Heyo, So to keep long story short iv been in CBT for 3 years 3 different psychologists and tbh I don't think it's done much (I saw a psychiatrist and I found him the best even though we did no therapy).     Background: I have severe health anxiety and Generalised anxiety and a bit of agoraphobia, iv have done CBT, talking therapy and DBT and they aren't bad I just don't feel like iv improved much if at all and the improvement I have seen is honestly, in my opinion, my medication. I do the homework and go to sessions and pay attention etc. I like my therapists I just haven't really found it useful. Im specifically anxious about health and dying and my own mortality. CBT hasn't helped because it's about identifying irrational thought patterns but I KNOW I'm being irrational.  Example; I get a headache and think oh I'm dying I'm having a stroke and I'm a med student I know I'm not having a stroke but despite the fact that I am able to be rational about it and know I'm probably fine doesn't help me, I'm still anxious and worried.    The fact that I can't control most things in life and that death is inevitable and that any of us could suddenly just drop dead without warning makes me panic. I KNOW that all of these things are possible and that there is no point worrying about it because I can't know or control it but this doesn't mean I'm not anxious or that it doesn't affect my life negatively.    I can't get rid of this fear and I can't control if I die so how can I just accept that this is how life is I can't do anything about it and just deal with the fact that death is inevitable and that life is almost entirely random and unpredictable?    Also what kinds of therapies are based on science/studies (I don't like wishy-washy therapy styles) that are good for anxiety, OCD and health anxiety that might help me based on the above explanation?   Thanks :)  ... View more

Hey :) So I have had anxiety and health anxiety for years I have been able to in last few months been able to tell myself I'm just anxious and not dying from a medical condition however a few weeks ago I had a near-death experience and Im lucky to be alive...   I was 100% ok walking around my kitchen when I felt my heart go funny and I felt like impending doom I assumed I was anxious so I sat on a high stool and woke up on the floor unconscious unable to move and I was home alone and I knew something was wrong I felt like Id been hit by a truck and my head hurt so I crawled down the hall to my phone and called an ambulance and waited alone for 2 hours for the ambulance and essentially I ended up having a very severe case of saddle pulmonary embolism; I had dozens of large blood clots in each lung that essentially caused my heart to be damaged and give out. I was rushed to ICU and given very aggressive meds directly into my lungs to save me. I was in ICU for 9 days and I according to my docs am lucky to he alive and they were very worried and its a miracle I even woke up when I collapsed. I had no symptoms of clots or embolism and I have no risk factors and they have no clue why it happened to an otherwise healthy 19-year-old. I am now on heavy blood thinning meds for the rest of my life and need to be monitored often.    Im now terrified to be alone, I cant sit on any stool at the breakfast bar. I also have been very highly health anxious and can't rationalise my anxiety anymore.  How do I cope with this (I already have a therapist)  ... View more

So I don't really know how to start this but I have had GAD with OCD tendencies and some depression and specific phobia for about 3+ years Iv seen 3 therapists a psychiatrist and been on 2 meds. None of the therapy really worked and I recently was sent back to my GP because my therapist said my issues were treatment-resistant and she couldn't help me anymore, I stopped the meds that did help because I put on 15kg and it was making me suicidal. I did actually get a bit better but lately iv been getting worse again.  The main point about this post is I'm finding everything difficult I'm feeling more depressed, I'm easily stressed I keep crying a lot which is abnormal for me. I feel lonely as I only have 1 friend who will listen to me about important stuff but she replies very irregularly so I can't talk to her.  I'm studying psychology at uni and I'm a 2nd year and I'm finding class boring so I'm stressed about maybe changing degrees and choosing medicine.  One of the biggest issues at the moment is my health anxiety, its not as bad as it used to be but its gradually getting worse again, I have IBS so my digestive system is whack and I have been controlling it for a year or two but in last few months its started getting irregular anf very temperamental, I'm getting sick when im out and getting stuck in public until im well enough to get home on the train again and I'm scared to leave my house, example today I had dance class which I really enjoy but I started feeling off before I was meant to leave and then I started feeling nauseous and panicked and I couldn't decide if I should go to class or not and I ended up not going, I paid for class so I wasted my money and I feel guilty not going because I know that I'm probably perfectly fine health wise and I would be ok but I can't seem to ignore that small chance that I am actually going to get sick in public and can't find a toilet. I rarely go out and when I do I keep having to leave early because I get sick. But once I'm home and I am sick for 15-30 min I'm ok after that. Being sick all the time is making me feel depressed and a bit suicidal I'm 19 i'm meant to be experiencing life and not being scared to go to uni or go out with friends. All I do is study to keep my perfect GPA (the only thing in life that gives me the purpose is having straight HDs) and I can't even go out with friends anymore or go to dance class without being so anxious I feel sick and cancel which makes me feel weak.  I'm not even sure what the point of this is other than life sucks.    ... View more

