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Anxiety: must be a cure?

Hope

I have had anxiety for most of my life, but it did not become disabling until around the age of 14/15. The anxiety takes the form of OCD (checking oven/lights and other appliances to make sure they are off, washing hands, fears around getting ill, and losing control); hypochondria (over-preoccupation with the body, interpreting tiny aches as signs of serious disease, which then brings on panic, hyperventilation, tension, and a feeling of dread, hyper-vigilance and a need to escape. The anxiety and bodily tension always disappears when I reach my home; mild agorophobia, brought on by the aforementioned hypochondria and panic  -it is easier to stay at home and not to venture too far away from familiar places.

I also have specific phobias: thunderstorms, dogs, lifts, crowds etc.

I am fed up with the anxiety. It stops me sleeping and relaxing, living life to the full, venturing too far from home, and generally prevents me from enjoying life.

I have tried CBT - it has not worked. I see a support worker 15 hours a week, and she has been invaluable in helping me to become more flexible with what I eat (due to contamination fears), and helping me to shop and cope better with crowds. But the extreme inner anxiety is still there, and it is making me unhappy. I have had CBT two times, to no avail. Is there no hope? What do I do? I have tried a short course of physiotherapy, which helped a bit, but the effects did not last.

I do not smoke, and  I eat a very healthy/balanced diet.

Parents

  • None of the therapists I have seen were trained in the autism spectrum. They all work in a community mental health team, so are used to dealing with people who have mental ill health, but not necessarily aspergers. The physiotherapist I saw actually made my anxiety worse by suggesting there is a  correct deep breathing approach for relaxation. Even my support worker felt anxious after leaving her office!.

    My support worker is trained in autism, but she is not a psychologist and so cannot offer formal therapy.

    How can I see a therapist who can offer me the right therapy without going private, which is not an option for me because I would not be able to afford it? (I am on benefits).

Reply

  • None of the therapists I have seen were trained in the autism spectrum. They all work in a community mental health team, so are used to dealing with people who have mental ill health, but not necessarily aspergers. The physiotherapist I saw actually made my anxiety worse by suggesting there is a  correct deep breathing approach for relaxation. Even my support worker felt anxious after leaving her office!.

    My support worker is trained in autism, but she is not a psychologist and so cannot offer formal therapy.

    How can I see a therapist who can offer me the right therapy without going private, which is not an option for me because I would not be able to afford it? (I am on benefits).

Children
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