Dear Roseneath, Some of the things that you have written struck a real chord with me. I'm new to this website (this is my first ever post/reply). I'm so sorry about your anxiety. I'm in the midst of a horrid perimenopause myself (I'm 47, and it started about three years ago). Anxiety and fear is one of my biggest problems. Without question, getting enough sleep, eating and drinking well, and finding a good distraction is such a help. I mean like finding something new to read about or watch on tv. Make yourself focus on it and not how absolutely awful and desperate you feel. 've also found keeping notes, a kind of diary if you like, can be helpful. It helps me remember that there are good days amongst the truly awful ones and that these feelings can be, indeed usually are, cyclical. My anxiety can be so bad that I feel like I'm having some kind of panic attack or that life isn't worth living. I usually manage to crawl back out though and reading some of the stories on here has been massively helpful over the past few months. Hope you are feeling better today, Roseneath. Sending happy thoughts your way xx
