How Anxiety Took Hold of Me and My Journey to Overcome It
It all started gradually and crept up on me without warning. My physical health was in question as I was feeling constantly fatigued, my appetite had vanished, dipping in and out and I wasn’t eating properly. My mind became fixated on my health, I was endlessly Googling symptoms, convinced something serious was wrong with me. I felt an overwhelming urge to rush to A&E just to feel safe, just to be sure.Does any of this sound familiar? If it does, I invite you to follow my journey, a personal account of how I began to understand, face, and recover from anxiety.
The GP Appointment
After a long and stressful wait, I finally secured a rare appointment with my doctor. After waiting ten days for the appointment it felt like a lifetime.When I finally saw the GP, she performed a thorough physical examination, checked my stomach, reviewed my medical history, and asked about my symptoms. Then she said something I wasn’t expecting:
"I don’t believe there’s anything physically wrong. I think what you’re experiencing is anxiety."
The words hit me like a sledgehammer. I felt a strange mix of emotions, relief that it wasn’t something more serious, but also shock and confusion. She referred me to a mental health nurse to explore things further.
The Mental Health Nurse
When the day of the appointment came with the Mental Health Nurse, I was incredibly nervous. I nearly didn’t go. But I showed up and that was my first step toward recovery.During the session, the nurse asked a lot of questions. It became clear that what I was dealing with was a mix of both low mood and anxiety roughly 50/50.
The Mental Health Nurse told me straight she wasn't going to fix me here but to act as a signposter, to get me to the right choices that could support me better, she offered me several options: medication, mobile apps to help manage symptoms, and counselling services. For the first time, I felt like I had a path forward.
The Connection Between Mood and Anxiety
Curious to understand more, I began researching how mood and anxiety are connected. What I found helped me feel less alone and more empowered.How Mood Affects Anxiety
- Low mood / sadness: Can lead to overthinking, hopelessness, and expecting the worst.
- Irritability / anger: Raises internal tension and causes racing thoughts.
- Flat or numb mood: Triggers feelings of guilt, disconnect, or self-blame.
- Fear / dread: Accelerates the anxiety spiral your brain thinks danger is real.
The Mood - Anxiety Cycle
Mood affects anxiety → Anxiety worsens your mood → And the cycle continues.
For example: You feel low → you begin overthinking → anxiety builds → and you feel even worse.
How I Began to Break the Cycle
- Name your mood: Even saying “I feel flat today” gives your brain a frame of reference.
- Track your feelings: A mood journal helped me notice patterns I didn’t see before.
- Move your body gently: A short walk made a surprising difference in how I felt.
- Shift focus: I used small sensory distractions like music or lighting a candle to ground myself.
- Let yourself rest: Sometimes your body just needs permission to pause and reset.
The rollercoaster effect
Battling Anxiety has been like a rollercoaster ride, one minute I am feeling great and the next minute I feel ill and start overthinking there is something majorly wrong with me. My sleep is starting to improve and I am forcing myself to complete the NHS Anxiety Applications.
The Anxiety Applications
The current NHS application I am trying is called Sorted, it is a range of guided talks based on a range of topics, each one addressing a particular issue, you have some control over the background music and person speaking. I feel over time these guided talks will start to make a difference to my mental health, it's not a quick fix but it will help in the long run.