I have pretty bad anxiety, what helped you?

[pansyflimflam]

That's just it. I have just started cbt, just doing preliminary stuff at the mo and no magic bullet. But again this morning intrusive thoughts and anxiety and have had to get up to distract myself. I know it will not just go away, it has been years in the making and no manifests itself as worrying about my dcs/my/dh's health etc so should I be asking for a psychiatrist or can the cbt really help. Has anyone here found another method that has really helped them?

CBT worked wonders for me. It's hard work and you have to put in the effort, but it really is great. Not a magic bullet though, you need to do your homework and give it a little time.
Some people use a combo of drug therapy and CBT.
When the anxiety started this morning did you analyse it? Do you have worksheets or something like that to fill out?

No worksheets as yet no. It was one thought, that I think came out of a dream initially and then a little cascade into anxiety and having to get up. I feel like a bloody basket case to be honest. I was unable to stop the progression of it even though I knew if I was not careful it would go that way iyswim.

Like anything else you will get better at it with practice. DS has just woken up so I'll be back later :)

What helped me was getting sleep, CPAP provided that. I went to sleep I didn't realisd I was waking continually to breathe due to severe sleep apnoea. Always make sure your GP rules out a physiological cause.

Mine are stirring too........... I just want to feel better. Like I said no actual practical cbt stuff yet as have only met the man three times. Just feel very dysfunctional

MrsJREwing I do actually sleep incredibly badly and had assumed it was a mix of being a parent and anxiety but that is worth me getting checked as that had not occurred to be before now. I do know that tiredness is a really big factir in when things get bad as is illness, fundamentally when I am at a low physical ebb I am much more prone to anxiety.

Shame my GP made me more ill sending me to a psychologist rather than for a sleep study, it was picked up in a pre-op check, I was starved of oxygen too.

MrsJREwing that's horrible

pansy give it some time. CBT is very fast and very targeted but of course it does take a wee while to get started. During the first few sessions the practitioner is learning all about you so that they have an idea of who you are and where you're coming from. I found those first three sessions really stressful as it dredged up so much upsetting stuff. But before too long you will get to the practical exercises and learn what to do when the feelings come over you, and you will most probably feel more in control then.

Anxiety is a very, very common problem so don't feel too dysfunctional. So many people have it and don't do anything about it; you're working on it.

I also find that it's worse for me when I'm really tired (happens a lot with a newborn baby around , but now I have the toolkit I can cope with it, just like I know how to cope when my back problem flares up.

I agree with MrsJREwing that you should be sure to get a physical cause ruled out. A friend of mine has just been diagnosed with narcolepsy after spending literally YEARS nagging her doctor to send her for a sleep study. She just knew that something wasn't right, but the doctor kept giving her the brush-off. It may not be related but if you have sleep issues anyway then you should definitely look into it.

Thank you for your reply. Yes I will have a look into the sleeping thing, it is a real sticking point for me actually as my coping skills are much reduced with so little rest. I have 5 children so I am flat out all day so no other option but to keep going and I think this is at the expense of my health to be honest. I am really positive and looking forward to getting some ways of helping me overcome anxiety, it is so genuinely debilitating for me, really reducing the enjoyment of my life (which is lovely) and although I know it is common I do feel ashamed as I have been through terrible things in my life and got through them and now I struggle to control it. Honestly I think it may be my past catching up with me iykwim.