Annoying thoughts

Since my anxiety started I have been alternating between good days or weeks and bad days or weeks. When the bad days come they’re usually followed by extreme insomnia which only intensifies the whole problem. It’s so easy to forget the good days and feel hopeless those days. When I’m going through the bad days I usually get two particularly annoying thoughts that are very persistent in my head and unhelpful.

The first idea that keeps appearing in my head when I’m feeling anxious for days is: “This is it, I’m going to feel this anxious for the rest of my life. I’m doomed”. So far the anxiousness has always disappeared and the good days arrive until the next time.

The second annoying thought I get is that when I’m having difficulty sleeping and in some cases am not able to sleep for a whole night I start thinking: “This is it, I’m never going to be able to sleep again. I will be tortured until my body gives up and I die from lack of sleep”.

What I want to ask you guys is whether these thoughts aren’t entirely unreasonable. Is it possible for someone who suffers from anxiety to be stuck in a never-ending panic or anxious-state? Also, aside from super rare things like fatal familial insomnia, is it even possible for people with anxiety or insomnia to never to be able to fall asleep again? I know that once I had to go to the hospital after not being able to sleep for a few days and the injected me with something to calm my system down. I've never heard of someone dying because their body simply wouldn't let them sleep.

Hello HelpNeeder,

Welcome to the forum!

What you are experiencing is an anxiety symptom which is referred to as unwanted and repetitive thoughts. Some also refer to it as obsessions or obsessional thinking.

When you experience this, you can try changing the thought. Think about something positive. Instead of saying “This is it, I’m going to feel this anxious for the rest of my life. I’m doomed”, try saying, "This is temporary, this will pass in a few seconds and I will feel better.

Substitute, This is it, I’m never going to be able to sleep again. I will be tortured until my body gives up and I die from lack of sleep”, with "I will fall asleep soon", which you practice deep breathing to help slow things down.

UA