Conquering my fears

[Midoriconcept]

Dear All,

 

thanks to this forum I have started my journey to improve my fitness. Since my first post in 2011 I am fitter, slimmer and stronger.

BUT there is still something that bothers me a lot and while I do not expect to solve it in one day, I hope to get some feedback from you that can guide me towards the right direction.

 

Since more or less forever I have a sense of anxiety and a sort of continuous fear that something bad could happen to me and my family. Those fears are almost always completely unmotivated but still they can occupy my mind for long time; Those fears usually are towards authorities or bureaucratic institution. I would spend nights thinking that for some reason my tax return form contains some mistakes and the tax authorities will hunt me down and get all my money (even if I had never had issues and paid a good accountant) Or I would start creating inner stories about something I did at work and for some reason I would get sued for some mistakes.

The fact is that I have never done anything illegal or even remotely shady, but it is like I create lot of dreadful scenarios in my mind.

I have consulted a psychologist  and tried meditation but with no luck.

Now the question. What are the strategies you have used to overcome your fears, and/or to stop the endless creation of dreadful movies in your head?

I know it is little bit crazy to ask this kind of questions and I do not expect to receive a Freudian consultation on this forum ;-) but I was wondering if this is something you have experienced and what were your strategies to cope with it.   

Thanks!

[Bearded_Dragon]

Hey! Thanks for posting this, it takes a lot of guts to be open about things like this. 

 

I've suffered similarly and know it can be pretty debilitating and frustrating. One of the things that's really helped me is taking myself through Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), a Dr. recommended I check out a few resources, one of the most helpful was a book called CBT For Dummies (one of those big yellow "for dummies" books). Another was a resource put together by an University in Australia called "MoodGym" (https://moodgym.anu.edu.au/welcome) which is free to register for and might help. 

 

Not sure what your feelings on faith are, but another book that really helped me was called The Worry Book (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Worry-Book-Will-Hart-Waller/dp/1844745430), but it does present things from a Christian standpoint. 

 

I've managed to control it to a far greater extent, but occasionally do still get that "sinking feeling" and, as you say, see the dreadful movies in my head, but it's a lot better than it used to be.

 

But really, one of the biggest things that helps is to talk about it openly. You're not alone, there are lots of people who have felt similar feelings to you, so I hope you can feel safe talking about it here.