Hello :) I have GAD and I'm always scared when someone knocks on the door and I won't answer, today I actually answered it but it was religious people trying to talk about the bible, I'm an atheist but feel too anxious to say I'm not interested so I listened to them for 20 min pretending I was religious and wasn't very uncomfortable and then they started trying to convince me to get baptised they were really pushy about it and said the pastor could be here in 15 min, the idea of baptism is something I 110% never want to do and I felt so scared and peer pressured I lied and said I was going out in 10 min and then they said they'd come back another day and I lied and said I don't live here I'm house sitting and then they asked for my address but I said I feel uncomfortable giving my address to people and they asked for a phone number and I gave them a fake one and once they left I spent 20 min crying and panicing and shutting all the windows and doors and blinds coz I feel like they are waiting to see if I actually go out and I'm very scared. Im not sure what is wrong with me I almost let 4 strangers and a pastor come to my house and baptise me while I'm home alone and very scared and now I'm having a mild panic attack all because I didn't feel comfortable saying I'm not interested. ... View more

Hello everyone,   So I have/had a pretty severe anxiety disorder that reached its peak just over a year ago, essentially I constantly felt like I was dying and there was nothing I could do about it and I was going to drop dead any second, on top of this I had all the classic health anxiety and generalised anxiety symptoms, plus a few OCD like behaviours.    I went to GP and tried medications until I found one that worked and went to therapy, about a month ago I stopped my meds due to gaining a lot of weight on the pills which made me suicidal and brought out some other mental health issues that were overshadowed by the anxiety but related to it. On the meds I was much better, my anxiety was still higher than 'normal' but I can cope with it 90% of the time I'm fine. Since I have stopped the meds I feel the same as I did on then pretty ok. I feel guilty that I feel ok, I expected it to go back to me calling the ambulance every day convinced I was having a stroke but it hasn't yet. I'm anxious about the fact I'm not anxious, I feel like I should be anxious, I feel like I should be 'sicker'. I feel like I'm meant to be anxious, I have been anxious my whole life. I don't know why I'm not as bad anymore, now that I stopped meds I should go back to how I was because I didn't find therapy helpful so I don't see how that changed anything, my therapist thinks maybe its because I have changed my circumstances in my life that could have been causing me stress but I don't feel like much has changed. I'm also in uni I study 6-8 hours a day on top of uni I would do anything to get a perfect grade so I think im definitely under more pressure than I was so I don't understand why I'm not losing my mind.    I know I should be happy i'm less anxious and I am but I feel like its wrong almost like I'm meant to be anxious. I am definitely not mentally healthy I have other issues but my anxiety was the biggest issue and now I'm not anxious I almost feel like I failed at being sick or I somehow wasn't actually ever sick it makes no sense.    ... View more

Hi :)  So a bit of background info I have generalised anxiety disorder and specific phobia diagnoses and my GP thinks I may have some OCD and disrupted eating issues as well.    Firstly I have seen 3 psychologists that are paid and I have seen a therapist at a free service run by the government, however, I haven't really found any of them useful and I feel discouraged because I'm beginning to think therapy isn't actually helpful and a waste of time and money. My GP thinks that I need to go see an experienced clinical psychologist who specialised in CBT and anxiety related issues because I have more than one main problem and my case is complex but I can't afford that so I'm stuck with the free service atm.    I just wondered if anyone has actually found therapy helpful for serious mental illness and actually thinks its worth it?    I'm especially discouraged as I'm currently in uni studying to become a clinical psychologist, however because of these doubts and other things I have been reevaluating my career goals and am planning to apply for medical school and become a neurologist in the next few years, but I really care about mental health however because of my own experience with therapy I don't know if I want to be a psychologist anymore if its useless because I want to use my skills and time to significantly improve or help peoples quality of life and health.    What do you guys think?   Thanks.  ... View more

