Anxiety Question

[tconnorbok]

I don't quite understand this but even when I don't feel anxious or stressed my mind still tries to find things that will increase my anxiety level. It is like a bully always picking on me for some reason. I don't understand why it does this to me. I get the same obessive thoughts over and over in my head that will then start to cause me to stress and worry which increases my anxiety level. Is it that my mind knows this is something that is scary to me or that I fear and that is why it keeps a hold of that? It seems like it is worse when I am alone or i don't have anything to do. Does anyone else have this problem? If so, how do you deal with it? Is this truely an anxiety symptom?

[kitten123]

yes i totally understand what you mean.sometimes when im not worrying about anything a feel so uneasy as im so used to having something to worry about, so my mind will always try its hardest to find something to stress over,so its like i never find peace.

[tconnorbok]

When I have those thoughts I try to find a word that I can say in my head that makes me happy. Sometimes it works but other times it doesn't. I really am trying to train my mind to think positive thoughts no negative thoughts but it is really hard. I thought after time it would just disappear after doing this and it has gotten better. I wish i new other methods that I could try.

[Zuena]

Hey there T,

I am sorry that you are going through this.

I don't want to repeat everything I have said on the forum, maybe have a look at my post "Making Progress?"

I have found a way to reprogramme my mind into getting rid of the negativity and replace all those thoughts with positive ones. It won't work for everyone, it was an idea that came to me and it has worked so well. I reaffirm and take time to calm myself and claim only positivity in my life every single day, and I have managed to beat this bloody thing!

Good luck,

Z

[tconnorbok]

Thanks Zuena, I will take a look at your post and see if it can help me. I think i could deal with the anxiety as long as it would quit messing with my head but then again I probably wouldn't have anxiety then. :)

I try listen to music most of the time at work because it helps my mind focus on the music and not other unwanted thoughts. I thought I had this thing beat the other day because there were three or four days were I was doing really good and then it comes back not as strong but I know it is still there. i thought the anti depressant was causing lot of it and it still could be since those things can mess with your mind. I am just really nervous getting off of it since it took me a long time to get to this point. I am just not sure which is worse the constant thoughts sometimes or the anxiety.

[Zuena]

I might be mistaken, but I am sure the obsessive thoughts are a result of the anxiety?

To me it sounds like you are at a point where your mind would be receptive to positive thoughts through repetition and constantly bugging yourself to change your thought patterns. I think you just need to figure out how to replace the negativity as it seems you WANT to but you are not sure how.

A friend told me something once which I have found useful in my life in many areas. When you have a negative thought, whether it would be something you are obsessing about or maybe missing someone you loved once, when that unwelcome thought pops into your head (ok this sounds mad but it WORKS) physically lift your hand and pretend to pull that thought out of your mind.. then make a pair of scissors with your other hand and cut through the negative thought. It works!! It might look wonky to anyone watching, but who cares?

Something very important - you have to come up with ideas and positive thoughts in a time when you are calm. When you are panicking, as you know, NOTHING gets through your thick head so that is pointless. You need to PRACTICE when you are calm and REINFORCE when you are anxious. Make sense?

Good luck.

Z

[tconnorbok]

Yeah I think so too. It is crazy what the mind can come up with when you have anxiety. Then when it finds something that you are afraid of then the repetitive thought process starts. This is the worst part of anxiety for me. Sometimes I wonder if I will ever get ride of it but I keep telling myself everyday that this thing I can beat.

[forwells]

Howdy

I wont go into a big thread but

I don't quite understand this but even when I don't feel anxious or stressed my mind still tries to find things that will increase my anxiety level.

So worrying about the fact that your not worrying about worrying . :o :tongue:

You can say you are not anxious but that statement say other wise .

Anxiety is like a hot water heater , You can turn the temp down but it still takes time for the water to go cold . It si also the same as a piano turning fork . You hit it and it will buzz and it will buzz for a while after but if you hit it again it will keep buzzing .

As for the obessive thoughts over and over . This is completely normal for anyone under stress and it will past over time . Remember that they are just thoughts and nothing else .

cheers kev

[Itzomi]

Yep, the mind is crazy like that. You'll be thinking you've slayed the beast, then one day, you hear... "Psssst. What's that spot on your arm? Looks kinda sketchy to me! Uncle Roofus died from a spot he ignored... Bet it's hereditary and fatal!!" etc.

