Anxiety, depression and intrusive thoughts help!

[Baybeegal]

Hi everyone,

for a year I have battled with anxiety, depression and intrusive thoughts.

has anyone overcome the intrusive thoughts? If so how often do you get them? Also any tips on how to get rid of them?

thank you

[Neil_1]

Hi Baybeegal

Firstly I'd like to welcome you to Beyond Blue from a fellow sufferer.  It's a wonderful site with many awesome members here who are fellow sufferers and one or two who have tamed their own demons (black dog) but continue to participate here to advise and help others.  So you can see pretty quickly that the people who post here are caring awesome folk.

You've done a great thing to reach out here and provide us your post.  Even though you've made it quite short, it's easy to tell that you are suffering with what you've posted.

Baybeegal, one year to be battling all this is just way too long to be doing it on your own and I'm pleased that you've made the first step toward progress on this by posting here.

Your next positive step will be to make an appointment with your GP to go and discuss these feelings that you're having - it is now time to arrange professional assistance for yourself.  You can't continue on the road that you're on - I believe that no-one can fight mental illness by themselves - because you simply cannot win.  Now if you're unsure about a GP or not sure about your own particular GP, on this website they have a list of different GP's and you can do a search and hopefully track down one or two in your particular area that you could go too.  These GP's specialise in mental illness issues and will be able to assist you.

Overcoming intrusive dark thoughts is a battle even WITH professional help, but you'll feel so much better for seeking out this kind of assistance.  And the question for how often, again depends on what's happening in your life at the time and what other avenues you've taken to help combat this illness.

I sure hope that some of my above post has helped you, and I would really love to hear back from you ... no-one is judged on this site and the thing you will receive more than ever is unconditional support, care and if we can, we try to advise as best we can.

Kind regards

Neil

[geoff]

dear Baybeegal, pleased to have you on board.

You have raised the million dollar question, and I do say on this site that I have overcome my depression, but will always have OCD, but I say this as a general statement, however it's not that I have actually 'overcome it', because it will still be there laying at the bottom of my thoughts, it's just that I have learnt on how to control it, and that if for some reason I do have a relapse, I know that within a few days it will be gone and that I will feel much better. Geoff.

[Perkin]

H Babeegal, Intrusive thoughts have been a problem for me for a good 15 years but they are much less of a problem for me now.

I remember having a breakthrough about 10 years ago and I remember it quite vividley.  I was walking down the street with the usual agonising thoughts going through my head and I realised the thoughts were going in a cycle. There were a set bunch of intrusive thoughts and i would think through one after another in a never ending cycle. My first feeling was despair because I saw for the first time how completely trapped I was by these stupid, weird and paranoid thoughts. So I thought to myself how do I break this cycle? I thought ' think about something else, anything else' and amazingly it worked. I don't remember what I thought about but I remember the effect it had. Instead of being trapped in my own head I took a breath and looked around. I noticed the trees and buildings around me much more than I usually did. I went from being consumed by this inner world to suddenly looking outside. Then in moments the intrusive thoughts started creeping back but I now had a stratagy. It doesn't matter about what you think about. Something mundane or even silly is good.

The other thing that helps is to figure out what it is that you are really worried about. This is something a psychiatrist helped me with. You can have a fear or worry that seems completely irrational but underneath that is a much more rational worry. Bring that into the light and it looses it's power.

There are two pieces of advice in the above posts that I strongoy agree with. First is get someone who can help you. It may be possible to get better on your own but it will certainly be me difficult.  Second is that you my have to accept this as a part of you. Acceptance removes a lot of the agony. At best I'm an introvert and a worrier which I am ok with. At worst thoughts and worries creep into my head which effect every part of my life and have the power to almost incapacitate me and turn me into a person I don't want to be. I'm not okay with that but I'm learning to accept it.

[Baybeegal]

Hi Niel,

thank you so much. I had put more on my post however it was shortened lol. I will go to my gp to ask to see a psychologist. I saw one before however she thought I was psychosis and it freaked me out every time I visited her. However I am not psychosis.

have a great day and I wish you luck in the future.

sincerely

latoya

[Baybeegal]

Hi Geoff,

congratulations on banishing your depression. Thank you for your reply. 

I wish you much luck with your OCD and have a great day

sincerely

latoya

[Baybeegal]

Hi perkin,

thank you for your answer. I will see a gp about these. You all have helped me and with you perkin with your ideas and helpful advice I know I can overcome this.

I too am a worrier that's why it scares me so much.

have a great day and a fabulous week.

sincerely

latoya