How can a naturally anxious person keep from worrying while laid up in bed with a broken ankle and leg?

I’m laid up right now and I’m an anxious mess. I’m worried about finances and now my car. My mom said the engine sounded funny when she brought it over to her place, where I’m staying.

I’m getting surgery to fix my ankle tomorrow and I’ll hopefully be wfh a week after that. But I will have missed an entire pay period. My big bills are coming up next week, and idk if I’ll have enough to pay them. I also can’t afford a new car, and I’m afraid I’ll need a new one soon.

I’m so overwhelmed. I’ve been close to tears for almost an hour. I’m sure the excruciating pain of my severely broken bones isn’t helping. I’ve been trying to distract myself with TV, games, and crafts, but the anxiety is still persistently at the back of my mind.

SirToxicAvenger,

reading? I’m guessing you have a phone or a laptop now (else how would you post). lots of good, free books available on the internet.

regarding the car - used car prices are still pretty high, if you decide to sell it then the sooner the better. maybe look into getting an ebike or scooter as a replacement.

badbytes,

Take care of yourself and ankle. Everything else will work itself out

APassenger,

I haven’t seen it mentioned in the sections I’ve scrolled.

First, there’s some great advice already out there. What I’ll add: breathing exercises, especially box breathing. That, with meditation, has helped me. That can be Headapace, Calm, YouTube, and more. I’ve found the voice and timbre of the speaker matters to me and changes how well it works.

My wife likes some people, I like others. And that’s okay.

The breathing and meditation never immediately helped until I’d learned how to transition to a more “present” frame of mind, but they helped me build the pathway/shortcut.

Stay strong and we’re pulling for you.

rafa,

Benzodiazepines 😋

APassenger,

It’s been a few days, how ya doing?

LaunchesKayaks,
@LaunchesKayaks@lemmy.world avatar

I’m absolutely terrible. The pain from the surgery is unbearable. The pain meds barely do anything. :(

APassenger,

What happens when you mention the pain to the medical staff? Are you out patient or in?

It’s small comfort to know the pain decreases. I remember a surgery of mine and the pain was… Unrelenting and deep. They gave me effective meds, eventually, though. I mean, what they gave me worried my wife because it was - or could have been - addictive.

Lucked out that didn’t happen. But the point is, meds exist that help, I’d think.

LaunchesKayaks,
@LaunchesKayaks@lemmy.world avatar

The surgery was outpatient. They can’t do anything more for me currently. I’m on Vicodin every 6 hours and aspirin twice a day. I was also told that I can take some ibuprofen if I need it. The pain is actually a bit better right now. I managed to get some sleep and it seems to have helped a lot

APassenger,

I’m glad sleep helped. Rebuilding and healing take a lot of energy.

Hope you continue to see steady improvement and can get back to launching kayaks (if that is, indeed, your thing).

LaunchesKayaks,
@LaunchesKayaks@lemmy.world avatar

Thank you! I haven’t launched a kayak in a long time because my kayaking partner and I have been hella busy. My goal is to just get back to my own house asap lol.

intensely_human,

Breathe more slowly. You need to make the exhalation as long as you possibly can.

eponymous_anonymous,

“ I used to work in a sheet metal factory, but then, a job came along at the tannery. The hours were better, and I would get paid. Also I would get the chance to work with leather both before and after it was on the cow, which had always been a dream of mine. I didn’t want to give up my sheet metal job, so I tried to do both jobs and finish middle school.”

“How old were you?”

“Eleven. The point is, I was so tired I tried to punch through 8 gauge aluminum with a leather awl.” laughs

“Wow.”

“I learned a lesson. Never half ass two things. Whole ass one thing. So if you want to win that seat-“

“Which I do.”

“Then commit yourself 100%. Take a sabbatical.”

I’ve tried making lists, but they end up becoming a problem when it comes time to pick one thing to focus on. Eventually you just need to whole ass one thing.

And it turns out that’s the opposite of anxiety, for me at least. The opposite of anxiety isn’t calm, or peace - it’s focus. My advice would be to focus, on one or two things at a time.

Right now, you’re laid up in bed. Your body is hard at work on healing, so give your mind a break - try watching something that makes you laugh. Focus on laughing, and finding joy in these quiet moments. You have a perfect excuse to take some time for yourself. Drink lots of fluids (beer is a very good fluid). Eat good food. Get good sleep. Focus on that.

In no particular order, I would recommend watching the Office, Parks and Rec, the Good Place, Community, Wilfred, Adventures of Todd Margaret, Last Man On Earth, Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency, What We Do In The Shadows, or Our Flag Means Death

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