what actually is anxiety? cus im starting to question it

[richy1991]

hey all

ever since all this anxiety stuff started for me, iv just accepted it was anxiety but im starting to question it

i think my underlining problem is depression, all of this started off with random low mood swings which surely means depression, which then led me to have panic attacks which i think i was getting confused with anxiety

how could anxiety come from random low mood swings?

can someone explain what anxiety actually is?
cus iv been doing alot of self help for anxiety but thats not gonna be helpful if im not sorting out the main problem

cheers
richy

[richy1991]

hey kev

well for the last two weeks i havnt made much progress but i could cope each day, it was more tolerable
but the last two day since i have had my flu i have fell back soo much and have lost all willpower
and this has left me totally confused about what my problem actually is
i dont no if im depressed, i dont know if im having panic attacks or anxiety attacks

i think they are different things cus i feel like if been working on anxiety but maybe that isnt the underlining problem

cheers
richy

[gaara]

hey kev

well for the last two weeks i havnt made much progress but i could cope each day, it was more tolerable
but the last two day since i have had my flu i have fell back soo much and have lost all willpower
and this has left me totally confused about what my problem actually is
i dont no if im depressed, i dont know if im having panic attacks or anxiety attacks

i think they are different things cus i feel like if been working on anxiety but maybe that isnt the underlining problem

cheers
richy

How are things going with therapy? What sort of things are they asking you and are they even helping?

What you're going through is very very close to what i'm going through man..like almost to a T. It's kind of weird lol.

If you have time, can you sort of go through exactly what is going on...like what makes you depressed/anxious what sort of thoughts are you thinking of that make you feel worse etc..?

[richy1991]

How are things going with therapy? What sort of things are they asking you and are they even helping?

What you're going through is very very close to what i'm going through man..like almost to a T. It's kind of weird lol.

If you have time, can you sort of go through exactly what is going on...like what makes you depressed/anxious what sort of thoughts are you thinking of that make you feel worse etc..?

hey
as for therapy i havnt really had any as its all just been a waiting game, iv only seen a counciler once who put me on the list for cbt, i had a letter come through yesterday with an appointment to see a psychological wellbeing practitioner next week but i dont quite know what that is

ahh well maybe we can help each other then :)

okay i wont go into mega detail though as this post would be epicly long

my first encounter was at the end of last year when i woke up one evening feeling majorly sad but i thought nothing off it, which i look back on now and i think it was depression starting,
however from that evening for about a week i was over emotional, getting upset at the littlest things, which again seems like depression. then this is where it all went bad during the week i was over emotional i had my girlfriend over the whole week seeing her none stop, on the night about an hour before i had to take her home i had my first overwhelming feeling as if i just wanted to freak out, so i just felt like we had to do something so we went and played guitar hero for an hour. when the hour had past i had the overwhelming feeling again but even worse and i couldnt sit still and i had to just walk around the house. finally i took her home still feeling overwhelmed, as i took her to her door and said bye i just burst into tears. eventaully i got home and just felt like i had to run to my parents so i did, this is when i had my first anxeity/panic attack and i broke down saying things like "whats wrong with me" , "im going insane" etc

the next day i felt okay but i couldnt get it of my mind what had happened, but i was fairly okay all day until i was leaving my girlfriends when i just burst into tears again, when home, saw my parents and had another attack. for about a week then i suffered with anxiety really bad having majority of the symptoms, the feeling detached one, no appetite, blurred vision, headaches, stomache aches, leg pains, you name it i probly had it.

BUT..... one morning out of no where i wook up not feeling anxious at all, i felt perfectly "normal" again and i was soo happy, however this only lasted two weeks when yet again one eveing i woke up with that big sad feeling, again i know think this was depression. well it was all a repeat, my girfriend was over for about 4 days straight, i took her home and i cryed again.
but since it started the second time round the anxiety wasnt as bad but it was still there, i didnt have the feeling detached from my body symptom but i had pretty much all the others.

i started following the linden method, and it helped me alot and got rid of my anxiety but i still wasnt fully okay as i was still gettin random spells of sadness and a big spell of sadness the same time every evening, but this was barable. thats when my flu kicked in and gave me alot of symptoms that anxiety had and it all reminded me of my anxiety, and it has pushed me back here and now im suffering with anxiety again

i feel like iv been concentrating soo much on my anxiety that yeah it went for a while but my underlining problem is depression, and as that hasnt been sorted, its left me open to anxiety again
so this is why im soo confused to exactly what anxiety/depression and panic attacks feel like

cheers
richy

[hockeyplayer]

fucking cycle , for me it's 3 day of good 3-5 days of bad , with some bad in the good days , but not much good in the bad ones.

some days it's just a touch of anxiety but all day long , some days it's panic attacks and general malaise , others it's hypocondria which can be mix with general malaise and panic attack , with some day where I laugh at myself and think I'm out of it like an idiot.

