My latest anxiety issue is worrying about an upcoming pacemaker procedure that I thought I could ignore, but now realize I need, as I’m struggling more and more with an irregular heartbeat and an enlarged aorta. I’m on a lot of medication, but it hasn’t been enough, and I’ve come to accept that the procedure is essential if I want to avoid feeling lifeless, low on energy, fainting spells, and other heart problems. Still, I keep imagining the worst scenarios—not just about the actual procedure, but also about the possibility of being kept overnight for observation, which I know is necessary, yet past negative hospital experiences make me dread unpredictable noise and other patients’ annoying habits. No matter how much I tell myself I’ll be better off once it’s done, the worry and anxiety keep coming back, popping up at any time and spoiling the moment.
I’m sorry I’m just now seeing this. Every time someone posts on the forum the admins have to approve it. The good news is that makes the site a whole lot safer (we had a period of time where the forum was bombarded with scammers). The bad news is that sometimes your first post can get buried in the feed and go unnoticed. Hopefully others will notice this, since me replying will bump this thread back up to the top of the forum.
Anxiety is a very common topic on here! Many of us - myself included - have a comorbidity of Autism and anxiety. I’m sure there will be others on the forum that can easily empathize with what you’re going through.
One good idea is to give us a bit of an idea what you’re interested in! If there’s one thing we all have in common, it’s that we usually have intensely positive feelings towards specific topics or activities. You can click on my name to see what I have an interest in as an example!
