just looking for answers

[Breboobay]

hello i’ve been dealing with anxiety on and off for the last month i have had several intrusive thoughts and scares and even brain fogs and times where i can’t focus or think has anyone else experienced that and how do you learn to cope with it without meds

[Dogsrsocool]

Following cause I'm also dealing with this, just riding out the wave & it's rough.

[KarlieL3880]

Hi there!! This can be super tough to deal with. I took the meds route but there are some tools that you can use without meds. Therapy would be one of the best ones, they have lots of tools that can help you. Guided meditation is helpful too, I could never just meditate, I need someone talking me through it. I like the Breethe app but YouTube has lots of guided meditations for anxiety. Another one is breathing, there is a nerve spot that you hit when you take deep breaths that can help reset your nervous system. That’s why the 4/4/6 method is helpful. You could try exercise to wear off the extra adrenaline in your system. Journaling is a big one too. My therapist recommended a work book called “Mind over Mood” that helped me a lot too. Hope that helps!

Mind over mood

[Breboobay in reply to KarlieL3880]

Thank you so much i’m going to give these ideas a try because i need some type of relief even if for a little while these thoughts are not nice at all and they make me afraid to be around everyone including my kids and i wanna feel better thank you so much so using these methods helps you to cope with your thoughts and anxiety ?

[KarlieL3880 in reply to Breboobay]

Yes they definitely do. For me I find journaling very helpful, to dig a little deeper into what it is I’m feeling (so physically) and what thoughts are in my head. That way I can challenge those thoughts. So I recently started a new job and had some intense anxiety. Journaling helped me understand I was scared of the new and unknown, of not knowing anything about the job, and fearing failure. But also realized I was anxious and was worried the anxiety would never go away, I’d be stuck anxious forever and I wouldn’t be able to work because I’m too anxious. It really helps identify the thought process and where it goes irrational.

From there I challenge my thoughts. Like 1. Not knowing anything, realistically no one knows everything going into a new job and to give myself a break. 2. I’ve been anxious before, I’ve been in the uncomfortable and awful feeling of an anxiety cycle and it always goes down to manageable. My success rate is 100% of making it through.

I hope that makes sense, I just find putting my thoughts on paper helps me challenge the irrational ones that are fuelling my anxiety and stopping the anxious thoughts at first level before they become worst case scenario panic inducing thoughts.

[Breboobay in reply to KarlieL3880]

oh my gosh thank you so much i felt trapped inside my mind full of intrusive thoughts with no way out it was such a scary place for me and now you have given me the information i needed i can’t thank you enough and i’m happy things are going great for you as well we got this ❤️

[Weatherwoman in reply to Breboobay]

Certainly, don't want to diag. you, but from what I gather sounds like you may have OCD. If so, hope you can find a Good therapist that has Experience in treating All the different types of this Awful disorder. Also, Exposure therapy, CBT, etc. good for intrusive thots. But, just be sure to find a therapist who is not only experienced, but Understands Intrusive thots. whatever they may be. Am speaking from experience & I did find a Good therapist --was lucky with that --However, I didn't get any proper help for years as in "my time," there was NO proper help, no books, no proper meds., and the Stigma was horrendous. So, I suffered in Painful silence for years, and years. On & off with Terrible intrusive thots. It's different today, & much more help out there. Good luck. Hugs, W.W.

[KarlieL3880]

it’s definitely amazing to have somewhere to talk to other people who are struggling with anxiety and panic. It always makes me feel less alone and reminds me I’m not the only one. It’s great to find out what works well for others and any tips they have for working through it.

I’m so glad I could help!! Hang in there, it does get better!!

[wiggity_whack]

Intrusive thoughts are a symptom of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), which doesn't have anything to do with being clean or organized. That's a misconception. I have intrusive thoughts too, and I spent 20 years going to therapists who don't know anything about OCD and getting no real help.

[CrowBoy]

Intrusive thoughts are very scary, especially if the thoughts are about harming someone. I’m not assuming that’s the kind you have, but I mention it because I have those, and they’re very hard to deal with. I have something called Harm OCD, and the intrusive thoughts are about me harming loved ones.

Of course these thoughts keep coming back the more I think about them, and my anxiety just fuels them, that’s for sure. I’m learning to just accept them and realize they don’t mean anything about me. That part is hard!

I’m sorry for what you’re going through, and I hope that any of this is helpful.

[Breboobay in reply to CrowBoy]

thank you so much yes they are very uncomfortable and unpleasant i only have them when i’m having anxiety and they send me into fight or flight mode and everything feels scary it’s so hard i’m learning day by day to just let them be and thank you so much hope it gets better for the both of us 😌

[designguy]

One of the best things you can do to reclaim your mental health is to never believe your anxious thoughts no matter how weird or scary they are because they are lies. They are your minds way of supposedly protecting yourself and keeping you safe but you no longer need that kind of protection, you're not being chased by a tiger. Learning and practicing mindfulness can be helpful by sitting and letting the thoughts flow in and out of your brain without attaching to them. It's not the thoughts that are the problem it's your attaching to them and giving them meaning. The reality is you always had weird, scary thoughts which is normal, you just weren't aware of them. I use to laugh at mine and encourage them to get weirder and scarier which helped and put me in power.

[Breboobay in reply to designguy]

ok so this is normal what i’m experiencing then like today i was out shopping with family and suddenly i felt scared and begin to think something bad would happen or that i would loose my mind or go to the bathroom on myself and couldent calm down but i believe my intrusive thoughts threw me into a slight panic attack has this ever happened to you ?

[designguy in reply to Breboobay]

Use to have them a lot and panic attacks, the panic/anxiety is fueled by the anxious thoughts. What helped me was learning that panic/anxiety is a paradox, the more you fight or struggle with it the more it persists so the solution is getting use to the anxious thoughts and feelings and no longer fearing them, knowing they are harmless and will dissipate eventually. One of the things that helped me was reading the DARE Anxiety book and watching their youtube videos, I even sebscribed to their phone app during my healing. I also found medication helpful at the time (klonopin) to help dial down the anxious feelings so I could adjust.

[Breboobay in reply to designguy]

thank you so much i’m going to read the dare anxiety book because and see if it helps me i haven’t been able to stay relaxed or calm without worrying about if i’ll go into another anxiety or panics attack it has kept me from being around others and work worrying about what will happen if i have an attack but thank you your reply has lifted a great deal of weight because that’s exactly what i have been doing fearing the thoughts and feelings trying to escape them so now i know to just over look them and keep going with my day 😌

[designguy in reply to Breboobay]

You're welcome, glad to help.