Right now, I'm dealing with severe anxiety and panic attacks non stop related to my illnesses of agoraphobia and emetophobia.
I've been trying to deal with grounding techniques and klonopin but, that's it because my therapist left the agency and, I have to start over with a new one- which I dread. I don't wanna start over! I was finally getting somewhere with my therapist and she chose to leave 😔 I'm getting set up to a new one.
Anyway...
Also! I have a new (telehealth) provider appointment on Thursday and I'm f****** terrified! Like, what if he wants to change my meds?! Idk him ya know? My wife will be at work during the appointment so she can't support in a physical way which sucks but, she said she'd help me come up with a plan on paper for the appointment. That's 👍🏻.
But, I'm scared. 😱 What if he's judgmental? What if he's mean? What if he's like "I don't want you on xxx med so we're gonna stop that" or something like that?!
I know, it's a lot but, that's my mind for ya. It's endless loops of anxious feelings. And I know in my right mind (which doesn't visit me much) knows it's all irrational and catastrophizing. Does anyone have any tips or advice? I've hit a brick wall 🧱. Ugh 😩 Thanks for reading. 🙏
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You are in control, you decide whether therapist right and stays and you can make the decision of medications, which ones to take. Your rights, your decision. Try to think of you guiding by taking control of what you discuss and topics. You can help and you decide whether the new therapist helpful or not. You have right to say whether they are helping.
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That's true. Thank you, you gave me a new perspective. 🙏
Like vonus and agora said... you're in control of your body. You're the patient getting treatment for your conditions. When I realized going to the Dr wasn't like going to your "Boss or parents" for permission and that it was more like the other way around. YOU'RE the queen of your domain and the Dr is there to serve YOUR needs. Just because you're seeing someone new doesn't mean it's a negative thing...use this as an opportunity to express a confident knowledge persona in your treatment protocol. Let them know exactly what is working well and what you think needs adjusting. Being proactive with the new doc will be beneficial for you to see if they are someone you want helping you in the first place. If a Dr isn't willing to listen or acknowledge your concerns... it's better to find a different one right away than get involved long term. If you're not comfortable, always find someone else. Don't compromise your standard of care. You know your body better than anyone. Don't take anything you don't approve of and question everything.😊you can do this!
Ahhhh, thank you LifeIsThePitts !!! That was a breath of fresh air to read. You're right. I can start with a clean slate basically. I'm so sensitive, that's why I get anxious sometimes. It does feel like visiting the boss or parents lol.
Riiight!! It's ok to be anxious. Drs are no fun to see. Switching your perspective empowers you to attack the appointment with a completely different mindset. The results you recieve will be much different when you feel like you've got some say in what happens vs being at the mercy of the unknown 😉❤️🍄you can do this
That is very good advice. I am currently trying to ground myself. I'm watching my favorite TV show so, I can focus on that like you do with music, intensely. I don't even go outside, that's the agoraphobia winning. I gotta work on it bc, gardening would be a life saver. I do the 5 senses coping skill and the muscle tensing one too. My appointment, well, I'm working on preparing for it as best as I can. 🤷♀️ And, thank you so much 🙏, I appreciate the kindness 🫂💜
Take a moment to breathe. Sue deep breath sets of 3-6 once an hour. Inhale deep through nose hold and then exhale through nose. Say a mantra. I’m ok. I can be calm etc. when you start over thinking try saying something aloud like stop or nope and then identify stuff around you: the table is brown or the wall is white etc. hang in there.
I understand. I sweat everytime I have to interact with anyone... sometimes I'll snap. I am taking paroxetine for two and a half years... I don't know if they help or not with anything
I’m with you on everything you say Swilly 79. Even at 71 I am petrified every time I go to see the doctor/dentist etc. Hmm there must be a name for this phobia…What I find helps is if I write everything down well in advance and then in more lucid moments - and I don’t have many of those! - I try to condense the ramblings into under 10 or so bullet points and also to make sure I have as many questions as possible. The reason for this is because I go totally tongue-tied when in front of doctors or what I perceive to be figures of authority and I end up a gibbering wreck if and when I do speak. I wish you the best of luck on Thursday and I’ll be thinking of you x
Hi, sounds like I wrote this post, I had to move to Florida to take care of my mom,I was on klonopin for years and they cut me off I went nearly 30 days w No sleep..this week been having high anxiety and therapist dropped me for missing appt but I have my mom in ccu in hospital, and had to be there for her,our medical systems so broken...I wish you best w new therapist it's always no fun and stressfffuuullll....I've had shakes and high anxiety and I have bad social phobias and the hot weathers not helping...this is terrible...
