anyone gotten over scary thoughts?

[bob p]

i have been suffering on and off for some time now with obsessive scary thoughts and was wondering if anyone else has freed themselves from this. looking for some positive helpful info. thanks bob

[coach21]

Hey Bob,

This forum is a wonderful source of support and encouragement however, to truly "get over" this particular symptom of anxiety often times we need a therapist who has a wealth of experience with this particular symptom of anxiety. Through working with a therapist with this type of experience we are able to develop a foundation and apply the knowledge necessary to develop the emotional muscle needed. I know we have previously exchanged e-mails thus I would be more than happy to help you help yourself develop and implement a recovery plan.

"Experience isn't what happens to you, it's what you do with what happens to you". God bless and e-mail me anytime.

[abby1]

It has actually suprised me but yes I have seen a big difference with the scary thoughts. I am somebody who seems to be able to find scary thoughts in everything but being able to recognize them and realize I am doing it really helps me to see things a little more clearly. For example if I am buying a gift for a child I worry that they might swallow a button or the eyes on a stuffed animal might come off and they could choke. I also worried about knives in the house. When my son would go away with his father I would worry that if its raining they could get into an accident. If I called to check on him and they didn't answer I woud immediately think something bad happpened. I still worry and some of that is probably valid but I noticed that I am not completely consumed by it anymore. In the past I could work myself into such a frenzy that I would be shaking and almost in tears. Now I am much better. I still need to work at it but I finally have some hope that I'm getting better.

[missobsessive]

Hi Bob,

I havent' completely gotten over the obsessive scary thoughts, but I have had a few occasions where I was able to notice them when they were starting and prevent myself from getting sucked into them. I don't even know what was going on at the time to make me start obsessing, but I can remember feeling them come on. It seems to start out as just a 'goofy' thought that doesn't quite feel right. As soon as I noticed that, I would say to myself, 'Alright.. I know what this is. This is just a meaningless thought that has no value. For some reason, I'm using it to distract myself from something. I'm going to let it be there, I'm not going to react to it. It will go away. I'm not afraid of it. It's fine.' And I would just gently 'float' away from it. And it really did go away. I was able to do that a few times.

And I really do believe that what Jackie says is Session 10 - how the obsessive scary thoughts are just a side effect of anxiety. So when the anxiety lessens from using and implementing all of these skills, we won't be so worked up that our minds begin to obsess.

It's possible!!

[bob p]

thank you. i am also learning to just float with the thoughts and not give them any meaning. we can all get through this together. thanks again.

[scaredxtoxdeath]

It is reassuring (in a way, because I wish none of us had to deal with this) to hear that other people are dealing with this same issue.I suffer terribly from obsessive intrusive terrifying thoughts. And like Lucinda had said on her one coaching session, I got to the point to where I was literally terrified to live and terrified to die. That has got to be the worst place to be in. I am still lingering on the edge of that feeling, and I still get moments where I have a sudden thought, that, Oh My God...I can't deal with life, with anything in life, with any situation..its terrifying. But this session has definetly helped me to see that it is just a thought. I have been suffering from intense scary thoughts for years, and I'm still here. What I am learning is that you have to make life what you want it to be. I have two choices. I can be absolutely terrified, or chose to accept that I am not in control and begin to try to accept that these thoughts are just thoughts, and will not hurt me. I am having a really hard time with it, and actually have done session 10 about 4 times now to keep plugging in my brain this information so I actually start to use it. I tend to forget very quickly about the skills that will help me when I get into these episodes. Sometimes I wonder, because it really feels like I can't help it, like there is this little demon in my head talking and just won't shut up and I can't make it stop ( I know that sounds really wierd, but thats how it feels) When I get like that, I feel like there is no way to stop it. I need to find good ways of distraction that actually help...especially while sitting in the car (another thing I'm really struggling with). Anyone have anything they use as a good distraction while trying to get rid of these thoughts?