Overcoming Anxiety

[Carolinitaa95]

Hey Everyone!

Im just wondering, is anyone here "cured" or at least seeing improvements on their anxiety by having psychological support?

I'd like to hear some stories of people who overcame anxiety or are going on the right direction to stop it.

Is it possible to get better? To stop with these thoughts? I feel like I just want to forget about anxiety, I just want to get it out of my head and feel like I did when I was a kid and didnt worry about these things...

I consider I have generalized anxiety, and what I worry about the most is my health.

[Anxiety1987]

I also worry about my health. I feel so dizzy and like I'm in a dream from sun up to sun down. I get so aggravated with this. Do you go through these things?

[Carolinitaa95]

I get the dream-like feeling a lot whenever Im anxious. It feels like Im disconnected from the world...Like I wasnt here
Its not everyday though

[Goomba]

A glimpse of my story.

http://anxietyforum.net/forum/showthread.php?30789-My-Hypochondria-Was-The-Best-Thing-To-Ever-Happen-To-Me

[gypsylee]

Hey Everyone!

Im just wondering, is anyone here "cured" or at least seeing improvements on their anxiety by having psychological support?

I'd like to hear some stories of people who overcame anxiety or are going on the right direction to stop it.

Is it possible to get better? To stop with these thoughts? I feel like I just want to forget about anxiety, I just want to get it out of my head and feel like I did when I was a kid and didnt worry about these things...

I consider I have generalized anxiety, and what I worry about the most is my health.

I think it is possible but it's a long road. I definitely wouldn't say I'm cured but I'm better. For me it's been life experience rather than any particular therapy or support. I like to call it "wisdom" I guess.

The biggest thing in overcoming anxiety for me has been pushing myself outside my comfort zone (and being forced out of it by circumstance). It's basically the realisation that certain things can happen and you won't die.

My anxiety is social rather than health related but the bottom line is always the same - fear. Somehow you have to look it in the face and not care. I haven't really gotten to that point yet but I've come a long way..

All the best,
Gypsy x

[gypsylee]

A glimpse of my story.

http://anxietyforum.net/forum/showthread.php?30789-My-Hypochondria-Was-The-Best-Thing-To-Ever-Happen-To-Me

Hey just read this. Good post!

I must admit I laughed out loud at some of the symptoms in the list - a bit too much info perhaps? ;)

But yeah well said.

[PanicCured]

Hey Everyone!

Im just wondering, is anyone here "cured" or at least seeing improvements on their anxiety by having psychological support?

I'd like to hear some stories of people who overcame anxiety or are going on the right direction to stop it.

Is it possible to get better? To stop with these thoughts? I feel like I just want to forget about anxiety, I just want to get it out of my head and feel like I did when I was a kid and didnt worry about these things...

I consider I have generalized anxiety, and what I worry about the most is my health.

I went from severe anxiety to 100% "cured" for lack of a better word."Cured" to me is a mix of modifying mental and physical things. It's a bit hard to explain, but if you think about it you can understand the concept of a full body healing while you nourish your nerves and change anxious habits at the same time.

For me, it took me about 8 months to get mostly better, maybe 85%, but I no longer led an anxious life. Little by little after that until I completely forgot about the whole anxiety phase of my life. But I was also addicted to Klonpins and withdrawing while I was tapering at the same time which prolonged it. Of course, anxiety here and there or fear here and there in certain situations is normal and not a disorder. I am talking about the anxiety disorder.

If you read my thread in the stickies above, "Techniques I Used to Cure My Anxiety" I give more details. I firmly believe if you follow something similar to what I describe there you will get very noticeable positive results within 3 months.

You really have to push yourself and think about stuff logically.Like, "Ok, is my head really going to explode in this crowded shopping mall if I don't run out of here right away?" You feel like your head may blow up, but that rational part of you knows it won't, so listen to that voice. This helps you retrain your brain. Instead of "feel head will blow up= run for your life" you can change it to "head feels like it will blow up= who gives a crap, stay calm" then eventually the brain gets the message.

Overcoming anxiety can be done by everyone but it is a process that you have to initiate and really give it your all. I know you can get there!

[Carolinitaa95]

Hey everyone, thanks so much for all the feedback!
Anxiety1987 I can relate to what you mentioned and I also found out they're very common symptoms among people who have anxiety. I started seeing a psychologist, maybe you can give it a go as well, it might help you!
Goomba, Gypsy and PanicCured, it's really awesome to know that you guys are keeping yourselves straight and got out of the "dark" zone!
I hope I can also do it! Can you guys tell me what you usually did to calm yourselves during a panic attack? PanicCured, Im not sure where to find your thread, can you put the link here please? And, for example, since Goomba also had health anxiety, my main worries are usually my heart and my brain. If one of these two starts hurting or if I feel weird there, the anxiety starts building up... Do you recommend that I simply try to remain normal and get back to my daily activities? Like, should I say " ok, my chest is hurting " and then keep studying or talking with people? Because I really find it hard to stop thinking about what I feel :s

