Does Reading & Studying About It Make It Worse??

[Sit2Know]

Since I have gone back into a severe set back and have a ton of anxiety books I spend lots of time looking for answers or a clue that will help me recover. One of my anxiety friends is just the opposite - she wont even say the word anxiety.

What works better, has a therapist ever told you to stop thinking/reading about anxiety?

[NoPoet]

Hi, sorry to hear you're having a blip. I and many others here become very obsessive about the anxiety when it strikes and this is a really common reaction. I have been told - and I have told myself - that I let it take over my life totally, but you have to accept that during blips it will probably consume you for a while until you either get control of yourself again, or the blip naturally loses its intensity.

As for your friend, some people benefit by NOT talking about their problems, but denial is another matter: denial is probably a symptom of fear and although it may make her feel better, in the long run she is going to need to face up to things. It's not a race though, things must be done gradually.

Recovery from a blip can take a day to a few weeks or longer. Try to view each one as a learning experience: let it remind you that learning to trust and encourage yourself is a vital skill, the most vital skill you'll ever find in any self-help book. This will help you to accept that yes, you're in a blip at the moment, but you've been through countless blips before and made it through every one. This simple fact is the first thing you forget when the next blip strikes. Make sure the knowledge that you can beat a blip becomes a part of you.

[robinbrum]

I think you can have information overload, particularly if you have books based on differing approaches to treating anxiety. It can become a self-perpetuating thing if you dwell on it all the time and it occupies too much of your mental space.
Maybe have a break from it and try something you enjoy for a while that doesn't involve anxiety!

[theharvestmouse]

its a tough one, do you read up on anxiety and try to understand as much as possible, or try to forget it and minimise the time you spend thinking about it.

In my opinion, one tends to focus on reading up and wanting to know more when you've had a blip or going through a bad time. Obviously if you are feeling better then you don't want to rake up the old feelings.

Sometimes I find immediately after I have had CBT I will come out and feel quite down, because I've just spent an hour devoted to the anxiety..

I suppose its about having a balance that works well but I'm still trying to find it.