Finally found the med that actually works, scared of what i'll do without it, should it stop working

RD,

Even after we have found some recovery, and start making progress...anxiety can leave its scars...in the form of deep, remaining doubts and what-ifs worries.

We are almost afraid to feel hope...because we know that we don't want to slip back.

This is a normal/common experience...however this is not to say that we will always live in this shadow...

...there is just some more work to be done. With continued effort and time, these feelings will fade!

Practice staying in the moment through Mindful Meditation, and really use your Positive Mantras/Affirmations.

Find information on both these tools in our Resources.

Peace and progress,

S.C.

Hi Rav
I also found some good positive affirmations on a website. They are spoken which you repeat they are good x
Hope your mojo comes back soon 😊

I try to live in the now. The future will come and when that time comes, just keep telling yourself you can handle what comes your way.

Life is really too short and full of wonder, to worry about something that might never happen.

Definitely live moment to moment and pause for 20 to 30 seconds every time you feel joy (pretty clouds overhead, how the wind hits your skin on a nice spring day, enjoying a nice gulp of water, etc). I think you'll find that doing this will establish a much more positive and happy overall mood that after a while it will be just who you are.

I read a book that said our minds are hardwired to attend to negative things in order to survive, but naturally we don't pay attention to the positive things, so we have to consciously dwell on them, at least at first. Over time it becomes more routine and we literally train our brain to be more positive.

And on the small things you notice, the big one for me when Lexapro started working really well was in the evening when the sun was slowly approaching the horizon. Everything was so bright! I don't mean blinding bright where I had to squint, just really salient and happy feeling.

We get so used to feeling badly that when it lifts, you are overwhelmed and it's a bit much, but yes such a great feeling too!

Good luck, ravdeep!

You're going through a big change right now and that's always scary. But it's also pretty amazing. Taking steps to deal with your anxiety is really positive.

Lately I've been freaking myself out a little by reading things online about people who find that their meds stop working for them. Being in the early phases of a med that (fingers crossed) is starting to help my anxiety, that's pretty scary for me. So I've been trying to remind myself that people mostly post when things are not going well for them, because that's when we need to reach out for support. But there are lots of stories out there we don't hear, of people taking meds that do keep working for them, or they run into some challenges but make changes to get back on track again and continue to improve. I guess those stories aren't as easy to find, because people don't need advice or support so they don't write in. They're just living their lives.

I find it hard to do, but I try to focus on today and tell myself that if something does change, I can make a different decision tomorrow, I can work with my docs to find a solution and that may not even require a major change. But if I made one, no, two major changes already (ie asking for help in the first place and starting a med that does help) I'll be able to handle some adjustments tomorrow, if I need to. I wouldn't have believed I could ask for help or start a med a few years ago, but I did. And so did you. So did you. I hope your med continues to work for you and things get better.

Also can I just say, you're a really good writer! The way you described that process of emotions makes a lot of sense to me. I think you have a deep insight into anxiety and how it can impact on our lives.