Anxiety Support Group

Anxiety is a physical condition marked by intense and persistent feelings of distress, fear, angst or dread. General anxiety caused by routine day-to-day stresses usually passes quickly and is experienced by almost everyone at one time or another. However, such feelings that linger over time and are very difficult to cope with, and which lack a clear cause, may indicate...

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ScaredSIlly31 12/05/2012

For the past few years I started suffering from major anxiety and hypochondria.
However, it got REALLY bad after I had my baby girl 3 yrs ago.

I am constantly inspecting her...making sure she doesnt have anything wrong...bumps, lumps, bruises. The worse thing about this is, she is a toddler now and she is ALWAYS up and down (thank God) but she gets bruises out of no where, because when I think LOGICALLY (which is rare that I do) they are there because she is silly and acts like a monkey jumping all over the place and falls and bumps into places!

But what worries me and scares me is the fact that I have mental movies....does that make scense (sp)?

I have mental movies that my mom passes away in a car accident...my sister wont live past 30 etc etc. I know its all stupid and ridiculous but I cant stop it!!! It terrifies me, it keeps me up at night....it haunts me and drives me crazy!

I have sat up many nights crying, just busting my head over these thought (movies). and its weird because they play out fully in my mind. Ive had this before with myself when I go to the Dr...the "movie" plays out and the Dr tells me something bad about my health! Then ofcourse, thank God its NEVER how the stupid mental movie plays out!

My question is...does or has this ever happened to anyone?? Is this all part of my anxiety or am I really losing my screws??

deleted_user 12/05/2012

This used to happen to me a lot when I was going through a period of irrational jealousy. I would here that my wife was going to be busy for a while and the movie of how she was secretly meeting with a lover would start to play in my head.

I found I was well into it before I even realized I was doing it.

One strategy to avoid freaking out like this is to try to get back to that rational place. Your sister could die young, but if she is generally healthy and not in a very dangerous line of work (active combat, say, or fighting fires), then she is very likely to live a long time.

Another thing to do is to note that even if a terrible thing happens you could move on. I used to panic endlessly about a depressed friend, wondering what would I do if she killed herself. And then I asked myself, well, what would I do? I would mourn her. I would deliver a beautiful elegy at her funeral and remind everyone how special she was. And I would never forget her. That was a comfort to me. And she hasn't killed herself, by the way.

vectoman 12/08/2012

In the past I seemed to notice a period of time that I would daydream making up stories in my head and began to associate it with an episode of anxiety and depression.I'm not sure that I was right abnbout it but perhaps my mind was begining some kind of overactivity that would lead to anxiety.

deleted_user 12/08/2012

I also do have this mental movies where I take suicide, or sometimes my girlfriend at that time is cheating and going out/ sleeping with someone else.

I really feel bad at those times. And the sadness, panic and distress they brought is almost as if the thoughts I see are real. Whereas in actuality its just my anxious mind making up the stories and the reality is far from it.

Medication and self help books did help me tame my anxieties

deleted_user 12/08/2012

Good morning,
Are you on any medicine? Sounds like your mind might be running to much and needs to slow down. My mind creates a lot of that and for me it is related to my past and a chemical imbalance, so it makes me think and create all these scenarios that can, may, might happen. It causes a lot of anxiety. Maybe counseling will help figure out why your thinking this way. Good luck!

deleted_user 12/08/2012

I have these too, sometimes. My problem is I see a future self that is floating in and out of sanity. And that I may end up in a mental institution. I know I'm not the only one like this because a fear of going crazy is quite common with anxiety. When these thoughts come into my mind, and as humans we all get automatic thoughts (some positive some negative), I try to hold onto to something strong, and unmoving. For me, that is Biblical scripture. I really find that it roots me to truth and reality. Many people may not agree with me on this, but I know it has helped me. Sometimes I need to repeat scripture to myself until the dark thoughts pass. Sometimes that can last a whole day! Its hard, I know!

Take care,

deleted_user 12/08/2012

ALL THE TIME! My mental movies usually involve disaster scenarios. For example, there's a serious natural disaster and my family and I are in danger. Then I play over and over in my head the thought of how terrified my daughter would be in a scenario like that, and THAT is what sends me over the edge. I have a HUGE problem with things that are beyond my control. The idea of there being a situation that I cannot control makes me nuts. And, as you said, these things rarely happen, but the extent at which I think about them makes them SEEM so real and possible that it sends me into a tailspin

deleted_user 12/09/2012

My anxiety was a head trip I had mental movies and sick twisted thoughts that scared the crap out of me I would obsess and cry and have the mental movies you speak of mostly of me being committed to a psych ward I believe my "trigger" was the fear of going insane for example I use to love to watch law and order after I started having anxiety if it was on I would have to leave the room because I would start obsessing about becoming a sociopath it even went so far as me looking up characteristics of a sociopath and me going down the list to see if I met the criteria I don't have that problem anymore it's normal it's just your nerves you will be fine we just got wild imaginations lol

deleted_user 12/09/2012

Reading this is like looking in the preverbial (sp) mirrior! I too have movie thoughs, and mine got worse after kids. I can't even explaine how the "movies" start or why but they suck. It's hard that they are not just a random passing thought, but rather a short movie with horrible, detailed, sad, gorry scenes.
I have notice that like others that certain shows would give me "plot ideas" like law and order svu, dr oz, the doctors, anything thiriller or action packed. So this cuts over half the shows out. I would love to watch anything from begginging to end, and when it was over get up and not think of it again. Instead of it creeping up later or in the middle of the week, as a now personal tragic deal to me.
I will get a scenrio (this week or two is brain anyrisums(sp)) obsess for about a week or two, stress out and play movies over and over.
I wish I had a way to make it stop, but like you I haven't got a clue, so if you find out I wanna know too!

PookeyStar91 12/09/2012

I tend to do this sometimes too. My worst fears play out in my head. I think about what I would say or do it a horrible situation happened, then I get so upset about it that I can't calm down and the thoughts just end up consuming me. Then of course one thought leads to another and before I know it, it is like a "movie" playing in my head. Sometimes it even continues on into my dreams while I'm asleep and that makes it even scarier. I'm not really sure how to make all the horrible ideas stop. Like you said I'm always worried about something bad happening to a loved one...

It's tough and sometimes it really does feel like I'm losing my mind. It's also comforting to know that there are many other people that go through this kind of stuff too and there is some way to help, we just have to find it.

I hope you are able to find some comfort in the fact that you are not alone.

deleted_user 12/10/2012

hi... I read somewhere that this is called maladaptive daydreaming.
It is a comfort to know I am not the only loony.

http://www.squidoo.com/maladaptive-daydreaming-what-is-it

deleted_user 12/10/2012

I have the sane problems. Thank you for posting this, and the people commenting. I felt like I was the only one again thank you all

deleted_user 12/10/2012

I have this too

ScaredSIlly31 12/10/2012

Thank you all so very much for responding. I was getting worried that i was going crazy.

I was told by my mom, that I can change my movie. I can instead of it being negative. Make it positive. I HAVE control of it.

If my movie starts with me at the Dr... And instead of him telling me I have some deadly disease. To change it to him saying I am in great health etc etc.

All of u are so awesome for helping me hugs to all :-)

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