Dealing with the subconscious mind?

[samtheman]

I'll try and explain this the best I can and hope someone can offer advice.

I was in the doctors yesterday in regards to my IBS symptoms, I didn't feel particularly nervous as such but yet when I was explaining to her (A young blonde attractive 20 something) I was getting tongue tied and when I came out my wife said I was blushing and my face was bright red, and as I say I didn't feel particularly nervous but I can only suggest my subconscious was having other ideas and firing of these symptoms. In regards to my IBS I again can only put this down to my subconscious taking over as again I don't feel particularly nervous, The last time it kicked in was yesterday on the way to the doctors, I started getting the dreaded cramps, I was baffled as to why this was happening as I didn't feel anxious or nervous at the time, then 2 things dawned on me, I am no where near a toilet, and I am going to the doctors last thing on a Friday evening which is always packed.

But these things especially the blushing are common for me, If someone points it out I have to ask myself why I am blushing and take a look around, there is always a reason.

Has anyone else experienced this before?

[Bill]

Oh yes, lots of times. I've just got used to it. Whatever the situation is, if we start feeling self-conscious and stressed for whatever reason because of where we are or the people we're with, our blood pressure rises and we'll go red. I think it comes down to shyness, confidence and feeling relaxed with who we're with or where we are. Even coming in out of the cold into the warmth can cause redness but that's just biological.

In regards to my IBS I again can only put this down to my subconscious taking over as again I don't feel particularly nervous, The last time it kicked in was yesterday on the way to the doctors, I started getting the dreaded cramps, I was baffled as to why this was happening as I didn't feel anxious or nervous at the time, then 2 things dawned on me, I am no where near a toilet, and I am going to the doctors last thing on a Friday evening which is always packed.

I should think this is a very common scenario.

The thought of visiting the doctors causes stress.
The stress causes us to feel we need the loo.
The thought of the doctors being packed causes more stress.
The added stress causes us to feel we need the loo even more.
The thought of no loo for miles and the "what if's we get caught short" causes more stress.
The feelings of needing the loo intensifies.
We keep focusing on worrying about needing the loo.
The more we actually feel we need the loo and so on in a cycle.

Thoughts creating stress and tension causes anxious feelings to feel more intense but when we relieve the tension by keeping calm and relaxed, the feelings disappear too.

The same applies to lots of different anxiety symptoms including panic attacks. The key is learning how to keep calm and not keep focusing on thoughts/feelings so our muscles etc are allowed to relax because the symptoms always then disappear too.

[Arnie365]

The sub conscious mind is so powerful. Our conscious mind only accounts for about 1% of all our thoughts. So think about how many thoughts pop into your head a day. Now times that by 100 and that's how many you are really having! My therapist used the analogy of the conscious mind being standing on a beach and looking out to sea. Everything you can see, maybe a couple of boats, a few birds etc is your conscious mind, below the sea is your subconscious so all the fish, coral and miles and miles of water etc.

This is where anxiety sits for a lot of people. I had such a hard time accepting I had 'just' anxiety. I always got physical symptoms such as chest pains when I wasn't feeling anxious at all. The pains set my anxiety off leading me to believe i had a physical problem however understanding that I was anxious but in my sub conscious made sense after it was explained to me.