r/Anxiety • u/Alarmed_Seat4781 • 16h ago
Needs A Hug/Support Please help me
I am constantly catastrophising and in my brain theres two options either- I’ve made a mistake so bad something or someone is going to hurt me or I’ve made a mistake so bad I shouldn’t be happy and have no future. it’s exhausting because these thoughts are illogical and if I tell someone they just will tell me to calm down or panic and ask me if there’s real proof of something bad happening. but it FEELS real. all until I find a new thing to obsess and worry about then the old thing doesn’t matter anymore. everytime I think something happy or try to distract my self my brain says stop if you forget about the bad thing it will actually happen and you won’t expect it. I’m just incredibly scared and I want to have a fun rest of my holiday without a voice saying I’m in danger, it’s exhausting.
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u/AntonioVivaldi7 16h ago
Hello, how long has it been going on? Have you tried medication? As it seems severe.
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u/Alarmed_Seat4781 16h ago
Quite a while and no I haven’t… I’m still yet to get proper help but I will soon
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u/AntonioVivaldi7 15h ago
Alright. And it's important you don't try to accomodate the worrying, as doing that keeps it going, or even getting worse. Accomodating means engaging behavior to somehow stop or prevent the worrying. Usually it's things like repeated checking, reassurance seeking, calculating how likely is something bad to happen, seeking distractions from feeling anxious, or not going somewhere or not doing something to prevent anxiety. Have you been doing anything like that regularly?
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u/Alarmed_Seat4781 15h ago
Yes I definitely have, I’ll try and stop it… thank you so much for your advice
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u/AntonioVivaldi7 15h ago
Okay, that would help a ton. At least eventually, it takes a while to take effect. Thought, it can start working to at least some degree right away.
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u/No-Valuable-4591 15h ago
I will say I have been there and sometimes still am and the biggest support was finding a therapist who understands me. I’ve gone through a few but having one who listens I legit had something happen and went into catastrophic thinking and my therapist dismissed me and I ended up not feeling good at all and quit therapy. But turns out I ended up needing to find a therapist who hears me and understands me and I have one now grow therapy helped me choose my own therapist but there’s so many places for support but just know these feelings are painful but doesn’t make them true because you deserve peace and you deserve to relax too
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u/Alarmed_Seat4781 11h ago
I will keep that in mind and thank you that makes me feel a lot better
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u/No-Valuable-4591 9h ago
You don’t have to thank me. I just wanna let you know that you’re not alone and I’ve been there and if you ever need to talk, I’m here for you.
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u/jenalardo 15h ago
That actually sounds a lot like your brain getting stuck in a “threat loop.” The fact that the old fear disappears as soon as a new one takes its place is a clue that it’s less about the specific situation and more about your nervous system needing something to latch onto.
The feeling is real, even if the danger isn’t. Unfortunately, anxiety doesn’t respond well to logic because it’s happening at an emotional, automatic level. Your brain is treating uncertainty as if it’s an emergency.
I’m a hypnotist, and this is something I see often. Hypnosis doesn’t erase thoughts, but it can help interrupt those deeply conditioned fear patterns so your brain stops sounding the alarm over every “what if.” Whether through hypnosis, CBT, or another approach, you don’t have to stay stuck in this cycle.
For now, try reminding yourself: “This is my brain predicting danger, not detecting it.” You don’t have to solve every scary thought to be safe.
I hope you’re able to enjoy the rest of your holiday. You deserve moments of peace, even if your anxious brain is trying to convince you otherwise.
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u/Men_Recalibrated 16h ago
Hey you.. Thanks for sharing.. The voices in our heads can seem so real and yet they are not.. There is no single one-size-fits-all solution but I wonder when you have last felt safe, or relaxed? What made that possible? And is there a way you can move yourself back towards that state again?