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powerfulBeechwood2210
1 696 M Little Steps
PathStep 1 Compassion hearts36 Forum posts15 Forum upvotes23 Current upvotes23 Age GroupAdult Last activeJuly, 2026 Member sinceJuly 10, 2025
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I miss how things were and my routines I had
Anxiety Support / by powerfulBeechwood2210
Last post
 June 14th
...See more I deal with anxiety and OCD. My anxiety has been bad for the past 4 years, but it's gotten really bad since 2024 and I miss my routine and how things were back then- not the anxiety and OCD part, just the things that were happening. Last summer, my brother moved out 2 hours away, and I've been missing him being around, specifically in January-April 2025 and in August-September 2023 the house has felt empty without him, but my sister moved back home in April after being in Colorado for a few years, so her being around makes me feel a bit better. I still deal with anxiety, especially health anxiety and OCD and have been since summer 2024 in 2022 and 2023 I had only dealt with anxiety, but only for a couple of months before feeling calmer; but since 2024 I've been in a higher state. Sorry if this makes no sense just want to get this off my chest
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Severe health anxiety and PVCs help
Anxiety Support / by powerfulBeechwood2210
Last post
 May 6th
...See more (24m) the other I was laying in bed and felt a couple pounding/fluttering palpitations I had just got done walking around then just laid back in my bed and shortly afterwards I felt a couple heavy palpitations like Thump Thump Thump Thump it only lasted a few seconds but afterwards I felt this sudden strange feeling look at my Apple Watch it was 90 then went to 100-107 | got up and walked downstairs to shower like I normally do to calm down and felt like I couldn't breathe and felt lightheaded but once I was in the shower I started calm down and tell myself l've had palpitations that felt like how it felt before and then after the shower and kept telling myself that I felt like I could breathe again and my heart rate went back down to 80s-70s I've had yearly heart check ups and all my test have been normal I had heart surgery as a baby so I've always had PVCs and pacs but I'm worried what if last night was something serious and not just a regular pvc I've had in the past and l'll have a heart attack or sudden cardiac arrest or some serious arrthmiya I have severe health anxiety and ocd I was already anxious about my heart yesterday before it happened and I've had palpitations sometimes after walking around and walking up stairs to my bed and feeling them but I'm worried that it's something more serious. Any advice
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Daylight savings time is stressing me out
Anxiety Support / by powerfulBeechwood2210
Last post
 March 10th
...See more Since the time change my routine feels messed up I’ve been used to it getting dark around 5 and 6 pm and my routine has been to shower at 5 or 6 pm and I’m used to it being dark when that happens but today and yesterday it’s been weird because it’s still daylight so I get confused about what to do and I get anxious and i know I could just wait to shower at 7 when the sun goes down but I’m too used to that routine that any change makes me anxious i have trouble in general with my routines getting disrupted and I start having a panic attack so if anything feels off I panic and that’s panic turns into anxiety about my heart because I feel like I can’t breathe and my heart starts pounding
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Need advice on not using ChatGPT
Anxiety Support / by powerfulBeechwood2210
Last post
 November 1st, 2025
...See more Since 2023 ive used ChatGPT for reassurance about my anxiety and OCD I have bad health anxiety and ocd and I have been asking ChatGPT about every worry I get whether it be about ilness or thinking I’m having a stroke or heart attack and worrying about my palpitations ChatGPT does help me when I have a panic attack and I think I’m dying but I always go to it every time I’m anxious before ChatGPT came out I used google but I never use google when I’m stressed I go straight to ChatGPT I really want to stop but the problem is what do I do when I have a panic attack about my heart or something and think I’m dying I still ask reassurance from real people like my parents but I think ChatGPT is a real hurdle for me and my mental health the only positive I’m seeing is it helps me during a panic attack when I ask reassurance it helps me but then I continue asking questions over and over and taking screenshots that I save to read for later but never actually end up looking at them it’s becoming a problem I’m also realizing ai is terrible not just for mental health
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How can I stop waking up anxious
Anxiety Support / by powerfulBeechwood2210
Last post
 August 28th, 2025
