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Posted 5/3/2011 7:06 AM (GMT 0)
I feel fine all the time, but last night while talking to my friends regarding our officemate who got crazy (psychosis) , i feel that might happen to me also because i had anxiety disorder. I feel scared and anxious that i might end like that. Also i am very much alert what im doing , because i dont know if it is normal anymore or i might do foolishness in public without knowing it.. any suggestion?thnx
Posted 5/3/2011 8:22 AM (GMT 0)
It has been about 30 years since I went through my own struggles with panic attacks and anxiety............There were times when I thought I was going to go crazy but I assure you we are very, very sane. One of the issues I had to learn to deal with was how aware I was of every negative or scary thought - I was also on high alert. I found that with the anxiety I was becoming more and more introspective and didn't feel in touch with the rest of the world. I would fight against those feelings and thoughts and that just made it worse. I learned how not to "stoke the fire" - to let those scary thoughts come but not to give them too much importance. That of course took lots of practice but over time the less attention I paid to those thoughts the less of a hold they had on me. And even now 30 years later when I have the occasional twinge of panic or anxiety it takes me a few minutes to remember not to feed it but to let it come and let it pass through me.
Posted 5/3/2011 1:42 PM (GMT 0)
Good Morning,

You are not crazy or mad ! It feels to me like talking about your office mate triggered you anxiety attack.  You were most likely experiencing anticipatory anxiety.

Anticipatory anxiety is where a person experiences increased levels of anxiety by thinking about an event or situation in the future. The worries you experience specifically focus on what you think might happen, often with catastrophic predictions about the event.

To begin treating anticipatory anxiety, we must be able to admit that we cannot predict the future. Any scenario we are able to imagine is nothing more than speculation and fabrication.

This is one type of anxiety I get stuck in often, worrying about the "what ifs ?" Try to stay in the moment and do not worry about yesterday or predict the future. 

Remember you are ok and keep moving forward one step at a time.

I am glad you feel comfortable sharing your problems with all of us. We support you.

Kindly,

Kitt
Posted 5/4/2011 12:32 AM (GMT 0)
yes its true guys, fighting those thought makes it worse, its better to welcome it and let it go... but really its hard to practice it.. today, everytime i remember those crazy persons i encountered, i feel nervous, everytime i saw insane people, i feel nervous that i might end like them.. but i will put everything now to GOD. what ever will be, will be.. keep the faith... thanks guys!
Posted 5/4/2011 3:08 AM (GMT 0)
Don't get on the anxiety train! Don't panic that you'll go crazy because if you were going to, you already would have. (I get told this REPEATEDLY and find it hard to believe myself, but it's true)

You would have to have so many symptoms associated with psychosis to actually have it.

At times I wonder if I still have it.

I looked at a cloud and thought "it's a spaceship", then I started freaking out that I might have actually thought it was a spaceship because my anxiety was already on high alert all day that I was going crazy, then I just calmed myself down and reminded myself that... I name everything before I think it through in my mind... getting off on a tangeant here, but relateable I guess.

And the number one thing I highly recommend is DO NOT GOOGLE YOUR SYMPTOMS. DO NOT GOOGLE MENTAL ILLNESS SYMPTOMS. It will drive you crazy because you will become convinced you have every mental illness. I've gone from thinking I have bipolar to schizophrenia to psychosis. But like my shrink in PHP (partial hospital program) told me, I'm not crazy, I'm just EXTREMELY anxious.

We're an anxious bunch! HUGS

And breathe.

TG~
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