Hello Kylie. Welcome to DS. Sorry for what brings you here, but glad you are here.

More than one of my shrinks has believed that my "relapses" aren't really relapses but closer to extended periods of denial and repression where I am able to distract myself from and repress the still going anxiety cycles. Somewhere along the way, after one or three too many "relapses," I started to agree with them enough to try anxiety management in place of looking for cures and declaring myself, "Over It." These days I swear by anxiety management as the way to go. Don't cure ^it^. Train ^it^.

But that is me and every case is unique.

Gentle support while you find what ^it^ is for you. Welcome aboard.
Sort freely. Sort often.

Thank you so much for replying! I really want to give CBT a shot because I do feel like I need to learn to accept anxiety because then I am just suppressing it. Did you like CBT or did you try something else?

OMG! Yes I go through this too Im on my 3rd "relapse" right now. Just like you I go years without any anxiety and then all of a sudden it hits me so hard that each time I feel like I will lose it and have a breakdown. Then it seems like it goes away out of nowhere just as it came

welcome kylie! i haven’t been struggling with motivation through work, but i can understand how hard finding motivation can be. livelihood is very hard on anxiety but we are all here for you and support you. i hope you find what works for you. reach out for support whenever you need it!!

So wishing you well.

I don't know if that was a relapse, if it has been 3 years. Sometimes we don't want to label something, because just a label itself can cause us anxiety.

Could have been so many things. Stress you've had lately, job worries, you were hungry, hadn't slept much..... Lots of things that can cause anxiety to suddenly come up.

If you've been pretty much "fine" for 3 years, and this episode is a few days in, I would try to put it out of my mind, go about my regular life, and not give anxiety any power or negative energy.

I think you are going to be just fine. We are here for you.

CBT did not become a standard therapy until the 80's or 90's. I started my psychotherapy in the 70's when Dr. Beck (the father of CBT) was still considered a crackpot. I was well exposed to his theories but cannot claim to have had The Treatment. The theories have served me well, as have the mindfulness/radical acceptance theories which grew from "Transcendental Meditation." I have younger brothers and sisters-in-healing who have shown impressive results from formal CBT.

Among the pesky details of anxiety is that it is an all-natural part of our survival instincts. It is what allows us to perform amazing feats in the face of danger and offers us the pain relief of dissociation when our end is inevitable. Yet another reason I say, "Don't cure it. Train it."

Thank you everyone for your sweet replies. It means a lot to me and a lot of you gave me hope and some great advice.

I started to relapse, or whatever, back in summer. One of the things that has come of that has been a new (to me) understanding of anxiety and how to relate to it. I've also moved away from the belief that anxiety is something to be suppressed, buried, killed, what-have-you via drugs, both the doctor and self prescribed varieties, and have become a proponent of anxiety management via reframing and acceptance. I've made progress with this and have been feeling much better.

Best of luck with your journey. Here to listen when you need it.

Welcome to the anxiety board at DS.

You've taken the important first step in writing it out.

Anxiety is natural. It is a part of us. It's actually trying to help, so use it to help you find your better balance.

CBT (cognitive behavior therapy) treatment plan is effective in learning methods to bring calm, remain calm, and find clear headed routines to help you through 'stress-distress' moments with a better balance.

It's a lot of work on your part, individually, daily, at home, with assignments, and the office visit is to help sort out what works best when, where, and with whom.

Best wishes as you find your better balance.

Many have found that taking magnesium (magnesium malate or glycinate is best) and ginseng helped a lot w both anxiety and depression, they calm the mind body and spirit and get rid of sticky negative thoughts the loop around in the mind. Also, getting outside, laying on the grass to get grounded and breathe in fresh air, looking at stars, these things help a lot too. Our environment help or hurt our mental health and physical health. Speak aloud positive truths to counteract the negative thoughts and things said to us. Also, Volunteering helps us get our of our own misery to help others, which helps us. Call those negatives a lie and correct them to yourself. Protect yourself from those who put that added stress on you.