7 minutes ago, Troy021079 said:

Thank you. The thing is I never had an issue with it before the withdrawl. It's not so much anxiety it's just a little stressor that wouldn't normally hit you being blown out of proportion, it hits differently at the moment and you can't help it. I hope that makes sense.

It makes perfect sense and is exactly what I did. It’s just another symptom of WD. Your nervous system is scrambled and blowing things out of proportion is just one of the ways it manifests. It will pass.

Acceptance can be a great way to deal with these kinds of thoughts. You accept they'll come because of your withdrawal, but you also accept there's no reason to act on them or give them a home in your head. Claire Weekes called it "floating through a thought". You let it come into your mind, and let it float right out again. It robs the thoughts of their power.

41 minutes ago, mstimc60 said:

Acceptance can be a great way to deal with these kinds of thoughts. You accept they'll come because of your withdrawal, but you also accept there's no reason to act on them or give them a home in your head. Claire Weekes called it "floating through a thought". You let it come into your mind, and let it float right out again. It robs the thoughts of their power.

I try with that but it seems so hard at times especially when it's loud. I hate that this has happened and just want the old me back. I try to hang on to that this will pass and the old me is still there, confident, not 2nd guessing and functioning at 100% but it's hard to see at times.

2 minutes ago, Troy021079 said:

I try with that but it seems so hard at times especially when it's loud. I hate that this has happened and just want the old me back. I try to hang on to that this will pass and the old me is still there, confident, not 2nd guessing and functioning at 100% but it's hard to see at times.

I know—I’ve been there too. But you will recover. Recovery takes place on its own timeline and follows its own pace. Sometimes the best we can do is to hang on from one day to the next. That’s what you need to do for now. Be patient with your recovery and with yourself. The old you will come back, but you’ll be stronger and more resilient.

54 minutes ago, mstimc60 said:

Recovery takes place on its own timeline and follows its own pace. Sometimes the best we can do is to hang on from one day to the next. That’s what you need to do for now. Be patient with your recovery and with yourself. The old you will come back, but you’ll be stronger and more resilient.

Thank you, that genuinely means a lot.

5 hours ago, Troy021079 said:

Thank you. The thing is I never had an issue with it before the withdrawl. It's not so much anxiety it's just a little stressor that wouldn't normally hit you being blown out of proportion, it hits differently at the moment and you can't help it. I hope that makes sense.

@Troy021079

Have a read of this, it might help explain things for you.

Being a human, and dealing with emotions in WD

12 minutes ago, Chippy said:

Have a read of this, it might help explain things for you.

Thank you. That did help

1 minute ago, Troy021079 said:

Thank you. That did help

Good.

7 hours ago, Troy021079 said:

Is being extra sensitive to stress a symptom? Even little things that I use shrug off before this bullshit hit me, then that can start the looping thoughts. Is this normal in withdrawal?

Hey @Troy021079 so very common, I can barely handle any kind of stress as well.

the system is in a hypersensitive state with angry chemicals so the balance we knew is very much disturbed.

I know it's hard but try to accept it as part of the process and don't add worry to worry as it will only intensify everything, it's just how it works when they system heals.

Hang in there, better days are guaranteed to come.

Edited May 3May 3 by Fullhealing

50 minutes ago, Fullhealing said:

Hey @Troy021079 so very common, I can barely handle any kind of stress as well.

the system is in a hypersensitive state with angry chemicals so the balance we knew is very much disturbed.

I know it's hard but try to accept it as part of the process and don't add worry to worry as it will only intensify everything, it's just how it works when they system heals.

Hang in there, better days are guaranteed to come.

Thank you, I really try to get on with things and I do need to say I'm much better than what I was. As you know some days/weeks are better than others, I think it's more when stress stacks I feel it more, but the cruel part is that life is full of stress and in a sensitised system that's the fire 😢 the hum and the stress reaction are the hardest symptoms for me.

11 minutes ago, Troy021079 said:

Thank you, I really try to get on with things and I do need to say I'm much better than what I was. As you know some days/weeks are better than others, I think it's more when stress stacks I feel it more, but the cruel part is that life is full of stress and in a sensitised system that's the fire 😢 the hum and the stress reaction are the hardest symptoms for me.

This is a hard thing to balance, all you can do it try to avoid the unnecessary stress really. I think in life we can be poor judges of what we should be taking on, giving into peer/social pressure. When we are in WD we must cut it all back to the min imo.

It is good you can recognise things are better than they were.

16 minutes ago, Troy021079 said:

Thank you, I really try to get on with things and I do need to say I'm much better than what I was. As you know some days/weeks are better than others, I think it's more when stress stacks I feel it more, but the cruel part is that life is full of stress and in a sensitised system that's the fire 😢 the hum and the stress reaction are the hardest symptoms for me.

I know, this one is high on my list of symptoms too.. but as time goes by and with self-work our resilience to pretty much anything will be stronger than ever.

