Stress - am I normal please help

[Mattyvilla1874]

Hi

It’s my first post after watching from afar , but I could do with some advice

I’m a 46 year old male , who thought was healthy ish

I had a heart attack in June with 2 stents fitted to the right side off my heart ( they are investigating faulty genes to see if I had highish cholesterol since birth )

I also had emergency surgery in Mexico to remove my appendix ( aug 2019) still suffering pain and discomfort so seeing a consultant in uk ,but appointments keep getting cancelled due to covid

I returned to work mid august ( I am a catering manager so no heavy lifting )

But have encountered lots of stress with my hours being cut at work resulting in a 5k drop in wages , lots of work , long hours and stress from the impact of covid .

I am shattered when I finish work so can’t exercise ( but I still manage 10k steps a day) so can only exercise at weekends 2x25k sessions on exercise bike

But on Friday I just kind of fell apart with the pressure, I got home and could not de-stress , I was the same on Saturday, now I feel really down , no energy , can’t get motivated, sooo tired but can’t sleep , can’t switch off , feel really panicky , just want to quit work , I have managed to talk to the wife and explain everything ( men find it hard) and the doctor has signed me off for 2 weeks to see if I can de-stress on my own

I have never been like this before Am I normal ?

[080311]

Oh my goodness of course your normal, you have things coming at you from every direction.

You have the worry of your drop in salary, and taking care of your family. That’s a lot for anyone, on it’s own. You also have the worry of your heart issues to contend with.

Taking things one at a time, ask the GP for some counselling, your body as been through a trauma and your brain needs to catch up. Quite a few members on the forum use Mindfulness and this seems to help. Try putting a post out and someone will respond with how they found it.

I really wish you lots of luck you will get there, just slowly does it.

Best wishes Pauline

[Mattyvilla1874 in reply to 080311]

Thank u Pauline it means a lot x

[Nathan53]

Hi Matty

As 080311 says you have had lot of stuff going on. I can't stress enough you are normal. When life events overwhelm us it can feel a scary place and you can overlook your strengths. You taken the right steps, a break from work to break the cycle and talking to your wife.

It's hard trying to do things on your own so consider counselling although waiting lists on NHS are long.

You could try an anxiety app nhs.uk/apps-library/stress-... If you google best anxiety / stress apps there are lots around.

There is a part of Heath Unlocked like this one 'anxiety and depression support'

The Samaritans can offer support remember they support everyone and not only people with suicidal thoughts samaritans.org/

Well don't want to bombard you with stuff so take it slow and cone back anytime.

[Quintuplebypass in reply to Nathan53]

Hi Matty, you do have a lot on your plate right now, i just have a suggestion that helped me. I was a "driven' tyoe person and put myself under a lot of pressure. One thing i found heloful after my heart attack was listening to self-hypnosis audios on YouTube when going to sleep (on earphones). Michael Sealey and Jason Stephenson are two that i found very good. i just listen to them after lying down in bed, and they help me get to sleep.

I hope things improve for you,

Best wishes

Caroline