Am I Obsessing Too Much?

[Jason37]

Tinnitus Talk has given me a lot of hope and support. But I have been on here constantly when I'm not busy with my kids. Sometimes I get very anxious about the future though reading everything... I go from hopeful to depression some days.

 

[Ed209]

Tinnitus Talk has given me a lot of hope and support. But I have been on here constantly when I'm not busy with my kids. Sometimes I get very anxious about the future though reading everything... I go from hopeful to depression some days.

Learn from my mistakes. Stop reading about it and get on with your life. In time you will adjust and it will become less of a problem or no problem at all. Turning it into an obsession is the worst thing I did.

 

[Paulmanlike]

I did that and carried on for months. On the one hand it helps, on the other it fuels the obsession onto tinnitus.

To be fair now, I don't really ask for support and give a little when I can, I'm more interested in the research and have come fascinated by it. It gives me hope but I'm not counting down the days checking everything out every single second.

 

[Markku]

Tinnitus Talk has given me a lot of hope and support. But I have been on here constantly when I'm not busy with my kids. Sometimes I get very anxious about the future though reading everything... I go from hopeful to depression some days.

I agree with @Ed209.

Beyond a certain point, most people should just stop reading about it. Some people with extremely mild tinnitus probably shouldn't even start to read about it beyond the basics.. and opening the ugly "what ifs". It's a vicious circle if you keep reading about it; people's problems and opinions repeat ad infinitum. It's the nature of tinnitus.

That has the potential of just feeding into your anxiety and obsessive patterns.

Most people stop visiting forums of their own accord, but there are the subset of people who get obsessed and find it very hard to move on.

You know how to be safe around loud noise, you know that most tinnitus spikes resolve, you know to check out the ototoxicity profile of new medications you are prescribed, you know that you have no ultimate control over your tinnitus, you know you have to let go of that fear of it becoming worse or it will eat you alive - we could die any day either way, so overly worrying about the future isn't helpful for anyone's psyche.

Actually, over the years, several members, who have found themselves to be too obsessed about reading the forum, have asked us to ban them. Afterwards, we have received feedback from a few, whom all said it was tremendously helpful when we agreed to their request banning them.

Incidentally, all of this (the combined elements of member attrition) makes mine, @Steve and the rest of our small group of volunteers' work that much harder; it's really difficult to find people who are committed in the long-term to helping the cause via various ways. Thankfully there are some exceptions to this rule, people like the fabulous @Karen, @glynis and @billie48 (among others I didn't list!) keep on providing support and raising awareness even while dealing with their own problems in life.

Tinnitus as a topic isn't exactly one that most like to spend their leisure time on.

What is most important though is that everyone does what they feel is best for their own well-being.

And if you ever decide you (or anybody else) want to try the route of being banned either temporarily or indefinitely, send me a PM.

 

[billie48]

Like @Markku says, some of us decide to stay behind to help others even though our T is no longer an issue in our life. Most will move on as T is not a pleasant subject to deal with everyday nor we need to be reminded of our T. But each person will have to decide what is important in their life and I personally feel that helping others to lift them out of their suffering is a higher calling in life. As far as the negative side of T, those of you who can't take all the negative posts can focus on the positives on this forum, such as the success stories. There you will find hope and comfort witnessing the triumph over the tyranny of T. My 2 cents.

 

[Paulmanlike]

Personally, my recovery from tinnitus (the feelings it gave me - the sounds has always been the same) came from

- Time. You don't get over something In a day, as time passes you do intially get better from the negative feelings and accept tinnitus as part of life.
- Hope. That's not saying I visit research on tinnitus every single day, although occasionally, that there are millions of us worldwide and that will only drive the development of better treatments along the line inevitably, hopefully soon - if not then I would rather "not know".
-Behaviour. Your mood influences your behaviour and vice Versa. Depressed because of tinnitus? Keep doing things u enjoy no matter how hard, as that is key in recovering from depression. As time goes by, tinnitus becomes less of an issue.

 

[Jason37]

Thanks, and you are right. The obsession of fearing that it will get worse is eating me alive as I type this. That and self hatred for letting this occur are really starting to take its toll on myself and my family. Everyday is a "what if " scenario and T takes up 98 percent of my thoughts.

 

[sjtinguy]

You know how to be safe around loud noise, you know that most tinnitus spikes resolve, you know to check out the ototoxicity profile of new medications you are prescribed, you know that you have no ultimate control over your tinnitus, you know you have to let go of that fear of it becoming worse or it will eat you alive - we could die any day either way, so overly worrying about the future isn't helpful for anyone's psyche.

Great reminders here.. I hope someday to ask to be banned as well!

 

[sjtinguy]

That and self hatred for letting this occur are really starting to take its toll on myself and my family. Everyday is a "what if " scenario and T takes up 98 percent of my thoughts.

You gotta let it go.. you can't change what has happened, you can only move forward. I know that's really hard, but repeating the event in your mind will never change anything. Just focus on getting better. Focus on your family. Don't focus on the past and don't focus on your tinnitus

 

[Karen]

I agree with most of the above posts about moving forward, and not obsessing about our tinnitus. When mine first started, I know that I did a lot of research about it, and began obsessing about finding a cure. However, over time, I learned that the best "cure" is to learn to accept our tinnitus, calm down, and begin living our lives as normally as possible.

For me, keeping busy, keeping myself healthy, and learning to focus outward have been the best ways of coping. I can now truly say that, while my tinnitus and pulsatile tinnitus are still there, I don't let them get to me any more. I am living my life normally again, and actually find I am enjoying life now!

I am one of the members who is still here, because I want to help and support others who have this condition.

As @sjtinguy says, don't focus on the past, because you cannot change it. Move forward into the new year with a positive attitude, and don't let tinnitus rule your life!!

Best wishes for a happy new year,
Karen

 

[glynis]

Hi everyone ,
Im here as a part of the TT and TH team to help support members needing help through the difficult times tinnitus can bring.
Love glynis x

 

[Nanny chocolate]

I've had T for 20 years, audiology induced. Hospitalised for oxygen treatment to no avail. Now suffering clinical depression(long story of stress this year) and Zoloft has produced T in the quiet ear. Despair doesn't cover it, can't stop Zoloft as severe withdrawal symptoms but afraid of what damage it might do. So very frightening.

 

[Jason37]

Wake up I think about T, go out I think about it, at church thinking about T, playing with kids think about T, go to sleep think about it....occupies 98 percent of my thoughts....I think I have a big problem besides it. I've never be so obsessed.

 

[Ed209]

Wake up I think about T, go out I think about it, at church thinking about T, playing with kids think about T, go to sleep think about it....occupies 98 percent of my thoughts....I think I have a big problem besides it. I've never be so obsessed.

Welcome to the club. I was swallowed whole by tinnitus; it just completely consumed me. But, it doesn't have to be this way. Give yourself more time and try to minimise the time you spend thinking about it each day. Do other things to distract yourself, and over time you will slowly emerge from its shadow.

 

[fishbone]

Tinnitus Talk has given me a lot of hope and support. But I have been on here constantly when I'm not busy with my kids. Sometimes I get very anxious about the future though reading everything... I go from hopeful to depression some days.

Reading too much into anything, is not always a good thing. This forum can be a blessing at times and it can also possibly make newcomers nervous. If you feel that this forum is not helping you out, then take a break from it.