MeToo
09-24-2012, 04:11 PM
Just thought I'd introduce myself, (although i don;t want to use my name in case people Google me and find my posts on here and use them against me, yes I have a paranoid streak about certain things) I'm from Christchurch, New Zealand and have many specific fears and things that i get anxious about. Christchurch has suffered 4 earthquakes of magnitude 6 or larger since Sept 4, 2010, one such quake killed 185 people and we;ve had thousands of aftershocks (over 11000 at last count but all of them were felt) so this city naturally has many people with increased anxiety levels, although I had issues well before this quake sequence started and I never worried about earthquakes before.
After the first earthquake I was very edgy and tense for a few weeks as aftershocks were very frequent and violent. Then it died down by itself after a few weeks, I found my self reading a lot about earthquake science looking for reassurance and cause for optimism. By Feb 22, 2011, most of us including me had stopped thinking about quakes and it seemed things had settled down but then the 6.3 quake hit on Feb 22, and everything changed for many people. My house wasn't badly damaged, I don't know anyone who was killed but I was still quite anxious about the future. Now more than a year later, I only have the odd occasional flash of worry about another earthquake in the city as seismic activity does appear to be dying down and as one geologist said we should enjoy this quiet period rather than getting apprehensive about it. Although now I;ve started worrying more about what it is known as the Alpine Fault, its considered about due for a magnitude 8-8.5 quake that will last at least 2 minutes, it is further away from Christchurch but we will still feel strong shaking apparently but it will last much longer. All our previous big quake were close and shallow and lasted only about 30 seconds, the idea of 2 minutes or more of strong shaking scares the crap out of me, but I can't leave as my life is here and there's not many places in NZ you can go to escape earthquakes.
I also have many specific fears:
confrontation,
certain social situations
being tyhe victim of violence, certain medical proecedures and treatments, suffering some long term or permanent impairment, flying, humiliation, social ostracism,societal collapse and economic depression, getting a woman pregnant, being wrongly accused of something horrible (anxious people don't exactly come across as innocent or having nothing to hide if the cops question them either) death of a family member, noises in the night and being late for work.
I know in my logical part of my mind that these fears are irrational and can seem pathetic, some fears I've been able to ease by researching what it is i'm afraid of eg certain diseases but with others you simply can't the reassurance you seek.
At the moment I'm reading through the various posts here of people's experiences in terms of treatment and symptoms but just thought I'd provide a bit of background info first.
After the first earthquake I was very edgy and tense for a few weeks as aftershocks were very frequent and violent. Then it died down by itself after a few weeks, I found my self reading a lot about earthquake science looking for reassurance and cause for optimism. By Feb 22, 2011, most of us including me had stopped thinking about quakes and it seemed things had settled down but then the 6.3 quake hit on Feb 22, and everything changed for many people. My house wasn't badly damaged, I don't know anyone who was killed but I was still quite anxious about the future. Now more than a year later, I only have the odd occasional flash of worry about another earthquake in the city as seismic activity does appear to be dying down and as one geologist said we should enjoy this quiet period rather than getting apprehensive about it. Although now I;ve started worrying more about what it is known as the Alpine Fault, its considered about due for a magnitude 8-8.5 quake that will last at least 2 minutes, it is further away from Christchurch but we will still feel strong shaking apparently but it will last much longer. All our previous big quake were close and shallow and lasted only about 30 seconds, the idea of 2 minutes or more of strong shaking scares the crap out of me, but I can't leave as my life is here and there's not many places in NZ you can go to escape earthquakes.
I also have many specific fears:
confrontation,
certain social situations
being tyhe victim of violence, certain medical proecedures and treatments, suffering some long term or permanent impairment, flying, humiliation, social ostracism,societal collapse and economic depression, getting a woman pregnant, being wrongly accused of something horrible (anxious people don't exactly come across as innocent or having nothing to hide if the cops question them either) death of a family member, noises in the night and being late for work.
I know in my logical part of my mind that these fears are irrational and can seem pathetic, some fears I've been able to ease by researching what it is i'm afraid of eg certain diseases but with others you simply can't the reassurance you seek.
At the moment I'm reading through the various posts here of people's experiences in terms of treatment and symptoms but just thought I'd provide a bit of background info first.