Please be careful. Yes, our fear can make us anxious and I see the disease making me anxious at times.
Journaling can help. The fear of what could happen had me more anxious than the problem at hand.
Stress makes us worse so find what works for you. When I had severe anxiety I had tapes that taught me relaxation techniques.
We do learn to adapt. It gets better.
Ann

I found what was up with my swallowing by the way. When I'm eating normal, I chew stuff out of the side of my mouth and swallow it down the side, whereas when I was shoveling I left it in the middle of my toungue and just gulped. Same problem when you try to swallow a pill. I feel a bit better now though I am still generally anxious.

Years ago my father recommended a book named /How To Stubbornly Refuse To Make Yourself Miserable About Anything - Yes, Anything!/ that helped me out a lot, and I've just brought it down from the bookshelf. It has this technique that I've found very useful in the past where you basically let yourself say these things that worry you and make you miserable, those things that you've been saying to yourself all day, and then you argue with those things, sometimes in a very forcefully positive way (not in a Pollyanna kind of way, but in a way where you really question whether or not they make sense at all). I think I'm going to try that.

If it is of any help......your treatment will most likely keep you from getting to a point(bed place) where a lot of us have been.
I had a crisis and am now on treatment and I have my life back.
Ann

Thank you for your response. I'm actually feeling better now. I've decided that I can either worry about the future and ruin today, or take care of myself and make a better future.

The thing that gets me when I look at it is that I'm worried about being miserable in the future, and there's really not much of a difference between doing that in the future and now. The misery is misery, and it takes up time. Only right now I have a choice on whether to be miserable.

Copperz, the initial shock wears off. For some it's sooner and others later. Having a good medical team behind me helped tremendously.

I wish you better days ahead.
Larissa

There are going to be ups and down. I just started taking the meds again after a long remission. That was a tough pill to swallow. (Get it? Tough pill! I'm Priceless!)
Stressing out about it only makes you feel worse, which makes you stress more, which makes you feel worse. Its a vicious cycle! One day I feel as though I'm ready to fight with everything I have. The next day I'm depressed and feeling sorry for myself. My family has been a big help when I'm feeling down. I wish there was a magic trick we could use to stay positive. Just remember that you arent alone. You can always turn to us. I have found that my friends and family have been more supportive than I thought they would be. Dont be afraid to lean on people once in a while. Its good for you and those who you lean on. You know what they say. If life throws you a curve ball.... you make... lemonade...or something. :^D

Good luck,
Jay

Copper,
I'm glad to see over the course of this thread that you are working through the situation and returning to what works for you. You are right, worrying today about something you can't change will only make you miserable. Then again, you can't make yourself not worry at all but the overwhelming anxiety is not productive and will just make you miserable. Don't you wish there were a switch we could flip and make it stop? Surround yourself with things that comfort you, be careful with that shoveling of food - slow down and chew. :-)

Jay, you are really on a roll, lol!
Cathi

I guess the words that have helped me the most are this rewording of a prayer:

Help me accept the thing I cannot change....MG
Help me find the courage to change the things I can
And the difference to know the difference.

Frequently I ask myself what can I do about this. One answer is education...I have gotten more education from this web site than anywhere. Another is following the plan of care after you understand it--- not blindly. But some situations just have to be accepted and there is peace in accepting what cannot be changed.