Being Alone
Hi there,
I've been suffering from anxiety for a little over three years now. My mother passed away when I was 19 and instead of getting depressed, I suffered from severe anxiety which focused on my health and the health of those around me. I was in a train of thought where "well if this can happen, anything can happen". I was barely functioning - I only slept about five hours a night and I reached the lowest weight I had ever been at. I made it through, but the anxiety never really left but it seems to grab hold of what I'm fearing and just amplify it.
It came back full swing when the relationship with my boyfriend of four years ended abruptly last summer and the anxiety will not go away. I have this fear of ending up alone and never being with someone ever again. I'm only 23 and I know that sounds absurd but it truly eats away at me. I want to go out and do so many things but I don't want to do them by myself. It's like one moment I'm ready to take life by the horns and the next I get anxiety attacks over the thought of being alone.
Does anyone else have this fear? How do you cope with it?
I'm so sorry for your loss. The constant anxiety can be really terrible, I get it. It's good though that for awhile you made some progress after your mother's death, it shows that you can most definitely deal with it and make it more manageable. I share the same constant worry about ending up alone too. It's something alot of people worry about, you're not alone. I've found that personally, I try to focus on myself when I start to get anxiety about those types of things. It may seem strange but when all I can think about is not having a good future, I just try to focus on the here and now. Thinking about how far you have come & how strong you are can help too. You sound like a very strong person to me, I thinks it's super impressive you've dealt with this. Maybe when you start to worry about the future, you can just take a few deep breaths and think about that & other past accomplishments. Or maybe instead of worrying you'll end up alone, think about all the things you want to do in life that don't require a mate. Even if you do get nervous, get out there to do what you want you won't regret it afterwards! You'll be happy you took the risk.
Hope this helped a little bit! Stay strong:)