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[rebel2]

The usual story...  Bad year overall in terms of stress/worry - financial blow/house on market/several house offers falling through/delayed move/issues with eldest son...   Equals several really bad bouts of anxiety that culminated in severe worries over stomach issues [trapped wind, stomach gurgling, bloating, followed by bladder irritability which just won't go...

Am really struggling now to get a sense of proportion.  When my anxiety is 'all in the mind' I can manage to switch off for a while, but with this I can't - I have convinced myself, one by one, that all my usual 'cures' don't work [such as being at work, being out with friends, etc], so am now convinced that this is it.  A life of fear, dread, doom and feeling crap.

Anybody cheer me up or reassure me [although CBT practitioner I saw said that seeking constant reassurance is bad!].  Anybody had bladder issues due to anxiety that lasted for ages??  I don't need to go more, it just feels like it!!  Although it might be return of endometriosis adhesions - but that's a whole other story...

[Snoooze]

Hi,
I would say your counsellor was right!
I've had anxiety since childhood and health anxiety for the last 20 years.
It did get much worse last year...I blame peri! It never leaves me but I have good days and can even go a few months feeling better then it will be back again.
I've started keeping a diary again. When I dug it out I had last written in it in 2015. I smiled to myself reading it as all the same health issues I panicked over then I still have in 2018 and I'm still here!
I looked back on your posts on here. You should read through them. It might help you see the pattern and also when you state you know what causes them. You did list stress. Stress makes mine worse as does tiredness, poor diet.
Carry on with the CBT.

[Wiggles]

I too get like that sometimes and I know it's all in the mind, believe me your thoughts have an effect on your physical symptoms. Then the physical symptoms have an effect on what you think,  Google a guy called Dr David Hamilton, he was a drug scientist and worked for a huge pharmaceutical company.  He loves the mind and how it works, so much so he has now left that industry and concentrated on the mind and how it works.
Your mind is a very powerful thing and you can control it.  Look at this guys video's on youtube, about the placebo effect, you will then understand.  He has also written several books, how your mind can heal your body.  He talks so much sense. He often puts his lectures on youtube they are so interesting and inspiring. Reading his books has helped me immensely. 

He is brilliant please look him up.

Another good saying is, not 'what if', think 'so what'................ let it happen, and you will see nothing happens.

[Snoooze]

I agree...the mind is very powerful.

I can read symptoms someone else has then I will start to experience them. Many years ago, I had a very big panic attack that made me go to A&E. Not going into details but I was thinking I was having a life threatening illness...part of which was a weak left arm. Dr came and did tests on me then diagnosed what it was (something VERY minor) so I asked why my left arm felt weak and he said 'it's psychological'. As soon as he said it my arm stopped feeling weak. Over the years, many, many times I have experienced symptoms that seem so real and to me they are always life threatening but of course I'm still here...my mind was playing tricks on me.

However, as much as I can rationalise and get through each panic, it doesn't stop the next time it happens I'm right back thinking the worst again. A very vicious cycle.

[Annika]

Honestly Rebel I think the older you get the more anxious you get, its a time of uncertainty. I remember when I was young I never worried about much and when I did it was able to move through it but now when health problems come up its always well is this it or what.  Finances are another problem because you seem to need more when you are older than when you are young and can be productive in the workplace. Have you been to the doctor about your bladder? If you can get that sorted that would be a big step.

[CLKD]

The gut is the 2nd brain.  That is where my anxiety hits.  It floors me.  Nausea; weak thighs; weak calves; floored  . The next day I am exhausted.

I have found music, relaxation therapy, gardening ....... useful at times.  Going out and about doesn't work so hence no brisk walking though some find that this does work by dissipating the anxiety.

[Jeepers]

Hi rebel2

So sorry to hear you are feeling so anxious.  I know how horrible it can be, I am exactly the same.  I am ashamed to admit that so far this year, I have been convinced I had:
DVT
Imminent heart attack
Skin cancer
Stomach cancer  (this one is the "current" one)
Bowel Cancer

!!

Have you been to the doctors about your bladder concerns?  How are you feeling today?

Hugs
Jeepers
xx

PS -- Wiggles, I really like that saying:-)

[knorman]

Morning rebel2

It sounds like the first step is to see your Dr regarding health anxiety.  I've been struggling with severe health anxiety resulting in nearly having panic attacks, a very kind lady on this site has been holding my hand through them.  I took the bull by the horns and paid privately to see a consultant as my NHS appointment was so far in the future, I would have had a nervous breakdown by then. We couldn't afford for me to go private, but I couldn't carry on as I was and it has paid off dividends.  Not only has my health problem started to clear, but mental health is much, much better. So starting point, put your mind at rest about your tummy, hopefully an NHS appointment will come through quickly.  In the meantime, try taking an Optibac probiotic.  My brother has IBS and I suggested he take them and they have helped.

This sounds ridicules, but having read your post I know you will understand totally.  When I started having my last health issue, it felt like my life was over (I already have CFS and menopause difficulties).  The consultant I saw spent a long time sorting out my head before starting sorting out the actual issue, he was brilliant.  His last words to me were, we have one life, go and live it and I have been trying every day to do that until things have started to feel relatively normal again.  So those things that you are convinced do not work for you anymore, keep doing them and eventually they will start working for you again.  I wish I could wave a magic wand and make it better for you, as I would never want to live through the last 6 months I have been through again, just bloody awful.  Once you are feeling stronger, you will then be able to deal with everything else. And lets face it, even if we weren't menopausal, a house move is always going to be an anxious time!  So remember, that anxiety is entirely natural, my last house move can still put a knot in my tummy!   Good luck rebel2 and hope the house move happens soon and your son starts to settle down.

[Shadyglade]

All I would say is that it can get better. I was in hell for over two years. With 3 family deaths and my son having mental health issues I was constantly crushed and anxious. For the past year I, and the rest of the family, have been healing. At the moment I am as close to happy as I have ever been.

Take care of yourself. Find joy in small things. Get out in nature. And put yourself first sometimes.

[Daisydot]

So pleased to hear that shadyglade you've done amazingly well coming through all that so positively and your a gem with sharing information and advice on here too,well done and big thank you,we don't always remember to say that do we xx