Overcoming Mind Roller Coaster

Highlights Only
B

Bosley23

Well-known member
HI everyone, hope you all had a great Labor Day. Just interested to see when everyone (veterans most likely) got over this mind roller coaster. When they feel they were "cured" of this crap. Looking forward to hearing your responses!Thanks, Chad
 
I probably came to that state when I found that, thanks to my therapist and my own position, I become able to think rationally and consider that neither frequent chocking with the saliva, nor pains in the thumb, tongue vibration or twitches, throat twitches, etc. etc. etc. - are not killing or disabling me in fact. After that I decided that I am rather ok, despite on all that circus.I had started with strict regular schedules and 8 hours of sleep per day. It helped ALOT to come to that rational state of mind. First rest, then cure, I would say. I am still twitching, chocking, yesterday I had full size tongue twitch for the first time - but it does not kill me - it comes and goes. So I said to me - it is BFS baby...
 
I'm not really a vet here but I have 8 months into twitches and I'm still not over it!!! I have my good days & my days of doubts... But I'm trying to get over it so I can get on with my life!!
 
I am 11 months and I am not over it. I got scared again when my thumb was constantly twitching for 14 days, now it has stopped. Now I see the other thumb that my doctor said it may have atrophy, that there are now 2 dents instead of one, the second one was not there before as I am of course watching this thenar for 11 months now. It doesn't make sense becaue it would be very slow to have a minimal new dent in 11 months but it is there and I am scared again. My hip twitch is mostly constant and I am also scared of that. I don't know when this will be over for me if ever. My mind can not deal with it any more.
 
For me, I would say that I was 95% over the fear by the 6 month mark. By about the 2 year mark I was 100% over it so that nothing I read could cause anxiety, etc. 7+ year vet
 
This is a good topic and I wish there were more topics like this on the board. Because I think it is important for newbies to understand the thought process behind BFS and how people who got over it in the past were able to get over it.For me, my story is similar to Johnny's. I was completely terrified of BFS for about three or four months, but eventually two things happened. A) I realized that a life being scared all the time was not really a life at all, and B) If you look at it logically, nothing in BFS is even remotely close to any of the big nasties. All we are doing by comparing the two of them is introducing drama to our lives. And of course with BFS, drama is the last thing we need.Once I realized that being scared of BFS (when there is logically no reason to be scared of it) was pointless and that it was doing far more damage to my life than the twitches ever were-- or would-- I focused on that aspect of my recovery instead. I hooked up with the Anxiety Centre website in Canada, since a bunch of BFS people had had good success with it before and because it came highly recommended. I memorized the sections on health anxiety and mentak health recovery, and I started to learn about what stress chemicals can do to your body, and how it is not healthy to be in fight or flight mode all the time. Your body simply wasn't built for that. I also learned the value of meditation, long walks, eating healthy, and doing your best to get a good night of sleep. These things are all important.Like Johnny, I would say I was about 95% over the fear by the 6 month mark. And by a year I was almost fully over it. But I have to point out that to recover that quickly from BFS takes effort. You have to -work- at mentally recovering from BFS. It won't just happen on its own. If you got BFS, odds are that you were pretty stressed out and weren't living a very healthy lifestyle to begin with. In fact a lot of old timers (myself included) feel that BFS is more or less just a warning sign that your body isn't very happy with you. Your body is ticked because you haven't been treating it right. So if you are going to mentally recover from BFS symptoms, you are going to have to start making some changes. Namely, change the way you deal with anxiety, change the way you treat your body, and change the way you think about life. You will have to re-evaluate if not change just about everything you think you know about health and your body. And then, and ONLY then, will the recovery start.So anyway there is my answer. That's when I knew I had beaten BFS. I knew it when I didn't think about it very much. When instead of being what I thought about 99% of the day, it just became a minor annoyance. When I would have days of not even thinking about BFS at all. Then I would have weeks of not even thinking about it. In fact some times I would forget to even notice it at all. I stopped being a guy who was defined by having BFS and became just a guy. Because it really does you no good to think of yourself as a victim every single minute of the day.
 
That was my nice and helpful and diplomatic answer. Here is my other one.The day I realized that I was officially over BFS was the day that I stopped relying on this board for my daily sanity. Because we have all been there. In the early days, every single person with BFS comes and checks this board 50-100 times a day. Heck, I know some people who probably check it 500 times a day. They sit here and they obsess over every single post and every single response in every single thread. They just sit there and search for even the tiniest slightest assurance that they are going to be okay. It doesn't matter who writes it. All they want to do is read something. Anything.Don't feel bad if you do this. I know you do this. We have all done it before.Well the minute I realized I was over BFS was the day that I realized I didn't want to do this anymore. It was the day that I realized, you know, the people on the BFS board are actually kind of annoying. Good god, is that how I used to come off? No wonder my family hated me. I'm really glad that I don't sound like that anymore.This isn't the nicest answer in the world, but if you want the true thinking behind BFS recovery there you go. The day you know you are over BFS is the day when this board stops being "a daily life saver" and starts becoming annoying. Then I will be proud of you because you will know you have made it.
 
Hahahaha Mario I like you had a nice reply and a not so nice reply. Judging by your posts i had a feeling that was coming. Thats why when i was reading the "nice portion" i was like "hey this doesn't seem like Mario material", until i read on. Thanks for replying and to Johny i'm so happy you responded to my post. You have been one of, if not the, most helpful vet for me. Your attitude is always so positive it's becoming contagious. Keep the posts coming!!!!
 
