I put together my own panic checklist after realising that most distressing symptoms subside, yet in the moment I forget that they will. I look at it when my weird symptoms strike and I can’t think straight. I also added some soothing thoughts for myself when it’s bad.
Hope this helps someone.
I needed it myself just today.
Stroke Don’t panic
-Pains in body - . Nerve issues. Will go away , Take paracetamol if necessary .
-Pins and needles , weird sensations in face. Will go away . Nerves regenerating.
-Head pains - nerves regenerating, take paracetamol if necessary.
-Visual issues - too much daylight/concentrating or digital eye strain - will ease.
All of these things will be worse after stress or illness, or if dehydrated/hungry.
Soothing thoughts.
“My body is healing and protected. I am doing what I need to , to stay well.”
“This feeling is fear, not danger. I am safe right now.”
“I trust my medication and my choices to support my health.”
“I’ve survived hard things. I am stronger than this moment of fear.”
“My thoughts are not facts. I can let this one pass.”
Aye, our thoughts are not facts, fight or flight is there to protect us but our mammalian brain can interpret this function erroneously, it’s a good list of self-soothing thoughts you have.
Physically, I have made great progress. Mentally? I’m wrecked. The stroke has left me with anxiety and difficulty regulating my emotions.
On top of that, some neurodiverse traits I had before the stroke are now super-charged.
Thankfully, the occupational therapist I had on my stroke team is great and I’m on the waiting list to see the Neuropsychology team, so I expect to hear from them in late September.
Thanks @Seddso, that’s really good advice. I’m new here, had a very mild TIA in February and grateful to have got away lightly, but have struggled to come to terms with it mentally. I will be putting your checklist to good use.
Just wanted to pop along and welcome you to the community. I’m sorry to hear about your TIA, any type of stroke is a lot to come to terms with so please be gentle with yourself during this time.
I’m pleased to see you’re already finding the community helpful. If you need anything whilst you’re using the Online Community, please don’t hesitate to tag me using the @ symbol and my username.
Yes I totally understand. I’ve been an emotional wreck. Getting better but need lots of understanding from those around me. I found my therapists do helpful and my psychologist kept me sane. I hope you find them helpful too
Hello Ravyn, sorry to hear that. It’s very early days for you . I think the fear is something only us stroke survivors can understand. I felt crippled by it in the early days and was in constant fear of another trip to a&e. My psychologist and this group helped so much. But I still ( ten months post stroke - which I know is still early days in terms of stroke recovery) have days where I panic , hence my little list.
Hope each day gets a little easier for you .
