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View Full Version : Anxiety's Ultimatum. What is it?



alfred24
06-17-2013, 10:52 PM
So, I just came out of the shower.

The place where thoughts, epiphanies and life concerns are typically created or reviewed.

Anyway, I was going over my day today and putting more thought into how to get over this anxiety disorder I've been having. Almost as if I were having a meeting with myself. I kept coming back to the same question. "What is the ONE thing that every person who has overcome and beaten their anxiety disorder done that really made the difference?"

You know, Besides the healthy eating habits, and the magnesium supplements and all that stuff, including medication. The meds reduce the symptoms of anxiety and mask the problem, and healthy eating habits make you healthier which reduces symptoms and puts you in a better mood mentally right? Still, the problem needs to be solved in order to beat anxiety right? ( I've read this so many times in other posts )

So what I came down to was, basically in order to beat anxiety you must lose the fear of your symptoms. I know most of you are sitting there with long faces as if to stare back at me with that "Duh!" look, but seriously. I know I've known this and maybe the same goes for a lot of us, but I don't think I've ever truly "understood" it.

Don't be afraid of your symptoms and the disorder will be gone. Is that the Ultimatum anxiety is giving us? I guess so.

I thought about this because I was reflecting back on my day earlier today.

I woke up, anxiety in my presence like always. So I stayed in bed a bit longer because I hate the symptoms. I feel anxious throughout my chest, I'm uncomfortable, when I stand my legs feel weak as if they want to give out (but never do), my head is tight and I just don't want to deal with this throughout the day. So, why not just stay in bed right? But then I think to myself, I don't want to be like this the rest of my life. My god, I mean I have a girlfriend, friends, career goals, I want kids eventually. Just a bunch of stuff I don't want to have pass me by if I were to feel like this all the damn time. Thinking that this could be my future I remember people have talked so much about Claire Weekes and her book. I still haven't gotten it and I've been wanting to. So I made today the day I go out and get it.

I contemplated going because I knew how I'd be feeling physically even before I left my house. But I literally said, "screw it!" Because I really want this book. So I went to Barnes and Noble to look for it. Accompanied by my symptoms, I basically didn't acknowledge them. Then my mind wanders and I think to myself, "I hate this crap"
I realized I put my focus back onto the anxiety and it's symptoms. Again, I say "screw it" and keep looking I noticed I was able to almost forget about the symptoms even though I knew they weren't completely gone. I was able to shop a lot easier. I didn't find the book so I bought another one that looked interesting instead, it's called "The Mind & The Brain" Neuroplasticity and the Power of Mental Force

I looked into another book that was called "10 simple ways to overcome anxiety" or something like that. In It I read that you should purposely bring on the symptoms your afraid of.

Hyperventilate on purpose to experience numbness, tingling and shortness of breath.

Shake your head from side to side for a couple seconds (not vigorously) to experience dizziness and nausea. And other ways to make your symptoms appear.

When I got home I kind of got lazy at directing my mind away from the symptoms and anxiety so they all pretty much came back. Again I fell asleep. Woke up uncomfortable and irritated from how hot it was. So i showered and that's when I thought about how I was able to feel better at the store. I told my symptoms, and pardon my French, "to fuck off!" At least for awhile. And since my shower that's what I've been doing and it i must say, it's working so far. I don't want to feel afraid the rest of my life. There's so much I want to do. And with the upcoming release of the new PS4 pretty soon, I want to have fun playing with my friends like I used to be able. Without this stupid fear. There's basketball and so much activity I was so used to doing everyday that I just don't anymore. I want it all back.

So I guess, lose your fear of anxiety symptoms and you'll rid yourself of anxiety. Because we all know what we're really afraid of. its not the symptoms we're scared of but the Panic attacks that the symptoms lead us into. "Normal" people can have the same exact symptoms as us and what do they do? They don't think anything of them and go on with their day. Thats simply because they have no clue what a panic attack is until they have one and a lot of them will probably never panic. And that's great for them, I hope they don't.

Im guessing that directing your mind away from the fears and the symptoms will get easier and easier as long as you keep it up until you just don't have to anymore because your nervous system and brain have re-adapted to your new sense of normalcy and well being.

So is that it? The one thing that needs to be done? If you've beaten anxiety please answer this. If this isn't completely how it was for you, feel free to add something. I've always wanted to know, When did you know for sure you had beaten anxiety? Obviously you didn't do it in a day, but how did you know this disorder would never haunt you again?

krayziee
06-18-2013, 04:34 AM
Inspiring story! I feel the same way, just woke up in a panic attack, just trying to calm myself now.

missmello
06-18-2013, 05:59 AM
I think you hit the nail on the head with this one. I've been struggling with anxiety recently, but I have overcome it in the past, sometimes going years without any major symptoms. And if I remember correctly, the turning point was when I started to get angry about it. It was taking over my life and independence, and just before what would have been my breaking point, I decided enough was enough. I thought if there was really something physically wrong with me, I probably would have died by now, or at least be in the hospital. So I said to myself "Suck it up, ignore it, this is my life and i'm going to live it". I learned to ignore my symptoms, or at least tried my hardest not to give them any attention, because that's what the anxiety wants. We all know it's a vicious cycle, and our fear keeps feeding it, giving it more power over us.

