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Feeling scared and i don't know why?

1stepup61Senior Contributor25 Aug 2016, 12:53 am AEST

Feeling scared and i don't know why?

Hi All, I need ideas with how to deal with my feelings of fear moving forward. I have had lots of counselling to confront my painful memories, now I am comimg out of my worst MI ever & i want to start slowly doing things again, like have a shower, just basic stuff. I then begin having feelings of fear and panic. i feel really scared, yet there is no reason for me too feel scared in my home. I feel scared even writing this, shaky like frightened? I have in the past not handled being in the present moment well, i would seperate from myself to function or use alcohol, but i want to try to change my reactions. I tried CBT, but that seems hard for me to do, when i am falling in to the tunnel when i am feeling frightened. I think these fear feelings are about not feeling safe! Yet, i dont know what i am scared of? Has you dealt with feelings like these and what did you do to help yourself? My Psychologist is away for another week, so i would appreciate any advice you can give me to help me get past this please? Thank you. From @1stepup61

2 replies

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In response to: Feeling scared and i don't know why?

utopiaSenior Contributor25 Aug 2016, 2:04 am AEST

Re: Feeling scared and i don't know why?

@1stepup61. A calming method that I was taught for when a panic attack hits (which is fear) was:
Firstly to close my eyes and then open them quickly & look around me & then say "I'm safe" & "it's safe here". Then I would try to focus on my breath & breath in slowly & out slowly. & just keep repeating the breath whilessaying silently to yoirself that you are safe. It takes practice to be able to focus on the breath when in the middle of a panic & feeling like you can't breathe. I used to practice the breath twice daily. One month later it started to work. Reducing the length & severity of my panic attacks.
It's great that you have made progress and now want to start doing sone basic daily living tasks. That's a great step forward.
You really need to constantly look around and check that everything is safe (confirms what you already know - but helps to ease the stress). Remind yourself constantly throughout the day that you are safe (this reinforces the positive feedback your brain needs to xhange it's thinking patterns and reduce your fear).
Another thing that helps me is listening to a relaxation exercise downloaded from the net. Even a 5 minute exercise will help.
I wish you all the best

In response to: Re: Feeling scared and i don't know why?

CherryBombSenior Contributor26 Aug 2016, 6:58 pm AEST

Re: Feeling scared and i don't know why?

@1stepup61 that is some amazing advice from @utopia. Fear is related to anxiety, or pretty much the same - it's a state of dread and worry.

So doing things that calm yourself may be able to help. As @utopia mentioned some breathing exercises and grounding techniques can help. Also challenge those fearful thoughts by reminding yourself that you are safe. You may want to check out this resource from Lifeline on panic attacks - which are an 'intense feeling of terror without the presence of danger.' It has some tips in there that might be able to help.

May I ask how long have you been feeling this way?

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