Just over 2 months ago i was a happy, busy person with a loving family, friends, a wonderful life, now i am sat in my bedroom where i have been for the last 2 months, spending up to 20 hours in my safe space, not talking much, not leaving the house unless my husband is with me and that's not very often or to see my counsellor, i worry all the time and have a huge fear for my health and no matter how many times i get told i am okay, when you are in the mindset of health anxiety it takes hours to get out of it, i practice my 'let it pass' which has helped but i never seem to be free of anxiety or able to motivate myself to do anything. i am lost and lonely (something i have never experienced before) how has does everyone else cope with anxiety and the awful effect it has on your life and well-being?
going through this as well mines started after having my baby and falling ill after, i force myself to do what i can for my children and i hate when my husband leave me alone i get so anxious when he leave the house am still struggling to cope at times. it sucks feeling trapped in your own mind and dealing with health anxiety especially having a family, u always think the worst 1st.your not alone
i also see a therapist for CBT it helps some what but honestly self-care is important and lots of distraction. not overthinking too much. am always sitting on my couch feeling like i cant go no where nor do nothing. am a stay at home mom so am always at home and that dont make it easy
My children are all grown up now so i dont have to provide the care to them like i did when they were dependants, i am not sure if this is a good or bad thing as i can be completely left alone but sometimes i wonder if my children were younger then i would have to motivate myself to get up and look after them. I too hate being at home alone my husband is very lucky he can work from home on a flexible basis however when he has to go out for meetings or go to the office i am absolutely beside myself and spend all day counting down the hours until he comes home, in the long run i know he has to keep leaving me alone otherwise i will never get over this if its made too easy and also for his sanity, he cant stay in the house all the time. However you are right you do think the worst when you are alone. I just want my life back and my counsellor is brilliant but i considering taking medication to assist my recovery as i feel i am at the stage where maybe i just need something more to get me passed this awful stage.
I have been exactly where you are in the past. I tried everything to get out of it and nothing seemed to help much, and I pushed off having to take antidepressants because I hated the thought of taking them. I went through years of this. I finally got to the point I was willing to try it because I just felt soo bad. And I was very lucky the first med they gave me worked great! So, I spent all those years just suffering needlessly. I would say you are at a point now to definitely try something, talk to your physician about it. Just educate yourself on them, they do take time to work, they have to build up and level out the chemicals in your mood center so try not to get discouraged if it takes a bit. And push through, once they start working you will feel much better and be able to control the anxiety and worries. Best Wishes!
our story is similar. ive apparently always had that slight worry in me but it was never noticeable. usually would fade almost immediately. 2 months ago my mother in law died of a sudden stroke. since then, health anxiety has taken over my life. i only do the need to do's. i have a little daughter and i can feel myself neglecting my duties to her. i just sit around for hours trying to get over the battle in my head and the fears..... youre not alone. feel free to mesg if you need to talk. talking helps me.
our story is similar. ive apparently always had that slight worry in me but it was never noticeable. usually would fade almost immediately. 2 months ago my mother in law died of a sudden stroke. since then, health anxiety has taken over my life. i only do the need to do's. i have a little daughter and i can feel myself neglecting my duties to her. i just sit around for hours trying to get over the battle in my head and the fears..... youre not alone. feel free to mesg if you need to talk. talking helps me.
Thank you Grounded that has really helped :)
I am so truly sorry to hear about your Mother in Law, did they say she had any underlying reason for the sudden stroke? Health anxiety is such an awful anxiety to have (not that any are nice) i constantly worry about my health and think i am going to die at any time and nobody is going to be around to help or be able to save me. i have become 'Dr Google' every second of everyday, i am convinced my heart is going to stop and i am constantly checking my pulse which is always very fast due to panic. i've had blood test and ECG and all is good but you still wonder the more time goes on could something of developed since the tests, which were only a month ago. Mine was a delayed reaction from being at a party last year and seeing a lady drop to the floor with a heart attack she was 53 luckily there were 2 nurses at the party who after 9 minutes managed to bring her back to breathing and she did make a full recovery in hospital, they did find an underlying problems that she would never of know about until this happened and had the nurses not been there she would not of survived. then my ex father in law died in the toilets at the doctors surgery in March this year, he has gone for a check up as was not feeling well and collapsed and died in the toilets. All of this just go to me and made me the way i am today, i am only 41 and both the lady at the party and my ex father in law were older but it gets in your head and you cannot stop thinking about it. My husband has been my rock but he is now struggling as everyone is supporting me and not there for him, i just cannot help him as i am too messed up in my own head to look after him like i would usually do (he is a strong man but is not trained to be my carer) its just the most horrid thing i have ever experienced and you do push everyone away and then you feel guilty.
yep i get exactly what youre saying. my mother in law was diabetic but the scary part was that she was the most healthy person that i knew. she had a TIA some years ago... she was also 53. but just the suddenesss of it all. we spoke the night before she got sick. she was fine. the next morning she had the stroke and the day after she died.... its all just so surreal. my husband is trying as much as he can which is unfair to him cuz he lost him mom. when he gets fristrated, i really dont hold it against him becuz i know that im supposed to be there for him..... i really just need this to leave.... i need to get back to being me....
abi, are you on an antidepressant. i also have bad anxiety i have been on fluvoxamine since may 1st and a raised dose for 2 weeks