Hi    I have been doing dance classes for 6 weeks (1 class a week) Iv never taken a dance class others than the ones I’m taking at the moment. So I started doing contemporary for 3 weeks but I was very bad at that and it was too hard and during one class I felt so bad I started to cry and I felt horrible and useless and fat so after class I quit and dropped out of the class and I felt very suicidal all the way home and wanted to die and I felt that way for about a week (i also felt slightly suicidal the whole day even before dance but it got worse) So then my dance teacher said maybe it was just the style of dance that was wrong so I signed up for hip hop and have been doing that for 3 weeks but I’m really bad at this one also I feel fat and awkward and my body just doesn’t move that way I just look like a fat rigid clucky tree. After class I just feel sad and like crying. I’m considering quitting again but I feel like I’m giving up if I do that. I’m a perfectionist I can’t handle not being the best at things I am never satisfied with my performance for example I have a perfect GPA at uni and am attempting to get into medical school after my undergrad and I still have the need to beat everyone else and no matter what a grade is if I don’t get 100% it needs to be better. But not being good at things quickly almost always makes me suicidal if I don’t understand an assignment I get suicidal if I don’t look good when I go clothes shopping I get suicidal (I never look good clothes shopping) etc Im not sure what the point of this post is I’m just sad... I know I sound a bit immature but I'm not usually and I'm very ambitious probably to the point that its a bad thing. I work very hard to keep my grades at a standard that I think is acceptable I study approx. 6-9 hours a day, pretty much all I do is study. I also think my weight is an issue as I can't lose any weight because of my anti-anxiety meds no matter what I eat or exercise.    Ps. Not sure if it’s relevant but I have generalised anxiety disorder ... View more

Hi   So my best friend told me some secrets and experiences they had in the past surrounding abuse of an inappropriate nature and I'm the only person my best friend talks to or has told about these things. I have mental health issues and I felt bad so I needed someone to talk to about the issue so I spoke to my other friends about it to get some help but I feel very guilty for telling them. I didn't mean to betray my best friend I just needed some advice/help.   My other friends don't like my best friend because they don't like some of the things she does or how she is quiet and they think she is weird and boring but she's not and the way they see her is because they don't know her as well as me and a lot of the things they don't like are a result from her past experiences so I also told them to try to defend her and to get them to be nice and understand, which they do know but I feel really guilty because at that moment I didn't realise what I was doing but now I realise I have betrayed her and I feel awful. I was just trying to help her and help my own mental health....   What should I do? ... View more

Hello,   Some Background: My dad and mum got divorced because my dad was really mean to her and then many years later my mum remarried. My dad was a very scary and angry person and I was really scared of him when I was younger he hurt us and locked us outside for a few minutes at night if we were naughty and he made me feel bad about myself when I was younger but he's a lot better now. My stepdad is the problem now.   So my stepdad has always disliked me a bit I think ever since we have known him if anything goes wrong it's my fault, he's always angry and he's really unpredictable. One day it's ok if I have water in my bedroom or get food out the fridge without asking other days if I do that he will lose it and scream at me and threaten me and call me names etc. He glares at me if I'm in the bathroom and he wants to be. He essentially just glares at me anytime I'm near him and he is wanting to do something.   I'm walking on eggshells, every time he sounds mad I get scared and I am worried I did something wrong and I get really defensive and I just never do anything right. But he's really confusing because one min he likes me and I can hug him but 10 min later he's screaming or making me feel like I have done something wrong. I try so hard to be a good kid and do what he says and avoid trouble but he never notices if I do something right only wrong. He always says I'm selfish and lazy and all I do is stay at home and I should get a job. Which isn't true I'm a full-time uni student trying to get into med, I have a perfect GPA I'm hardworking all I do is study and I applied for at least 10 jobs in the last week, I'm really trying. Pretty much anytime I do anything or say anything he isn't happy or tells me to shut up or just makes it clear he doesn't care so I go away. We have arguments and fights multiple times a week and it makes me very sad and angry and I often feel like self-harming or suicidal after we fight (even though I don't act on either of these things) He just bullies me over silly little things like spilling some water or being in the kitchen when he is. I just don't know how to stop the arguments because I try so hard to be good. I'm 18 not a child I hate how he treats me like this but I can't afford to move out and sometimes he's nice to me and I like him and I'm confused.  ... View more

Hi Everyone,  I am extremely socially aware and politically correct as is my best friend and I made a comment complaining about a teacher at uni who was incredibly rude and bad their job and disregarded me when I asked for help with an assignment and she hasn't spoken to me in 2 days and sent me a message saying my comment was unnecessary followed by a passive-aggressive comment with a shrug emoji, it was also written very formally so I know she is mad at me because if she gets mad this is what happens she just cuts you out completely.    We have been best friends for 8 years and have both experienced & currently do experience trauma and mental health issues which we have helped each other through really tough times and I feel incredibly guilty that I might have offended her and made her mad at me and hate me.   All my other friends think the message I sent was fine and not offensive and that I'm not a horrible person but I feel cancerous and I can't stop crying and feeling so guilty I feel sick and can't concentrate on my studying and .I'm so anxious about this I didn't even consider the comment to be offensive and if it was it was 100% an accident and so I have sent her 2 messages apologising for profusely but she hasn't replied and I feel like this is going to mean she doesn't trust me anymore or hurt our relationship and I feel sick.    I can't stop worrying about this and because I have an anxiety disorder it's even harder to stop I feel incredibly guilty and like a horrible person who deserves nothing    ... View more

