Tested Positive: anxiety overload

[...Gekota]

Hi

(possible Ed tw??)

i just found out today that I have covid, and I understand that testing positive is a bad thing for everyone but it’s already got my anxiety thriving. I’ve been separated from my family in a different part of the house which I know is probably going to make my mental health plummet considering my parents are literally everything to me and I could not be more grateful and after a bad day (but basically everyday) I usually just lie in my mums arms and that feeling is everything. I’m in two minds on missing school because it’s good because I absolutely despise school but being at home means I could miss school work at fall behind and fail. Even though I do get pretty good grades I’ve always had so much anxiety and pressure around school about having to do well. It was beginning to get better this year but I think it’s going to get worse now. Also when I’m at school I have less stress about food, being at home with my parents makes me have to eat three meals a day and that is really freaking me out, I know I’m supposed too and I’m trying to be better but the idea of that is really scaring me. Due to my Ed I have a lot of anxiety over food, there are certain foods that feel safe to me but I have to make them and I have to have them a certain way and I won’t be able to make those foods and I’m really really terrified of that because the idea of someone else making those safe and comfortable foods for me makes me so anxious and then it’s no longer feeling like a safe food. I also had a really important doctors appointment tomorrow to help get me some support with gender things which had already been moved. And it just feels like everything keeps going wrong for me, I know that’s selfish but it feels like everything keeps falling apart as soon as it’s supposed to get better. I feel worse mentally then I do physically right now and I just really really want a hug, but I can’t have one. The first huge quarantine was the start to my mental health being demolished and it’s been really really bad lately already and It already feels as though I’m so far down the hole and this makes me feel like I’m going to break through the bottom and fall even further. I know it’s only a week if I test negative and I’m probably overreacting but this is all making me really overwhelmed, mostly over food and I just want it to stop

[Sophie_M]

Hi Gekota, 

We are really sorry to hear that you have tested positive and that you need to isolate at the moment to keep your family safe. It can be incredibly difficult to be unable to spend time with family when we want to, especially when we are not feeling our best. We think it is a really great step that you have felt comfortable to reach out to the forums for support. This community is here for you when you need us, or if you just need to share. 

If you do feel like you want some more support, please know that you can always call us on 1300 22 4636. Our team are here for you 24/7 to talk through these thoughts and feelings.  We also think it could be a good idea to give The Butterfly Foundation a call on 1800 33 4673. You can also chat to them online if you would find that easier than talking on the phone.

It is challenging to be physically isolated from our family so we really encourage you to call and chat to those that help you to feel safe and connected while you are needing to be in different rooms. 

Thank you again for you post and please feel free to get back in contact and update the community if that is a helpful thing for you to do. 

Kind regards, 

Sophie M

[white knight]

Hi, welcome

Teenagers as much as we love you all, have some issues relating to flexibility and acceptance- let me explain.

No matter what, your best effort should be acceptable to everyone, your school, your parents and most importantly- you!.

At this time you have contracted Covid. So the negative thinking invades your mind and it is not pretty. So it is unnatural for you to think in any other way but if you try, you can turn your thinking around. Eg

• You are thinking Covid will pause your schooling for say 2 weeks. If you were in a car accident and were in hospital for 8 weeks that would be worse right?
• You are "separated" from your parents. That's no good. But you can use skype, mobile phone, facebook etc to communicate right?
• You have many issues to do with food preparation right? But you dont mention there is ever a shortage of food. So if you have the food issue in Africa as a teenager there, it would be a bigger issue as you sometimes dont have any food to eat.

This is what many call a "half empty" thinking process whereby if you had a drink in a cup half empty, you feel sad. But a half full cup is a happy person as you see you have a drink that is half full. This is a major hurdle for you to be challenged with but there is an enormous amount of fulfillment and pleasure in becoming a half full cup person.

Even if you become a half full positive thinking person there will be times when you feel sad, depressed and anxious. That's fine, but you will bounce back 10 times better as a positive person.

So my message to you Gekota is - that in every negative there is a positive. Tolerate the negative and focus more on the positives. Remind yourself how lucky you are. Use the tools you have to communicate. Love yourself for you and everyone else is amazing. Be creative and relax.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cgh08mZ355Q&t=4s

TonyWK