This will never go!

[laurenn]

Basically I have health anxiety, general anxiety and social anxiety to a point and I've been trying so hard to face all my fears and try to get over it. My fear is that I will stop breathing or my heart will stop, although ive been told by the doctor that there is nothing wrong I cant seem to get over it.The symptoms are there everyday CONSTANTLY and its really distressing me. No matter how hard I tell my self its just anxiety and I'm fine the symptoms are as strong. I thought they were supposed to calm down when you've accepted it? Well these sensations are still as strong no matter what I do. This then also makes me think that maybe I do have something bad and something is wrong, does anyone get this or have advice? Please

[DavidJ85]

The problem is when your mind and body are in a state of alert everything is amplified so the thoughts and symptoms you're having feel worse than they are.

You need to try and take a sort of time out to restore your mind and body's levels to normal then you can realise you've got nothing to worry about.

[laurenn]

Do you think what I've said is all normal for anxiety? To be there even when I'm calm? Thank you a lot for your reply

[Sunflower2]

I get anxiety symptoms even when I'm completely calm. I've even in the past felt completely chilled out, and my heart rate has been over 100 for no reason. Even a couple nights ago I was at home, after a tiring awful week just sitting watching tv when all of a sudden my chest felt really tight and uncomfortable. It did worry me a bit as it was so unexpected, but it went away a minute or two later. We can't stop the symptoms once they've started, you just have to ignore them and focus on something else and it will subside again.
As for facing your fears, it can make you feel a lot worse if you face and challenge them all at once and can overwhelm you. I try to split them up and do one scary thing on one aspect of my anxiety at a time, otherwise my mind just can't take the stress.

[laurenn]

I get anxiety symptoms even when I'm completely calm. I've even in the past felt completely chilled out, and my heart rate has been over 100 for no reason. Even a couple nights ago I was at home, after a tiring awful week just sitting watching tv when all of a sudden my chest felt really tight and uncomfortable. It did worry me a bit as it was so unexpected, but it went away a minute or two later. We can't stop the symptoms once they've started, you just have to ignore them and focus on something else and it will subside again.
As for facing your fears, it can make you feel a lot worse if you face and challenge them all at once and can overwhelm you. I try to split them up and do one scary thing on one aspect of my anxiety at a time, otherwise my mind just can't take the stress.

The hardest thing I find to deal with is that when the symptoms become really powerful even when we are relaxes I tend to think that maybe all of this isn't anxiety and is something dangerous, when those thoughts start I get terrified I've got something really wrong:-( do you have any advice about stuff like that?:-(

[Sunflower2]

Well next time it happens try and notice your thought as soon as you feel something.

So.. Chest feels tight
You think oh my chest suddenly feels tight.. Try and relax. You continue to think about it and now you're aware of it seems more noticeable. What if my body wants me to notice it. What if something is wrong. What if I'm going to have a heart attack? What if I'm going to die?!?? Oh my goodness my chest argh what do I do?!

It's a vicious thought cycle you unconsciously get in without realising it so while you think you are relaxing and ignoring it, you are actually still noticing it and when it doesn't go away when you try to relax then you end up worrying about it anyway.

So try and see what you first think when you notice something that you would normally put down to anxiety. Then, because at this point it's too late to listen to your rational mind, just focus on breathing slowly and counting to ten, then focus on something completely different and do that until you're not over run by catastrophising thoughts. And just whenever a thought comes into your mind, think to yourself, I don't need to listen to this, my thoughts are not always right, I am not my thoughts. It's hard to begin with but keep practicing and it becomes more natural to challenge those bad thoughts.

[DavidJ85]

Do you think what I've said is all normal for anxiety? To be there even when I'm calm? Thank you a lot for your reply

I would say so yes. I was totally calm earlier today and then the symptoms kicked in and the fear of dread, the heat wave and sweats came over me. My heart rate then sky rocketed, desperate need for the loo and the shakes began and have been with me all day.

I've laid in my bed all day since trying to calm down and it just won't go. I don't know what to do at all.

[laurenn]

I always feel like I'm going to stop breathing and die, I don't know how to get rid of this:(

[DavidJ85]

Have you stopped breathing and died yet? Probably not so as long as you are still breathing and here typing you're all good :)

[expecto patronum]

Hi Lauren, yes this all sounds totally normal. Symptoms usually gradual calm down over time once you've accepted them, but acceptance is one of those things that is a lot harder to get your head round when you're feeling really anxious - like you I quite often I find myself thinking 'I am accepting my anxiety, so why isn't it going away?' but then I realise that I'm not really accepting it, since the message I've really been sending to myself is 'right, lets accept this, in order to make it go away'. But trying to make it go away is the same as not accepting it! Hope this is making sense. I know accpeting how you feel seems like a bit of a big ask at first, but Claire Weekes, who wrote a lot about acceptance, said it's enough if you only try to accept, to start with. Also I find that when you get really anxious you start making unreasonable demands of yourself, it's like you're trying to accept all your life's anxiety all in one go. No one can do that! When I'm feeling really anxious I try to remind myself to take each little bit at a time. I use the phrase 'theres only one way to eat an elephant; bit by bit' to remind myself. Have you read Claire Weekes' books? She has loads of great advice on coping with and accepting physical symptoms.