jonathan123

Yup, I am afraid that is the case. But it has to be in the mind first for it to become a reality even if an imaginary one. See your doctor, even though you may not want to go. It will give you some degree of reassurance. Anxiety can mimic any known disease and even some unknown ones!! Look up the 100 symptoms of anxiety and you will see what I mean. Once again that word comes up, 'Struggling'. Fighting, struggling trying to get rid of 'IT' are all counter productive. They exacerbate the anxiety. The secret still lies in absolute acceptance. Do not judge yourself. It's not your fault you feel as you do. Not easy? Of course it's not, but what is in anxiety?

Yes indeed. Welcome. It's so good you are in therapy and it's interesting to note that it's art and talk. Carl Jung, that great psychologist of the last century, used art a lot in his work. I have suggested this to many sufferers. Art is a means of expressing one's feelings and emotions and getting them out and on to paper or canvas. Winston Churchill said during the last war that without his painting he could not have carried on. It can be any form of art, not just painting. Best Wishes.

Absolutely right. A good insight. It's amazing what gems of insights come from anxious people. But we have to remember that some of the most famous classical authors suffered from anxiety and depression. Even Winston Churchill had his 'Black dog' that came and sat at his feet at times. But the word love, so misunderstood, comes up in your post. That, to me is what it's all about. In loving one another we must also love ourselves. 'Love thy neighbour as thyself' It's the 'as thyself' that's important. If you can't do that how can you love another? That is not narcissistic love but a sense of self worth, self esteem. Thanks for that!!

Hi. Cog13. Ironman talks of focus. Imagine yourself as a telescope. You focus on the object you want see to the exclusion of all else around you. But focussing in this way blocks any possible help. You have a mindset of pain and imagination. Leave the telescope and look around you at reality. ALL the symptoms you have can be caused by anxiety, Oh yes, I know, supposing IF!! Doubt and Despair are anxiety's companions. We can't ignore them but we can accept them as part of anxiety. By accepting and not fighting we begin to calm ourselves. There are many blogs and messages under 'blogs' on this site. If you have not done so read them. It may give you an insight as to how others have coped.

Hi. WW. Although as man I have no concept of what it's like to have periods, thank God. I can maybe say something from my experience with patients. The menstrual cycle can be very upset by anxiety. It seems that some women stop having periods while for some it becomes erratic and heavy, . At 35 you should be nowhere near the menopause. Once your anxiety dies down things will return to normal. Being constantly stressed can affect every part of our body. Try not to make a big thing of it. It's normal in the circumstances. In some women it can be a very emotional time. If emotions run riot then it just adds to the anxiety. Once again we come back to ACCEPTANCE.

Hi There. FfF. Welcome to AC. 'Where to start' the million dollar question! First of all I will recommend a book by Dr. Claire Weekes, sadly no longer with us. She was regarded by many as a pioneer in the treatment of panic attacks and anxiety, Available from Amazon. 'Essential help for your Nerves'. It's a compilation of all her books first published in the 1980's. It became my Bible in the early days. She also made many recordings. The first thing to realise that any medication will not 'cure' anxiety, but it can give relief from the symptoms. The second thing is it will take time. Letting time pass and having patience is not easy for the anxious person. I have no 'magic wand', neither has anyone. I have always believed that anxiety has it's roots in the past. Childhood experiences etc. But present problems like bereavement or a job loss and suchlike can trigger it off. There is always HOPE! Keep that firmly fixed in you mind. You are doing the right thing in going for counselling. In my view as an ex counsellor there is no better way out of anxiety. But you have to trust your counsellor, and that is essential. You also need to open up fully. Now this again will take time, one session will only prepare the way for the journey you are on. Anxiety can be life changing. Some emerge from it much better people than before. And it is long journey and can be a bumpy ride. But with perseverance and the will to get better it can work. NEVER give up on yourself however tempting it may be. Everyone on this site knows the pain of anxiety, so you are in good company. Be kind to yourself. No self criticism or doubts. No one brings this on deliberately, although with some people it is prolonged by having false advice. Keep well away from Dr. Google. You will be led up manty dark alleys if you go there. Very Best Wishes.

