Seems my anxiety is always manifesting itself in different ways. It used to be through panic attacks, but I don't normally have them anymore.

I have had what I refer to as "bad thoughts" for quite some time now. They are very intrusive and make it very hard for me to relax. I am not sure if they would be considered anxiety/fear thoughts or thoughts that would fit in the obsessive thoughts category of OCD. They all have a catastrophic theme to them. Here are some examples of what happens:

I will call my husband. If he does not answer his cell phone, I become sure that he is dead. I begin to imagine going to his funeral, I imagine what life will be like without him. I cannot think of a rational reason as to why he might not be picking up his phone. This will continue until I hear from him.

I will be on the subway and I think over and over about all the bad things that could happen, i.e. it blows up, someone pulls out a gun, etc.

If I am at a crowded place with my husband (like a baseball game), and he goes to get food or to go to the bathroom and it takes a long time I begin to think over and over that something happened to him.

I have three parrots-- when I am away from home (at work, school, or out for the day), I will become stuck on the thought that they are dead. It will get so bad that I am almost panicking when I finally open the door because I am expected to find them dead.

When I take Advil, I become stuck on the thought that it has been poisoned.

If I have a certain ailment, such as a headache for a few days in a row, I am obsessed that it is a brain tumor, until it goes away.

I recognize that these thoughts are irrational. They are very disturbing to me. I don't engage in any compulsive behaviors. It would be very helpful to see what others think.