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Hi, I am new

perkofawallflower profile image

This is my very first post. I have never done this before. I know I need help with my anxiety. Lately I have been feeling really anxious. In May my dog passed on my birthday and then three weeks later my mom, had a heart attack and went on life support. She almost passed as well. She is having surgery on her heart next week and my sister just found out she has a tumor on her thyroid that needs to be biopsied. I have been having difficulty coping with all these things. I have been feeling restless and my thoughts are all over the place. My thoughts go to worse case scenarios all the time now. I don't feel like I can close my eyes or something will happen to myself or someone else. I feel like I am unloading too much on my boyfriend who does not experience anxiety. He really doesn't understand how I feel. He is very supportive of me but I don't want to push him to a point where he would leave me. I guess, I was just wondering some tips I could use to help me cope with this anxiety I have been experiencing lately. I do not like taking medication so I do not want to go that route.

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10 Replies
hopefulwanderer profile image
hopefulwanderer

Welcome first off <3

I'm sorry with all that you're going through sounds so overwhelming

With anixiety I feel that being by trees brings your mind at ease, or journaling,

Also listening to " mental illness happy hour" podcast has helped me organize my thoughts somehow.

Meditating can also go a long way,

I almost threw up the first time I tried it because of how difficult it was to not think but it got easier after that.

I hope this somehow is insightful to you and don't be scared to reach out to me if you need someone to talk to,

it's okay to not be okay right now

perkofawallflower profile image
perkofawallflower in reply to hopefulwanderer

Thank you so much for your reply. How do I access a podcast? Like the one you mentioned.

hopefulwanderer profile image
hopefulwanderer in reply to perkofawallflower

Sorry for the late response!

But if you have an iPhone if you click on the "podcast" app and search mental illness happy hour and it lists the episodes to listen in or access them here mentalpod.com/episodes

:-)

perkofawallflower profile image
perkofawallflower in reply to hopefulwanderer

Thank you so much

Agora1 profile image
Agora1

Hi perkofawallflower and Welcome to our Support Group. I'm sorry for all the things you have gone through most recently. Life can be harsh at times and anyone with an anxiety disorder does get overwhelmed to the point of our minds being all over the place. You are very lucky to have a bf who is supportive of you, but unless someone has dealt with anxiety, it is impossible for them to understand the impact it has on our lives.

Sometimes when life gets to be too much, it lets us know through physical symptoms we may experience. There are two ways you can go about this. One is short time medication and talking therapy or finding ways to calm your Mind/Body stress. You can do this by giving yourself quality "me time" every day. Your mind is ruminating all these negative thoughts as well as "what ifs". By quieting you mind with meditation/Mindfulness/Deep Breathing you can put your thoughts in prospective.

I use Meditation/DeepBreathing before bed, it is the last thing that my mind hears before allowing me some good quality sleep. The first thing upon awakening in the morning is to once again reach for my headphones and start the process of meditation and deep breathing again. It helps reduce morning anxiety which is prominent because of the levels of cortisol being high. Come mid afternoon, I once again reach for meditation by going to YouTube. I have several great audio videos that guide me into blissful relaxation. It doesn't have to be long, even 5-10 minutes can help reduce your stress level.

It takes work on your part, but you can do this w/o taking medication if you are willing to do this daily. I wish your mother well with her heart surgery next week as well as wishing your sister's biopsy to be okay. As for you perko, remember in order to take care of anyone else, you need to take care of yourself first. Wishing you peace & calm. We are here for you. :) xx

perkofawallflower profile image
perkofawallflower in reply to Agora1

Thank you so much for your reply. I really like the advice you have given me. I will def look into the meditation. I feel like that would help with my anxious mind. If I am out and about say at work and I feel anxious about something, what would be a good way to handle the worrying if I do not have access to my headphones to listen to the guided meditation? I appreciate you taking the time and effort into replying

Agora1 profile image
Agora1 in reply to perkofawallflower

Deep Breathing is the key to anxiety. It's always with you. No one knows you are doing it and it's free with no side effects :)

It got me out of the house after having 5 years of Agoraphobia. Deep Breathing works while driving, shopping, standing in long lines, anywhere your anxiety may go up a notch. There are some great Breathing videos on YouTube which will guide you.

One you have mastered the proper way to deep breathe, it will be with you at a moment's notice in automatically switching gears. When anxious or under stress, we

tend to shallow breathe. Deep Breathing allows the body to regenerate, get the oxygen it needs as well as eliminate the adrenaline. xx

perkofawallflower profile image
perkofawallflower in reply to Agora1

Thank you so much for this tip. I will definitely work on my deep breathing

AZ1970 profile image
AZ1970

The best advice I have received is to stay in this present moment. You are living in the “what if’s?”. And every scenario is a catastrophe. I do it too. You don’t yet have the strength to handle the future, because it’s not here yet. Be present right now. There a many sites and videos on You Tube about mindfulness. I love guided meditation. I find a video that interests me, lie in a dark room with headphones and relax.

perkofawallflower profile image
perkofawallflower in reply to AZ1970

Yeah I def run a lot of what if scenarios in my head and they never happen. I get all caught up and my thoughts spiral. This past year I have been working really hard on my anxiety but the past two months have been a lot to cope with and my anxiety has hit me like a ton of bricks. I am constantly worried and I have trouble sleeping and staying on track. I will try some of the techniques you have suggested. Thank you so much for the words or encouragement. I really appreciate it

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