Anxiety without anxious thoughts?

[Manatee]

I see a mental health clinician and she acknowledges that I have some form of anxiety disorder. She is trying to treat me using cognitive behavioural therapy however I feel like it simply won't work for me. None of my anxiety is accompanied by anxious thoughts. I try to think rationally and keep and a level-head and I barely have any thoughts that would induce my anxiety--however, despite this, I still have crippling anxiety that interferes with my social and everyday life.
Quite recently, approximately two weeks ago, I had my first job interview. I practiced beforehand. I did everything I could to to ensure that I wouldn't mess up. I walked in confident, I knew I had it and I thought I was going to ace it.
But when I started to speak my words came out all jumbled, I simply couldn't relax, I said all of the wrong things and just looked in an incoherent, idiotic wreck. I didn't worry about what the interviewer thought of me (in a bad way I mean. I was hoping she would be impressed.) and I wasn't worried about messing up and yet the anxiety seemed to come up from out of nowhere and completely shattered whatever confidence I had left at that point. Obviously, I didn't get the job and she concluded my interview with an unimpressed "thank you for your time."
My anxiety is so bad that I avoid hanging out with friends, avoid going to school and even avoid seeing my mental health clinician. I spend all of my time cloistered in my room but I'm not sure why I'm so anxious. I have no reason to be and yet I am. I'm not worried about rejection. I'm not worried about anything bad happening. I'm not worried about anything and yet the anxiety is still present and I'm not sure what to do about it. Changing my thought process won't do any good because none of my thoughts are contributing to my anxiety. I feel hopeless.

[Kirk]

Welcome to the forum. I would see your mental health care professional as you don't want to spend the
rest of your life in your room as you want to enjoy your life to the fullest. Your mental health care
professional can help you get your life back on track.

[MechPebbles]

Please don't give up on your mental health clinician. If you have doubts about CBT's effectiveness, discuss it with her. I frequently disagree with my professional counselor, but after some time I see what she is getting at. It might be good to explore what is causing your anxiety and who better to do that with than with your clinician. CBT is very effective at treating anxiety, so don't dismiss it too quickly.

I've been reading a lot about mental health problems lately, so I can't remember which book this is from but one of the books says that the negativity in our minds can be so deeply rooted that it can cause anxiety or depression without always manifesting itself first as an active negative thought. Sometimes it comes as a negative image (in my case, the image of the hospital I go to) or some murky feeling. (I think it's from either Learned Optimism by Martin Seligman or The Worry Trick by David Carbonell.) CBT works against this kind of anxiety, too.

[Nowuccas]

Hey Manatee,

You are never going to improve by staying in your room; it's important that you go out and put yourself in positions where you can expect to be uncomfortable, and gradually become used to it, desensitising yourself. I have my doubts that you will ever become truly comfortable in social situations, (I'm not) but you can improve a lot.

A previous post follows. Kindly let me know if any weblinks don't work, so I can amend it.

Go to: http://ecouch.anu.edu.au/welcome Select "social anxiety" for free Cognitive Behavio(u)ral Therapy. An exercise which may help you is called "Act as If." When you are in a social situation, act as if you are outgoing. Talk more; smile at people, ask questions, speak in a normal or excited tone, not a meek tone. Watch some of your more outgoing peers, and imitate the style of their social behavior. (PRETEND that you are an ACTOR, PLAYING a PART). Research shows that when you "act as if" continually, your image of yourself begins to conform to your new behavior. In this case, you will gain self-esteem and self-confidence, and begin to see yourself as socially normal, not shy. You will become more socially successful, and this will motivate you to continue your new social behavior until it becomes a habit.

A form of therapy is to go somewhere that nobody knows you, and deliberately make an utter fool of yourself: put on a paper hat, and yell out: "I'm queen/king of America!", or something else ridiculous, (make up your own - have some fun, safely) then get back in the taxi, (warn the driver of your intentions, first) or car, and leave. People will point, and say: "Look at that idiot". Or, possibly in the company of a friend, or family member, on a different train, or bus route to your regular one, call out the names, or numbers of all the stops. It will teach you that, although it isn't actually pleasant, (EXPECT MODERATE DISCOMFORT/EMBARRASSMENT) you will survive; be stronger for the experience, and the next time (should you need to repeat this type of therapy) will be considerably easier. Remember: "A fear avoided is a fear strengthened; a fear faced is a fear reduced." Regard it as your final test: once you have accomplished it, the barrier will be broken; just don't go too far, the other way! Learn to laugh at yourself, and give a big, cheesy grin when others see you do something foolish, as we all do, occasionally. It is endearing, if you don't do it too often. Use positive affirmations: for example: "I am very likable and other people feel comfortable around me".

