topic Wondering If I'm the Only One? in Welcome and orientation

Wondering If I'm the Only One?

Tay2405 — Sat, 31 Mar 2018 10:51:33 GMT

Hi everyone!

I hope everyone is having an amazing Easter weekend!

I've just joined up here and I wanted to reach out to you guys and ask if anyone else may have been or knows someone who has had a similar experience to me.

I've had severe GAD my entire life and I have struggled with it forever. It has usually based itself on social anxiety, as well as anxiety of new experiences and accidentally failing in areas of my life or doing the wrong thing without meaning to. Recently however, I have been working really hard at getting those sorts of thoughts out of my head and it is finally, after so many years, actually started working.

But now, my anxiety seems to have taken on another form and obsessed over a very specific thought. That of a fear of ghosts, spirits and other forces being around me.
I want to make it really clear that I am not having any hallucinations or delusions, I don't feel like I see or hear any of this stuff, but I'm just quite on edge at nighttime, especially when I am alone in my house, and it occasionally will get to the point where I am fighting panic attacks over it, being scared to look into mirrors in case I see someone/something standing there.

It's been really rough lately and has been making me very uneasy.

I was just wondering if anyone else has these paranoid thoughts or anything similar that could maybe share their experiences with me and give me a bit of insight?

Thanks in advance everyone!

Wondering If I'm the Only One?

white knight — Sat, 31 Mar 2018 22:24:29 GMT

Hi Tay, welcome

Often a psych is required to rid yourself of unrealistic thoughts.

Try distraction. Show your thoughts the contempt they deserve eg discount them.

Google

Topic: anxiety how I eliminated it- beyondblue

Topic: the benefits of exhaustion- beyondblue

Topic: distraction and variety- beyondblue

Tony WK

Wondering If I'm the Only One?

White_Rose — Sat, 31 Mar 2018 23:10:25 GMT

Dear Tay

Hello and welcome. Thank you for sharing your story. I suspect many people have similar experiences which go away of their own accord or the person learns to live with them. I also believe people keep quiet in case they are labelled crazy in some way.

It may well be that you are seeing or hearing sounds and shadows that have always been there but unnoticed and taken as part of the house. By this I mean creaking stairs or cupboards, branches being waved around by the wind and causing unusual shadows. It took me a while to figure out why my computer was switched on when I knew I had switched it off. The answer, the on/off switch on the tower would not engage properly sometimes and would start up again. I must admit it felt a little weird at the time. Now I know to wait until the system has closed down correctly.

Also odd sounds which turn out to be next door's cat wanting to be let in, bird sounds and the possum in the roof. Sounds nothing like a cat which is probably the weirdest thing. I do acknowledge I feel someone in the room with me at times. Disconcerting at times but not threatening. I am happy to say welcome.

Does this answer your query? Please continue to write in.

Mary

Wondering If I'm the Only One?

geoff — Sat, 31 Mar 2018 23:34:57 GMT

Hello Tay, can I welcome you to the forum.

I'm sorry that now your anxiety has taken another form and these new fears could be related to having intrusive thoughts which are associated with OCD.

These are unwanted thoughts that people like myself, unfortunately, can have, and many many years ago when I worked in a pub, I had to walk up the stairs where my family lived, that's when I had the same thoughts, so I know exactly what you are saying.

Later on, in life, there were other intrusive thoughts that annoyed me, and there is a large section on 'intrusive thoughts' on this site, so please google it.

Other people who don't have OCD can also have these thoughts about ghosts and spirits, so it doesn't specifically happen for those only with OCD.

Have a talk with your GP who may refer you on to a psychologist, but one important point I'd like to make is that the more you question it, then the doubt doubles in magnitude, but they certainly aren't paranoid thoughts.

Hope to hear back from you.

Geoff.

Wondering If I'm the Only One?

Tay2405 — Sun, 01 Apr 2018 09:55:46 GMT

Hi Geoff,

Thank you so much for welcoming me, I'm so happy to be here and the forums are such an incredible idea for people who are struggling and need some advice or people to reach out to 🙂

I'm so sorry to hear that you have also been suffering with anxiety, especially OCD. Hopefully you are doing okay!

Intrusive thoughts are something that was definitely on my radar when I was thinking about this and something that I am honestly terrified of. I actually studying psych at uni and have read a heap of books about all different types of anxiety, including OCD, so I know the general way that intrusive thoughts can work and absolutely take over your life! 😞

Do you have any recommendations or advice on different strategies to deal with intrusive thoughts?

Hope to hear back from you and thank you so much again!

Tay

Wondering If I'm the Only One?

geoff — Sun, 01 Apr 2018 16:38:55 GMT

Hi Tay, thanks for getting back to us, it means a great deal to us to hear back from the person we reply to.

The best way is to say what happened to me to realise that these thoughts don't happen.

I've said this before but it's always good to repeat especially if you or any other newcomers come to the site.

I had this thought that I wanted to hurt my Mum, but I loved her so dearly and that's the frustrating part to this, but it was an 'intrusive thought', I've had OCD for 58 years.

All of this stopped as soon as Mum was put into a nursing home, only because she had just had an operation on her knee but couldn't walk, her mind was 100%, however my Dad was still working and thought it would be best, that's when my thoughts automatically stopped.

She was in enough pain knowing what the future would hold for her.

Now what I should have done was go up to Mum and tell her what I was thinking.
(Will continue)
Geoff.