Obsessive Thoughts do they end?

[Dylan1994]

Ok so I recently dropped out off school because it was my first time ever with anxiety and i was afraid I might end up losing it at school. Im 20 now, first time ever in my life for the past few months experiencing this. Have seen my GC twice and he seems okay. Anyways I suffered anxiety moderately at the start of college but then from a panic attack pretty i got after doing cocaine made it worse. Anyways for a good while now i've suffered from panic attacks but they have stopped I no longer sit in my room crying. More importantly my insomnia is starting to go away, I still wake up early but I can actually fall asleep which I bet is helping. However, I am still wondering when these thoughts will stop and if anyones ever expeirenced anything like it. Granted i sit at home a lot and don't distract myself too much, I noticed all day long I have these intrusive and repitive thoughts about my anxiety, im basically stuck in my head. Like literally all day i think about myself and anxiety, sometimes I analyze but im working on accepting that its just anxiety. I also am getting much better at not listening to my thoughts such as intrusive suicidal or weird thoughts that used to bother me. has anyone experienced this kind of obsessive phase?

LASTLY, I thought i was experiencing derealization/depersonalization at one point now i'm not sure if its become just obsession. But often when I go outside i analyze whether or not life looks real alot which bothers me i try not to let it. Will this pass?

[RealisticTrain]

What you are experiencing is perfectly normal. Because anxiety seems to be (at least for now) your biggest issue, its naturally what you think most about. Someone who is getting married in a few months will spend most of their time thinking about that. The problem arises when you start to get frightened and worried about your anxiety, and that fear then enforces your worry.

Paradoxically, the more you try to convince yourself to stop thinking about obsessive thoughts, the more frequent they become. If I tell you NOT to think about pink elephants, what do you think about? Pink elephants!

You need to learn to accept that you are having these thoughts, and to try to live alongside them, and not against them. Good luck and let me know if i can help with anything else (im a resident psychiatrist)
- Dr. Dan

[aml0017]

Agree with Dr. Dan. It is normal to have constant repetitive thoughts. You do need to accept the thoughts are happening right now, as wishing them away is no use. Being afraid of them is no use, thoughts themselves cannot hurt you. It is the perception that the thoughts are harmful that causes the most anxiety for me. I like to write my thoughts down on paper. I write down my worst imagined fears I am having at the moment, and then I write down why it is irrational, or unlikely to happen. Are you worrying about things that are out of your control? If so, then worrying about it constantly isn't going to help you control it. If you can do something, however small, write it down. I find the process of writing it down somehow forces you to be honest about your worries and sort of gives them some weight, rather than a barrage of incoherent thoughts. Then walk away for a while. Exercise, watch a movie, talk to a friend, whatever.

This is not a cure all, but it may give you some respite for a while. I think that the depersonalization/derealization is just your minds way of trying to get a rest. It is not uncommon for me. My experience is I usually feel detached from everything. People and sounds and objects seem far away and not real. Sort of like I am in a bubble. It used to freak me out but now see it for what it is, the minds way of trying to get away from the exhausting worry, and I find it more relaxing. I don't know if this is what you are experiencing, but it may just be because you are thinking about it. When you are not anxious you just go about your day looking at and hearing and touching things, you don't ever stop to think about whether what you are seeing is real or not, you just do it.

This too shall pass! No matter how hopeless it seems right now.