Anxiety attacks , OCD and illogical thoughts

[jayja]

Hi everyone.

Yesterday evening I had a severe anxiety attack. So it started from me being extremely anxious about my boyfriend whilst he was out shopping, for no apparent reason. Then, even after he said he was on his way home, safe, I started getting paranoid and illogical thoughts such as if my boyfriend was my boyfriend, or if he was even real. These disturbed me a lot so I went into a full blown attack which is something that hasn't happened in a while. I'm okay now, I'm just worried about those thoughts coming back again. I should be seeing a doctor this week as I'm going to make an appointment tomorrow. Hopefully I'll be referred back to the hospital and be seeing a psychologist and also have my medication increased.

On a different note I keep having OCD where, if I see a bottle top or something small I have a compulsion to put it in my mouth and feel like something bad will happen to my boyfriend if I don't :( it makes me anxiety worse because of the fear of choking and the consequences if I don't do it

Does anyone have any similar experiences and advice? Thank you guys :)

[magicmarcus]

Hi jaya,

yes this is pretty common and sounds very similar to what i have learned about OCD.

believe it or not you are not alone... many people think this way... i struggled with this stuff for years... sometimes to the point of not being able to function in normal day to day life or even being in fear that i would do something bad to myself.

it helps me to remember that thoughts are not real things and not anything to be scared of... unless we take them seriously and act on them... they are just chemical responses in our brains...

try to remember that you can choose which thoughts to entertain and which to just let go by... because you are in control of that.

the mind is like a lens and you get what you focus on :-)

[jayja]

Thanks for replying magicmarcus!

I do try to push the thoughts out my head but it is difficult. Thanks for you advice :)

[magicmarcus]

rather than fighting and trying to PUSH them out... let them wash by.

thoughts are like rivers of little chemical impulses... you can pick and choose which ones to dwell on... and by fighting one off... you are dwelling on it in a sort of way ;)