DH has anxiety, how to support him?

[shelldockley]

DH has suffered with anxiety his whole life, but as many do I'm sure, he just puts up with it, he rarely goes to the doctor, doesn't like taking pills, even herbal ones and he tries to make light of it. His colleages wouln't guess it about him, he is a really happy jolly fellow, his friends and family know though.

He's going through a period at the moment of health anxiety, he had a muscle injury and he told himself it was cancer, he then starts feeling aches everywhere and he's really worried. He has been to the doc about the muscle injury, and it is just a muscle injury according to GP. So how do we know if he's just imagining all these other symtoms?

He is finding it worst at night, because that is when all the fears creep in, does anyone have any tips on how to get to sleep? We have a Paul McKenna CD that helps, but can anyone recommend any other CDs or anything? He does take Kalms when I make him sometimes.

I perhaps didn't write what I meant to write when I put the title! I wondered if there are any other partners out there, who have any tips on how to help? I am supportive, but sometimes, like when this has been going on now for a few weeks, I feel despair that he will ever 'get better.' How do you keep positive, when they are so negative? Feeling a bit down about it all at the moment.

I just came across your thread whilst thinking about posting a similar one. My dh also suffers anxiety. He has taken every herbal remedy out there but has been really bad recently and is currently waiting for a clinical psychologist appointment. He was prescribed an ssri but is weaning back off it as he feels out of control and it isn't taking away the anxiety, just creating more as he worries about the side effects. So I have no advice but bags of sympathy. Sometimes I feel that I can be really supportive and understanding but at others I'm really quite resentful. I feel like I'm propping our family up and that I'm not allowed to be down or in a bad mood because it'll make him worse. Today, what I really want to do is tell him to bloody well pull himself together. Never would of course, but I want to scream sometimes with the frustration. I suppose my only advice would be to go easy on him because what he has is an illness like any other but in practice that's easier said than done.