General anxiety (from life stresses) better, but not gone

Kinda long first (maybe?) post, dont remember.

Hey there, i'm from the lyme forum,so not new to Healing Well(lots of posts), but seem to be cured of lyme after many years. That messes up your entire body. Many lymies have anx and dep which get better as the lyme gets better. You really end up learning way more about the entire body than you ever thought possible. It also causes autoimmune issues in some people (myself), so complete healthfullness might never be a part of ones life again. As a specialized ex pro level athlete in the past (I worked my way up and is wasn't a team sport, so not rich or famous !..LOL), this was/is especially hard on me and changed my future forever. But I am alive and can do some things (and recover) that I could not do without pain for quite sometime.

Life is now, currently better and for the most part, worth getting out of bed........it wasnt before when ill for years. Now in my early 50's, I have already out lived some people in my life, so, yea, being above ground is good, but still not easy to deal with. Lingering autoimmune issues does still have an affect on my life and job choices, but less than the near past. That said, autoimmune seldom gets better...thus the name of it. Its managed at best.

BUT.....This co$t a lot of time and money and of course, some life dreams. So I'm trying to make up for it and getting burned out in the process. I had to put many things off, never got a good career (many dont anymore anyway), home repairs added up ect. I have a hi-tech "job" and then I have self side job on the side which I like but have little time for. I try to live as simple as possible with a simple home / basic purchases, basic cars ect. but life and work still stress me out and I get more anxiety. I had no anxiety as a kid, I want that feeling again but feel its impossible as an adult with responsibilities like work and cost of living. When I competed, I was a vary fine tuned machine that could put everything aside and hone in on the prize, but thats what all good athletes can do. When not competing, most are regular people, human.

My remaining anxiety comes down to To many bills, (and repair $urprizes), not enough time, and still some mysterious health issues. Health anxiety is hard to not think about. It comes down to stress. I feel like I stress over things I shouldn't- that are part of adult life. I seem to need more "time out" than most people, being introverted is part of that too. Probably not to rare (?). But if this is common, we as a society are not doing so well.

I think my brain chemicals are pretty well balanced vs when it was out of wack from lyme. I did try...Zoloft? back then..made me a boring emotionaless zombie, my sense of humor was gone and I was not any better, prob cause of the lyme.

Im pretty well versed in adrenal support health and adapogenic herbs that can make stress easier, but this seems never ending.

If I won the lottery, I would live a simple life with work freedom, vs these people who spend it all and go to jail or die from all the partyinging and huge purchases. .

A year off of everything is prob what the Dr would order, but thats not possible.

Taking a regular under two week vacation fixes nothing, as you come back home and go back to the daily grind.

I know some people just sell everything and start over- but thats just taking a chance, not really a good one either.....seems like that is the same as running away. I like and aim for stability.

Ive know people that dont do well with societies/lifes pressures, they dont fit in to well and either deal with it by alcohol or pot. Some drunks Ive known are now dead, and the stoners I knew, well, some are still stoned all the time, the others cleaned up there act 100%. Purposely "Bluring" reality is not a permanent solution for me, not going there, thats not how I do things.

Guess if this site had a stress forum I'd post it there. Notice I didnt ask any direct questions on how to fix this, as I bet some here are worse, but yea, Id like to fix this for good.

Ran out of ideas. So Im open to hearing some new ones. If the lottery had more winners, I'd try, but so would everyone else.

Post Edited (astroman) : 9/7/2019 3:53:06 PM (GMT-6)

Hi AM and welcome to the A/P!

I am sorry to hear of the past struggles you have had with your health...and the understandable anxiety that it has left in its wake. It is not unusual for an illness to be the catalyst for anxiety...especially if it was a preexisting sort of issue waiting for a trigger of sorts.

The good news is that you have come very far in your journey, but wanting to feel your absolute best is of course the goal...so I am glad you are not complacent with how things are at this point...and are looking for more answers.

Stress in and of itself is a normal human condition, and not always a negative thing. It keeps us sharp and motivated. It ensures we do what needs to be done, and is part of a healthy and necessary state of being. However, when it gets to the point where it affects our quality of life, or we can no longer function because it has reached toxic levels, then of course, it is time to seek help.

You mentioned being on medication, but not having a very good experience, so not wanting to go down that path again is understandable. Have you tried the other two most reliable treatment options, therapy and self help? If not, I can't urge you enough to do so.

You can find the latter at the top of our forum page in our Resources. There is lot of great material to be found there, so do have a look...

...and talk to your doctor about the therapy option. Working with a mental health specialist could help give you the tools to help manage your stress.

Keep posting with us as well if you find it helpful. We understand, care and support is key!

Scaredy Cat