Riding the roller coaster

WorldNorth · ‎29-07-2015

Hi all,

I've had anxiety for about 5 months now and what I'm currently find very difficult to deal with is the 'roller coaster'. I have a few good days in a row, staying mindful, using CBT, I'm feeling good, feeling strong, starting to feel happy, and then wham, out of nowhere, I get blindsided by another bout of anxiety which lasts several days, sends me right back down to the bottom again. I feel miserable for a few days, then I find the strength to fight back, climb back, and get back into a good mind space again, and then wham, I suddenly end up at the bottom again.

Does this happen to anyone else? Any hints on how to deal better with the dips?

I find it so frustrating, so incredibly frustrating, that I can't seem to maintain myself in a good space, which of course feeds back into the anxiety, and makes the dip deeper.

white knight · ‎29-07-2015

Hi WN, welcome

Well you are doing everything right. Your actions and treatment is ongoing though. That your symptoms "come crashing down" is why anxiety is such a serious illness and can over time develop into depression. Avoidance of this at all costs is your goal.

Also try muscle tensioning exercises. Google that. Deep breathing too. Now, to get things into perspective for you (and everyone is different) it took me 25 years to fully eradicate my anxiety. The first 12 years involved medication. The first 12 months therapy. Be prepared for a few years of counter measures.

Finally, don't fight the symptoms. Let them run their course and try to live with the roller coaster as you call it. Few will understand so don't expect them to. It doesn't mean they don't love you. Just they cant see the injury.

Take care Tony WK

BKYTH · ‎29-07-2015

Are you on medication? Are you doing CBT with a counselor? Perhaps you are experiencing episodes of depression. These kind of mood swings can be indicative of other psychological disorders and I would suggest you mention them to your GP and counselor if you are seeing one. Perhaps a counselor may be able to help you become aware of any changes in your thinking or behavior which precipitates these dips. Perhaps you need to be patient as these issues can take time to be adequately addressed. Mindfulness and CBT take time to be effective and to be applied to gain their full benefit. Philip.

romantic_thi3f · ‎29-07-2015

Hi WorldNorth,

Thanks for reaching out to BB.

I'm sorry that you are feeling like you are on a rollercoaster; I know it can be incredibly exhausting and I'm glad that you are implementing really helpful techniques like CBT and mindfulness. Do you find that anything tends to trigger this big dip?

Sometimes it helps to really identify what can cause the drop; I actually like journalling sometimes because it helps me clear out my 'brain mush' and sometimes even on the days where I feel really good and strong I'm actually still being bothered by some anxiety I am just in a different perspective about it.
I agree too that over time as you keep practicing these techniques you can start to recognise what's causing these drops - as when your anxiety dips so does the CBT because that's when all those negative thoughts can start to creep in.

Take care 🙂

WorldNorth · ‎30-07-2015

Thanks so much to you all for your responses and ideas. I really appreciate it and will follow up with my counsellor.