Bad habits can be picked up by children. No blame to be attached but clear explanations necessary? My anxiety does not make my OCD tendencies worse. If I find myself hand washing more than I ought to, I make a note putting down when I should wash my hands and tick - if I find myself going to the taps more often it reminds me not to do so.
Can you share your rationale for dealing with HA?
My child started showing signs when she was 6 which then got worse when she started Secondary School which is apparently a common trigger for OCD/Anxiety but she initially started with OCD tendencies like hand washing. I did take her to the GP and they referred her for counselling but they only saw her twice. I did wonder if they thought it was all in my head because I told them I have anxiety and didn't want her to end up like me that I started to think I was imagining it as unfortunately my daughter stayed quiet when they asked her questions and denied how much she was washing her hands etc! The only thing she admitted to was of being scared things were going to poison her! It was at her counselling that I learnt about the telling your anxiety to 'f off' (although they obviously didn't say 'f' to my daughter!). It was also the counsellor that advised her about writing her anxiety down and then next time going back to it and seeing that no harm had come to her. Interestingly, when my daughter is panicking I am able to calm her down and vice versa! We do help each other but I still feel a bit of guilt I have passed it onto her. There is apparently a genetic link. My father had it, my daughter, two of my nephews. My mother and a sister have OCD.
It would take me a long post to write my whole HA problems down as I have had it years. Initially, I avoided situations, cancelled appointments. I also never worked for a good many years and this became a viscious cycle as the longer I went without working, the more I panicked about how I would cope with my HA when I did evenually return to work. I compromised by having a part time job 3 days a week. When I got the job, everyone said 'it will be good for you' and I really think it has helped with my HA. Don't get me wrong, every day I go to work I'm panicking in the morning over some health issue or other but when I get to work, the distraction of work and chatting to other people really works. I have had a few anxiety attacks at work but managed to get through them and then I feel proud of myself that I didn't give into it.
I think a big problem for me is I spent a lot of time at home especially once my children started school and my HA got worse as i was alone and panicking. I have read that distraction techniques work. Even getting up and going for a walk or doing some housework. I've also learnt that been tired makes my HA worse. Eating junk food seems to make it worse! Letting myself go too long without eating makes it worse. I only drink two small cups of coffee a day as caffeine seems to trigger my HA. I also don't drink alcohol.
I have learnt to rationalise my HA but it's not easy. I do google a lot! I hate myself for doing it. Sometimes I type my symptom into google and hit enter then I close my eyes quickly as I'm frightened what will pop up as you can bet your bottom dollar that the first thing will be cancer related!
I spent a long time keeping my HA secret from friends and even family. I found that when I got up the courage to tell anyone they would laugh and say 'you're around the twist' or words to that effect. This of course didn't help matters! My husband is not very understanding of it. In fact, thinking about it, I rarely tell people I suffer from it.
I struggle with my anxiety constantly but since going back to work and getting through each working day, I do think it has helped me as I feel now that I am beating it rather than it constantly winning. I think keeping busy is a key thing. Sitting and dwelling does not help at all. I do use the breathing exercises of 4 breaths in and 7 out. I also talk to myself saying 'stop being stupid, there's nothing wrong with you'! I think the keeping of the diary really helps as sometimes, I laugh when I see a symptom that I think is a new one but I had it ages ago and nothing happened to me. One particular symptom I get I worked out the other day that I have been having that one for 16 years!! Things like that help.
