ss_worrier
08-27-2010, 09:33 PM
Dear fellow worriers,
I'm a 21 year old suffering from anxiety and constant negative thinking. I don't actually have a diagnose, mainly because I'm seeing a cognitive behavioral therapist who isn't all too much for diagnoses and labels, but most of my symptoms resemble those of GAD. I'd say I suffer from worrying pretty much constantly, especially when I'm alone. I've had trouble sleeping ever since I was a kid, and since I got into my first serious relationship a year and a half ago, my symptoms have really started to flare up, and it's actually since getting into this relationship that I managed to conclude that what I'm suffering from is actually a problem and not just a regular part of life.
Anyways, I've been trying to learn some helpful excercises to calm down and try not to be bothered by negative thoughts all the time, but as I try new excercises, I find myself having a harder and harder time to use them; it's like as if I stop trusting them finding that they work "too well". I'm sure you're familiar with the feeling of guilt when the worrying stops, as if there's something wrong in not worrying for once. So far I've found the AWARE-method to work fairly well, but it's not working at all as well as it used to when I first discovered it. I'm wondering what your favourite excercises are, and I'd be really grateful if you could give me some pointers on which ones to use for what occassions et cetera. I should mention that I don't use any sorts of medication for my worrying, except for melatonin and valeriana pills for sleeping (though not every night, but most nights). Thanks!
I'm a 21 year old suffering from anxiety and constant negative thinking. I don't actually have a diagnose, mainly because I'm seeing a cognitive behavioral therapist who isn't all too much for diagnoses and labels, but most of my symptoms resemble those of GAD. I'd say I suffer from worrying pretty much constantly, especially when I'm alone. I've had trouble sleeping ever since I was a kid, and since I got into my first serious relationship a year and a half ago, my symptoms have really started to flare up, and it's actually since getting into this relationship that I managed to conclude that what I'm suffering from is actually a problem and not just a regular part of life.
Anyways, I've been trying to learn some helpful excercises to calm down and try not to be bothered by negative thoughts all the time, but as I try new excercises, I find myself having a harder and harder time to use them; it's like as if I stop trusting them finding that they work "too well". I'm sure you're familiar with the feeling of guilt when the worrying stops, as if there's something wrong in not worrying for once. So far I've found the AWARE-method to work fairly well, but it's not working at all as well as it used to when I first discovered it. I'm wondering what your favourite excercises are, and I'd be really grateful if you could give me some pointers on which ones to use for what occassions et cetera. I should mention that I don't use any sorts of medication for my worrying, except for melatonin and valeriana pills for sleeping (though not every night, but most nights). Thanks!