Too overfilled with anxiety, how do I cope?

[SeekingAfrica]

I've felt like this before, I'm sure, but I'm trying to do better. Like I am dreading something this week and suddenly I'm obsessing for real. My world becomes tiny, my concentration goes out and doing 3 tiny work task takes me all day because thinking about my life currently gives me a stomach ache. And then all, this makes spiral into dark thoughts that somehow I'll end up homeless, in jail, or I'm not sure what else, anything, everything. Or I'll just never be able to resurface, to change, ever. My ears are full of this high pitched noise, my stomach is in a ball and I feel shaky and nauseous 24/7 and I'm doing nothing I enjoy and I'm doing some of what I should but every task is 10x harder and it just feels like I lost, like it's game over or something.

How do I stop, this isn't good, I'm spriling and I know I am and yet here we are.

 

[Lost in the Woods]

One thing that can help is looking at the words you use in your thoughts. Words like “never” are counterproductive. They place everything in the worst possible manner. Rather than “never” it might be better to think “it might take a while”. These are small changes that only require awareness. I think of them as reality checks. My mind always goes to the worst possible outcomes and I have to police that.

 

[Dynamic]

idk if this will help but one time T really got me good before I spiraled

First she asked me a question (I imagine to open up the flood gates) and then randomly (because she never used to interrupt) she said okay stop I’m gonna stop you because you’re starting to spiral.

So what did I learn? It’s easy to think my way sick

It’s easy to get on the roller coaster myself

Sometimes it comes crashing and takes us away but sometimes we voluntarily get on it by not stopping ourselves

This is where I think thought discipline comes in real handy

Journaling and reading it back later to see where I’m feeding anxiety

It doesn’t make us bad
It’s part of the illness

And eventually we get better and better (stronger) and it’s easier to stop ourselves

You’re doing the right things to learn which is to be happy about
And you will get there

You’ve come a long way

And being in the thick of it usually feels way worse

Let me know if this doesn’t make sense