Continuing the discussion from Newmember:
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Hi I am a new member and 8 weeks post stroke and struggling with anxiety that it will happen again I am a 72 year old female living alone. Will it improve ??
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It depends on the person, for me that anxiety lessened over time, but it is still present, maybe at the back of my mind. However, I am on anti-anxiety meds which are primarily for panic disorder. Everyday that passes, without further threat of a stroke, the brain relaxes a little bit and gets on with familiar activities and seeking distraction.
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Thanks Rups good to hear yours has lessened, for me unfortunately, I’ve always been anxious and always thinking the worst, I’m not terribly good with techy things but hope my reply reaches you, good luck and thanks for the encouragement
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Hi @Lizzy10 & welcome to the community.
I would say for most the anxiety of it happening again lessens over time. But some people are generally more anxious than others & it takes them longer to get through the anxiety.
I would say you are likely on meds now to reduce the risk & many people never have another stroke so try & put it to the back of your mind and move forward. Easier said than done I know. The anxiety can be more debilitating than the stroke if you’re nit careful.
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Hi Lizzy10, I think it’s pretty normal to have anxiety after a stroke. We all worry," will it happen again". I was the same way. I went to a counselor for a few visits and talked to her about it. She was very helpful. She gave me some self-suggestions to practice to reprogram my mind. Things like–" I’ve felt this anxious feeling before. It goes away, and then I feel okay." Or " It’s just and feeling and it will pass. I’m going to feel fine soon." “Every day I’m geting better.” Others like it. I repeated them faithful throughout the day and before going to bed at night, As soon as a worrisome or negative thought crept into my mind, I would jump to one of my mantras. Believe it or not it works. It did take some time, but eventually the negative and anxious thoughts became less and less as the negative programming was replaced by positive thoughts.(It’s sort of like a form of self-hypnosis) And you know, most people do get better and heal from a stroke to varying degrees, never have another one and get on with life. Hang in there!
Jeanne
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This is a very powerful technique and under used.
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Aye, I use this one too, it’s very effective at disarming anxiety.
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Hi @Lizzy10
Welcome to the community, I’m sorry to hear about your stroke and the anxiety you’re dealing with. 8 weeks is relatively early in your journey and anxiety is completely normal to be feeling. We do have some information on our website about anxiety which I hope you’ll find helpful. I can also see you’ve had some good responses from our members.
I hope you’ll find this helpful for your recovery. If you need anything whilst you’re using the Online Community, please don’t hesitate to tag me using the @ symbol and my username.
Anna
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Hi Lizzy
No easy answer and I imagine it’s different for different people. The severity of stroke must also have a bearing I’d have thought
My own case - im coming up to a year post stroke the anxiety is always there I’d say but very much in the background. Do I now today think im going to have another stroke? No. Do I know I COULD have one? Yes.
So massive improvement and im getting on with life.
But the months after - at first terrified I could have one then I did have another very minor stroke. That put me back tremendously and it took a lot to move forward from that. But I did. I believe you will too.
Main thing is look after yourself take yr meds and be kind to yourself dont rush things and if you can exercise then do. Small steps but they make a massive journey possible. Do please keep posting there are incredible people here and we all help each other. You have helped by sharing your worries. Thanks. Please keep saying hiw you are doing.
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Hi everyone Thankyou all for your kind positive words and support, I know I need to let time pass to build up confidence, am still finding my way around the website and hope to respond/post regularly, on a positive note I’m hoping to have a game of badminton this afternoon my first since since stroke, have a good day everyone x
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Great to hear you’re going off to play badminton, not played for years but used to enjoy it a lot. On the subject of anxiety, I still get occasional “what if” moments but from day one I tried to stay as positive as I could. Setting small targets as challenges to occupy the mind, etc.
One of the best bits of advice for me came from one of the hospital physios, we had several really good chats. She suggested rather than “what if I have another stroke”, turn it around to “what if I DON’T have another” . I keep that frame of mind, time spent not doing things or not trying through fear of another ends up more negatively affecting me.
We can never say never, but following the stroke, diagnosis and treatment we’re probably less likely now to have a stroke than we were before!
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Thankyou for your wise words
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