Hi Kelly

I think that your idea of using meditation and breathing exercises to help with your anxiety is great - I live with mild/moderate anxiety and both work for me.

I also think that Mark's idea of checking out CBT methods is a good one. Essentially CBT involves learning how to notice "unhelpful" thoughts and then "challenging" them - asking "Is there any evidence that that thought has any basis in reality?" Very often the answer to that question is "No.", which can be empowering. Examples of unhelpful thought patterns include catastrophising (focusing on the worst possible outcome), mind-reading (guessing, with no evidence, what another person thinks about you), fortune-telling (predicting a bleak future with no evidence), black-and-white thinking (focusing on the extremes), discounting the positive, over-generalisation (a single negative event is viewed as affecting everything) and personalisation (feeling responsible when not at fault).

CBT takes time and practise to learn but it has been valuable to me in dealing with my Major Depressive Disorder.

All the best.

Thanks to both Mark from Idaho and Kiwi for the tips on CBT. I notice I do a lot of those negative thought patterns that Kiwi described. I'm going to try and implement those CBT questions Kiwi described. I'm a little worried about the high blood pressure issue. Is it ok to indulge in sexual activity? Sorry tmi.

Rather than worry about the high blood pressure issue, get a BP kit and check your BP.

As the saying goes, If you don't like the dark, light a candle.

Choose to do the things that can answer questions rather than worry about the answer being bad. More often than not, the answer is much better than expected.

My wife has white coat syndrome. Her BP increases at the doctors office (white coats) for no reason. She also will spike her BP from stress so we try to minimize stress.

Take your worries and make them into choices. i.e.

I'm worried about my BP. My choice is to get a BP kit and check my BP.

I'm worried about having sex and my BP. My choice is to check my BP before and after to see if it changes.

Usually, sex increases hormones that stabilize BP in a positive way.
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Kelly, here is a real example of how CBT can help. A while ago I used to go to a therapy group for people with mood disorders. Another member had been invited to go on a boat trip and got very anxious about this "There might be a big storm and the boat will sink." - in CBT jargon this is catastrophising.

We helped her to challenge that unhelpful thought:

(Q) Whereabouts will the boat trip happen? (A) In a sheltered part of Sydney Harbour.

(Q) What is the weather forecast for the day of the trip? (A) Fine with light breezes.

Those and other questions led her to challenge that catastrophising thought. She went on the trip and had a great time.

CBT in action.

I have a hard time telling sometimes if my anxiety is causing a symptom or if it's actually real. Today for the first time I noticed my head hurt when I started talking. I can't tell if my anxiety caused this or not. Should I be concerned or just wait it out and see if this new symptom lasts longer than a day?ugh...just a week and half ago I thought I was getting better. Now I've regressed I guess and I don't know why.

I don't understand what you mean. Are you not sure the pain is real or not sure what caused the pain ?

Headaches are common with PCS. They come and go. Often with no pattern or way to make sense.

There is no reason to be anxious or concerned about a common pain level headache.

btw, A week or two of doing better then a relapse is not uncommon. It is the roller coaster ride of PCS.

I wonder if the headache at the same time as you were talking was just a coincidence. Agitated talking or excited talking can be a bit over-stimulating for some.

There could be other things that contributed or maybe the headache just happened.

it may have been a coincidence. Either way it was a normal grade head ache so I guess it's not a big deal. I notice sometimes the back of my head feels sore from where I hit it 3 and half months ago. Is that normal? I can't tell if that's a type of head ache or not

It can take months and months for the superficial nerves at an impact sight to heal. As they do heal, they can feel tender.

When recovering for a concussion, it is VERY helpful to go with the flow. Various aches, pains and odd sensations do not mean anything unless they are severe. The over-sensitivity to any sensory stimuli makes these issues APPEAR to be much more.

Give yourself a break and try to learn to tolerate and move past this minor issues.

Thank you for all your help Mark. I'm trying to just not get dragged down into the black hole that is anxiety and PCS symptoms. I don't really think any of the symptoms are that big of an issue but they still startle me when they come up. One last question... I went to an eye doctor a month ago who said my eyes were fine and that the black/blue floaters were normal. For awhile I thought my sight was getting better then it got worse again lately but maybe that's the PCS roller coaster. I did just see a red floater. Should I immediately go to the ER? I remember a post of yours saying red floaters are bad. I saw it when I closed my eyes. There was a bright computer screen on in front of me too so maybe that did it?

If you saw the red floaters through closed eye lids, that is completely normal. Floaters become very noticeable with PCS because the brain has lost its ability to ignore them. They are always there. Usually, we just ignore them. The anxious PCS brain becomes hypersensitive to anything.

I went through the same symptom of floaters becoming very obvious.