Hi, I'm new to this forum, hopefully someone can help me out!
I'm 17 years old, and have been a perfectionist all my life. I suffered from anorexia for the past 4 years, and just recovered. Now that I'm recovered, I have all of this pent up anxiety that has been overwhelming. I do have a therapist, but I would also like your opinions....
My brain is non stop thinking 24/7. Whether it be a conversation that I had with someone, or a thought/emotion that I have, I think about it and probably turn it into something bigger than it is.
I start to think about things and then make up situations in my head and my mind tricks me into believing it.
For example, I've never really had a serious relationship before because I was so distracted by my anorexia (only a few flings in middle school). Now, seeing all of my friends have boyfriends and etc, I feel like I'll never find someone. This leads me to think that I'm a lesbian, and I get incredibly anxious and worried. My low self esteem and confidence just leads me to believe that I am.
As you can see, my brain is crazy, and I really can't take it anymore. I've had a few panic attacks where my heart rate goes up, my body shakes, and I get sore and tense.
Please help me to relax my brain, I can't take it anymore :(
* I exercise a lot, so that isn't a problem...my main ocncern is how to not be consumed by my thoughts, I want to be able to recognize a thought or emotion, and leave it as that. I need to be able to see that thoughts are just thoughts and nothing more!
Thanks so much for reading this!