To ask how you cope with anxiety

[Foamybanana93]

Really struggling tonight, have a open sore on my foot due to contact dermatitis, leg has swollen up and keep having cramps in the swollen leg, I have anxiety best of times but tonight I’ve scared myself into thinking I have a blood clot and can’t seem to calm myself down to go to sleep even though I’m exhausted.

Has anyone got any good tips they use to help with their anxiety ? It sounds ridiculous but I’m scared if I go to sleep and something is wrong I won’t know and won’t wake up again

Propranolol.

That's how I manage, it honestly saved me. Anxiety is awful, I'd recommend seeing your GP.

Might be a good idea to go to A&E just to get it checked. You're not going to sleep anyway, are you? I've had a DVT myself, and it's not pleasant and can be dangerous. You're probably fine, but best to be sure.

Distraction. So read a bit , watch a little tv, phone someone for a chat, go make a drink, read some Mumsnet.
Anxiety is crippling. I hope your leg is better soon.

Anxiety can be crippling at times. Had the swelling happened suddenly? Has the open sore been treated etc? Does your swollen leg seem hot to touch?

Would calling 111 help? Even just to put your mind at ease for them to tell you all is normal?

Deep breathing and distraction. However I’d call 111 to ask them for their thoughts on the leg

My foot is normally a little bit swollen all the time anyway but it has got a little worse over the last week with the sore, i went to walk in on Xmas eve as thought sore was infected they just said to leave it alone and that was it, think I’m going to give 111 a ring hopefully put my mind at rest.

I suffer from anxiety, and sometimes health anxiety like you have described. It’s horrible. I’d ring 111 to put your mind at ease. If you’re suffering regularly it might be worth going to the GP. I take quite a high dose of citalopram and it seems to keep most of my anxious thoughts at bay.

I wish I knew. Mine has been in overdrive this Christmas. I think the busier I am then I don't have time to overthink and worry but when I have time on my hands the anxiety just gets worse. I have had a couple of major incidents happen this year with my sons this year and it all seems to be affecting me again at the moment. One had a car accident and now I am terribly anxious whenever that son goes out in his car and the other witnessed a friend mon down and killed by a speeding car and I just find myself worrying irrationally whenever they go out. It's horrible.

I would also get your leg checked out asap.

I write out the alternative explanations for my feelings, but this is tricky to do with health anxiety because you can't Google anything without making it worse. I'd ring 111 to talk to someone rather than fret.

It's not irrational to worry about a swollen leg. It might be nothing but it shouldn't be ignored. Call 111 to be on the safe side.

i would get it checked, your anxiety is different to what sounds like a physical condition. Could it be celulitus, as you do have an open sore. It sounds like you need antibiotics, get it checked as deep tissue infections can take a time to sort out.
As for anxiety it takes a great GP and a lot of time to sort through slowly but surely. I've been there and have the T shirt! sort one thing at a time, first being your open sore, please get some medical advice, all the best hope you feel better soon.

Oh OP I feel your pain! I've lost count of the number of imaginary diseases I've had - blood clots included it really is awful. I have real trouble working through health anxiety in particular (which is one of the main ways that my anxiety manifests since I learned to control panic attacks through a course I found which basically tries to teach you to rationalise what's happening as it happens - not totally effective but does seem to calm me down a bit now days). You could go to A+E - that would help this time, but it won't be a long term solution to the anxiety which is the real problem. I'd speak to your GP (although mine was absolutely uselessz refused to give me any medication because he said "you seem like the type of person who'd become dependent on the medication" - yeah because it's a long term problem which I keep coming to you with and you refuse to help me, so of course I seem like a bit of a mess! He told me to lie on the floor and take deep breaths when I have an anxiety attack (great for when it happens in public 🙄) and wouldn't help me anymore). But hopefully your GP is less of a shit! If not there are lots of free online resources to try and help you work through anxiety, try them - I did and it did a fairly good job after lots of effort.

Hope all is well OP, hope you managed to get some sleep x

Thanks for the advice everyone, sat in a&e at the moment after speaking to 111 so fingers crossed if there is something wrong they can fix it 🤞🏽

Hope you're getting on okay, you're in the best place

I don't at the moment because I'm pregnant. Normally I'm on Citalopram and propranolol which both work a treat. Also tried hypnotherapy which works very well but does wear off to some extent of you don't keep it up.

But I agree with others that you weren't being unreasonable at all to worry about your leg.

Hope you're seen soon x

Propanalol. Stops the physical symptoms of anxiety without side effects, I had a really bad experience with citalopram so wanted to avoid AD’s.

Mindfulness (Headspace and Calm apps) and yoga also helped, just starting CBT but honestly, propanalol saved me.