Progress or set back ?

[Mac1chick]

Hello all

Well I think I have had a really good day today . I have been out with my dog and been to a retail shop (bright lights !!!!) and haven't felt too bad. Even at times feeling a bit more like me. But tonight for some reason I feel absolutely terrible. Worse than ever !!!!! Am I making progress ? Tonight it doesn't feel that way.

Mac

[jill]

Hi hun :D

First of all WELL DONE, you did GREAT today and you should be sooooo proud of yourself:yesyes:

When we are acute we spend soo much time telling ourselves AND proving to ourselves just how bad are anxiety is, where we get it when we get it, we forget to prove to ourselves that at times it not that bad. We are after all learning how to re programme our minds, trying to encourage more reassuring statements.

When I first joined this great site, I was told to chip away at my anxiety, Mmm I never really new what that meant.:shrug:

For me, I had had anxiety for a long time, but had very high anxiety 24/7 and panic, (at the time of joining this site) so what am I supposed to chip away at, Mmmm try and help myself understand that my anxiety DID dip a little from time to time, try DAME HARD to notice small changes, no matter how small, that although it was not gone, it was less severe at times, this helped me move on a little, when I started to notice, these small changes, it proved to me, I was not better, but I was NOT 24/7 high anxiety.

There are many small changes we can make to help us move on a little towards recovery and today I feel you made one of them :yesyes::hugs:

Mac, PLEASE don't be hard on yourself, today you have shown YOURSELF, that you CAN have a day when you don't feel to bad and even at times, feeling a little like YOU, this IS progress :yesyes: This would .prove to me, that it IS within your reach to move forward a little more to recovery

The way we talked to ourselves helps us move forward a little too..
I find it hard to explain because I feel, if I say the way I thought, then its NOT your way of thinking but I will give it a go....


***Well I think I have had a really good day today . I have been out with my dog and been to a retail shop (bright lights !!!!) and haven't felt too bad. Even at times feeling a bit more like me. But tonight for some reason I feel absolutely terrible. Worse than ever !!!!! Am I making progress ? Tonight it doesn't feel that way.


Your statement has lots of doubt in it, Ohh hun, I know its DAME hard :hugs:but when we make small progress we need to try and Mmmm what I used to say is, have a party in my head, praise myself loads.

Say things like, I DID have a good day, ohhh that was a good feeling, forgot what that felt like, it was good to remember, try dame hard to take the feeling with you, TRY and remember later on how good it felt, go over it in my head.

I did have good support from my family, so I used my sister and would tell her about the small changes, she never understood BUT she was NOT judgmental. I would say things like, "its still there but not half as bad" and she used to say "that's great"

Have you ever heard the saying "who are you trying to convince, me or yourself?

Just say someone wants to jump out of a plane but they are scared,Mmm even terrified, BUT they REALLY want to do, they go round telling everyone how GREAT its going to be, they talk about the rush it will give them, the wind in there hair oohh everything positive reassuring thing they can think off, they go on and on and on even thinking about it all the time, until the jump is done.

This is them being terrified, BUT using other people by talking to them in a reassuring way about what they are about to do and going over it in there head, with similar thought proses they are trying to reassure themselves, it keeps panic at bay and high levels of anxiety AND it works, they do the jump.

ANY time you don't have anxiety or your anxiety is less, then its progress, you have moved forward a little, BUT, you have to NOTICE, what you have achieved, be proud, be over exited if you like, anything to encourage those natural hormones that give us a positive high.

I know you feel bad tonight,:hugs: BUT PLEASE TRY and not harp on this, TRY and remind yourself how GREAT you have done today.


***for some reason I feel absolutely terrible***

Please Mac, try and take the surprise out of your anxiety, you feel this way because, YOU HAVE anxiety, is that not a reason????
when we move forward there ARE ups and downs,

So if anxiety happens, instead of asking why, try and swish it around a bit and say, "oh well, I had a good day AND MORE to come with time, when I learn more" reassuring statments DO help us move on a little, they help us
chip away at our anxiety. It may not make the anxiety go away, but over time, the more you learn your own reassuring statements the more you will chip away at anxiety and it WILL get less and less.

I know for a lot of people, after a good day, anxiety may feel worse, but hun, this is Mrs anxiety playing with you, your anxiety is YOUR anxiety, no worse then any other time, it just feels that way :hugs:

Remember your good day, then go and TRY and distract yourself from how you feel, the more we sit and think about how bad we feel, the worse we feel.



YOU are doing great. keep it up. :yesyes::hugs::hugs:

take care

LOVE JILL XX

[Mac1chick]

Thanks Jill x That is a lovely inspiring post ! This site is amazing .

[Tanner40]

Wow Jill, one of the most inspiring posts that I have read on here. Thank you so much. It truly is amazing how the way we talk to ourselves can bring down the anxiety level and help to reprogram our brains. If I can only get to the place where I remember to do this consistently. The glass is half full, not half empty. I want to magnify the problems and minimize the good things. And I know it doesn't work that way.