BPDFamily.com

Hi everyone.

I visited my doctor last week and she has diagnosed me with generalised anxiety disorder.

I am just constantly worried about things and have a constant knot in my stomach. I know that this comes from growing up with a mother with BPD. I am just wired to worry.

I am considering cognitive behavioural therapy to ease my symptoms and try to rewire my brain into not worrying so much.

Do any of you have experience of this?

Any advice at all?

Thanks.

I've done CBT and dialectical behavioral therapy. You can try buying some workbooks first if you aren't sure about committing to the course of therapy.

One thing I really took away from the DBT was general life stability. Sleeping enough, exercising consistently, eating healthy and on time. Building healthy friendships and distancing unhealthy relationships. Relying on reasonable to-do list and art therapy is another thing I've incorporated into that. If I automate as much as I can into a boring routine I don't stress so much.

I've found much better results with life restructuring and therapy than anxiety meds. Sometimes anxiety is our way of knowing something isn't right, and sometimes general practitioners don't dig deep enough for the real story.

I hear ya here. Hi beebee! I was never diagnosed with GAD however I probably should have been. It's not easy to become comfortable in your own skin. I think the biggest task was indeed becoming comfortable with the uncomfortable, knowing my triggers and learning coping skills for when we are triggered. I think CBT and DBT would be a great help to work through this. Everyone can  get some use of those skills.

Aside from working on coping skills and T, I really got a lot of benefit from positive affirmations and/or positive quotes. I searched them out, all the time, for a long time. There's actually a term for this called neuroplasticity and it does help. (and the best part, it's free) I simply started searching the web for positive affirmation/quote sites, had them delivered to email daily and used facebook for this too. There are a lot of empowering sites available today.

I'm way better at the worrying and fretting now, though I have my moments. I think a little worry now and then is fairly human. Trying to stamp it "all" out forever isn't the goal for me any longer. Trying hard to keep my perfectionism in check is.  :)  

GAD is due to chemical imbalance.  Appropriate medication is not stigmatic.  A more extreme form of GAD is panic attacks.  Sometimes the imbalance at a younger age presents itself as GAD.  As one gets older and other hormone levels begin to fall, it can result in full fledged panic attacks.

Therapy and lifestyle restructuring can only control a chemical imbalance so far and no more.

So, please stay alert to your emotions/moods... .   keep a journal and do not hesitate to seek out medical intervention if it becomes an impediment to your hopes, dreams,

:-)

beebee1, I was diagnosed with adjustment disorder 2 years ago! PTSD type symptoms. Also the result of a BPD relationship break-up and a BPD parent.

I'm not one to comment whether you have GAD or not however what I can ask is – Have you considered a second opinion?

Information on GAD – Mayo Clinic (http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/generalized-anxiety-disorder/DS00502)

One thing that I know is for certain – that being the product of a BPD parent my coping skills certainly needed some work.

BB, being a new member here I am not fully aware of how much therapy you have been through or how much unpacking you have undergone in relation to your childhood however I cannot recommend it enough that you investigate this a little more. Where are you at here?

Beebee1,

I have anxiety issues too but have not been diagnosed officially.  I would guess GAD, social anxiety, maybe OCD-lite, and I've had at least one full blown panic attack.  My father and grandmother had anxiety issues, along with other people in my dad's maternal side of the family.  Then my mother is narcissistic and has some borderline traits as well.  So I'm guessing my anxiety has a genetic component and of course environmental.

I've been in therapy for six months so far and it's helped, but what's really helped with the anxiety is metoprolol, which is a beta blocker.  My GP prescribed it for migraine prophylaxis and I don't really have high blood pressure though sometimes it's been borderline.  Anyway, within 20 minutes of taking it, the physical aspects of my anxiety melted.  It was amazing because I didn't realize how much the anxiety affected my body.  Though it doesn't cure the mental part, it breaks the feedback loop and I feel so much better physically and mentally.

Then I'm also making changes in my life, taking better care of my self.  :)iet, sleep, exercise, less work, more relaxation, etc.

Daze