Anxiety and overthinking

[Ot2010]

Hi everyone,
Struggling with major anxiety at the moment and overthinking.
I feel really unhappy and mentally drained.
I meant to be going away on holiday's Tuesday I don't know how I'm going to cope a week abroad feeling like this.
Any tips?
Thanks

That sounds so hard. What’s the fear underneath your worries?

In the past, when you’ve gone on holiday, have you felt more anxious but then felt better when you’ve got there?

I can't get to the bottom of it i just feel really over stimulated and can't relax. Im also hating the fact im going to be out of my comfort zone for a week.😞

Ground your self. Loads of videos on you tube showing you how to do this.

Feel the the energy from the energy in your body and allow it to pass, breathing work, try mediation. Go outside barefoot and breath through it, go for a walk, go for a swim, there is lots of things that you can do instantly to try and deal with the immediate feelings of it.

Doing the work is an excellent book for dealing with anxiety

Yes sort of although overthinking got me feeling like I'm not going to enjoy this holiday and not going to be able to relax. Aww it's so hard suffering with mental health! 😢

The problem with anxiety is that it steals the enjoyment of today worrying about things that have not even happened.

Of I catch my self over thinking or my internal voice is talking shit about myself I can now stop and move my thoughts else where.

My anxiety now mostly exists in physical form - energy like a train running through my body so I do grounding every morning and put things in place to deal with that ( suggested above)

Try and come out of your head and look at it differently.

Agree with the grounding advice above to manage it in the moment.
Can you talk more about what’s difficult about being in a new/ unfamiliar place?

Just being out of routine, Struggling to relax and feeling like I'm going to vomit 24/7. I'm led in bed typing this and feeling so wound up my body is literally like pins and needles.

So is part of the worry that you’ll feel anxious when you’re there?

what is the fear of being out of routine? What will happen?

the pins and needles may shift with movement sounds like there’s so many alarms going off in your body right now that movement may really help to release some of the stress. Start jumps, running on the spot, stretching, anything you fancy!

Yes that I will feel anxious when I'm there and that I wont know how to cope with it and the fear of loosing control. I'm stuck in my head at the moment I acknowledge that but doesnt make it any easier for me.

@Ot2010 I'm sorry anxiety is making you feel this way. I've been there in the past and it's really tough. It controlled my life, still does sometimes. I used to get incredibly anxious before a holiday, but tended to be ok once I got there. Hopefully the same for you!

A few things I use from CBT which might help (sorry if you know all this but these are the quick wins I remember in the moment which helps)

Is the worry real or hypothetical? ( Google the worry tree). If it's hypothetical, challenge your thoughts and tell it so. It's making up what could happen, it's not worth your energy (and overthinking is draining so one less worry is fab). If it's real, can I fix it quickly, yes, then fix it. If no, park it until later and allocate some time to worry/ fix it.

Breathing - in for 4 through your nose, out for 6 from your mouth. Very grounding. Think about your body too, what feels tense, are you hot/cold, what does the seat/bed feel like, unclench your jaw, drop your shoulders.

Or the breathing square is good if you're panicked. Find a square - TV, window. Breathe in for the top, hold for the side, out for the bottom, hold for the side, repeat.

These are the things I can do when my anxiety is really bad as they're quick wins and simple.

I hope you get to enjoy your holiday, you deserve a break :)

Also just to add I get fed up with people asking me what's triggered my depression/ anxiety as sometimes it's not that simple. I think lots of little things/ general stresses can make it build up without you noticing and then boom, you erupt like a volcano. For me there's no one underlying factor.

Get up out of bed and go and stand outside. That at least will shift the ‘frozen fear’

When you get outside say out loud what you can see

Bird on a roof
Houses
clouds in the sky
Plane trails in the sky

and keep going ..

This is a very simple but effective way of pressing the pause button in your head and shifting your thoughts and being in the moment

Another good one is single words of how your feeling - do this outside too.

Get all the negative words out of your head - scared, anxious, tired, stuck, nervous ect.., eventually those words will become lighter and more grounded, I always end up
emptying my head and more positive words come to the surface.

There are quick ways to shift your mind you just have to do it

I am suffering from this at the moment . I have a book which talks about cbt and mentioned either distraction technique so having an image that makes you feel happy and relaxed to think about when worrying . Or the other tactic is to work through the problem you are worrying about and what’s the worst that will happen and how you will deal with that .
I prefer the distraction technique and has worked a bit for me .
I hope you manage to find a way to enjoy your holiday . The constant anxiety is exhausting .

Thank you. I think its the unknown aswell that I'm struggling with.
I've sat out in garden doing some deep breaths and grounding activities. The overthinking is still creeping in. I'm going to keep trying. 🤞

Thank you for your advice.
I've tried some of those things.
I will keep trying.

How are you getting on? I go on holiday in a-few days and am exactly the same! It is awful when you spend so much in the hope of a fun and relaxing time but end up being even more stressed and anxious! Hopefully some of the suggestions have helped you x

Same here OP, we go in a few days and I can't stop crying. I'm so anxious about going, and being away from my routine. I've had a few health niggles lately and whilst much improved I'm worried about setting it all off again. Plus I get so anxious about everything that could go wrong....and my period is due....and I get migraines ......so on and so on. I don't want to disappoint everyone and ruin things.

Two excellent books for you OP:

Paul McKenna's most recent book on anxiety (get the audio - he has a very soothing voice)
Dale Carnegie "how to stop worrying and start living"- its a bit old fashioned but the practical advice in it is amazing

How is everyone getting on? I am on holiday now and majorly struggling 😔

I was anxious at the airport going but as soon as I was there I was fine. Its the build up that I thinks worse for me. I'm back now and had a lush time. I hope you find some comfort soon. Xx

I too recently have become quite anxious I have been following Mel Robbins online and listening to a few podcasts - something that struck a cord with me is that when we sit around not doing much it fuels the overthinking and anxiety - the best thing you can do is move - do housework put on music but start moving when you are doing something physical it decreases the ability to sit and overthink - try it, also exercise really helps clear the mind - listening to upbeat music can really improve your mood too. I've spent years worrying about silly little things - it achieves nothing and changes nothing and almost becomes a habit like if i don't worry about it it won't happen get out there and enjoy yourself life is really too short i heard a podcast the other day and someone said people always say what would you do if you had 6 months to live - whatever it is you should be doing it now x