Day long anxiety attack
Struggling. I wake up - anxiety. I try to work - anxiety. I try to get my errands done - anxiety.
I've been up for about 8 hours now and I'm completely exhausted. My brain is really irritating me today. It's so frustrating to have my brain tell me to be worried about something that doesn't even exist. I'm using all of my "tools" and none of them are working. Breathing, meditating, focusing, distraction, grounding, CBD....
It's a day long attack and nothing is helping to make it any better. What can I do?
@thoughtfulmomma
Im sorry to hear you had such a bad day. I hope the days since then have been a bit better.
I've found that the more I try to get rid of my anxiety, the worse, or more persistent, it gets. One thing I found is that it will go away on its own. No idea if that is true for you too. Maybe look back, did any of your previous attacks fail to end? When I did this, I realised that some times I just need to wait. Easier said than done, that waiting, but it did seem to help me get on with other things in the meantime.
The other thing I found was that my anxiety was my brain trying to tell me something. Maybe ask yourself "what's wrong?" or "what am I missing? This is also easier said than done. Because its often something painful to confront. But I found it worth it in the long run.
Wishing you a peaceful, anxiety free day.
@Clio9876
I know it will end. It always ends, eventually. I am just tired of waiting for it to end. That last bout ended. But today, right now it has started over again. Kind of the same issue, triggering my anxiety again. I'm tired of worrying about everything that isn't there.
Some days I just feel like hiding in a cozy room somewhere, where it's quiet and no problems can reach me, no one else's issues get absorbed into my psyche and have my brain make them my issues.
I know I have no control over anything, but my brain still is desperate to control everything to make it "better" (for me).
@thoughtfulmomma
Oh, yes, I can totally relate to that desire for a cozy place, safe from having to deal with all the problems. I totally did that at times. Shut myself away from it all for a few hours.
The challenge I find is convincing myself that it is OK to do that. That this is not wasted time. But essential me time. Solving anxiety is hard work and time consuming. Those who think you can just "get over it" held me back for a long time.
Best wishes for a better week.
I’ve been through days like this, where nothing seems to help. What I found useful was to allow myself to rest without trying to "fix" it in the moment. Sometimes, fighting the anxiety adds more pressure. On those tough days, I try to focus on just getting through, even if it means taking things minute by minute. You’re doing your best, and that’s enough. Tomorrow is another chance for those tools to work better. Keep going—you’re stronger than you feel right now.