Hi Willo,
It sounds like your anxiety is really consuming your life at the moment. I hear the immensity of
your feelings – wanting to inflict physical pain to distract yourself says to me you’re really struggling.
Your dad’s opinion seems important
to you. It must be frustrating to hear the cliché “just get over it”, I know it’s
never that easy. I guess it’s hard for people such as your dad, who perhaps haven’t
experienced anxiety to this extent, to relate to the immensity of the feelings
you're experiencing.
Something that stood out to me from
your post is that you mention your dad is the ‘one huge thing’ stopping
you from getting back to happiness and a routine. It seems like you’ve placed a
lot of emphasis on this. It may be worth thinking about the following question;
how much do you see your dad as being in control of your recovery and how much
you see yourself as being in charge of your recovery?
While it’s so important to feel
supported by those around you, I want to send some feelings of empowerment your
way – you are in charge of your journey. In saying that, it doesn’t mean you
shouldn’t feel supported. The fact that you have other supports around you is
great and I hope you find some more support on these forums.
