maybe it's just me

[worryhead]

I am so fed up of myself at the moment, all i do is worry worry worry. I don't think i am depressed but the fact that i am always over worrying about things is getting me down. My dp works away some weeks but it is only for ONE over night shift, i spend all my time wondering when he is going to tell me that tomorrow is the night he's away because i hate it. I am scared that my dd is going to be ill on that night, i don't think i am confident about my own judgement but really i know much more than my dp and probably more than most due to all the reading on things that i do. My dd does get poorly very frequently but for example if i was to discover she had a temperature i would be unable to think of much else and be EXTREMELY concerned. I turn things over in my mind too much and get in a state of panick/worry. I don't know what to do, i am sick of myself. Does anyone else worry themselves stupid?

Could you not try and make that one night 'your' night - choose a nice video, have a nice soak in the bath etc. make sure you have something in the freezer for these nights so you don't have to cook, don't do housework or anything else apart from essentials. You may come to look forward to these evenings. Make sure you have things in the house in case dd is poorly, calpol, cough mixture etc. Is there a neighbour you could confide in who you could call if necessary.
It seems that it is mainly dd's health and how you would cope with anything serious if you were alone that you worry about - is there any reason for this? Do you drive? If not (could you learn) you may feel that you are cut off when your dp is away. Could you do a First Aid course to increase your confidence in your ability to cope with illness?

worryhead, you dound like my twin ! all I ever do is worry, that I will die, or my daughter will be abducted or hubby will die, or that one of us has cancer...., that my friends don't really like me - irrational fears plague me all the time. All you can do is keep remembering that they are very unlikely to be true. I also overreact at times of crisis or drama, it's hard not to sometimes. Just keep remembering that statistcally the things you fear may happen probably won't.

While I had really bad PND, I did worry about everything, head ache was a tumor, chest pains were a sign of heart failure, DH 2 minutes late, meant he had been in a car accident and I was going to be a widow.

Now I am much better I do not worry about everything, but to some degree I still worry more than most. Nothing constructive to add, just that you are not the only one.

I think excess worrying is the curse of being a parent!!!

worryhead, you are definitely not alone...this article in the Observer is about
\linkwww.observer.co.uk/life/story/0,6903,573498,00.html\general anxiety disorder{}

oops

Donnie, have you ever considered your worrying to be a problem or do you just accept it's the way you are? I am even worrying about worrying aren't i! Do you have trouble leaving your children for a night out? I have almost stopped going out(unless dp is staying in) because i worry that the babysitter might not notice that my dd is unwell or something. I read the article about g a d and have read other stuff aswell on gad and it sounds just like me but i don't know what to do. I will not take antidepressants. I wondered about hypnotherapy??

hypnosis might help worryhead, and I think lots of people benefit from cognitive behavioural therapy (addressing negative thoughts in a controlled way, building strategies to cope with them and constructing more positive modes of thought) which your GP would be able to refer you for, but there'll probably be a bit of a wait. I used to do yoga and found it incredibly beneficial, both physically & mentally

worryhead I have just finished reading a quite incredible book called "Stop thinking and start living by Richard Carlson. It is available on www.amazon.co.uk where you can also read several reviews.It is easy to read and well written.
I have read a great many self help books over the years and this one was SO helpful. Please invest the £6.99 or whatever it cost! I bought my copy from my local bookshop. I have since sent my worrying sister a copy via amazon.
Good luck.