to sarah

[Guest guest]

Hi ,

I just thought I'd mention something about the anxiety you are

experiencing.

I sometimes suffer from anxiety and like you, I am concerned about

getting better. I believe my current anxiety is there because my

thyroid is out of whack, but I am also mindful that I need to watch

my anxious thoughts regardless of their origin.

I know that disruptions in our body (adrenal stuff etc) can cause

anxiety, but our thinking can also cause it too. A bit of the 'what

came first - the chicken or the egg'.

What I mean by that is that I believe that anxiety symptoms can come

from biochemical 'disruptions' in our body, but I also believe that

we can cause anxiety through our thoughts.

For example, I freaked out at a funeral once when I looked at the

coffin and my mind raced back to a previous unpleasant incident that

had occurred years back. I could feel a panic attack coming on.

Rather than trying to block the feelings I was having, I allowed

myself to observe that I was starting to panic and let the

emotion 'move' through me rather than trying to stop it. What

happened was that the panic and anxiety disappeared within about 10

seconds. I could literally feel it move through my body and

disappear quickly. I guess what I was doing on a physical level was

allowing the adrenalin rush to move through my body rather

than 'keeping' it within my body. I felt the anxiety and panic and

just let it go. I was at peace again extremely quickly.

I've read lots of the messages on the forum and can tell that you

are having terrible anxiety at the moment. Even though it may be

completely thyroid / adrenal related, it is really worthwhile trying

to think about OTHER ways of reducing your anxiety levels. Are you

feeling more anxious now because you aren't sure what to do about

your health / medication etc? I might be wrong, but it seems like

you aren't sure which way to turn. Maybe it is worth talking to

someone about the anxiety so you can work out strategies to deal

with it.

I've just had a look on the web and found a UK site with a free

helpline number for people who are suffering from anxiety. I have

no idea what the organisation is like, but you might like to have a

chat and see whether they can shed any light on how you can manage

some of your anxiety symptoms. It might be that you just need to

get your medication right, but I'm certain there are other things

you can do to help yourself with the anxious thoughts. It states

that they offer a confidential helpline every day that is staffed by

trained volunteers so if this is the sort of thing that suits you,

perhaps it might be worthwhile giving them a ring and seeing whether

they have any ideas about ways to manage some of the anxiety

symptoms.

http://www.nopanic.org.uk/menu.htm

I also think there is some useful info on this site, so it is worth

clicking on the various subject headings and having a read.

http://www.panicattacks.com.au/mindful/mind.html

Hope this is of some assistance.

P

>

> My mums just said what I am doing sounds dangerous! Thanks mum!

She said I thought this man (Dr P) was meant to make you better not

worse. I told her about my beating heart in the night and she said

thats not right. anxiety high again today, I am full of doubt and

have no confidence in what I am doing anymore

>

>

[Guest guest]

Thank you and yes most of this is because I dont know what do anymore and i think I will never be well again. When I wake in the night its the first thing on my mind, my health, what do I do, I feel alone with it all very much and then when my Mum said what she said today I again felt the surge of doubt and anxiety, Im crying now!

God I feel so pathetic, so many people say so much to me and I dont know what to do anymore, I know I have to face it and to some extent I am, the anxiety is very hard to control and I did think I was on the right path only to find Im not really, but I can see now that adding back the T4 was probably too early, but while doing all this messing about I think it cant be doing me any good mentally or physically

Hi ,I just thought I'd mention something about the anxiety you are experiencing.I sometimes suffer from anxiety and like you, I am concerned about getting better. I believe my current anxiety is there because my thyroid is out of whack, but I am also mindful that I need to watch my anxious thoughts regardless of their origin. I know that disruptions in our body (adrenal stuff etc) can cause anxiety, but our thinking can also cause it too. A bit of the 'what came first - the chicken or the egg'.What I mean by that is that I believe that anxiety symptoms can come from biochemical 'disruptions' in our body, but I also believe that we can cause anxiety through our thoughts. For example, I freaked out at a funeral once when I looked at the coffin and my mind raced back to a previous unpleasant incident that had occurred years back. I could feel a panic attack coming on.