[sparks]

Quick question:

have you tried working out?

[tconnorbok]

Yeah, I try to run every night. I walk a mile and then run a mile. I try to eat healthy as much as possible and I take omega 3 and super b complex vitamins daily. I am much better from when this first started but it been a long road getting there. It just seems like my mind tries to pick up everything bad and twist it to to make me feel panic and stressed. Some days are better and others maybe I am at the end of this thing and that is all it has left to hold on to. Does anyone know what it is like to get over this what is the feeling or is there any. Does it start to diminish and then come back a little less each time before it is gone?

[Zuena]

T,

I have "got over this" before. Things came to a point where I walked around feeling awful for two days, I totally broke down. Um I think I said this earlier in this thread. I cried and cried and it felt like I was at the end of my emotional tether. A few mornings later I woke up and I was absolutely fine. I still got a little anxious from time to time but it got better and better every day until it was completely gone. I walked around in places I wouldn't have imagined myself to be a month or two before. I walked to the shop in semi-darkness. I stopped panicking on the bus and didn't cross the street anymore when I saw someone approach, in fear of being attacked. I was just ME for the first time in forever.

What brought my anxiety back was moving 3 times, my divorce being finalised and starting a new job all in the month of September. This time it wasn't as severe though and I got over it pretty quickly. I am still not 100%, but just busy moving out of the "high alert" phase where I can't actually believe it is gone.

I guess it is different for everyone. With me, the anxiety seems to build up and then I break down - it seems like the breakdown is what my mind and body needs for me to "get over" the anxiety. This is only the second time in my life I have suffered with this, the first time being 6 months ago when I returned from another country and things were really bad, financially etc. I guess too much happened in September and I was still a little fragile from before.

I think that your mind looking for reasons to be anxious has a lot to do with the negative thought patters that become a habit during the time that you struggle with anxiety. Soon enough your mind will realise that there really is nothing to worry about, and little by little it will let go.

Good luck,

Z

[birdisontheway]

T,

I think that your mind looking for reasons to be anxious has a lot to do with the negative thought patters that become a habit during the time that you struggle with anxiety. Soon enough your mind will realise that there really is nothing to worry about, and little by little it will let go.

Good luck,

Z

Excellent advice to follow. You will start to retrain your brain to be able to cope with anxiety. Once you begin to realize that is is only an illusion (so-to-speak) in the mind, you start to let go and find a bit more peace from day to day.

[forwells]

Howdy

Does anyone know what it is like to get over this what is the feeling or is there any. Does it start to diminish and then come back a little less each time before it is gone?

It feels bloody good .

The only way it will go is not when you take a pill or a supp or run or walk or anything else . The day it will start to truly start going is when you realize that you have been sick just as you would if you had the flu .

When you see anxiety for what it is , just that your mind and body is ill from all the stress you have placed on it and you start to repair that stress by learning to relax and by replacing some of the bad habits that have caused that stress it will start to fade .

It will fade slowly , the same way it built up over time and there is no point worrying about why it is here and why it hasn't yet gone because all that does is feed the little bugger and keep it around .

Will it ever come back ?/ NO because anxiety is a bluff , anxiety is not real and should never have been made out to be a disorder . It is simply a way that a person reacts to stress and nothing more . Anyone and i mean anyone can get anxiety its just some people find the way out of it quicker and some of us get stuck in it for a while longer .

I know mine will never come back for a few reasons . First is because other than at the start i take no drugs ,second is i worked though it and learned a new way to react to those symptoms of stress and i don't react to them with fear. Today 2 years later i still get many of the symptoms that started my anxiety but because i don't react to them and just let my body heal i have no anxiety towards it at all .

Anxiety is not a mental problem and again i say it should never ever have been labeled as one . It is simply a physical problem that involves mental symptoms . You can have all the symptoms of anxiety and not have anxiety . Its called stress and that's all it should have ever been called . Putting it in the same category as true mental illness has done people more harm than good .

Trust me when i say that anxiety is nothing more than a stage of life some of us go though and giving time and understanding we will come out the other side . I personally don't think that i will ever be the same person that i was but when you stand at the doors of hell and can laugh and walk away i think that you cant expect to be .

I still have work to do on my stress but i would have to say that the last 2 years has been a interesting journey and one that i would not like to take again but is one i am glad i had the chance to do and one that i am glad has added to my charterer .

cheers kev :D