Hi Justducky: Congratulations! You gotta be doing something right to have these future offers/possibilities. You should be so proud of yourself. This is really exciting news. Did you know that most people - what we call normal people without anxiety problems - all feel this same excitement and anticipatory anxiety? We - what we call anxious/stressed out people - think we have a patent on this. Everyone who finally gets what they want, something they really look forward to, a new start, a new job, a new marriage, a new baby, all feel these exciting times. Maybe the so called normal people settle down quicker than we do and get going. We tend to over analyze and review each detail until we exhaust ourselves mentally and physically. We use lots of what ifs, instead of wow, this is going to be hard work but fun and exciting. We all get the racing heart, the breathlessness when we get excited and happy and start out new adventures. I think this is really normal, it should be, afterall it's the unknown out there, we might all have a bit of apprehension about how we will manage or fit in. Believe in yourself, believe in your intelligence, your tenacity, your willingness to try and keep going. It really is the positive outlook rather than the negative. Congratulations again, I think this is wonderful news and I bet you can do it!
I haven't really challenged myself like this in a LONG time. I've been living in the same city and doing pretty much the same job for almost 5 years now. Today I just felt so anxious, paranoid, just plain weird all day. Don't know how I could handle all of this in a new city without my usual supports.
Some great advice here for you. Maybe take a nap, and work on your thoughts or the program for a bit. Work on finding a way to re-frame this news. How have you successfully worked through times like this in the past? Draw on your past successes! You can do this.
Classic agoraphobia. All the planning and work up was up to you and under your control. Now it isn't, other than the decision to do it or not. Don't you dare not. Now you are losing control. You are going to have to do things that you have no control over. So start now by saying "it is my decision" and "I want to do this" to get back the control, because even if it doesn't look like it, it is all about control. Every time you have to do something that is not directly your decision you will have the potential to panic. There are going to be lots of little things that will act as triggers but they don't matter if you are in control of the overall. "it is my decision to do this or these things".
Don't try to avoid the anxiety, but rather look it in the face and deal with it. "this is my decision, I can do this" Notice the things that don't bother you, you prefix with "my". All about having control. By the way congratulations.
I just don't know how I'll be able to focus while having a high level of anxiety. And if I physically shut down and have to come home, I'll feel horrible??
I really do appreciate the support. Its taking a lot of energy out of me today. Its 1pm and i feel like sleeping.
The anticipation of any event is far more anxiety provoking than the event itself. I think once you get there, you will see that it just wasn't as big of an issue as your thoughts are making it seem. Remember this is an incredible opportunity for you!! Don't give up on it because even though it would be the easy thing to do and it will make you feel better to not have to worry about it, you will regret it in the long run.
Don't let your fears rob you of this opportunity. You can do this!! I promise you are stronger than you feel.
Usually I just get going with my week and my usual routine (work,gym, etc). I just feel so out of it and so anxious right now. It seems like so much work to not think of this anxiety and to try to focus on other things. That's always a problem for me, to try and get out of my mind and focus on things. Yoga helps me sometimes. i went to the gym this morning but didn't really help much.
