anxious again

[Daisy425]

I made it to the house my boyfriend is dog sitting at. We went to dinner and I didn’t want to eat anything too crazy so I had some spinach artichoke dip and a salad. But I started spiraling with my thoughts and looking up most common foods for food poisoning, and lettuce is number one. I’m so scared now I’ll get sick.

[Hidden]

Hey Daisy

Maybe try this. When I’m in a similar place I close my eyes, do my breathing exercises , use mindfulness to center me , then I imagine the ocean waves I bodysurfed while living in Hawaii in my 20’s, some 40 years ago.

My mind is very powerful . When it’s loose I have to reel it back in.

All the best

You will be just fine

[Siobhanny]

hey Daisy,

I’m so sorry this is happening to you. I promise I do the same thing, in fact I’m doing right now. I have a chronic migraines and even tho I know I have this I still find myself reading about aneurism or stroke symptoms and thus spiraling even further, and making myself sicker with anxiety symptoms.

Often I come here to remind myself of all the things anxiety is capable of doing to us and that I’m not alone.

Then the same ways I look for assurance that something bad is happening to me, I double down to reassure myself that these things aren’t always true. I speak to myself as though I’m a friend. I think of at least three things to prove my anxious thoughts wrong then I start any grounding techniques I know or feel good in that moment ( usually it’s deep breathing)

It can be hard to not take the things we learn from the internet and apply them to our daily lives, I know I struggle with this (there’s always a webMD symptom checker tab open) but staying away from searching at all helps me a lot even if I can’t always help myself.

Remember that you’re safe, and be gentle with yourself ✨

[Daisy425 in reply to Siobhanny]

Thank you so so much. I’m about to go to bed at this house I’m dog sitting at with my boyfriend and I’m starting to feel anxious. I’m really tired and I feel dehydrated even though I’ve been drinking water. I’m starting to get scared that I’m sick because my throat hurts a little. I know I need to calm down and relax but I’m struggling.

[Siobhanny]

you’ve totally got this, and this is gonna pass and you’ll be able to get rest ❤️‍🩹 Don’t forget A lot of times anxiety can manifest these symptoms, if you feel thirsty def drink water and listen to your body but try to stay present, if you focus too hard about how you need to relax you could get more anxious.

Did you bring anything with you for comfort or even a little distraction? Or is there anything around you could try to pull some of your attention to?

[NorwegianWood]

Have you tried mindfulness? If not do some reading about it as it's a good way to relax. It gets better with practice as well.