Chris LaVigne
06-08-2015, 02:14 AM
Hi all, I'm really happy to have found this forum and to read about other people going through and moving past similar situations as me.
In the last couple of years, I've begun to realize that I suffer from some pretty bad generalized anxiety. Most mornings I wake up in a state of dread with my mind racing in all directions to find things I need to worry about. I feel surges of energy through my body along with a tightness in my chest (adrenaline from fight/flight reflect, I think). I am constantly in a down, low-energy mood and can be quite irritable. I have trouble making decisions, from minor things like what to have for lunch to bigger issues such as whether I should change careers, because I am always worried that I will decide poorly and ruin everything. I've been told this is called catastrophizing and it's a constant in my life. For me the two biggest triggers are anything that seems to threaten my financial state (I had some credit troubles some years ago) and a fear of being alone now and in the future.
As I've grown aware that my worries and anxiety are not the way normal people experience nervousness and worries, I've become more dedicated to trying to find solutions. Which is one reason I've ended up here. My anxiety has had a very negative effect on my life. I find it very difficult to get motivated to do anything because my fear and dread are always stronger than my excitement or anticipation. I think this is the single thing I'd like to change the most. I'm just constantly obsessing over the potential negative outcomes of events rather than feeling positive. A great example is a recent trip to Europe I took. I spent the preceding month obsessively worrying about whether I would have a problem getting a visa (which turned out to be completely unwarranted) and then day-to-day I worried about spending too much money, maximizing the places I visited and feeling like I was never doing enough or seeing enough. Or another example is just going to see the latest Avengers movie. Instead of being excited and happy like my friends, I was worried I wouldn't enjoy it as much as the first one or that the theatre we chose didn't have the best screen. I would love to live a life of excitement and anticipation rather than dread and gloom.
I've started recently making changes to my diet and exercise, as I've ready many articles emphasizing the importance of these two things. I wonder from the people here who have made similar changes, were you able to notice a difference quickly, or should I be expecting a few months before feeling differently? I worry (of course) that if I don't feel some differences soon, I will backslide into less healthy habits.
Thank you for providing this forum and thanks to anybody who reads and responds!
In the last couple of years, I've begun to realize that I suffer from some pretty bad generalized anxiety. Most mornings I wake up in a state of dread with my mind racing in all directions to find things I need to worry about. I feel surges of energy through my body along with a tightness in my chest (adrenaline from fight/flight reflect, I think). I am constantly in a down, low-energy mood and can be quite irritable. I have trouble making decisions, from minor things like what to have for lunch to bigger issues such as whether I should change careers, because I am always worried that I will decide poorly and ruin everything. I've been told this is called catastrophizing and it's a constant in my life. For me the two biggest triggers are anything that seems to threaten my financial state (I had some credit troubles some years ago) and a fear of being alone now and in the future.
As I've grown aware that my worries and anxiety are not the way normal people experience nervousness and worries, I've become more dedicated to trying to find solutions. Which is one reason I've ended up here. My anxiety has had a very negative effect on my life. I find it very difficult to get motivated to do anything because my fear and dread are always stronger than my excitement or anticipation. I think this is the single thing I'd like to change the most. I'm just constantly obsessing over the potential negative outcomes of events rather than feeling positive. A great example is a recent trip to Europe I took. I spent the preceding month obsessively worrying about whether I would have a problem getting a visa (which turned out to be completely unwarranted) and then day-to-day I worried about spending too much money, maximizing the places I visited and feeling like I was never doing enough or seeing enough. Or another example is just going to see the latest Avengers movie. Instead of being excited and happy like my friends, I was worried I wouldn't enjoy it as much as the first one or that the theatre we chose didn't have the best screen. I would love to live a life of excitement and anticipation rather than dread and gloom.
I've started recently making changes to my diet and exercise, as I've ready many articles emphasizing the importance of these two things. I wonder from the people here who have made similar changes, were you able to notice a difference quickly, or should I be expecting a few months before feeling differently? I worry (of course) that if I don't feel some differences soon, I will backslide into less healthy habits.
Thank you for providing this forum and thanks to anybody who reads and responds!