Rather than trying to block the feelings I was having, I allowed myself to observe that I was starting to panic and let the emotion 'move' through me rather than trying to stop it. What happened was that the panic and anxiety disappeared within about 10 seconds. I could literally feel it move through my body and disappear quickly. I guess what I was doing on a physical level was allowing the adrenalin rush to move through my body rather than 'keeping' it within my body. I felt the anxiety and panic and just let it go. I was at peace again extremely quickly. http://www.nopanic. org.uk/menu. htmI also think there is some useful info on this site, so it is worth clicking on the various subject headings and having a read. http://www.panicatt acks.com. au/mindful/ mind.htmlHope this is of some assistance.P>> My mums just said what I am doing sounds dangerous! Thanks mum! She said I thought this man (Dr P) was meant to make you better not worse. I told her about my beating heart in the night and she said thats not right. anxiety high again today, I am full of doubt and have no confidence in what I am doing anymore> >

[Guest guest]

Hi ,

Something that is very easy to learn & can only do you good, is Autogenic training. I attended a course on this when I was having anxiety problems & you may be able to find one nearby, or if not you can get a book which will take you through it. Only learn one new thing in the course each week. You do it 3 or 4 times a day - only takes a few minutes. I promise it will help you.

Val

When I wake in the night its the first thing on my mind, my health, what do I do, I feel alone with it all very much and then when my Mum said what she said today I again felt the surge of doubt and anxiety,

[Guest guest]

Hi Val and ,

Is this it? Is the technique described properly?

http://www.guidetopsychology.com/autogen.htm

P

Hi , .....Something that is very easy to learn & can only do you

good, is Autogenic training. I attended a course on this when I was

having anxiety problems & you may be able to find one nearby, or if

not you can get a book which will take you through it............

[Guest guest]

Hi again ,

If you are waking at night worrying about your health, if you are

going to get better, how you are going to get better, if you are doing

the right thing or not, then that can set off the whole adrenaline

rush through your body, thus making you worry more. The part of our

brain that sets off anxiety symptoms in our body is a very ancient

part of our brain. It doesn't know whether there is an immediate

danger such as woolly mammoth ready to stomp on us, or a bus heading

straight for us or whether it is just our fearful thoughts. Our brain

can't differentiate between them and it reacts accordingly. It only

knows that we are having thoughts that concern us and then it sets off

a tirade of physical symptoms that may include increased heart rate,

feelings of anxiety and/or panic, tightness in chest, etc. I'm not

making this stuff up. It is well documented.

Remember that anxiety can cause a pounding heart as well. It is

something worth mentioning to your doc and get it checked out, then at

least if you continue to have a pounding heart you know whether it is

your ticker is ok or not. If not, then at least you know it is an

anxiety symptom. Remember that regardless of the origin of the

anxiety (thyroid or our thinking or both) it is worth looking at ways

to try and reduce the anxiety symptoms. You mentioned that you are

finding the anxiety hard to control. The one thing that I learnt is

that giving up the control is the way to alleviate the anxiety

symptoms. A bit like what I explained when I went to the funeral (in

my last message to you). Sometimes easier said than done.

If you feel up to it, why don't you call that number that I gave you?

It can't hurt. I guess the worse that can happen is that you don't

like what they say and then you hang up. On the other hand, you may

speak to a very helpful person who has some ideas / hints /

recommended books for you to think about. They might know of helpful

courses in your general area. Might make a world of difference.

Also, take heart in remembering that it can take some time to sort out

thyroid stuff. Lots of us on the forum have been battling away trying

to get better for some time. Also take heart in the fact that I know

of people who are functioning well although they have thyroid

problems. They have found their optimal doses of thyroid replacement

hormone and are doing extremely well.

I'm thinking of you and hope that your anxiety lifts soon. If

you feel up to it, please have a chat to someone about it to get some

ideas about managing it. It might make the world of difference.

P

>

> Thank you and yes most of this is because I dont know what do

anymore and i think I will never be well again. When I wake in the

night its the first thing on my mind, my health, what do I do, I feel

alone with it all very much and then when my Mum said what she said

today I again felt the surge of doubt and anxiety, Im crying now....