Thanks for the reply. It echoes so accurately what I have been going through. Your advice is very good, and I am adopting much of it already. I do see the beauty in life and am blessed to live very close to beautiful countryside and the sea and have spent time walking and enjoying nature. You are right about wasting time, so I have starting trying to structure my days – just like I would at work. I feel like I am on journey as I am discovering so much about myself – but with this comes uncomfortable feelings around the fear of facing up to the need to make changes in my life if I am to move on. This brings a new anxiety to me and a strange loneliness as I feel I am changing whilst others around me stay the same. I am searching for another job, but like you have experienced, I struggle to fill in job applications and write covering letters. However I do feel more positive than I have for a while, so something must be changing. Thank you for taking the time to reply. Your words have been really helpful and are much appreciated. x

I’m sorry that you have anxiety too. I am not having any medical treatment, and do not want to go down that path. I am trying meditation/mindfulness, which helps, but it feels like I am making very slow progress. Maybe I am expecting too much too soon. But I have never felt like this before so it is really hard for me to know what to do for the best. You are right to say how devastating it can be – I am shocked at how anxious I have become, even over what seems to be the smallest of things. I do feel that this will pass, but I just wish this would happen sooner rather than later.