GAD (general anxiety disorder)

[Rain]

Hello there,

just found out your forum today i wanted to share my experiences with general anxiety disorder.
It started 3 years ago, i was 20 and lonely at home for one week, i started to have 3 panic attacks per day. And i ended up having abdomen muscles always contracted, with here and there neck muscles tension too.
Breathing really become a hard thing to do.
I had 2 bad years where i did not really understand what was happening to me and i still don't know what caused this disorder.
A year ago i focused on my breathing and since then i'm only breathing with my abdomen, it changed my life, i learned a lot on my body. I really started to get better with no medication, some magnesium here and there but nothing more.
I spent 2 very good days in 3 years but soon after i faced the loss of one my closest family member and it started over, minus the panic attacks. And even with a good breathing there's an enormous tension in my body.
Of course the tension increase with stressful situations, before the passing of my family member, i was stressed at work, and fine at home.
Now it's the other way around. I found out that i was very stressed when i was not doing something. One other thing, i'm a guitarist and when i touch the fretboard of the instrument all the tension goes away, like it was never there.
I try to do a lot a sport and it helps with magnesium for my sleep.

So my questions are:

-Do i have to find the cause (and solve it) of what started the disorder? (to finally end it) I have an idea, it's a personal issue.
-I'm taking Magnesium B6, i read on the forum some of you take Amino Acid and Magnesium (chelated?) What's the difference between the two?
-Do you relate to my story? Do you have any advice?

Thanks

[Anne1221]

It doesn't seem to me like you would have to figure out a cause. In my case, a stressful job made things worse, but the issue was how was I going to manage my anxiety. In my case, it turned out to be therapy and medication. But everyone is different.

[Rain]

Ok, my job isn't very stressful, it seems that my body feels it that way. Sunday nights are often hard for me to sleep.
For your therapy did you follow a normal one or a cognitive and behavioural one?

[Im-Suffering]

Hello there,

just found out your forum today i wanted to share my experiences with general anxiety disorder.
It started 3 years ago, i was 20 and lonely at home for one week, i started to have 3 panic attacks per day. And i ended up having abdomen muscles always contracted, with here and there neck muscles tension too.
Breathing really become a hard thing to do.
I had 2 bad years where i did not really understand what was happening to me and i still don't know what caused this disorder.
A year ago i focused on my breathing and since then i'm only breathing with my abdomen, it changed my life, i learned a lot on my body. I really started to get better with no medication, some magnesium here and there but nothing more.
I spent 2 very good days in 3 years but soon after i faced the loss of one my closest family member and it started over, minus the panic attacks. And even with a good breathing there's an enormous tension in my body.
Of course the tension increase with stressful situations, before the passing of my family member, i was stressed at work, and fine at home.
Now it's the other way around. I found out that i was very stressed when i was not doing something. One other thing, i'm a guitarist and when i touch the fretboard of the instrument all the tension goes away, like it was never there.
I try to do a lot a sport and it helps with magnesium for my sleep.

So my questions are:

-Do i have to find the cause (and solve it) of what started the disorder? (to finally end it) I have an idea, it's a personal issue.
-I'm taking Magnesium B6, i read on the forum some of you take Amino Acid and Magnesium (chelated?) What's the difference between the two?
-Do you relate to my story? Do you have any advice?

Thanks

Listen, you do that, as your very wise intuition has advised you, and you will be done with it. Anything else is a bandaid. No exceptions.

Better yet, anything, that ever bothers you, or doesn't make you feel good, find the cause (beliefs) and solve it.

Lastly, allow your music to act as a springboard, let your emotions go free as you play, keeping in mind the issue to solve beforehand. The guitar is your connection.

The world and all of its fanciful constructions are to give you feedback, including your body, about how clear your thinking is, period. You bounce your thoughts off of it, for validity, so to speak. Do not expect anything to the contrary. You were, are, and will always be, meant to solve problems internally, first. Not sit in them !! Resolve them, and feel good.

[Anne1221]

I saw a really good, kind therapist so I went with the normal route but that's what was best for me. We are all different. The best thing is to take the first step, talk to someone, and let those who are qualified help guide you. I think because I found a therapist who is gentle and kind, that makes it so much easier. I actually look forward to talking to him because he listens and helps me with no judging.