Old worries - advice

[stringbean]

hi there, today i have been laid up with a bad cold and throat and having to lay around so not able to keep busy. Since increasing my cipralex to 20mg last week have been feeling less anxious but still unable to concentrate and today i have noticed that i am having a lot of my old fears come back but although i still have a faint feeling of panic i.e. what if i really do that, what if i lose control and that happens the thoughts arent really registering, its as though its happening in the depths of my brain! Does anyone else recognize this as finding it a bit worrying.

 

[David Baxter PhD]

It sounds pretty much like standard OCD-like obsessive worrying to me.

 

[stringbean]

Thank you so much for replying, your words are really reassuring, not sure how i got on before i found this web site.

 

[desiderata]

Control seems to be one of mankind's biggest issues.
You can only control you and that is moment to moment.
We all have to take the good with the bad; it's how we deal with the negative that hangs a lot of us up.
I know when things aren't going as smoothly as I would like I forget that nothing lasts forever. Time has a way of evening the score.
So in your moment of panic remember that this too will pass.

 

[stringbean]

Thanks for this desiderata, that is reassuring to read.

 

[Been there Done that]

How many people with OCD actually "lose control" and what exactly is "losing control"?

Devout Worrier
Been There Done That(or worried about it)

 

[David Baxter PhD]

How many people with OCD actually "lose control" and what exactly is "losing control"?

Those are the million dollar questions? What - specifically - is it that you fear might happen?

 

[stringbean]

I fear I will completely lose my sanity and or hurt someone.

 

[David Baxter PhD]

Try to drill down a bit more and become even more specific: What would losing your sanity mean? Who would you hurt? and how?

 

[stringbean]

God that is not something i want to think about, just feel as though i would explode

 

[David Baxter PhD]

The point is that catastrophic worrying is often vague, which makes it harder to counter (e.g., using CBT). If you're just worrying about "something terrible happening" or "losing control", try defining that fear more specifically.