Aa
cold/sinus infection caused anxiety attack..fml.
I have been suffereing from anxiety attacks for about... 6 months now, and they happened just all of the sudden. I've been dealing with alot, and when I recently moved away to another state, I started having them. So, I had a cold, that has lasted forever!! I thought it went away, then I get a sore throat and lose my voice, and so of course I freaked out thinking I had tonsilitis or larengitis. Well, now my throat is fine, but when i swallow the inside of my ear hurts.. well that went away.. not my head hurts. Then I got this stupid thought in my mind, that of course I must have a brain tumor because thats just what happens when you have a headache.. Does anybody have any advice to help with my anxiety? I went to a councilor a few times, but she was way too expensive for me.
So my little pretty, when it gets too heavy to carry by yourself, PM me. When you feel yourself heading for a spiral, sometimes all you need is someone to talk to, someone who understands the anxiety and panic and can help you over THAT hurdle to get things back into perspective. Don't wait until you're under the bus. At the first sign of anxiety, get hold of me.
It IS hard sometimes. It's hard sometimes for everybody. Even the lucky ones without our "special challenges."
Did somebody screw up and tell you life would be easy?
You're not alone. I'm here.
Greenlydia
It IS hard sometimes. It's hard sometimes for everybody. Even the lucky ones without our "special challenges."
Did somebody screw up and tell you life would be easy?
You're not alone. I'm here.
Greenlydia
Thank you so so much, I've been really trying to help myself get through this. I 've been refraining from "googling" anything when I think something is wrong, because I know that throws me into a spiral. I get so frusterated with myself when I have this problem because I have so many things going through my head I almost don't know what to do with myself, and I feel so hopeless. I am trying to keep my head up and think positive, it's just so hard sometimes.
You've had two really horrific losses in your life and not that far apart. I'm very sorry about your dad and your best friend. I've lost both my parents, whom I loved dearly and it was so hard to move on without them, but if I lost my best friend of 40 years, I'm not sure I could.
Considering everything you've been trying to cope with and now toss in a move to a new state, it's no wonder you're experiencing a bit of anxiety. As you've said yourself, you haven't really had the chance to absorb your fathers death, you've probably only recently been able to move on from the death of your friend, but there is still so much grief work you have to do. And when you don't..........or can't, do that, it can manifest as anxiety, which can get, and keep, your attention by giving you brain tumors, never ending sore throats, ear pain........on and on. Please do NOT feel ridiculous for falling prey to anxiety. It makes none of us weak or stupid or self-centered. It just makes us human.
I really believe if you took the time to deal with all the grief in your life, all the changes, that your anxiety would no longer have anything to feed on and would go away. That DOES happen. I think it would for you.
Contact your local hospital. They have grief counseling classes all the time. Even if you're not the "joiner" type, just give it a try. When you can help others deal with their pain, a little of yours goes away.
I wish you the very best and feel free to PM me if you want to talk.
Take care
Nemaste
Greenlydia
Considering everything you've been trying to cope with and now toss in a move to a new state, it's no wonder you're experiencing a bit of anxiety. As you've said yourself, you haven't really had the chance to absorb your fathers death, you've probably only recently been able to move on from the death of your friend, but there is still so much grief work you have to do. And when you don't..........or can't, do that, it can manifest as anxiety, which can get, and keep, your attention by giving you brain tumors, never ending sore throats, ear pain........on and on. Please do NOT feel ridiculous for falling prey to anxiety. It makes none of us weak or stupid or self-centered. It just makes us human.
I really believe if you took the time to deal with all the grief in your life, all the changes, that your anxiety would no longer have anything to feed on and would go away. That DOES happen. I think it would for you.
Contact your local hospital. They have grief counseling classes all the time. Even if you're not the "joiner" type, just give it a try. When you can help others deal with their pain, a little of yours goes away.
I wish you the very best and feel free to PM me if you want to talk.
