So, I had my 2nd psychologist visit yesterday (Friday 14 May).
It turned out to be another good visit – which has surprised me as I wasn’t sure whether these visits would be any good.
We spent most of the time yesterday talking about the anxiety side of my illness.
We talked about why I got anxious in crowds and how the anxiety manifested itself. For me, the anxiety manifests itself in the following way:
I am in a crowd > I get anxious > My right arm aches > I start breathing faster > I am acutely aware of everyone around me > I get paranoid > I feel like something really bad will happen.
We had an A-ha moment when talking about this. This stems from my school days when I was bullied. Whenever I was bullied, it mostly happened when my back was turned. I have linked this to the anxiety that I get now.
We also talked a little about the depression side of my illness, but will cover that more in the next session.
I also gave her the goals for what I wanted to achieve from counselling.