Hi there, she's in a PT rehab now to get to using the new knee,I been having ton high anxiety, been rough,shortage of therepists here,decent ones that is,been doing it online in few groups,I have such bad social anxiety I hate it,lately I been really in high anxiety mode making things tough as usual...hope your feeling Lil better...
Glad to hear she’s in the rehab portion now. May it be smooth and quick regain of her strength. 🙏🏻. Your anxiety is def warranted with everything. Try to take a nice walk maybe listen to something on some headphones. Slow breathing exercises. Prayers up to you and mom.
Everyone on here has given you good advice. Here is a few more.
Can you follow your therapist?
As someone who is having the WORST TIME at the moment with grounding, just finding what helps you get grounded goes a long way. This can help you later by providing a list of things to try and help ground you.
Additionally, found out there is a new idea floating around in Japan, in particular around mental health, that makes the individual more the decision maker, because lets be real, its OUR body. Its the mindset that we work along side doctors for us to be better. Don't be afraid to question why a doctor wants to do something. Ask questions. Make sure your doctor understands how to communicate with you. And more importantly, Doctors can't make you do anything! You have to be willing to go with whatever they want to do.
Something i heard from a YouTube therapist that helps me is when u think of all these bad things that can happen, like the worst case scenario, do the opposite. Make urself think of the absolute best case scenario & all of the best things that can happen, even if they're outlandish, because they will help u understand that both extremes are just as unlikely to happen. Often times the best i could come up with sounded ridiculous. That helped me understand how ridiculous the worst things i was fearing would be, if i were rational. It can definitely help put things into perspective.
Find ways of calming your mind. I do understand because I'm a constant worrier. You have a say in what happens to you ur the master of ur life knowone else rember that u are in control and if u don't gel with ur therapist u can find another and there not there to judge u . Hope this helps.
Thank you so much. Sometimes I forget to breathe slower ya know? 🙏💜
I’ve only glanced through the other responses. I am having severe anxiety also. Tried getting groceries yesterday and the music in the store was getting to me. I take Klonopin myself.
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Good to know I'm not alone.🫂 I've been really sensitive to smells and sounds lately for example, one of my neighbors is mowing their lawn right now and, I wanna scream and tell him to shut up lol I won't but still...ugh. Such fun anxiety is, right? Klonopin helps but, sometimes I'm so deep in that I just get tired and wired is what i call it. Thank you for sharing. 💜🙏
Fieytb grocery stores and stores are the worst when anxiety is high. You rock for tolerating it. And trying. Good vibes up.
That's so kind of you, thank you so much! I will give it a shot! 💜🙏🙏
Thank you for all the amazing tips, advice, and stories, it all has helped immensely! 🙏🙏🙏🙏💜💜💜💜 I can't thank you all enough. It means so much to read such kindness ❤️ 💕. I'm sending out some light to all of you ✨️ 💛
I found several things to be really helpful for me:
1. cold therapy, example a cold shower or taking an ice cube and rubbing it on your arms or back of your neck. I found rubbing it on the bottom of my feet to be the most helpful. We have a small back yard pool that is at 70 right now and its perfect. I get in and kick and stretch.
2. daily movement. I don't know why but pacing really helped me. I know its not for everyone. Qigong is also a great place to start. There are lots of videos on youtube.
3. avoiding my phone for about 1.5 hours after I wake up.
4. I started using a boogie board to make a list of things I want to do during the day. I put on things that bring me joy as well like hug my children, feed the queen (my cat).
5. accept the feelings, sensations, moments of overwhelm and keep going. This one took me the longest to overcome and I am still working on it. I have health anxiety and at times panic over the smallest normal sensations. I have daily body pain and lung disease.
I hope the new therapist and doctors appointment go well for you!
Thank you, those are amazingly awesome tips. I will take them into advisement.
I do sometimes use ice 🧊, I also need to incorporate movement, it's so hard sometimes. My baby cat helps me 🐈 too. Accepting is something I'm working on but omg is it hard. Thank you 🙏 💜
Thank you Hidden ! That's very helpful! Sometimes, I overthink myself into a frenzy. 🙏🙏💜💜💜
You are doing a lot of fortunetelling and catastrophize Ing. The best thing I can recommend at this point, if you haven't already done it, is to study CBT. And when you learn CBT, really follow through doing the exercises and filling out the daily thought record. Do the homework, don't just read the book.
Hi,I do music therapy and try to use controlled breathing but my anxiety is been so high its scary,don't know what else to do and where in a bloody heat wave w very high humidity n i hate hot weather..wwaaggghhhh
I understand! I do try deep breathing but, it's tough sometimes. When my anxiety takes over I'm helpless it seems ya know? ugh! Thank you for your reply 🙏 😊
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