help with decisionmaking...

[namaste87]

Long story short - one of the most important things to me in the world is cats. I'm a tiny bit allergic but I have always had cats anyway. About six months ago a friend told me that your allergy can get worse if you're exposed to it. I freaked out as hell. Got panic attacks and suicidal and very depressed and started to develope a lot of allergic symptoms I've never had earlier in my life. Now it's six months later and I have to move cause I told my roommates so and a new one is moving in. I have been staying at a friends place now for some months (without animals) but I have to move from there some time soon.

Now I have to decide if I am going to move in with cats again or not. I am a LOT better, allergy still causes me anxiety, but not even near anywere near the amount it was causing a couple of months ago. Thinking about living without cats makes me feel dead inside. I have decided that I want to live my life with cats cause it's worth the risk, but I am not sure that it's time for it yet... But I really want to, I really really do. I'm just scared that I will go suicidal again...

Any advice...?

[gypsylee]

Get a short-haired cat? :)

[Goomba]

I'm not saying your friend is wrong, but I've never heard that.

In fact allergists often expose you to your allergies in small doses so that your immune system can learn to tolerate them - improving your allergies (allergy shots). It's called immunotherapy, I believe.

If you're not having issues, I wouldn't worry about it.

[raggamuffin]

See the pattern? You were told something - you freaked out. You responded with fear and panic and emotions. This fed anxiety around the situation. Now being around cats you fear danger to your health. So the fight or flight response kicks in. Now you get anxiety symptoms.

You need to rationalize that your friend was misinformed and understand there's no danger around cats. Your anxiety is provoking you to feel symptoms. Secondly you need to look into how you deal with stress. you need to rationalize stressors in life and not respond with emotion, because, as you can clearly see it only serves to hold you back in life.

Might be worth looking into changing core beliefs on Google. Fix the past and you'll fix the present.

Ed

[namaste87]

Hi :) Thanks for your answers.

My question is really about if it is to soon to move in with cat's again? Can I get TO exposed to my anxiety? I realise that it is not the allergy that is the problem but the anxiety, and I am afraid that I will freak out and go suicidal again if i expose myself to much to my anxiety.

I want to point out that I am at an whole other state of mind now, I have been staying at a friends house for some days now and they have lots of cat's and other animals and I have had some anxiety but not that much.

[namaste87]

I'm gonna look in to core belifes, thanks!

[raggamuffin]

Exposing yourself to things that make you nervous will gradually reduce anxiety's hold on you. Avoiding a situation that makes you anxious empowers anxiety and takes from you. Just remember that there wasn't an issue before your friend said anything. Ergo there is no real issue and you must remember that. You responded with panic and emotions and that's what's caused these issues.

Ed