Anxiety

[skcim]

Anxiety is at an all time high today, feel hopeless, helpless and dead, the mental pain is overwhelming.

[Hidden]

Hi I don't really have anxiety, just depression, so I can't help much. There are 2 sites on HU for anxiety. Maybe they would be more help to you? x

[David196]

I get bouts of more extreme anxiety at times. Most of the time persistent background fear and irrational worry. I understand the hopeless and helpless, sometimes numb. It can be overwhelming.

I have had to accept anxiety as an ongoing condition that I can manage sometimes and other times I will need to shut down and retire to bed, withdraw until I feel better.

CBT seems to help me with a little mindfulness to start.

When getting or feeling more anxious I need to focus a thought on something real around me that is not just in my head.

I describe the view out of the window, I list where I feel pressure or sensation on my body, I try to focus on just feeling my breathing. All mindfulness stuff to get my focus out of my head.

Labelling my thoughts then helps. I am worried . I am scared. I am wound up over my son not doing his homework, anxious about difficult times with my wife.

Then I have to pause the imaginary conversations about these worries, consciously stop the dialogue and do something else. Refute my negative thinking with a rational argument. Late home work is not the end of the world, my wife still cares and has been strong for me, I can do a good job at work most of the time.

Then start something simple that is a distraction, dishes, walk the dog, list work ideas on paper not just in my head, call someone to catch up to move on from my problems in my head then move on to something bigger.

If the anguish still persists I go to bed and start the mindfulness again until I can relax and even sleep. If my mind wanders into daydreaming I accept that as a win.

Responding to someones post on here helps. It gets me to describe my problems in a way that might make sense to others. I am not ruminating on my own issues but addressing them in a supportive community.

If you want to describe more of your feelings on here a bit more that may help you make a little more sense of them, that works for me anyway.

Also, you are not alone.

Take care

Dave