How to stop mental health anxiety?

Hi Abi, 

Thank you for submitting this question and reaching out. I will try to answer this question to the best of my ability. I can imagine that you are feeling an increase of anxiety because the thought of developing a severe mental illness is pretty frightening. I think to start we have to ponder a few things, and if I were in a therapeutic relationship with you I would ask if there are people in your family who have severe mental illnesses. If there is no history of severe mental illness in your family, that's a good thing and should give you a sigh of relievef. Although you don't have to be related to someone to develop a severe mental illness, it does impact your level of risk. Another thing that impacts your risk is age. Generally, severe mental illnesses manifest in a person's 20s. 

Another thing I think that would be good to explore is your beliefs around having a severe mental illness. I find that understanding the truths of what it is like to have a severe mental illness can reduce anxiety a lot. And a lot of times we fear things that we don't understand. Let's say you have a family history and you have signs and symptoms developing. It can feel very unsettling, but we could work together to make a plan for what to do. When severe illnesses are caught early and treated properly a person can still live a good and normal life. 

We could also explore your previous interactions in therapy, if you've had any. I would help you identify and develop coping skills if you don't have any, or if the coping skills you do have aren't working. Especially when dealing with depersonalization, having strong grounding techniques is really important. Another thing we might discuss is medication you may have tried or if you are open to working with a psychiatrist on medication to help manage your anxiety and any other symptoms you're experiencing. In therapy we could work on challenging your anxious thoughts and negative beliefs. We could use reality therapy to reinforce your connection to reality, which may also help you manage moments of depersonalization. 

I hope you found this answer helpful.