18 hours ago, Sandnit said:

@Chippy , Sorry, one more question.

Am I right in thinking that the intensity of symptoms doesn't necessarily say anything about how much longer the wave will last?

Right now these last couple of days have been some of the hardest I've experienced in a long time, and my WD brain immediately translates that into: "if it's this bad, it must mean I still have a very long wave ahead of me."

From experience I know that's not always true, but it's hard to remember that when you're in the middle of it.

I don't think there is any correlation between symptom severity and duration left to stabilisation, remember healing the nervous system is not a linear process.

21 hours ago, Chippy said:

I don't think there is any correlation between symptom severity and duration left to stabilisation, remember healing the nervous system is not a linear process.

@Chippy , @SarahMc , not linear for sure! Yesterday was thankfully a bit better for me compared to the previous days. Still plenty of symptoms, but the intensity was much lower and the whole experience felt much less distressing and different.

After waking up this morning it's hard again, but mornings don't always reflect the rest of the day.

Hoping for some more stability soon.

Thank you for your support!!

2 hours ago, Sandnit said:

@Chippy , @SarahMc , not linear for sure! Yesterday was thankfully a bit better for me compared to the previous days. Still plenty of symptoms, but the intensity was much lower and the whole experience felt much less distressing and different.

After waking up this morning it's hard again, but mornings don't always reflect the rest of the day.

Hoping for some more stability soon.

Thank you for your support!!

The unpredictable, non linear nature of all of this is so frustrating isn't it! I had a bad day yesterday, followed by quite a broken nights sleep, miraculously I feel reasonable today! Not perfect but much better than yesterday, am a bit shocked tbh. No way to predict!

Hope the day improves as it passes for you.

@Chippy , sorry to hear you're having bad days too, and good to hear today is a bit better for you. Unpredictableness is sooooooo frustrating. Today is back to high anxiety.... But it feels different than before. I feel it more in my body now ....before it was more in my head.....

By trade, and by personality, I'm a problem solver. I think you've probably already figured that out from my posts 😄. That's what makes this so hard for me... this is not something I can solve myself, no matter how much I want to.

Quick question: sometimes I get these sudden "whoosh" moments where anxiety and physical tension shoot up within a second, even without anxious thoughts beforehand. After that the anxiety stays higher often. Is this a commen thing in WD ?

Edited June 24Jun 24 by Sandnit

51 minutes ago, Sandnit said:

@Chippy , sorry to hear you're having bad days too, and good to hear today is a bit better for you. Unpredictableness is sooooooo frustrating. Today is back to high anxiety.... But it feels different than before. I feel it more in my body now ....before it was more in my head..

Thank you.

I’ve had a bit of body anxiety for the first time in a while recently. I feel it just above my rib cage and seems unrelated to my head. Previous chemical anxiety was head and body. So I understand what you mean.

Seems to have gone again.

53 minutes ago, Sandnit said:

By trade, and by personality, I'm a problem solver. I think you've probably already figured that out from my posts 😄. That's what makes this so hard for me... this is not something I can solve myself, no matter how much I want to

Yes I’m the same. What I’ve learned is that the way I fix it is to stop trying. So I see my deliberate leaving it be actually me actively doing something. I’m actively doing nothing. Well that’s not totally true. I’m accepting. I’m keeping my stress low. I’m eating well. I’m keeping a good routine. So it’s not really doing nothing. It’s more setting the stage and letting the body perform.

55 minutes ago, Sandnit said:

Quick question: sometimes I get these sudden "whoosh" moments where anxiety and physical tension shoot up within a second, even without anxious thoughts beforehand. After that the anxiety stays higher often. Is this a commen thing in WD ?

Sure! The system in which wd symptoms are experienced are many!

Glad you had a better day yesterday @Sandnit. It’s odd isn’t it, those days when you still have plenty of symptoms but somehow they’re just background noise and you feel more positive and energetic. I get those too!

Sorry the anxiety is up today. I seem to be back in a wave of psych symptoms myself, with despair and higher anxiety the last couple days. Last week was more fatigue and physical symptoms, but minimal activation. So unpredictable!

Keep your head down and hang onto that little dirty window, better days will come.

@Chippy

18 hours ago, Chippy said:

Yes I’m the same. What I’ve learned is that the way I fix it is to stop trying.

To look at it this way actually helps me. Thanks for this insight!!

Yesterday afternoon and evening turned out to be pretty ok after a pretty brutal morning. This morning is hard again....I'm riding the rollercoaster..... But the better times are definitely a good sign right?

Edited June 25Jun 25 by Sandnit

18 hours ago, SarahMc said:

Keep your head down and hang onto that little dirty window,

@SarahMc , thanks for your posts! Dirty window made me laugh a.little. Actually a really good way to describe it. Sorry to hear you are back ik a wave of psych symptoms. For me the psych symptoms are the worst to bear .....

As you said ..... We are moving towards stability. We got this!

3 hours ago, Sandnit said:

o look at it this way actually helps me. Thanks for this insight!!

Pleasure

3 hours ago, Sandnit said:

But the better times are definitely a good sign right?

Certainly!

5 hours ago, Sandnit said:

Sorry to hear you are back ik a wave of psych symptoms. For me the psych symptoms are the worst to bear .....

Thanks @Sandnit, I find the psych symptoms the worst too. I want so badly to distract myself but my brain won’t let me focus on anything but intense despair. I just have to keep telling myself that it’s not forever!

