this anxiety is driving me mad!

[jodieoliver]

how can i deal with this! :(

[WearegoingonaKwazihunt]

What anxiety?What are you feeling anxious about?

[WearegoingonaKwazihunt]

Sorry that was a bit blunt. I have had anxiety in the past and am happy to talk if that would help?

[jodieoliver]

i just feel anxious all the time, and have had panick attacks, my little boy is 8 months old now and ive found it quite hard to come to terms with being a mum, also my dad passed away on my babys due date which was two days before he was born, and its really messed me up. i am on anti-depressants i thought they were working but recently ive been feeling very anxoius again and worried, and emotional, i dont know why though?

[WearegoingonaKwazihunt]

Has this anxiety been since your son was born?

I suffered from anxiety after the births of both of my children.
It is very debilitating.

Can you go back to your GP and explain that you are now anxious?

Very sorry to hear about your Dad. That must have been very difficult.

[jodieoliver]

whilst i was pregnant i kept feeling anxious too, and it just got worse, what did you do? did you go to your gp? and did they give you anything to help?

[WearegoingonaKwazihunt]

I had all sorts of problems with no 2 and bonding so ended up having some counselling.

I did not have any medication, but that was more because I didn't want it.

I didn't get help for a long time because I knew I wasn't depressed and I thought if it wasn't PND then I was OK.

I had a lightbulb moment when I realised it was anxiety.
Have a google for post natal anxiety. It definitely exists.

It eased in the end.

It is awful and I just used to feel unable to get on with anything or settle to anything.
I was on a state of high alert all the time and if anything went wrong it would be catastrophic for me and it would take me a long time to get over it.

Are you having a particularly bad day today?
What would help right now?

[gourd]

I think it's something that a lot of people suffer from at certain points in their lives - OP, yours sounds as if it had a specific causes, triggers or aggravating factors too. Dealing with stress and learning to cope with anxiety using various relaxation, or cognitive behaviour techniques as well as talking to people makes a huge difference. Don't underestimate how well you can train your brain to be anxious or vice versa - how to be calm and of take control of your own emotions! It does work but takes time to develop the skills needed and also to find out what exactly works for you. Do some research and read as much as you can on how to help yourself avoid getting anxious and how to cope in situations that cause you anxiety. It probably won't go away all by itself, even if the initial issue that triggered it was a while ago. You do need to take positive action but it really is possible to take control of your emotions through specific techniques - congnitive behaviour therapy (where you basically train yourself to react to stress differently) can really help. It won take away the things that make you anxious, but it could help you deal with those feelings differently and feel calmer. The problem with anxiety is that it's a vicious circle that's hard to break - once you become anxious, slightly stressful situations or the slightest triggers (such as things not going exactly how you planned) can make you even more anxious and panicky. It's how you deal with those potential triggers that helps you avoid this self perpetuating cycle and there are lots of techniques that could help.

[jodieoliver]

i ve been having bads days quite alot recently, it seems to have got worse after getting better, the gp did advice me to go councelling to but i havent got around to it. did the coucelling help you?. Gourd that has helped, im going to look on the net and try to find something to help.

[WearegoingonaKwazihunt]

The counselling did help yes.
It was good for me to have a space that was for me to talk about everything I was feeling. I was able to cope with things better knowing there was somewhere I could go to let it all out later.
My counselling was much more to do with my problems with bonding as opposed to my anxiety, but I would certainly agree with Gourd that Cognitive Behaviour Therapy would be a way to go.

You do not have to wait for this to get better. Anxiety is awful and can really stop you enjoying life.
Maybe talk to your GP again about counselling. It will hopefully give you some coping techniques.

I had a good friend who herself had suffered from anxiety and it was really helpful when something had triggered my anxiety to call her and she would help me see that the initial event was not that bad, and that my reaction to it was the anxiety. It helped me put the anxiety in a box and ride it out rather than succumbing to it.

I still have days when I am anxious and I give my DH a call, talk about what has triggered it, then try and put it in that box. It is a part of me, but not the real me and just something I have to deal with every now and then.

If it took over my life again I would absolutely go to my GP.

Hope you feel better soon.