Take care
Nemaste
Greenlydia
Thank you so much... I'm feeling better today.And i learned my lesson on Google, I won't do that again. I know I sounded so ridiculous thinking I have all these problems, I've been trying coping methods to help me out. My father died in January suddenly, and so did my best friend in 2009. I haven't really had a chance to come to terms with my fathers death, and I know that is the reason why I have all this anxiety, and always think something horribly is wrong with me.
If your anxiety began "all of a sudden" 6 months ago, I think the trigger is obvious. You state that "I've been dealing with alot, and when I recently moved to another state, I began having them."
I don't know what all you were dealing with, but it was obviously stressful. A major move, such as to another state, even if it's something you really wanted to do, can be extremely stressful.........even traumatic.
When you moved you got a cold that has lasted "forever." I am going to blame this on stress as well. Stress can affect our immune systems far more than most people realize. You thought the cold was gone, but then came down with a sore throat and lost your voice. This was just your cold reasserting itself. Why would you "freak out" about possibly having laryngitis or tonsillitis? They are both very commom, non-fatal ailments that are easily and quickly cured with antibiotics. But your throat got better and was replaced with ear pain when you swallowed. That got better and then your head began to hurt. You figured you now had a brain tumor because, as you said, "that's just what happens when you have a headache." If THAT were true, everybody on this entire planet would have a brain tumor. What you DO have is hypochondria and some situational anxiety and they are feeding off each other.
(Have you always been hypervigilant about your health?)
My advice would normally be to see your doctor for a thorough medical check up to rule out any organic cause for all these physical symptoms and if all those tests came back negative, I would strongly suggest therapy to deal with the anxiety before you get really deep in that mental quicksand. But you say you can't afford it and that is a truth for so many people. I still advise seeing your doctor and hopefully they will be able to refer you to a therapist who works on a sliding scale or there may be a free or very low cost mental health clinic. You don't state your age, but if you've moved to another state to attend a college, go to the infrimary and they will be able to help you. You could also try calling the states Health and Welfare Department for possible leads. Don't give up, there IS help out there, sometimes it's just a bit difficult to find.
Let us know how you're doing and if you can't find help, we can come up with some other resources for you to try.
The next time you come down with a brain tumor or cancer or MS..........instead of freaking out, come here an talk to us. And do not Google your symptoms! Rule #1 around here is "NO GOOGLE!"
You'll be fine and we'll be here for you.
Peace
Greenlydia
I don't know what all you were dealing with, but it was obviously stressful. A major move, such as to another state, even if it's something you really wanted to do, can be extremely stressful.........even traumatic.
When you moved you got a cold that has lasted "forever." I am going to blame this on stress as well. Stress can affect our immune systems far more than most people realize. You thought the cold was gone, but then came down with a sore throat and lost your voice. This was just your cold reasserting itself. Why would you "freak out" about possibly having laryngitis or tonsillitis? They are both very commom, non-fatal ailments that are easily and quickly cured with antibiotics. But your throat got better and was replaced with ear pain when you swallowed. That got better and then your head began to hurt. You figured you now had a brain tumor because, as you said, "that's just what happens when you have a headache." If THAT were true, everybody on this entire planet would have a brain tumor. What you DO have is hypochondria and some situational anxiety and they are feeding off each other.
(Have you always been hypervigilant about your health?)
My advice would normally be to see your doctor for a thorough medical check up to rule out any organic cause for all these physical symptoms and if all those tests came back negative, I would strongly suggest therapy to deal with the anxiety before you get really deep in that mental quicksand. But you say you can't afford it and that is a truth for so many people. I still advise seeing your doctor and hopefully they will be able to refer you to a therapist who works on a sliding scale or there may be a free or very low cost mental health clinic. You don't state your age, but if you've moved to another state to attend a college, go to the infrimary and they will be able to help you. You could also try calling the states Health and Welfare Department for possible leads. Don't give up, there IS help out there, sometimes it's just a bit difficult to find.
Let us know how you're doing and if you can't find help, we can come up with some other resources for you to try.
The next time you come down with a brain tumor or cancer or MS..........instead of freaking out, come here an talk to us. And do not Google your symptoms! Rule #1 around here is "NO GOOGLE!"
You'll be fine and we'll be here for you.
Peace
Greenlydia
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