Relapse! Coping, Symptoms and Tips.

[Carnation]

Possibly darksky.
I do think sometimes the things we do that we think keeps us safe actually fuels the situation in the long run.

[fishman65]

I agree with you both on those points. I've kept on taking diazepam all these years but it doesn't cure anxiety, just masks it temporarily.

HA has kicked off today after hearing of two friends (male) who've received positive diagnoses.

[Lencoboy]

ingrained habits are very difficult to break though aren’t they? Particularly ones that we deem are keeping us ‘safe’. Is it a bit OCD do you think?

Old habits die hard, as the age-old saying goes.

[Carnation]

As most people know me for not taking any medication and believe there have been times I've almost succumbed to meds. It's certainly not easy but not impossible. Does it cure you, well it's not as simple as that.
After ten years I have realised that anxiety is something you have to live with and manage and not react to when it's not necessary to do so, (that's the hard part).
And yes fishman, the news of a health matter from the people we know certainly ramps up the health anxiety.
Today I've spent most of the day obsessing over my eyes, floaters, spots from the sun and weird reaction from the sun rays bouncing off the metal of the cat causing momentary red light in my vision. And while Mr C tries to convince me it's all perfectly normal, my mind is trying to convince me I have some rare eye disease that causes me to go blind.
That's just a segment of what health anxiety can do.
How do we become this way? I've no idea. Experiences, knowledge, being surrounded by other people's illnesses. Realising life is precious.

[.Poppy.]

I think you’re right, Carnation. I think too we tend to get on the path that we are going to “fix” everything, and we don’t quite recognize just how far we’ve really come.

It’s funny, I notice it a lot with my dog, who also has anxiety. There are so many (mostly bad, tbh) dog trainers out there who have something to sell, who will say if you just do X or Y your dog can be “normal” and I chased that dream for years. We tried so much. Finally when he was about 8 I decided to stop trying to “fix” him and just figure out how both of us could be reasonably happy as is. And not only did we both end up being happier, but I started to realize he really had come so far from where we started, he just didn’t live up to the standards of all of those other people which, whatever, it’s okay that our benchmarks for success are different.

I’ve stated applying that ideology to a lot of my mental health stuff too. I challenge what I really need to, and manage the rest. Removing the pressure of having to fix everything really has helped.

I hope you’re feeling better today, Carnation, and you too Fishman.

[Carnation]

'Just Be' is the motto poppy.
Nothing is perfect and a lot of us try so hard to be that.
Some imperfections turn out to be beautiful in their way and that applies to things we do. A mistake in cooking can turn out a success. A painting. Gardening. And so on.
No ones brain is perfect.... You might be good manually and not academically. And as you age you should learn to use your better skills and find your comfort zone.

Still got the annoying eye floaters but got on with stuff anyway.

[.Poppy.]

So true, Carnation.

I'm having a bit of a pity party. I was planning out my vacation for early fall, was going to go to the mountains and stay in a cabin. Then on Saturday, my pup came up lame and hasn't gotten better. I'm concerned that he's blown out his other knee and my vacation savings will be going to surgery, but the vet will confirm tomorrow. I'm beside myself with nerves, and I have other things to ask the vet about that I'm nervous of - it's often really hard for me to put my thoughts into a cohesive order in medical settings; not really like HA, but more just a need to get everything communicated correctly. But, I'm trying not to put the cart in front of the horse. We'll get it checked and what will be will be, I suppose. The important thing is to get him out of pain.

[Carnation]

Poppy, you are a planner and when there's a spoke in the works it throws you all out. You can jump the gun when it comes to accessing future plans when sometimes there is no need to. I know financial planning is important to you, as anyone but the first thing is get the pup's needs sorted first and that can be assessed quite quickly. I know you put him first anyway but let's see how the next few days /weeks go before you decide whether you can or can't go on your vacation.

[.Poppy.]

Thanks, Carnation. It’s a coping thing I think, get everything planned out and prepare for surprises. Being prepped gives me what is maybe a false sense of control. But one thing at a time.

[Carnation]

I'm exactly the same poppy