The day I realized I was really over this was the day, when a certain thing scared the whole board and a good portion of the people had a major freakout. Actually I was called awake by a Emilyomouse member that freaked out on the phone in fear. And while I was told about a ton of scary stuff about the nasty and different theories and possibilities and scares and how we are probably all doomed ....I asked myself if I should start the tumbler before or after breakfast...I think I have started loosing a good portion of fear around the 4 month mark by a lot of reassurance from the board and one member especially. After that time I thought it might be time to try to stand on my own feet and I moved away from the board and google for a few weeks. I had contact with other BFSers for pure fun because I liked them, not for BFS talking. So the idea of this being benign had a chance to manifest inside me. And then one day suddenly I really realized the clear difference between ALS and BFS, I could "feel" it and this was the day I could stop permanently fighting my fears and move n to fighting my worst BFS symptoms.
 
Something Mario says really resonates with me and that is "I started to learn about what stress chemicals can do to your body, and how it is not healthy to be in fight or flight mode all the time. Your body simply wasn't built for that." Many people have pondered whether BFS is brought on by stress -- triggered due to a specific time of extreme stress. For me, I wonder if there isn't a similar theory. Many of us seem to be type A, competitive, continually stressed people. Does that sort of daily wear and tear on the body over time eventually just reach a tipping point and BFS is then triggered? The body has reached its limit and has to react. Or similarly, does that sort of daily wear and tear coupled with something else (illness, shots, new medications, etc.) then become the trigger point for BFS? Just thinking...There was no specific time when I was over it and still have semi-freak out moments that I try to limit to a moment! But basically, I started to get over it when I really listened to a few key people on this board who really just told me to get over it!! And to be honest, I hate to waste a moment of my life worrying when I could be doing something productive -- that is what we type A people do!! So, I actually found it hard to spare my precious life with worry and "mind over matter" techniques helped (helps) me to focus my energies where I could see some value.
 
oops = meant I don't want to "share" my life with worry. I do want to spare my life of worry! I think that is what I meant. It is early and the coffee has not kicked in. BTW - the whole trigger theory is something I wonder about as it pertains to my son who has autism. I do think there is a genetic factor involved but wonder whether somehow there is something else that combined with the genetic pre-disposition triggers autism? I have two sons - one with and one without so somehow the genes they inherited differentiated between the two in that way and trust me that is a significant difference.
 
I second everything Mario said, the nice and not so nice response. It took me a few months to stop obsessing about every little twitch, buzz, tingle, and burn. By six months in I was actively searching for ways to overcome anxiety in general, and at one year (last month) I can say I am fully over the fear of BFS and am making great strides in overcoming anxiety itself. I have said it before and I'll say it again, I am thankful I got BFS because it finally woke me up and made me realize what living with uncontrolled anxiety was doing to my mind and body. It is nice to not sit around and spend my time waiting to die!Frances
 
I just remembered another point in time when I felt I was past my fears. When I was a newbie, my state of sanity lived and died by the number of "old timers" who stopped in to report they were still doing fine. I remember a thread someone started that was titled something like "Where are all the vets?". Probably 10 times a day I would check to see if anyone old timers would respond and the lack of responses seemingly destroyed any hope I had. As if my chances of survival depended on massive feedback from vets. This of course never happened because most everyone moves on with their lives (as they should) and aren't around to see such cries for help and assurance. Then one day months later someone new started a similar thread asking for Vets to report in and I remember not caring at all if anyone responded with a full understanding of why. That was a reasonably big day for me and my progress.
 
Hello fellow twitchers,How are you all doing? Good i hope, after all we are all blessed to have a benign condition!! Just looking for some more possible answers as to when you realized this was just an annoyance
 
I think you will see a fairly consistent answer - you get over it when you truly allow logic and dare I say common sense guide your thinking and not fear. That is not a bullet proof answer but I think it factors in along with recognizing that everything you have, others have as well. Others that have had this condition for quite a long time. I have confessed that I still have a moment every now and then when something happens and I think "well, crap. not sure I have had that before". Then I take a deep breath and follow that moment with "but Johnny or Chrissi or Matt or you name the person has had that (whatever that is). So, I am in excellent company!"
 
It took me (as being a medical doctor myself !! 2-3 years to get over it. It started 1/4/07 and and I still twitch, but like some others: its my BFS baby now. It does not cripple me and I can still do everything. 58 next friday !
 
hi there, took me about a year to start to realise that this is nothing, yep its really bloody annoying some days, but its benign and i for one would rather live with a benign condition than a non benign one..so i started living and stopped wallowing in self pity..yes i had a major pity party for almost a year....now i look back and think...wow what a waste of a year...
 
do u think seven months is enough time for me to get over it. I still fear the dreaded so much and im only 19 but these stories i've read on the internet just freak me out
 
Truly.... NO ONE is going to tell you "no, 7 months is not enough time to be over any fears". EVERYONE is going to tell you yes. But - to be fair if I was only 19 and going through this, I know I would be struggling. You are young and probably have a lot on your mind so even the remotest possibility of something interfering with your life when you are so young, would be hard to mentally process. I have a 17 and a 16 year old and I can't imagine them dealing with BFS. Well, maybe the youngest but only because he is autistic and he might find it "fascinating". He is very SPOCK-like. Hang in there - you have no choice actually cause you will hanging in there for a loooooooooooong time!!
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 1 (members: 0, guests: 1)
Back
Top