Sorry to hear your morning is hard again, I hope things settle down for you today.

@SarahMc , ... it's not forever! It will change !

Yesterday I had a little dirty window, and this morning started hard but turned out actually to be one of my better mornings in quite a while. Later nausea started and the anxiety spiked again, but that's just another reminder of how non-linear this is.

It will get better for both of us. We just have to keep hanging in there. 🤗

5 minutes ago, Sandnit said:

@SarahMc , ... it's not forever! It will change !

Yesterday I had a little dirty window, and this morning started hard but turned out actually to be one of my better mornings in quite a while. Later nausea started and the anxiety spiked again, but that's just another reminder of how non-linear this is.

It will get better for both of us. We just have to keep hanging in there. 🤗

Yes it will get better 😊. Really glad to hear your morning improved!

Hi everyone,

I had a few more encouraging days with a couple of evenings where I felt around a 6+, and things seemed a little more manageable overall.

Unfortunately, yesterday afternoon I was hit by a much stronger wave again, and today the anxiety is still very intense. The past few days I've also had periods of nausea and a lot of fatigue. Today I mainly feel very anxious, emotional, and somehow "different," which makes it scary.

My biggest fear is that it's taking me so long to stabilize. Every time I have a few better days and then get hit by another strong wave, I start worrying that I'll never reach a more stable place.

Deep down I know recovery isn't linear, and I'm trying to remind myself that all I can do is take good care of myself and let my nervous system heal. But today is one of those days where that's really hard to believe.

Has anyone else had these kinds of setbacks after a few better days before things became more stable?

I think im on repeat .... sorry for that ...i'm just scared right now

I’m sorry you’re still struggling @Sandnit. Glad to hear you had a couple more manageable days though. You’ve stabilized before, so there’s no reason you can’t stabilize again. The uncertainty and all of the ups and downs are so, so hard, but you got this 💪🏼😤. Hang in there bud.

Thanks @SarahMc !! You're absolutely right. I've stabilized before, and there's no reason to think I can't stabilize again. It's just so hard to remember that on the really bad days. Thanks so much for the encouragement!!!

21 hours ago, Sandnit said:

Hi everyone,

I had a few more encouraging days with a couple of evenings where I felt around a 6+, and things seemed a little more manageable overall.

Unfortunately, yesterday afternoon I was hit by a much stronger wave again, and today the anxiety is still very intense. The past few days I've also had periods of nausea and a lot of fatigue. Today I mainly feel very anxious, emotional, and somehow "different," which makes it scary.

My biggest fear is that it's taking me so long to stabilize. Every time I have a few better days and then get hit by another strong wave, I start worrying that I'll never reach a more stable place.

Deep down I know recovery isn't linear, and I'm trying to remind myself that all I can do is take good care of myself and let my nervous system heal. But today is one of those days where that's really hard to believe.

Has anyone else had these kinds of setbacks after a few better days before things became more stable?

I think im on repeat .... sorry for that ...i'm just scared right now

This is great to hear @Sandnit periods of things being better is a clear sign things are fighting hard for stablity within your system. As you know it is very common for this process to be wavy like this and non linear. Try to learn to accept this and see if that can help mitigate any second fear you may be experiencing. There is a sweat spot when you can float through these symptoms and if you can find it there is real peace there.

Thanks, @Chippy . Your right my system is fighting for some stability it seems . I've been having small glimpses of improvement over the last few days, even though they can disappear just as quickly. Stability has always come back before and it will also return this time. I'm still learning to accept the waves and not add that second layer of fear..... Sometimes i can do it .... sometimes i get lost..... Thanks so much for your support.

17 hours ago, Sandnit said:

Sometimes i can do it .... sometimes i get lost.....

this is very much part of the process for all of us, continued work in progress rather than a destination acceptance. Your doing great :)

Update: Mornings are still brutal. I wake up really early not that bad but than the anxiety builds ......but most end of afternoons things improve a bit. Monday evening i even had a moment recently where I thought, "What was I so worried about?" Unfortunately, that feeling didn't last long because the next morning hit me hard.@Chippy , i think this is what you meant wavy like this and non linear i guess.....? I think my body is really fighting for some stability.... Hoping and praying things improve. I really hope this long brutal wave gives me a nice open window somewhere in the future

28 minutes ago, Sandnit said:

@Chippy , i think this is what you meant wavy like this and non linear i guess.....?

Exactly that. Up and down like a wave. Very normal. It is great to see you can report some very positive moments, like you can believe this is all going to be over at some point, that is how it starts, slowly but surely youll get there.

Thanks, @Chippy The hardest part is that on mornings like today it doesn't feel like there's any progress at all. It feels like I'm right back at the beginning, even though I've had some good moments recently.

1 minute ago, Sandnit said:

Thanks, @Chippy The hardest part is that on mornings like today it doesn't feel like there's any progress at all. It feels like I'm right back at the beginning, even though I've had some good moments recently.

Had a day that felt that way yesterday, frustrating I know.

@Chippy , thanks mate...... Yessss so frustrating!! But progress issss being made ... working towards some more stability.

@Chippy ,Once again, thank you so much for your support and everything you do here. It really means a lot to me. Sorry for posting so much lately. This phase is so confusing and scary.

21 hours ago, Sandnit said:

@Chippy ,Once again, thank you so much for your support and everything you do here. It really means a lot to me. Sorry for posting so much lately. This phase is so confusing and scary.

It is an absolute pleasure mate, we are here for you! No need to apologize.