I think that method 100% works, but it takes a lot of will power and time. It's so easy to want to worry about the symptoms, do body checks, ask for doctors reassurance, but all of those things only temporarily calm us down. For example, a few weeks ago I was so obsessed with checking my pulse, convinced it was too slow and that my heart would just stop beating, sometimes I would check for hours at a time, every day. Then I realized, seriously??? These thoughts and actions are not normal! So I stopped checking my pulse. Every once in a while I would give in and check, but it would maybe be once or twice a day... until finally I stopped checking altogether. Now I am no longer obsessing over my heartbeat, and whatta ya know?! I'M STILL ALIVE! LOL nothing bad happened now that I don't check anymore and I feel FREE!

It's not going to happen over night, but once we get into the habit of BREAKING our bad habits, it's the steps in the right direction to getting better. If there are multiple things that you worry about, obsessively check, whatever... tackle one thing at a time. Once you've trained yourself to let go of one thing, start working on the next one. This is the plan I've been following, along with taking supplements, exercise, and many other things. It's not something that goes away on its own, we need to be proactive.

Enduronman
06-18-2013, 07:33 AM
Hey Krazyass and Missmarshmello.

Alfred. If you're looking for that (1) single answer to the question of what drives your anxiety?

Your entire post really revolves around (2) single words.

"HIGH EXPECTATIONS"

You wake scrambling around and begin trying to maintain what you think you have too, and then you continually strive to obtain what you think you need too, and constantly search for the ways to make the world look like you think it's supposed too..

Bruh, lower your expectations, slow down, relax and close your eyes at random times during the day and say "I got this and my dreams will be acheived in time just be patient Alfred" or you could close your eyes and yell "fuck it!" or you could try MissySmileyFaces method and say "suck it up this is my life!"...

It's normal to have dreams, aspirations, goals, plans, but you just need to shift gears into an overdrive gear and let it ride each day. You'll get to where you want to go just as fast but you'll save alot of fuel in the process or in your case, your mentality and health.

As Missy stated above also, "Once you've trained yourself to let go of one thing, start working on the next one"... She's doing this all now in just a matter of a few days too. Congratulations to Mello!! If you don't recall, she has teetered on the brink of nothing short of being psychotic for a very long time too. She chose to change it, all by herself. Hope you don't mind me pointing my typing fingers at you Missy!! You deserve to be very proud and also very confident of yourself and your new directions too..

Have a great day all!

E-Man. :)

missmello
06-18-2013, 07:52 AM
HAHA yes I was on the brink of a psychotic meltdown, that's for sure!

It's nice to finally have a thread dedicated to figuring out the problem rather than seeking reassurance. At first it's nice to hear other people are experiencing the same things as us, so we don't feel like we are in this alone. But after a while, constantly posting things like "OMG i think i'm dying! My heart! My stomach! My eyeballs!" etc lol, it comes to a point where it is only making things worse. And I'll be the first to admit, I've done it! I was on here all the time like "omg i'm dying!" but quickly realized that kind of talk was dragging me down deeper.

We need more positive stories. Thank you for starting this thread!

Cobra
06-18-2013, 12:31 PM
I think you've hit the nail right on the head. This is exactly what claire weekes says in her book. Accept it. Endure it. Wait for your nerves to adjust. It's the only way to cure this crap.

Dcoito
06-18-2013, 01:48 PM
This is the absolute way to overcome anxiety! That's why the word overcome is mentioned all the time! I purposely will go out and ask anxiety to show up! I welcome it! Just so I can pick it apart and dissolve it one symptom at a time! Don't allow the anxiety to go full circle! Because if it dose you panic. That easy! Take out the section of the circle and you won't complete it! For example, Your chest hurts, you feel anxious! Then you think heart attack! You feel more anxious, then you think what it's and crate more anxiety. Until you complete a full circle of panic!
Sometimes I will just start making fun of it.. Sounds nutty but it works for me!
Like when my legs are weak or shaky, I will just say wow what an odd feeling! My body can be quite strange at times! It kinda has a tickling feeling, then I just smile!
The body and mind is amazing. Just see the lighter side of it if and when you can! Soon anxiety will just give up!

Love these positive post lately! Lets keep them going!

Cobra
06-18-2013, 03:11 PM
Think about this... If our thoughts can make us feel bad, make us sick, then conversely, our thoughts can make us feel goog, perhaps even heal! It has to work both ways! Lately, I have been trying to replace worried thoughts with positive affirmations. Thoughts like I am healthy. I am strong. My body functions perfectly. The only difference between us and "normal folk" is that we dwell on negative thoughts and are more sensitive to our bodily sensations. Our mind-body connection is amplified, so lets put that to good use!

kelliesean
06-18-2013, 06:59 PM
Think about this... If our thoughts can make us feel bad, make us sick, then conversely, our thoughts can make us feel goog, perhaps even heal! It has to work both ways! Lately, I have been trying to replace worried thoughts with positive affirmations. Thoughts like I am healthy. I am strong. My body functions perfectly. The only difference between us and "normal folk" is that we dwell on negative thoughts and are more sensitive to our bodily sensations. Our mind-body connection is amplified, so lets put that to good use!

That's a good point Cobra.. I'm definitely going to try and be more positive too!
I was just reading something recently that explained that when we smile, the blood flow increases and even if we aren't truly happy, we will feel happier just from smiling :).. That's pretty cool..