Hello

[TrueSeeker]

Hello everyone. I just like to introduce myself. I'm 50 and I have lived with anxiety on and off almost whole my life. Recently my anxiety got much worse due to hormonal cancer treatment and related clinical trial. Usually I'm quite logical person but a lot of "nonsense" thoughts came up during a major anxiety episode that I still have to keep fixing. I've tried numerous ways of making myself feel better throughout whole my life, some of it worked some of it didn't. I did manage to have some anxiety free years but it usually came back when something bad happened. I've come here to learn from others, try to help and see how others deal with similar problems.
I'm looking forward to reading everyone's stories and tips.

[Sophie_M]

Hi TrueSeeker,
 
Thank you for your post and welcome t6o the Forums! We’re glad that you have been able to find us here during what sounds like a challenging time.

There are many of us here who can strongly relate to your experience of anxiety and the “nonsense” thoughts that can arise from an especially anxious time. In fact, recognising those thoughts as just that – thoughts, not truths- and distancing ourselves from them is one way to cope with anxiety.

As you might have seen, we have a larger section dedicated to anxiety here: Anxiety with some helpful older threads where people share their strategies:

• Worry worry worry
• Anxiety, how I eliminated it

We also have a range of information and resources for anxiety including different treatments. Feel free to share with us what has worked for you, too!

Once again, thank you for sharing. We hope this can be a supportive space for you. We are here for you any time 😊
 
Kind regards
Sophie M
 

[smallwolf]

Hello and welcome to the forums.

I hope you don't mind me focusing on one point in your post?

So... Not sure what these "nonsense" thoughts you talk about... logically that might be correct, but at the same time are also valid as they came from somewhere. I would say something similar myself but after many sessions with my psychologist would come the recognise these as just thoughts. Needs a circuit breaker. Actually, my psychologist got me to read a book called "the hapiness trap". It also had suggestions to deal with such thoughts. To be honest, a lot of those did not work for me, but one of two did... so it does require a bit of experimentation or trial and error. In honesty that was one of many different tricks, if I can call them that, I was shown. And then you have to ride the waves.

Listening of you want to talk more...

[TrueSeeker]

Thank you very much both of you for your help.

Yes, my thoughts came from a number external and internal sources. My biggest challenge to start with was
to calm myself enough to be able to face them and make sense out of them. I did a lot of walking, talking to my partner, looking at my past and trying to keep myself as calm as I could. I really needed to learn how to avoid panic attacks that were caused by me overreacting to those thoughts and then overreacting to the overreaction and escalating my emotions more and more. It got that bad that I ended going to an emergency room. I was so exhausted I started collapsing and I really needed something to give me a break now and then so I can recharge and have the strength to fix my thoughts.

I had my first anxiety attack when I was three, when my parents left me behind in a unfamiliar place for couple of hours. I always had to soothe myself on my own as every time I was upset, they got upset at me and I was told to toughen up. This caused a lot of unhealthy coping techniques. Also, my curiosity about all different faiths and believes confused me a lot. What helped me the most was to ground myself in reality. That world is good, my life is good now and that it was just my minds creation and all the pain is in the past.

The interesting thing is that now I feel better than I ever have. I still have things to work on but learning how to calm myself down in a healthy way helped a lot.

[smallwolf]

certainly not the same as you experienced when left behind... I do not remember the event (except...) in which I was separated from parents when I was very young. In different ways I also had a suck it up as to show emotion was worse. Though when I was in my teens, that was when I found consolation in music I listened to. 

Curious about what you said in regard to different faiths confusing you.

It is also good to read that things sound better for you from the latest post. Perhaps a reminder for myself (next time) but a story my psychologist told me about a journey to the top of the mountain help be helpful. At the end of the day what works for one person might not work for another, and we have to work out what works for us.