So I need to rant and I need advice     My best friend is one of the only people I really love (I'm a bit unemotional) and cares about a lot and she's been there for me through a variety of mental health issues and life stressors and I have been there for her through hers, neither of us has had it easy. She's quite a closed off, introverted kind of person so she doesn't talk to many people and I'm the only person who knows most things about her life so I feel kind of responsible in a way also I'm training to be a psychologist so I'm supposed to be good at the kind of thing and usually I am but I'm honestly out of my depth.   So my friend similar to me is quite anxious and often worries that something bad might happen to her family and last night she was very worried that her mum was going to commit suicide and then her mum just disappeared in the night and didnt take the car and was gone for hours and I spent that time trying to comfort her and calm her down but then she started telling me things like signs that were concerning so I tried to help her get in contact but we couldn't and later that night she said her mum did try to and then I didn't hear from her for about 12 hours and I finally heard from her and her mum is ok but they spent the night in hospital and I can't go into details as it was quite graphic but I feel really bad and scared for my friend, she already had past trauma and now she is gonna be even worse because she was the found who foud her mum and had to call help and try and save her and stop her young brother seeing anything and It was heartbreaking to hear my friend in so much pain and she said she would have done anything to be with her mum if she died if it wasnt for her younger bro so that worries me....   I just don't know how to help or what to do and I feel kind of bad for trying to calm my friend down when she was actually right.    ... View more

Sooo I'm not really sure what to write so this will be a bit of a mess but here we go... Lately, I have been feeling bad about myself more than usual (tbh I always feel kind of bad about myself) and it's bothering me... I lack self-confidence in all aspects of my life particularly my physical self, the only part I kind of like is that I'm fairly competent academically I just finished my first uni semester with straight HD's so I find myself extremely fixated and obsessed with my grades and school work (I'm a perfectionist & a control freak) which isn't healthy probably but my entire self-worth is dependent on my grades.   I'm kind of off topic but I just really don't like my body at all especially my weight but I can't control my weight at the moment because I have a few anxiety disorders which I'm medicated for and the only side effect I get is weight gain (so I want to stay on them) and I can't lose weight no matter how I eat or exercise, even before the meds I had a hard time losing weight and I just feel incredibly ygross like I try not to look at myself without a lot of clothes on and I can't take a compliment ever especially about my appearance and my friends talk about sex or relationships and I'm fine talking about them but as soon as I'm brought into the conversation about my body I really hate it like I will never be physically attractive to anyone or be 'hot' or anything like that. I'm also trans so that makes the body issues worse because there are some things that are against me genetically that I can never fix or change like my chubby face or hips etc.    My lack of confidence in general not just about my body is impacting my life because I don't like going out in public and I cry when I shop for clothes plus due to the confidence issues I can't be assertive or ask for respect from others in my life eg. I have been out to my family for years but can't ask them to use the correct pronouns or name or say I want to go on hormones or anything, I can't ask people at uni to do that either and I have never corrected anyone when they misgender me I'm just so nervous and lack the confidence to have any control over my own life I care way too much what others think and don't trust myself at all and second guess everything I do, it stopped me from trying sports or dancing and applying for jobs or medical school. I'm not really sure what the point of this post is I just wish I was happy and not ashamed with my body, myself as a person or my gender and sexuality.    ... View more

  So I just need to rant a bit I am at uni and just a freak-out and definitely overreacted and feel horrid.   My friend and I were meeting at the unibar to get food because I don’t have any today and don’t have enough money to buy myself anything like a full meal so we were going half’s but when we got there she changed her mind and she kept changing her mind and wanted to go somewhere more expensive and I completely freaked out and had a stress induced break down and she went where she wanted to go without me and I feel as if she hates me and I have spent the last hour feeling incredibly depressed almost suicidal and crying.   I don’t know why I reacted that way I just get extremely stressed and anxious with change or not following plans. I suppose the fact that I have an anxiety disorder and am incredibly stressed about many things and exams in a few weeks might have contributed but I just feel like a cancerous person. ... View more