The Slippery Slope of Catastrophic Thinking

Two days ago, I posted to my blog that I thought I was agoraphobic.  Well thanks to my support network, I have been made to see the error in my thinking.  What it comes down to is that I didn't catch what was really going on:  My catastrophic thinking was hijacking my thoughts.

Many of you know Rod Deaton.  He's a doc in the Indiana VA.  When he read that post about agoraphobia, he got in contact with me right away.  We talked it all through - the anxiety, all of the changes in my life I had to make, the health complications, everything.  What became abundantly clear to me as we talked friend to friend is that my catastrophic thinking is what was out of control.  I kept on obsessing about the worst possible scenarios when it came to my health.  It reinforced rational fears of health complications and amplified them into debilitating and lifestyle changing obsessions.  While making the realization that I was better equipped now than I have ever been to face allergies and irritants, I also got really frustrated with myself for letting it affect me this way and feed into depression.

What made it even more poignant was the note I got from my mother yesterday.  She basically said that this guy who was moping around feeling sorry for himself was not the strong-willed and determined son she was used to seeing.  She reiterated many of the points that Rod and I talked about.  This really illustrates the important role of a strong support network and motivates me even more to make sure that every vet has the strong support he/she needs to survive and thrive.

Looking back at everything that happened, it's amazing how quickly one catastrophic thought sent me down the hill like I was on a slip 'n slide.  So now comes the hard part:  Getting out and doing something about it.  It's one thing to recognize you are letting the PTSD win.  It's another to know what exactly you should do to take back control.  I guess I'll find out this weekend.  I am not going to squander this opportunity to honor the fallen by moping around in my apartment.