMP site on facebook and found a really beautiful video that someone had posted...it made me cry, but "good" tears.

[anthrokid]

You're very welcome

I take vitamin C, which is a very good immune system booster. I also take pre-natal vitamins (even though I'm not pregnant! They just have a large dose of everything!) and another type of multivitamin! And I have about 6 fish oil tablets, 2 evening primrose and 2 magnesium every day which are all very helpful for sore and stiff muscles and anxiety! Iron is really good too for energy if you don't get enough red meat!

Some multivitamin tablets are at weaker doses than others, so check in with your doctor or even a nutritionist to see what ones they recommend because some brands are much more reliable than others, and also they may be able to do a blood test specifically to test for your vitamin levels They're pretty handy with good combinations too.

I'm actually working and studying! I'm at university and I work casually at a supermarket. I find it realllly hard, but it's also really rewarding to prove to everyone that even though I'm so unwell and weak that I still have mental strength and determination. Don't let anything keep you down

What helps me manage is that I have notified the people I work with the most at work, as well as the managers, of my condition so that when I do call in sick or I am having an 'off' day at work, they understand and don't get angry. If you ahve an understanding doctor or therapist you can get them to write a letter for your workplace which I found really helpful. It's also good because if I have a panic attack at work or make myself sick with worry they know that it's just my anxiety and they have a good idea of how to help calm me down.

At university they generally have 'disability' centres or contacts where you can apply for special consideration. I went in and had a talk with a coordinator there who helped me set up a study/work plan and informed each of my tutors and lecturors of my condition so that if I miss classes due to anxiety or illness I'm not penalised, and so that if I am having a particuarly bad spell I can get extensions on work or extra help with study. I also told a couple of people on my first week of university about my anxiety (because at that point I was on the verge of agorophobia, having uncontrollable panic attacks and very sick as well). I'm actually very good friends with them now and knowing that there's someone there that I can turn to if I do have a bad day is really helpful, especially because they understand why now.

Congratulations on making that long journey! That's an amazing step! I remember when my anxiety was at it's peak and I was just starting university. I knew noone and I had to catch a train for 45 minutes to get there! Then the same back! I had to get a frien to come with me the first few weeks even though she didn't go to uni on the same days as me! (Bless her!). I understand how horrible it can be, so great job making it I still find it so hard some days. Sometimes it's a struggle to get out of bed. The help I get here though really calms me down and gives me the courage to face the days ahead. I'm really happy that you've found your way here too We'll make it through together!

[~glowly worm~]

Hello

just wanted to say a big thankyou for those posts x
Have tried twice to submit a long reply but both times the log in expired and the message was lost :( As it took an hour so far im going to have to leave it for another day..grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr :(
But i havent forgotten!

Aimee- hope today is calmer for you
Agnes- hope you are feeling better today x

Warm wishes,

~glowly~ xxx

[~glowly worm~]

Hello again

Sorry it took a while to reply x

Agnes...
Was so very sorry to learn all you are going through right now. Can only repeat what I said before,
you are doing so very well and my thoughts are with you.

I do hope you are feeling more physically well now.. its the worst having to be alone with it so I am glad you found the video that touched you in a good way x
What helps me when my thoughts get whirling about the illness, is indeed distraction like that. I find the more interesting the distraction the more quickly time goes and the less my thoughts can run way to those scarey bad lands.
Also (*and this may make htings worse not better for other people so may not be right for you and i'd hate you to try anyhitng that made you worse* ) I try to focus on any slight indicator of feeling *better* than the day/minute/hour before, this helps my mind feel in recovery mode a little and tends to ease symptoms for me. If all else fails- you tube is brilliant!
Sending more gentle hugs and thoughts,

~glowly~


Aimee... I hadnt thought of trying pre natal vitamins!
Im taking vit c and zinc at mo and actually have blood tests booked for tommorow. I believe they are testing blood counts (white and red cell) and zinc levels so that should help identify some things but i wil indeed ask about vitamin levels too So thanks for that
Thankyou also for your advice regarding working it was extremely inspirational to me in demonstrating what can be done and you should be very proud of yourself Its a big relief to finally find someone who is going through similar things and has also come so far. I'm glad you have such supportive friends
I do have a *very* casual pt job but mostly work from home so the next step (which I have never managed but always wanted to do) is getting a more work based role. Therefore that info will be very handy.
Luckily, like yours my uni have been excellently understanding and the disability team have been excellent too. Im also lucky in having 2 good friends who know about my illness whic i'm so glad is th case for you too. Its quite a dilemma deciding who to tell isnt it? But most worth it in the long run
Thanks again for all the advice and encouragement, yes we are * very * lucky to have found NMP, the change since I have joined is great! I look forward to supporting your journey also



~Glowly~ x