New to the forum...seeking advice and friends

[Mark Melhoff]

Hello all. I am new to the forum, but not new to anxiety and fear. I have struggled with these issues for a few years now. My main reason for joining this forum was to find people in similar situations who understand what I am going through. My anxiety and fear is a constant battle. Some days I have no problems, while others give me hell. For example, my wife and I are in the process of purchasing a new home this week. We started packing up boxes in the garage yesterday and ran across 2 mice living amongst the mound of junk we had stored in the garage. As soon as we finished packing for the day, I went straight to Google and started looking up diseases caused by rats and their drippings. Alas, HPS is carried by Deer rats and can be contracted by humans if touched or inhaled. So, here I am freaking out thinking I may have inhaled this stuff and will contract some damn disease. After more reading, I realized that Deer mice have a white underbelly, whereas house mice are mostly solid colors. The mice in our garage resembled house mice and did not have white bellies or tails. Even though I now understand that house mice do not normally carry any diseases, I am still freaking out. The worst part about all this is the fact that my wife was doing most of the packing/unpacking and came into contact with more of the mice junk than I did. I spent most of the time taking trash out and complaining about how much junk two people can accumulate in a matter of a couple years. If anyone were to get sick from this stuff, it would probably be her. But this is the life I lead. In some ways I blame Google for allowing me to research and freak myself out, but it never ends. A month or so ago I went hard at a band rehearsal and gave my self a mild concussion from all the head banging. I spent the next two days thinking I had bleeding in my brain and I would hemorrhage out. Geez. Thanks for reading and I look forward to spending time on this forum. Cheers.

[MiST]

Welcome to the community Mark, there is lots of useful information on this site, and the people arent bad either..

Good to have you aboard..http://www.pic4ever.com/images/231.gif

[Mark Melhoff]

Thank you. I look forward to meeting and conversing. Cheers.

[mrslizzyg]

Dr. Google is the worst. So is Dr. Bing, and Dr. WedMd...

They are def. not a good source of information for those of us with anxiety issues..

Try not to let yourself do that. Don't blame google for being there- blame yourself. Take responsibility for allowing yourself to search on there, when you know how it is going to end. Sorry if that sounds harsh.. :)

Anyways, welcome to the forum! A lot of great people here. Glad to have you added as well.

[Mark Melhoff]

That isn't harsh at all. You speak the truth. I am my own worst enemy, yet I continue to allow myself to search Google and freak out. I can control these urges most days, but little triggers seem to send me spiraling out of control.

Here is my wife sitting next to me without a care in the world, and she spent more time around the rat droppings than I did. I wish I had her mental strength. Thanks for the reply. It's nice to meet you.

[mrslizzyg]

Aren't we all our own worst enemy? lol.

I totally get that feeling with your spouse- my husband is the same way. I have anxiety and freak out about something, to him it would be nothing. I used to wish I was like him with his mental strength..

but I also think my anxiety makes me special(not ride the short bus special either..) because I feel things so deeply, and I care almost too much. I also want things to be planned well, and I do everything to keep people safe and happy. As exhausting as it can be sometimes, I think being that person in a marriage can add a lot of value. :) Despite my "freak out" moments, my anxiety can do some good things, too.

Yours could keep you from getting seriously hurt or ill one day. The freaking out now sucks, yes... but you never know when it might come in handy for something that really could have potentially serious effects.

Hang in there. :)

[MiST]

Confront your fears, eat that rat! it's the only way..http://www.pic4ever.com/images/129fs238648.gif

[Mark Melhoff]

Aren't we all our own worst enemy? lol.

I totally get that feeling with your spouse- my husband is the same way. I have anxiety and freak out about something, to him it would be nothing. I used to wish I was like him with his mental strength..

but I also think my anxiety makes me special(not ride the short bus special either..) because I feel things so deeply, and I care almost too much. I also want things to be planned well, and I do everything to keep people safe and happy. As exhausting as it can be sometimes, I think being that person in a marriage can add a lot of value. :) Despite my "freak out" moments, my anxiety can do some good things, too.

Yours could keep you from getting seriously hurt or ill one day. The freaking out now sucks, yes... but you never know when it might come in handy for something that really could have potentially serious effects.

Hang in there. :)

Thanks. I will continue to fight the good fight.

[Mark Melhoff]

Confront your fears, eat that rat! it's the only way

Oh wow. If I were to do that, I would get stuck on Google for next week researching the side effects of eating a rat....tisk tisk. It never ends. LOL.

[MiST]

Bear Grylls does it..you will be fine..death to the rat!

[Mark Melhoff]

Haha. Thanks for the vote of confidence. I am trying to kick this stuff out of my mind. It just takes time for some reason.