I’ve been a bit more anxious than normal lately, too. I think it has to deal with me being on these forums a bit more than normal (so I’m thinking about my symptoms more) as well as finals being around the corner for me.
I’ve found that giving myself a certain amount of time to really feel the emotions I’m currently experiencing helps a lot. So for example, I’ll give myself the day to just acknowledge how I’m feeling but restrain myself from going down a path of “what if” thoughts (if that makes any sense). To elaborate more, I try to focus on exactly what’s bothering me in that moment and nothing else. Afterwards I try to shift my focus entirely on what I need to get done regarding school, personal care, etc.
I also think about the effort that’s being made to correct these problems, and this helps me a lot. I try to focus on the things, however slight they may be, I can do in order to help. So for instance I just got my 23andme kit, and I’m excited to get my results back so I can contribute more towards the effort. I’m also majoring in computer science, and although I’m by no means experienced, I’m always thinking about ways that I could use it to potentially help. I also try to make an effort to educate myself more on all the things that could be the culprit for our symptoms. By doing this I give myself more control over the situation, and this is quite empowering.
Finally, I tend to struggle with feeling connected with people I’m around (even my closest friends) because of my symptoms. I feel like I don’t really have anyone to help me talk through my bad days when I really wish I did. With that being said, please feel free to PM me anything you’d like to talk about. It’s important for all of us to support each other as much as we can.