Being blindsided by unexpected anxiety!
I have struggled with various aspects of anxiety most of my life. At some point in the not too far past, I got on some medication which helped tremendously! And when I got off the medication, I was still doing really really well.
Now, I have been facing an immense amount of work stress lately, but had been working through it okay. And then suddenly, about three weeks ago, I was in the middle of working and boom! I was on the verge of a panic attack.
It came on so suddenly, it scared the crap out of me. I hadn't felt that way in so long, and almost never had something hit me so quickly like that. I forgot what it felt like!
I managed to calm myself down, but I got pretty upset afterward. I had been doing so well for so long, and got really scared about having a feeling that intense again. But I reminded myself, that life isn't full of easy fixes, and just because you have gotten better at something, doesn't mean you'll never regress occasionally.
So here's a gentle reminder to you all(and certainly myself!) that lifelong anxiety won't necessarily be fixed overnight, and that's okay! Life is a journey, and you will have times of progress mixed in with times of stagnation. Be patient with yourself, and remember to acknowledge the progress you have made, regardless how small.
-Silkie
@TheSilkieChicken This is a really generous post.
@TheSilkieChicken Hearing a story like this gives me hope to deal with my anxiety. I was talking with a friend about it because I can't think of a time in life that I had felt particularly anxious. Over the last year I had some big life changes which introduced what I would consider "major anxiety" because it's nothing I've experienced before. I know it's something I need to address, but it's amazing to hear situations like yours where your worked so hard over a long period of time.
@TheSilkieChicken Great post! I really liked the way you expressed yourself and summarized the lessons you learned. Thank you for sharing.
@TheSilkieChicken I sincerely appreciate your gentle reminder and the courage to share your experiences, Silkie. It sounds that although you have struggled most of your life with various forms of anxiety you’ve been doing really well for yourself. That’s absolutely amazing and it takes a lot to reach this far! I am sorry that you came under an immense amount of work stress recently and eventually was on the verge of a panic attack. 🙁 I can only imagine how scary that must have been during the middle of work and for that to suddenly happen so swiftly! I’m not sure how I would have responded to that myself if it were to suddenly occur. It’s completely understandable to feel upset as this suddenly occurred out of the blue although you had been doing well for yourself. I admire that you’re reminding all of us that regardless of how small, it is always pivotal to recognize the progress we’ve made. Thank you, Silkie. 💓
@TheSilkieChicken
Your last paragraph was well said!
I’m happy to hear that you’d gotten help for your anxiety and have been doing well even after stopping your medications.
Panic attacks can be very scary since they come out of the blue and not from a usual anxiety trigger. And it must have been especially upsetting to you since you were okay for so long before that!
But I’m happy to see how well you coped after and even more proud that you didn’t let it get to you afterwards. It was understandable to get upset, but I’m happy you managed to recovered quickly. That’s an amazing thing and I hope you didn’t have to suffer from any more panic attacks after that.