...See more Ive been dealing anxiety and ocd for a year and when I wake up my mind start racing about things that could happen today I have health anxiety about my heart and other things and it doesn't help when I get up for the day and walk around my heart rate goes to 150s-170s and feel lightheaded although the lightheadedness and heart rate goes down after I eat something I also get yearly heart check ups because I had heart surgery as a baby and at my last visit my doctor said everything is fine I get PVCs every once in a while and that scares me it's not always about my health sometimes it's just thinking about the day ahead and knowing it's another day of anxiety does anyone have tips to help me feel less anxious about things in the morning
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Fear around developing food allergies
Anxiety Support / by powerfulBeechwood2210
Last post
 August 25th, 2025
...See more For the past two years ive been scared of developing food allergies specifically anaflaxis when having foods I haven't eaten in a bit I sometimes avoid eating them al together I always read the ingredients I'm ok with eating wheat and soy because foods I'm comfortable with have them but anything with eggs peanuts and sesame I avoid I also avoid fruit and vegetables I have had salad and burgers in the past months and was fine but I haven't eaten those in a while and my family made burgers tonight and I was too anxious to eat it and I feel like a failure I want to try new foods and foods I haven't eaten in a long time again I haven't eaten bananas since 2022 since the last time I ate them I thought my mouth was tingling my safe foods aren't exactly the healthiest really just processed foods and snack bars I used to eat protein cookies but last time I ate them I had a panic attack and haven't eaten them since
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Fear around developing food allergies
OCD & Related Behaviors / by powerfulBeechwood2210
Last post
 August 25th, 2025
...See more For the past two years ive been scared of developing food allergies specifically anaflaxis when having foods I haven't eaten in a bit I sometimes avoid eating them al together I always read the ingredients I'm ok with eating wheat and soy because foods I'm comfortable with have them but anything with eggs peanuts and sesame I avoid I also avoid fruit and vegetables I have had salad and burgers in the past months and was fine but I haven't eaten those in a while and my family made burgers tonight and I was too anxious to eat it and I feel like a failure I want to try new foods and foods I haven't eaten in a long time again I haven't eaten bananas since 2022 since the last time I ate them I thought my mouth was tingling my safe foods aren't exactly the healthiest really just processed foods and snack bars I used to eat protein cookies but last time I ate them I had a panic attack and haven't eaten them since
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Anxiety about random scratch
OCD & Related Behaviors / by powerfulBeechwood2210
Last post
 January 29th
...See more Hi everyone, I’m dealing with a spike in anxiety and OCD right now, and I could really use some support, understanding, or just people who get how real these spirals feel. My theme right now is rabies, specifically the fear of bat exposure without realizing it. A yesterday I woke up with a small scratch on my face. It looks exactly like ones I’ve had before — straight, light, not deep — but because I have OCD and health anxiety, my brain immediately jumped to: “What if a bat came into my room while I was asleep and scratched me?” I know that sounds very unlikely. But OCD doesn’t care what’s logical — it cares about certainty. My anxiety latched onto a specific detail: the attic door in my house may have been slightly cracked open for a few days. When I pulled on it, it made a thud, like it settled or clicked closed more tightly. Now my brain keeps saying: “What if it wasn’t fully closed before that… and what if a bat got in through that small crack?” Even though: * I didn’t see or hear a bat * My cat, who sleeps next to me, didn’t act weird or alert * I’ve had similar scratches many times before (in sleep or from my cat) * The door is now shut tight and no bat has ever been seen in my room or house * There’s no smell, noise, or signs of a bat being in the room I still can’t stop spiraling. I’m obsessively checking what counts as a rabies exposure, trying to compare pictures of scratches, looking at how small of a space bats can fit through, and asking myself “What if this is the one time it really did happen and I didn’t know?” My OCD keeps pushing back with thoughts like: * “What if a bat silently came in through that crack?” * “What if it scratched me and left before I woke up?” * “What if I missed something and I’m at risk of rabies and don’t know it?” * “What if the thud I heard meant the door was open long enough for something to happen?” Even writing this, I know how unlikely it is. But it feels so urgent and real. I’m scared I’ll miss something important and suffer for it — especially with something like rabies, which my OCD treats as the “worst-case, slow death” scenario. I’ve been working on noticing these intrusive fears, but sometimes I feel like I need to confess every little detail to make sure I’m not missing something that really is dangerous. I know reassurance-seeking isn’t always healthy, but I’m struggling right now.
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