Man, you are doing a terrific job on the forum. If BFS is like a battlefield (kinda like the analogy), I would figure occasins as de old wise captain, gun in hand, leading all his scared *beep* soldiers through the battle. And you Mario, are the young unexperienced yet fearless sargeant, that somehow, earned everybody´s trust and is ready to take the bullet anytime. Thank you very much for sticking around.BTW Mario, how are things going at anxietycentre? Could you share with us some of your progress?For the others, oldies and newbies, dont get jealous, my regards and appreciation also ( RainCat, MLPS69, LisaLM, AllGoodHere, Garym, Where the hell is Tattoedmommy is miss her!,ChauBao, BLIZNA,Jro, Chris_UK, Man i feel like in a award speech!), we are ALL gonna get better.Side Note :Im not really an "Update on me" guy but now I really think I should do it :Im doing AMAZINGLY GREAT, six weeks ago hit rock bottom on this BFS experience, anxiety and panic grabbed me by my balls, life just stopped, coulndt work, for the first time on my adult life I cried ( yes Im man enough to admit it) and things were simply unbereable. At that point, I realized my way out of this mess was the only reasonable thing to do : Manage my anxiety and got lucky enough to find an awesome psychiatrist that partners with a CBT Therapist. Those two guys, whose expertise is in anxiety disorders, explained what the hell was happening to me: In short terms, I was diagnosed with Anxiety and Panic Disorder, my symptoms were simply a by-product of this condition, and through my intense CBT therapy sessions the conclusion was astonishing : My anxiety disorder came way back in my life, it was a pattern throughout all my life. Things started to get sense and logic for me.My thought patterns were so unhealthy and harmful, but was so used to them that BFS( For me anxiety symptoms) was just a matter of time. To prove the point, my pshychiatrist ordered an extensive labwork adressing mainly two issues : Thyroid function and Cortisol levels. The first got back Ok, but the Cortisol levels were sky high ( Both the AM Cortisol and the PM Cortisol, Normally Cortisol levels downregulate through the day , I was simply poisoning my body through severe anxiety). The puzzle was resolved.Current Status,Medication: Zoloft(50mg ) + 1 mg Klonopin ( tomorrow Im gonna start to taper off), Benzos should alway be used as a short term tool to break the cycle and let the SSRI work properly. Zoloft, what a great drug, the obssession is way down, im mentally balanced and fluid, I can easily concentrate into other non BFS stuff.CBT Therapy: Please I you havent tried it, give it a chance, it makes a lot of sense to adress your fears and emotions, seek the root of it all, nobody but you can do that.Im living again, the joy of life has returned full force, my sense of humor also is back. Cant say Im completly recovered, but Im on the right track, Im prepared , it takes time and patience.And for those of you symptom-driven : Yes, now are incredibly low, the weird stuff ( pins and needles, tingling, water running feeling, shooting pains, etc) is almost gone, and the twithching... couldnt really tell ( dont pay attention to it anymore).Good Luck.Eduardo
Mendota & Mario: Unstoppable Team
- Thread starter edirish73
- Start date
Yeah, and you're the FNG that salutes me on the battlefield lol ... thanks, Eddie, but now I'm gonna get shot at Everybody has something to contribute at different times. Just seemed like some of the older, wiser folks were gone, so I'll have to do until they decide to come back. Just stay realistic, is all I'm saying in various ways, and be kind to one another. The real trick is not convincing yourself you're a brittle okay, but that it doesn't matter.Today was very springlike where I live, and that is the best medicine of all.Seriously, thanks, but I'm just passing on the help I got here from Basso and Bill and all the rest.P.S. I'd be interested in hearing about your CBT.
Outlook1958
Well-known member
Yes, I agree. You're really doing a great job here. Thank you so much for your research on BFS and related topics, your precious advice you give us day for day and for your patience, even when people are panicking around. Your posts have calmed me down and taken away my fears numerous times.It is a true blessing having you here on the board.
MarioMasher
Well-known member
Hey there, thanks for the shoutout. I appreciate it.In terms of my role on this board, I don't see it so much as a sergeant, but as more of a policeman. I figure it's my job to look out for the (mental) safety of the public, and to step in and head threats off before they might become a problem. If I have to be an a-hole once in a while for the greater good of everyone else, then that's my new role. So I guess you're right, I guess am here to take a bullet for the good of the platoon. There won't be any random panic or out-of-control anxiety spiral posts on my board, thank you very much. Alonzo's not here to do that anymore. Now I'm the guy with the badge. So you better play nice.Also, I'm not entirely sure what a sergeant does, so there's that. In regards to my progress, I actually don't have that much day to day contact with the Anxiety Centre these days. I did for a while, but I sort of dropped them and my anxiety counselor a while back and have been attempting to fix things on my own. It wasn't that I thought the AC was unhelpful, in truth I thought it was the greatest option and the greatest counseling I could have chosen. It's just that, after two months, I realized that everything they were teaching me was stuff I could be doing on my own. Their message was great, but why do I need to pay $60 a week to have someone remind me to meditate twice a day, take more "fun" breaks, eat healthier, and sleep better? It has always been my belief that the only person who can fix BFS anxiety is the person who actually has BFS anxiety. It's not your doctor's job, it's not your therapist's job, it's YOUR job. So I put my money where my mouth is and have been trying to fix my issues on my own... without counseling... and without medicine. I have just been chilling out, hanging around the internet less, eating better, and doing things besides obsessing about BFS twitches. I even started coaching little league last week. That seems to have taken my mind off twitching quite a bit.So yes, in other words, I am doing quite well. I still twitch, but it seems to be less than before. But most importantly, I really don't even care about it. A while back I just came to a point of frustration where it was like, "Well okay, if it's something serious then whatever. Just come and get me, see if I care. I'll be sitting right here waiting for you." That seems to have been a good approach to this sh*t. I just moved on with my life.It is encouraging to note that my symptoms really haven't changed one bit in almost eight months. At a certain point it's like I just said to my body, "Twitches, shmitches. If that's all you got, then F.U." That's a fun attitude to take with BFS. I highly recommend it.The Anxiety Centre didn't come up with that therapy, by the way, I came up with it on my own. I think I'm going to patent it. 