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On holiday in Portugal and feeling low


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It was my idea to have a holiday in Portugal,  but my ocd is playing up! I have laryngitis and feel like ****, which is obviously making my health anxiety worse, and I'm scared of being away from home etc.... I went to Florida last year, and was absolutely fine and it was an amazing holiday.  But this time i was nervous on the plane and just feel overwhelmed and anxious! How can i overcome this and still enjoy my holiday! Please give advice.

Thank you 

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Hiya

I'm sorry you're not feeling well.  Feeling I'll real,y doesn't  help with anxiety or OCD.  Make sure you do what you can to improve with the physical illness.  Take Ibuprofen or Paracetomol.  Gargle with salt water every few hours, drink plenty and  get some rest.  Then watch the rumination.  Watch the self-talk......?the OMG, I mustn't be like this on holiday......the "What if's"  You're not feeling well, try and accept that and how it can affect your mood, how quickly feeling rough can create these feelings.  Try and  minimise the physical things as  est you can, be aware that feeling rough (and the need not to) can quickly affect your mood.  Try & tread water for a coup,e of days and hopefully you can get back In control & enjoy the rest of your holiday.  Good Luck :)

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It definitely sucks when you get sick on holiday, but try to remember its not the end of the world.  Of course you want to enjoy something you have been looking forward to and its disappointing not to be able to fully participate, but I promise that life goes on :) 

For example, about 15 years ago I traveled to my friends wedding (I was a groomsman) and came down with the flu.  I spent almost two days mostly in bed while everyone else was able to go out and enjoy the pre-wedding festivities.  Sure it was a bummer to not be part of things, but I took care of myself, felt better eventually and was still able to enjoy some of the wedding.  It wasn't ideal, but it wasn't the end of the world.

Then a little over a year ago, I came down with a stomach bug while on vacation here in Japan for a week.  Again it was less than ideal.  I ended up spending more time in my hotel than I otherwise would have like to and wasn't able to do as many things in the city I was visiting, but I made sure to get rest, focused on the few activities I felt up to doing and enjoyed myself however I could.  Again it was unfortunate to miss out on some things I would have enjoyed doing, but life goes on!

The best thing you can do is to take care of yourself to feel better and try and release desire on how things "should" be (as Caramoole wisely points out).  Enjoy what you can when you can, and allow yourself to rest and relax.  So you can't go out to a place you wanted to go?  Well maybe you can watch a movie you've been meaning to enjoy.  Or take some time to read a book.  Or just enjoy being able to sleep in!  Maybe there are some foods you can enjoy wherever you are staying, some fresh fruit or something that will help you feel better.  Maybe go for a short walk once and a while to get some fresh air, or sit outside and just enjoy the atmosphere.  

Above all, give yourself a break!  You can't control the universe, sometimes bad things happen and ya just have to deal with it as best you can.  I don't know if this saying is well known in the UK, but in the US we have a saying:  "When life gives you lemons, make lemonade!".  Hang in there and get well soon!

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Thank you, its just the illness is making my OCD worse, and keep worrying about dying or losing my mind.... I need to rest, but then my thoughts start and I feel out of control.  I suffer with health anxiety too, so when I'm ill i tend to think the worst all the time.  I'm off food, i cant sleep and I'm just worrying constantly.  I have two children and want to make the holiday memorable for them too.  I was ok in Florida last year and felt great, but there were more distractions to stop my thoughts! Where as here its more just resting and doing nothing.   I've said to my partner about having a bus ride to a zoo.  But agsin its my anxiety thats making my whole illness worse..... 

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@oetegenn1976  - I understand how being sick can exacerbate symptoms, and I understand how frustrating this is, I've been there, we all have in one way or another.

Right now the OCD is controlling you, and unfortunately you are letting it get control, and its causing an anxiety spiral.  Try to focus on doing what you can, and letting go of what you can't.  Remind yourself that getting sick is normal.  It happens to everyone.  It does NOT mean you are dying.  it does NOT mean you are losing your mind.  When you have those thoughts, remind yourself thats just OCD speaking and you don't have to listen.

You need to eat.  Not eating is only going to make things worse.  If it needs to be something simple, breads, fruit, juices, water, etc. Fine.  But you need to be eating something.  Its good to get protein in there too. Cheese or meat, whatever is convenient.  I find when I'm not super hungry that things like rice and chicken (grilled not fried) are easiest to take, or pastas with meat sauces.  You don't have to eat a lot but you need to eat SOMETHING.

If resting and doing nothing is causing your anxiety to spike, try going for a walk, listening to music, reading a book, doing some kind of puzzles (crossword, smart phone game, etc).  It doesn't need to be a big change, just something to refocus your mind.

Finally, try not to ruminate.  You are feeling anxiety, ok, thats unfortunate, but its not fatal.  You don't have to engage with the worry.  Remind yourself that you have OCD, that you don't need to respond when it says "but what if...".  Focus on what you can control and what you can change.  You can control your eating, you can control your activities, you can control how you respond.  You can't control (at least directly) that you get these intrusive thoughts.  You can't control that you aren't feeling 100%.  You can't control that you are in Portugal (at least for now).  You don't have to be 100% healthy to be safe.  You don't have to be 100% anxiety free to enjoy your vacation.  You don't have to stop having intrusive thoughts to sleep.  Give yourself permission to feel less than 100%.

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My chest now feels really tight and feels like its burning,  i feel so scared that its its something bad and I'm away from home! I've been coughing loads of phlegm up and just feel pants.... My mental health is suffering so bad! 

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My chest now feels really tight and feels like its burning,  i feel so scared that its its something bad and I'm away from home! I've been coughing loads of phlegm up and just feel pants.... My mental health is suffering so bad! 

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Portugal is a modern industrialized nation. They rank well in terms of health care. I’m sure you could find a doctor or clinic with English speaking staff. It sounds like you might have some kind of respiratory infection, probably worth getting checked out so they can prescribe some medication to ease your symptoms and/or eliminate any bacterial infection. Unfortunately people get sick but they also get well again. 

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Told my hubby i wanted to see a doctor,  but thinks I'm overreacting,  as i suffer with health anxiety and my ocd thoughts are being afraid of dying etc.  I do feel pants, but its just a cold....and I'm dramatising it 100 times more, because thats my ocd making my symptoms worse.  I'm only here till friday, so if i feel like this when i get back to uk, i will go to doctors then.  As i have this feeling before, and doctors are reluctant at giving antibiotics anyway if its only viral. 

I'll try and challenge my ocd and to think more positive.  Its the nights that are the worst, when everyone is in bed. That the worrying of am i going to die hits.....

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