Write down all of your self limiting beliefs; then write down, or print, in large type/capitalisation, the positive counter of them, (exact opposite) and repeat them and imprint them into your mind. Put it in a prominent position, where you will see it regularly. Most importantly: Force yourself to approach somebody and initiate some sort of communication. Start out small by asking the time, or directions and gradually go bigger. Although there are anti-anxiety medications (anxiolytics) available, these come with risks, and the possibility of side effects, habituation, even addiction, and withdrawal problems, and are unsuitable for young people. Try having a cup of "Tension Tamer", etc., or make some at home, and cool, then bottle, and drink as needed. C(h)amomile tea tastes better. As with all herbal/green teas, use lemon/lime, and/or a little sweetener (NOT ARTIFICIAL!!!) but no cream, or milk. Xylitol, or Stevia is preferable, from health food stores. Valerian has also been recommended, but some people experience "valerian hangovers". Ensure you know how you react to it, before doing something potentially dangerous, like going out on the roads. The idea is to use the above products like water wings, to provide initial, short term support, while you become proficient in those techniques.

Use a relaxation method daily, like http://www.drcoxconsulting.com/managing-stress.html or http://altmedicine.about.com/cs/mindbody/a/Meditation.htm or http://www.wikihow.com Meditate or Tai Chi, Qi Gong, or yoga. Give EFT a good tryout, to see if it helps you. It is free via the searchbar at www.mercola.com "EFT" & "EFT therapists" or www.tapping.com (13 free videos) or YouTube EFT. Professionally instructed is best. - There is a version for use in public places, (if you want to, you can claim to have a headache, as you massage/lightly tap your temples, but you would then be restricted to subvocalising: saying it to yourself in your mind: "Even though I suffer from social anxiety, I deeply and completely accept myself."

Read: Overcoming Social Anxiety and Shyness: A Self-Help Guide Using Cognitive Behavioral Techniques by Gillian Butler, & Managing Social Anxiety: A Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy Approach Client Workbook (Treatments That Work) by Debra A. Hope, Richard G. Heimberg, Harlan A. Juster, and Cynthia L. Turk. Another forum member recommended: "The Shyness And Social Anxiety Workbook"; check out https://www.google.com.au/search?client=opera&q=the+shyness+and+social+anxiety+workbook+free+dow nload&sourceid=opera&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8 You may be able to download it for free.

85% of people are suggestible, to some degree, so you could either seek professional hypnotherapy, or more along such lines is at http://your-mental-health.weebly.com/e.html about social anxiety, where there is more about social phobia/anxiety. At Amazon.com enter "social anxiety; CD" See http://www.wikihow.com/Special:GoogSearch?cx=016562026678751929112%3Aohfd gqnedms&cof=FORID%3A10&ie=UTF-8&q=shyness&siteurl=www.wikihow.com%2FMain-Page#1254 Those with $: up to 6 months of CBT, and group therapy with similar sufferers is recommended.

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Ask your therapist for a referral for group therapy with other social anxiety sufferers.

[Anne1221]

I have something similar. In fact, about a year ago I ended up in the emergency room as I did not know what was wrong with me. I was sure it was something physical. When the doctor came back and said, "It's anxiety", I was sure he was wrong. But then upon reflection, with every single test coming out fine, I realized he was right. I called my pdoc and he increased my antidepressant dosage (not much) and put me on a mild tranquilizer until I calmed back down. I think you should TRY CBT instead of assuming it won't work for you. Something made you anxious before that interview. I am hopeful for you that you will get help that way instead of like me, and the only thing that helps me is the medication. I have tried about 8 times to get off of it, but I can't so now I just keep it as a low dose as possible. I also know that a benzodiazepine daily would be helpful, I don't want to get dependent on that, so I use on occasion when I really need it.