Hello

irrational

Active member
Hi everyone,

Glad to have finally found an active forum after signing up on a ton of dead ones. I am (I think :confused: ) coming down with a mild case of GAD.

I am a 30 something father of 3, husband of 1, and about 6 months ago my world got rocked by a severe case of 'wtf ?!!?'. Moved cross country for a new job, bought a new house, new (used) car. Life is great? Nope, after about a month of being in the new location I had a particularly busy/stressful day at work that caused me to worry a lot (totally out of character to begin with) up to the point where I started having chest pains and 1 particularly sharp jolt of pain. I kind of knew (or guessed and luckily I was right) that it wasn't a heart attack since i could 'breathe the pain away'.

It's been a roller coaster ever since. Panic attacks for no reason, every little ache I feel is a heart attack, I had an EKG done which showed I was fine, I can exercise for an hour and feel fine, but logic doesn't apply anymore it seems. My doctor recommended I rinse my sinuses as they where dark according to her, after doing so I read somewhere that someone died from some bacteria after using a neti pot with tap water that wasn't boiled (which I didn't do, either) and for a week I was terrified I would suffer the same fate. I felt kind of down one day and decided to get out of the house and drive somewhere to get a snack, I had to turn around halfway there because I was terrified for no particular reason.

Got a doctor's appointment in a few weeks (takes a while for new patients) and we'll see what they say. Hopeful that therapy will handle it as I am not looking forward to being on pills for the rest of my life.

Anyway, if you're still here thanks for reading, sorry for rambling :D
 

Aletheia

Well-known member
Hi irrational, and hi Beaker!

The thing I find so awful about GAD is there is nothing concrete to engage with. It's very difficult to move through the fear when you don't know what it is about in the first place. It's like punching mist.

One thing that sometimes helps me when I'm getting anxious is to ground myself: sit four square with my feet flat on the floor, feeling the stability of the earth beneath me. And take long slow breaths, but it sounds like you know about that already.

I wish there was more I could say to help.
 
Hi and welcome to the forum!

Did it happens anything special in that particular busy/stressful day ? Maybe you should start for there and try to understand if as any relation or it was all the crazy shift up on your life!
 

irrational

Active member
Hi and welcome to the forum!

Did it happens anything special in that particular busy/stressful day ? Maybe you should start for there and try to understand if as any relation or it was all the crazy shift up on your life!

I think a little bit of everything. The day at work was extremely busy, but everything I dealt with was pretty routine, just a ton of it and a lot if it fairly new to me. The first few months I thought it was work related stress, but now I actually feel at my best when I am at work since i have my mind occupied all the time. Worst times are when I'm home alone with nothing to do or driving. And sleeping. I dread going to bed because I worry I will just lay there and worry instead of sleep. So I stay up and worry instead of sleep, not gaining much here I think. :rolleyes:

Aletheia: The breathing helps me immensely, I haven't tried any positions other then whatever I am in when it strikes. I'll have to give that a shot some time. I do know a hot shower or bath does wonders, even if just for the duration of said bath/shower.

And thanks for the warm welcome everyone.
 
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