Yes, April, but you are dwelling on it. If you did not have any effects when you were 12 why would you have them now? When we are in an anxiety state reason and logic fly out of the window! But the facts still remain in spite of that. And the fact is that nothing will harm you unless you believe it will. That is what anxiety is all about. The mind!! Chase these foreboding thoughts out of your mind. They are bluffing and fooling you into a false belief.

Hi. Thrufaith. You are terrified! When a soldier goes into battle he too may be terrified or at the least afraid. The adrenaline begins to flow and he goes forward irrespective of how he feels. When the battle is over he calms down and reverts to normal. We sufferers don't do that. When we are fearful we add fuel to the fire by going on feeling anxious and afraid. The viscous circle begins. Fear/anxiety/symptoms/fear!! You are obviously at a very low ebb. Your emotions have taken control and you are so upset and hardly know what to do. I do know, been there!! Your PCR result was negative and so will your covid one be. If you had it you would have more symptoms than you have now. Try, I say try, because it's not easy, but just try to accept what comes without reacting to it. I have just posted another message about this very thing. Reaction to how you feel comes from a tired mind, which is not helped by all you have to do in your life and profession. It's OK for your husband to say relax, but he is not you and may have no idea of the pain of anxiety. Relaxing is damned nigh impossible, but you can accept what comes without reacting, and accepting it all.

Hi. Ironman. How long is a piece of string? It varies so much from person to person and how we react to it. When we get about of anxiety, for whatever reason, it's so important that we don't react. Now this is not easy, and i would not suggest for one moment it is. Reaction is not action! Taking the right steps at the right time is important. When we feel anxiety coming on or a panic attack, let it come. Oh YEAH!!!!! you may say. Yes I do because when you panic or react to it in a negative way it just increases the adrenaline and prolongs the attack This can only be accomplished by the practice of acceptance. When it comes see it for what it is, a reaction to some event or even a tired mind. We sufferers are so easily bluffed and fooled into false beliefs about ourselves, and that in turn affects our self confidence. Hours or even days of an anxiety surge can pull us down again if we let it. Any good ground we may have made is lost if we don't accept what is happening.

Once again it's a chicken and egg situation. Is the jab causing my symptoms or have I worked myself up and the symptoms are anxiety? We all know that anxiety can mimic any disease once it's in the mind. I had both jabs with no side effects at all, and so have many. The chance of any side effects is minimal, unless we think ourselves into it!! The benefits far outweigh the remote possibility of getting any negative response. We, in the West, should be thankful that all the hard work by the drug l companies has paid off. So many in the world do not have the chance to get vaccinated.

Yes Ironman. I would suggest that after fifty scans you would be well spaced out!!!!!🤣🤣 But only having one is no cause for alarm.

And purely as a matter of interest, did you know your luminous watch gives off harmful rays, as do luminous clocks. I hope this puts it all in perspective.

Hi April. Your doctor did not inform you of the risks because they are minimal. Life is a risk. When we cross the street it's a risk. When we take any medication it's a risk. You did nothing wrong because you followed your doctor's advice. You are beating yourself up unnecessarily. One test with a CT scan is going to make no difference to you. When X-rays came in everyone was afraid the rays would cause harm. Nowadays millions of X-rays are done daily. Actually, and this is a fact, there are more harmful rays from the sun that any form of medical treatment. From the ultra violet to the infra red the rays are all harmful if we have too much of them. We all know the results of laying in the sun with no protection. But if we concerned ourselves with this and became anxious, we would only go out on cloudy days!!! Which would make no difference because the harmful rays can penetrate cloud. Nature has given us protection if we are sensible. You say no one seems sure about the effects of CT scans. They do you know, and many medics have given reassurance to many people. You are obviously a sensible person, so just keep to your regular routine.

Hi. jdgate. Your dad sounds a real Job's comforter. He needs to stop being so negative. AriaRen who only posted two lines, made more sense than your dad. I also feel you are coming to the end of it and you will have gained some natural immunity by having it. If you take notice of Facebook then you will be in trouble. Why oh why are people so negative? OK, so covid is not good at all, but we have to keep things in perspective. People die of covid, or so they say on the death certificate, but you will find most of them had some underlying illness that they would have died from anyway. Be sensible, obey the rules and I am sure you will be fine.