[Whir35]

Well I would say I am going through an anxiety disorder which has lasted for about 5 - 6 months now and was triggered by excessive alcohol intake and also health anxiety which all led to a series of panic attacks which has now turned into a long type of panic / anxiety disorder. I have had some truly disturbing and unpleasant symptoms, out of body experiences, derealisation, things moving in slow motion, mild hallucinations, complete failure of my concentration and memory which has made work very difficult etc etc. I went to the doctor in December and have been put on a course of CBT which is definitely helping. I think the main thing is that I no longer fear my symptoms - before if I had a dizzy spell or a odd symptom I would go through a period of absolute dread and terror, convinced that I had some form of brain damage or mental illness. The CBT has helped that. I do still get the symptoms but I can tolerate them and that stops them escalating. I think that is the first step on the journey. Another thing that I have noticed I was doing was scanning my internal environment, the slightest headache or twinge I would be all over it mentally scanning it and that was just driving me nuts, now that I am aware of it I can stop doing it as much. Unfortunately, I am still experiencing the symptoms of anxiety quite intensely but some of the edge has been taken off and it is early days yet, I think it will take some time.

So basically, I feel like I was lost in the woods, now I understand the woods and I have a map and I can see the general way out and am taking my first steps out of the woods.

[Goomba]

Hey everyone, thanks so much for all the feedback! de
Anxiety1987 I can relate to what you mentioned and I also found out they're very common symptoms among people who have anxiety. I started seeing a psychologist, maybe you can give it a go as well, it might help you!
Goomba, Gypsy and PanicCured, it's really awesome to know that you guys are keeping yourselves straight and got out of the "dark" zone!
I hope I can also do it! Can you guys tell me what you usually did to calm yourselves during a panic attack? PanicCured, Im not sure where to find your thread, can you put the link here please? And, for example, since Goomba also had health anxiety, my main worries are usually my heart and my brain. If one of these two starts hurting or if I feel weird there, the anxiety starts building up... Do you recommend that I simply try to remain normal and get back to my daily activities? Like, should I say " ok, my chest is hurting " and then keep studying or talking with people? Because I really find it hard to stop thinking about what I feel :s

My biggest tool was, and still is meditation.

Yes, do your daily activities. It is ok to take some time to regroup yourself, but going about your day as you normally would is a method of conquering the anxiety.

I also recommend confronting your anxieties. Do not make the anxiety an option. Don't play "what if". If it is that serious, get it checked out, so you know for sure. If you have to speculate on it, go about your day, and enjoy it. Because, what does it really matter? If you're not going to do anything about it, then the only other option is to be at peace. Analyzing all of the possibilities in your head will not help the anxiety, or magically make it go away. You deserve to live your life.

If you have health anxiety, I imagine you are constantly noticing every little detail and analyzing it. Even normal bodily processes begin to throw up red flags. Your anxiety puts you in a state of hypersensitivity. Not only is it going to make normal things feel weird, but it will make you aware of odd sensations all over, as well as put your body in a state of stress...which causes more weird feelings. Its all anxiety.

In terms of your brain, lol, I can definitely relate, though our symptoms not may be the same. I had bad headaches all the time (which are mostly caused by the neck muscles), my vision was a fun house, dizziness, feeling off balance, memory wasnt as sharp, I felt as if I couldnt focus, it would feel as if bugs were walking all over my head...TONS of weird things. Then...I got a Brain MRI and it was all clear. Miraculously, so did my symptoms.

In any event, the best advice I can give you is for you to do some soul searching. There is a reason why the anxiety is manifesting, there is something or things you're not confronting. For me, meditation was critical in this process, but it can be done without it. I cant tell you the magic answer, because only you know it. You know what works best for you. But, yes, make decisions that conquer your anxiety (such as continuing with your day) over feeding into it.

[Goomba]

Hey just read this. Good post!

I must admit I laughed out loud at some of the symptoms in the list - a bit too much info perhaps? ;)

But yeah well said.

Haha, yeah wellllll!!

I agree to a point. However, I wanted to make sure I tackled the most embarrassing aspects of my health anxiety. They were very large contributors due to the fact that they were embarrassing, hard to talk about, and hard to find any reliable information on. So yeah, thats why its there lol. It was a serious issue for me, and I find it is for a lot of people that are going through health anxiety.

Thanks for your kind words.

[PanicCured]

PanicCured, Im not sure where to find your thread, can you put the link here please?

Sure. Read the first page of this: http://anxietyforum.net/forum/showthread.php?8633-Techniques-I-Used-to-Overcome-My-Panic-Anxiety-Disorder

And this is my Quick Guide for Stopping Panic Attacks: http://anxietyforum.net/forum/showthread.php?9512-The-Quick-Guide-to-Stopping-Panic-Attacks