get well boys

[elisaoras]

hey!
I was suffering from depression for about three years and also had panic attacks at the same time. You are very smart that you think that your underlining problem is depression...because it is the major cause of panic attacks, and yes, you have to start curing your depression and then your panic attacks will cure itself :)
I never tried Linden method, but as far as i heard, it is very effective and i know it have the same principles what I used to get over my panic attacks, so keep on doing that.
So about depression...
when i had depression, it was because of a break up, my heart was broken. and at the same time i had panic attacks(what lasted for over 10 years) and i also got acne on my face...so thats why i was depressed. So my question is...whats happening in your life, what may cause this depression? Do you generally feel good about yourself? I mean...do you critizise yourself alot or do you accept yourself as you are? My depression was highly caused because i didnt love myself at all, i hated who i was, i wanted to be someone else, every mistake i made came very hard on me and so on. But when i started to accept myself as i am (with panic attacks and acne and with my broken heart) my depression started to go away, i felt more happy and everyhing got clearer in my mind.
are you dissatisfied in your life? because it all starts with our thoughts. if you are negative, it will bring you more negetivity in your life. There are lots of books about how to master your thoughts
are you being healthy? when i had my attacks i was drinking too much alcohol, smoking, eating junk foods, too much sugar and coffee...they also may be one of the biggest reason you are depressed. For example white sugar is causing mood swings (in one moment you feel totally happy and the next you feel like crap), heart palpitations, nausea, foggy thoughts and so on. Also doing exercises help alot with depression, you will have more energy and it helps to release good hormones.
When i was depressed i could also be happy in one moment and the next moment i was crying hysterically...yeah, i know...freaky:P
You can also try meditation, yoga, hypnosis (download mp3 from Instant-Hypnosis, there are hypnosis for depression).
If you want to ask more specific question, then i would love to help you :)

[richy1991]

hey elisaoras, thanks for your post

the linden method was great for decreasing my anxiety and panic attacks but yeah the principles are the same as things other people have told me.
the linden method has totally got rid of my panic attacks because there is a great exercise on there.

okay now i have my anxiety back i can tell the difference, it all started as depression which led to anxiety which led to panic attacks
its all so hard for me because i cant put my finger on what could have caused me depression. before all this started my life was pretty good, im fairly good looking, have a slim body, im 19 and driving a sports car, got a well payed job but yes i do admit i have low selfesteem but thats just cus im uber shy. the bad things in my life before all this started are, my brother has been ill for a long time with chrones disease which upsets me time to time and my girl friend had an abourtion but that dosnt effect me anymore

the one thing thats worries the hell out of me is if its my girlfriend that is causeing it. this worries me soo much because obviously i love her and i dont want to loose her or hurt her.
the reason i feel like she could be the cause is because she causes me alot of stress but im not going to go into this because its a bit personal, but if you think this could be the problem then id be more than happy to pm you about it

as for my health, its got its ups and downs. i would never do anything that would harm me so iv never smoked or done drugs or drank alcahol, i dont even take medicine (im gonna post a new thread about this bcause i went to my gp again today and she said i should take meds, but i have my doubts)
as for the down part of my health, i have an eating disability where i struggle to eat cus i get food stuck very easily, so i mainly just eat cereal and pasta, which i know isnt the best but im working on my diet. also im very lazy when it comes to food as im not a big eater so i can easily skip meals if i cnt be bothered to cook. aslo i am a big chocoholic so my sugar intake might not be the best

as for exercise, i did dancing for 5/6 years but have recenlty stopped due to my illness so atm i dont really get much exercise, i take about 1-2 walks a week, i go iceskating once a week and im starting a martial arts when im over the flu which will be once a week. but im finding it hard because im depressed, i dont feel like doing them and dont always get much enjoyment out of them

yeah im starting yoga with my girlfriend, surpose to have gone monday but i was ill, so we will have to wait till next week, is meditation the same as visualisation? and i will have a look at the hypnosis thanks

erm can i ask if you took any medication?

cheers
richy

[elisaoras]

I didn´t take any medications. I believe that medications can´t cure depression or panic attacks. You can only get addicted to them and if you give them up, all your depression will return. It is very sad to hear when somebody goes to a doctor meeting for 10-15 minutes and only thing they get is some prescription of some drugs and "Thank you and see you soon!" for example if you are stressed or depressed about your girlfiend, how can some pill cure that problem? I have seen doctors ignorance...for example when i went to doctor because of my acne she immediately started to prescribe me some drugs, she even didnt wanted to find answer why i had them at the first place! its ridiculous... How there can be soo many "good and effective" (at least what they say) drugs in the world, but still we have more anxiety, depression and panic attacks than ever?! so, if you can, dont take them :)
i think this problem might be your girlfiend, if you say that it worries you so much. we can discuss it privatly, if you want. low selfesteem can also be the case. i had low selfesteem because of my shyness and because i was afraid most of the social events.
i dunno, maybe it sounds a little extreme, but you can try fasting. for example 3 days. it helps to clean out the body, better digestion and it gives your nervous system a break. I have fasted several times only on water for 3 days and one time for 10 days, because i had all these doxins in my body (coffeine, smoking, junk food..) and bad digestion. and the amazing thing is...that after fasting your mind is soo still, calm and focused, it feels like a heavy cloud is removed over your head :) of course first days can be hard, but its worth it. If you want to know about it more you can google or ask me how to do it.
Mediation can be with visialization, but mostly its not. Its more about freeing your mind from all thoughts, just observing your body, without any judgements. Feeling every sensation, let it be good or bad and just let it be, as it is... i did Vipassana meditation for 10 days, there are Vipassana meditation courses all over the world and its free of charge...

[richy1991]

hey elisaoras

yeah thats what im worried about and i dont want happening
i will pm you about my girlfriend
yeah i am very shy, i dont talk to anyone either if im out alone or with people, i hardly speak to my "best friends" aswel, i also hate social events down to the fact i dont like talking.
is fasting where you just dont eat? this troubles me cus iv already been told that diet is a main key for anxiety/depression so i cnt see the benefit if you get what i mean
i have a look at the vipassana meditation

cheers
richy

[richy1991]

cheers kev, you have cleared up so much for me

im not going to take the medication, that much is final now, i wanna do it by myself

i think my downfall here is my diet, i am being lazy with it, i shall post a new thread tomorrow about my diet so far and to ask for some tips

thanks for your help

cheers
richy