- Username
- luckilamb
- Date posted
- 71d ago
- Somatic OCD
sat with my anxiety for the first time!
hiya, this is my first post here. i have ocd and panic disorder that often feed off each other, i feel. last night i had a horrendous panic attack that got worse because of obsessions around nausea and vomiting (saw someone vomit from extreme anxiety once and the thought has plagued me ever since). i have been working so hard to figure out exactly “how” to sit with anxiety. my go to has always been to distract myself with a video or playing a game until it’s better. however, i recently found out distraction is also an ocd behavior. last night with the support of my partner, i sat with a horrible stomachache, tremors, and shortness of breath and said nothing. i just thought about how my body was feeling. i told myself there’s no way to know if i will throw up or not. maybe i will, maybe i won’t. if i do, i’ll throw a party. i didn’t allow myself to google anything. i just focused on how my body felt and didn’t try to fix it, just think about how it was really uncomfortable and it really sucked, but that i’ve felt like that before and that regardless of what happened, i would be okay later. after sitting with it for awhile, my anxiety symptoms did lessen! i still didn’t feel 100% but i was amazed to feel better than i had been. it’s the next day and i feel much calmer, and i also feel incredibly proud of myself. my whole life i have tried to run away from my anxiety, so stopping what i’m doing to confront it and even try to welcome the body sensations it brings is extremely difficult, but possible. and i think it will pay off. i just wanted to share this in case there’s anyone else reading who is struggling with figuring out how to “sit” with their anxiety. i’m sending you all my best wishes — we can do it!! 💪 it’s going to be uncomfortable but it’s so possible.