I'm sorry about your anxiety and about your dog's illness. I have had a lot of sick cats over the years. It's really upsetting. I'm not sure specifically what is going on with your dog, is it a short term illness, chronic, old age related...? One thing I did to cope when my pets were sick was get in groups like this for support, online e-groups or whatever you kind find. It helps emotionally and sometimes people can give you tips on the best way to care for your pet when they are sick. Another thing to do is realize you only have so much control over the course of your pets life. Try to let go a little bit of feeling like you have to or should fix everything. Do the best you can for him but then try to let it go a little bit and take care of yourself. Take time to meditate, rest, just put it out of your mind for awhile. It will be there after you take your breaks.

As a pet owner myself, I can relate. As to your CBT, I wonder how many sessions you had, and the frequency. Many times we aren’t comfortable sharing our inner thinking with others or perhaps a therapist just doesn’t suit us well. For whatever reason, you should not give up on therapy as it is probably the best help you can get. Perhaps you didn’t give it your best, maybe you expected a faster recovery than you got. In any case, recovery depends upon what we ourselves put into it as well as what we gain from it. Recovery takes a long time, not weeks or months, but dedication to it for years. If recovery is worth it, you will do whatever it takes to gain it. Please don’t think I’m coming down on you, I’m just speaking from my own experience as a recovering anxious and depressive person. It took me about three years for all I had learned over time to start finally coming together. There were times I wanted to quit, but I couldn’t, something in me kept pushing me to keep giving it the best I had. And that best, at first, wasn’t much compared to now, cause my best keeps getting better. Don’t give up, there is nowhere to go but up!

I read this differently from how Anna1212 did- probably because I sometimes get anxiety around my older cat being sick/ dying when he's fine. I don't know if your dog really is sick or if it's more like mine where I just get this fear that my cat is sick or that he's going to die when he's absolutely fine.

If it's like mine I cry my heart out just thinking about losing my precious kitty. But I've come to realize what triggers these thoughts to come on- I often get them right before this birthday since I'm reminded that he's not a young cat anymore and that really gets me freaked out- I'm not ready to lose him, nor do I think I will EVER be ready. When it just seems to "crop up randomly?" I've found it's not that random- it's normally when I'm overwhelmed, tired, lonely and sad and feeling like no one is hearing me because my cat? He's been there for me for over a decade now- through SO many things. Just knowing why it's hitting me does help. Then I get him from wherever he is and give him a hug and tell him how much I love him. I reassure myself that I've never missed a vet appointment for him and do the extra older kitty blood work at every visit- that I am a vigilant pet parent. Does it make me ready to say goodbye? No. But, he's happy and healthy now so I don't have to do those preparations today.

If your dog is sick I am SO sorry- pets are such a huge part of our lives and families. Anna1212 has some good suggestions and of course talking to your vet regarding the best course of action to take as well as anyone you know and have a good relationship with who has lost a pet/ knows how much your dog means to you.

Either way, if your therapist isn't working for you please either discuss why you feel it isn't working for you or if you have already done that and it's still not working please don't continue to see this person- been there- done that staying with the wrong therapist is awful.

Sending you and your pup hugs!

Hello Jlynn. Welcome to DS.

When I was so deeply isolated that I seldom sought out human company, my shrinks called my extreme worry about my animals, etc., "Transference." None of them were minimizing my deep and active bonds with animals or nature. They were only saying that the extremes to which I nurtured those bonds were repressing my hard-wired need to bond with other humans. Fast forward a few decades and I still bond more naturally and deeply with plants and animals than humans, but I am beginning to understand what those shrinks were trying to tell me. It really does take a village to live a healthy life. A healthy village has places for Nature.

But that is me and every case is unique. . .

Gentle support while you sort your own case, Jlynn. Welcome aboard.

Thanks everyone for the responses and kind, helpful words.

My dog just had a stomach issue yesterday, but seems a lot better today. Yet the anxiety is still lingering as I feel awful this morning upon waking. It usually happens anytime the tiniest thing is wrong with him - I overthink and worry non stop. All of the things you are saying make compete sense, yet I can’t snap out of it no matter how much I tell myself those things. It’s hard.

I only did about four visits with that therapist and I will admit that I got to feeling better so I have been slacking on finding someone new. Now I have to spend my time searching now when I’m desperate for help. My own fault.

I appreciate all of your kind words and support so much!

Welcome to the anxiety board at DS.

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

With weather related anxiety, it's a long term recovery process and often reveals other anxiety triggers through the work done at home in between office visits. My CBT treatment plan was for twelve months (we wrote out the short term goals and the long term goals and set up a plan)

With animal health issues, you are doing the best you can. It's hard when you know they are growing old and need more help.

Anxiety is natural. Anxiety is a helper. Learning how to get it to stay within normal range takes determination and you can do it!

Thank you! It will take time - I understand that. I feel like it’s getting worse (the anxiety and worry) the older I get. I don’t have children, and honestly I am fine with that decision (so is my husband). I can barely handle the worry of being a dog mom. I could only imagine how I’d be with actual kids LOL

I'm still not too comfortable with the "Dog Mom" movement, but I have loved dogs through both of my parenting careers and you are quite right about the added challenge of loving skin babies over fur and feather babies. My fur and feather babies don't argue anywhere near as much as the skin babies. My critters are where I go for comfort when the skin babies are imitating human nature.

When I grow up, I want to be a Dog Mom's baby.

I spent my lunch break reaching out to a few new therapists, so hopefully I can find someone that will be a good fit. I wish I could just stop the worry. He ate all of his food this morning and is drinking water, seemed more playful than yesterday, too. So I guess he’s feeling better but I still just worry. I have to keep reminding myself that I can only do what I can do. If he’s sick, I can/will take him to the vet to be treated. I am driving myself mad with the worry. I can’t focus at work and I just feel so uneasy and on edge right now. I have the jitters.

When my worry/anxiety escalates to OCD, I like to pay attention to what I call, "the fissures" which are happening while I gently minister to whatever it is I am obsessing over. My critters are generally the objects of my OCD because they usually seem to enjoy my OCD attentions far more than humans do.

"The fissures" are those muffled thoughts and feelings which I am pushing away with the worries about the current object of my obsession. They are typically the feelings and thoughts I have been repressing and dragging them out of my psychic closets helps me resolve them.

i want to share with you what someone shared with me when i was experiencing similar anxiety. Knowledge. Educate yourself regarding natural disasters and spend some time preparing yourself, such as, What would I do if there was a tsunami...then practice and educate yourself on the best way to survive it. Be prepared. All i know is when i began to apply this to every thing i was feeling anxiety about and i asked myself well worst case scenerio .....and i would answer it. I know that once i was educated and knew enough about the thing I was having anxiety about, it relieved itself and it was very empowering. you are worth beating anxiety..or mananging it!! knowledge is power!