Seeking to connect, share, support and heal this anxiety

[LittleShik]

Howdy all:

I am TS—my nickname, so it's all good.

I have experienced depression for 34 years, when I was first diagnosed.

About 5 months ago, I was also diagnosed with general anxiety disorder,

Since that time, I have experienced a combination of anxiety, fear and deep loneliness.

I am currently on Ativan 1mg, PRN. Sometimes it works, other times it doesn't.

For the most part, I have had little depression for the last year—mostly just the anxiety.

I talk with a therapist once a week for 45 minutes as well as practicing things like

radical acceptance and thought reframing. These are often helpful as I often speak

to thoughts out loud. I also have a daily meditation practice. Lately, it has, at the

end of a sitting, resulted in a sudden onset of anxiety, fear and/or loneliness.

I believe it is my unconscious bringing things to the surface, especially around my loneliness.

I have a fairly good support focused around my sis and best friend. I also reach out to

others occasionally. So... seeing as how this is turning into a novel instead of a note, this is what I seek: I would love to connect with folks who have experienced similar things. I want to support you and would love the same in return. I just signed up for this on the site, so I'm not familiar or sure if there are such things as group therapy sessions here. Be that as it may, starting a conversation via chat will give me another avenue to share my experience and witness others' experience.

Hope you'll connect wherever you are. Best to you on your journey of understanding and healing

Til we meet...

Namaste,

TS

[davidthecoder]

So glad to have you here with us TS.

Just based on your post I can tell this has been a long journey for you, but you have taken some great steps along the way. Meditation has also been something that has been very beneficial for me. I used to drink alcohol to suppress the anxiety. But when I started to meditate, I was able to quit drinking.

After that, I had to face the anxiety head on. It has been very annoying to deal with, as it is persistent and can interrupt moments of peace. You probably know how that goes.

Anyways I look forward to seeing you around here more, I think you will have a lot to add with your experience. And of course, you will find many others that can relate.

All the best to you, and welcome!

[LittleShik in reply to davidthecoder]

Thank you for such a quick and sweet reply brother. May I call you brother? I can absolutely relate to you, David. As soon as I began to read your reply, I began to cry. I honor your pain and your healing path. So glad you found meditation. And glad it got you to stop drinking. I will write more soon. Just need to finish up a late dinner and take a few deep breaths. Good night and Namaste, TS Oh, and thank you for welcoming me.

[Mskitty21 in reply to LittleShik]

I have been trying to get meditation into my new mental health routine and after reading these posts I DEF am going to try harder.

Also welcome TS 😊 Glad you are here 😊

[LittleShik in reply to Mskitty21]

Bless you and best of luck with meditation. As they say in biz, "it's a game changer."

Here's a link to a talk by one of my favorite humans. It's an intro to meditation:

tarabrach.com/2015-02-11-pa...

Namaste Mskitty21, TS

[Mskitty21 in reply to LittleShik]

THANK YOU! I will def check it out! Very kind of you to share this with me 😊

[LittleShik in reply to Mskitty21]

my absolute pleasure. she also wrote a book called Radical Acceptance. Highly reco

[Mskitty21 in reply to LittleShik]

I have SOOOO many books I need to read but I’ll check it out. Thank you 😊

[davidthecoder in reply to LittleShik]

Hey TS,

Just wanted to say thanks for kind response, was nice to hear back from you.

And brother is fine, it doesn't offend me or anything

Always cheering on anyone struggling with anxiety. That includes you, and me. Luckily I am in therapy for it now. So that is helping as well. Tough thing to deal with, and also difficult for others without it to understand. I didn't really know what anxiety was, until I realized I had it. Now I know...

And it has been helpful for me to connect with others that also have it, as I feel a bit less weird knowing I am not the only one.

[LittleShik in reply to davidthecoder]

You are def not alone, David. I'm glad you don't feel weird. Even while the stigma around mental health disorders is still there, it has improved by leaps and bounds. Btw, what type of coding do you do?

[Dolphin14]

Welcome TS

This is a very supportive and understanding community.

I'm glad you found us

🐬

[LittleShik in reply to Dolphin14]

Namaste and thanks, Dolphin14.

[gajh]

Hello and Welcome. Just to let you know there are no group therapy sessions here. You can talk to people by replying to posts that is public or you can private message with people. You can post as often as you feel comfortable. There are a lot of great people here who will be happy to share with you. It sounds like you have a lot of experience to offer. I look forward to getting to know you.

[LittleShik]

Thank you so very much, gajh. Appreciate the tip about group therapy. I will definitely frequent this site. Look forward to connecting again soon. Good night, TS

[Joyfulgrrrrrrrl]

I could point by point relate to your post, but what seems to stick out the most is the loneliness....I live to create joy and happiness for others but it's not only ignored, but assumed to be fake or inauthentic...my anxiety and mental health issues after covid left me feeling so uneasy in my heart and nothing I do seems right...I've lost many connections...can't get meds or a new diagnosis (since 25 years ago evaluation) WE aren't alone WE are in this together as humans desperately needing love and relief that is bone derp