In the meantime we keep on moving forward trying not to get into unnecessary pressures although much is out of our control and fighting the good fight, it will pay off big time in the end.

Edited May 3May 3 by Fullhealing

10 minutes ago, Chippy said:

This is a hard thing to balance, all you can do it try to avoid the unnecessary stress really. I think in life we can be poor judges of what we should be taking on, giving into peer/social pressure. When we are in WD we must cut it all back to the min imo.

It is good you can recognise things are better than they were.

I try, it's hard when you have to work to pay the bills etc. My capacity is there it's just loud some days and a struggle.

9 minutes ago, Fullhealing said:

I know, this one is high on my list of symptoms too.. but as time goes by and with self-work our resilience to pretty much anything will be stronger than ever.

In the meantime we keep on moving forward trying not to get into unnecessary pressures although much is out of our control and fighting the good fight, it will pay off big time in the end.

Yes, lots is out of our control especially when you have to work which is the main stress for me. I cope most days but then there's days where I just want to sit in front of the TV and not do anything, I hate that because that's not me. But you're right, I hold on to the fact this will end and I'll be me again.

5 minutes ago, Troy021079 said:

I try, it's hard when you have to work to pay the bills etc. My capacity is there it's just loud some days and a struggle.

I understand. Just do what you have to do, leave the rest for when you are better. There will be a time when your capacity will be up to more load, but until then, your nervous system will benefit from keeping it to the minimum, that is all Im saying.

8 minutes ago, Chippy said:

I understand. Just do what you have to do, leave the rest for when you are better. There will be a time when your capacity will be up to more load, but until then, your nervous system will benefit from keeping it to the minimum, that is all Im saying.

Thank you

There’s a coping technique called “Do What You Came to Do” that might help at work. You tell yourself you’re there to do your job and nothing else. It’s okay to have all the fears and feelings, but for the time you’re at work that will be your focus. I had to work through WD too and it was a struggle, but you can do it.

Hi again, is it normal for symptoms to worsen? For the past 4 months or so I've been on upwards trajectory, handling the gym, working etc but still being protective of course. This last week I've had more sensitivity especially to stress, the inner hum has gotten louder and I've been shaky with a heart flutters. I have just resigned from a stressful job and moving in to new one. This week I have t been able to train and just an overall feeling of being worse, it does settle at night however. Could this just be a spike which will settle.

13 minutes ago, Troy021079 said:

Hi again, is it normal for symptoms to worsen? For the past 4 months or so I've been on upwards trajectory, handling the gym, working etc but still being protective of course. This last week I've had more sensitivity especially to stress, the inner hum has gotten louder and I've been shaky with a heart flutters. I have just resigned from a stressful job and moving in to new one. This week I have t been able to train and just an overall feeling of being worse, it does settle at night however. Could this just be a spike which will settle.

Yes—that’s the windows and waves pattern. Since you were already doing well, I’d try to stick to your usual routine as much as possible, but be forgiving of yourself if you can’t do some things. Waves are temporary and will pass, especially if you don’t give them too much power.

11 minutes ago, mstimc60 said:

Yes—that’s the windows and waves pattern. Since you were already doing well, I’d try to stick to your usual routine as much as possible, but be forgiving of yourself if you can’t do some things. Waves are temporary and will pass, especially if you don’t give them too much power.

Thank you. Today I'm feeling somewhat better but still fragile, I'm going to try to get to the gym and do some light movement. I've had quite a bit of stress the past month, it's frustrating as it never bothered me as much before this withdrawal crap!

Good plan! Yes, withdrawal really tries to kick us when we’re down.

4 hours ago, Troy021079 said:

I've had quite a bit of stress the past month, it's frustrating as it never bothered me as much before this withdrawal crap!

Worsening isn’t uncommon unfortunately. It’s best to try to keep stress levels lower, whilst you recover. Obviously life is life, but avoid the stress you can. Your health and healing journey is the most important thing here.

4 hours ago, Chippy said:

Worsening isn’t uncommon unfortunately. It’s best to try to keep stress levels lower, whilst you recover. Obviously life is life, but avoid the stress you can. Your health and healing journey is the most important thing here.

Thanks Chippy. I've removed myself from a chronic stress environment which was my job. Hopefully this new position will aid in my stress response. It's hard to see anything clearly when you're in a week long wave, I've come out the other end thankfully.

2 minutes ago, Troy021079 said:

Thanks Chippy. I've removed myself from a chronic stress environment which was my job. Hopefully this new position will aid in my stress response. It's hard to see anything clearly when you're in a week long wave, I've come out the other end thankfully.

That’s a great move imo. I’m really pleased to see things are better for you.

I'm genuinely confused, I was in a wave/spike for a week, yesterday it eased and I felt pretty much normal. I went to the gym yesterday afternoon did a light session, no over doing it which I was conscious of. Today I feel spiky again like I'm almost back in the wave. Is fluctuating like this normal? Also, these symptoms feel slightly different to what I'm use to. Thanks again for any advice.