Is it really about acceptance?

[HoldingoutforHope]

It's really hard to accept that anxiety is the cause for all that I am going through. Just this week I had a really bad break down where I had to leave class AGAIN. Apparently all the vibrations I feel in my feet, all of the cold sensations and numbness I feel are sensory and are not related to the disease that I fear the most ALS.

My counselor has told me that I need to accept what it is and that ALS should not be one of my main concerns. Does it sound like I should agree with what she says? I am going to see my family gp in november to discuss medicene but is acceptance really the first step that is important to take for this fear? :huh:

[.Poppy.]

To me, acceptance implies that you're accepting your problem and that there may be no way out.

I don't believe that there is no way out. In fact, even though I still suffer from GAD, my health anxiety days are almost entirely behind me.

I think understanding is a better first step. You need to understand that you have an anxiety disorder, not ALS. You need to understand that your symptoms are not harmful, even though they can be terrifying. You need to understand that you can get through this, you just need to find what works for you. Unfortunately, what ultimately worked for me may not work for you, but your GP and counselor together can hopefully help you find a solution.

Best of luck :)

[jonjones]

Hi
in order for you to accept it you first need to understand how your nervou system is sensitized, and the causes of your sympotms namely adrenliane and tension etc.

I recommend you read dr claire weekes books to understand more!

Jon

[MyNameIsTerry]

I agree with the above.

Acceptance is a passive strategy. Its one of the tools in the toolbox. It has its place and it really does help but it doesn't help you move forward, only make you more confortable in your situation to enable you to drive forward. I believe in use of multi strategies, acceptance being one and it does depend on what form of anxiety as acceptance isn't very helpful with some forms as seen in the OCD spectrum.

First understand what those sensations are. If they are due to anxiety, then its just the normal process of adrenaline in the body. When we panic, we create a lot of adrenaline in the fight or flight process and whilst this adrenaline stops feeding that effect after a matter of minutes (adrenalines half life is only 2 minutes) then it continues to feed these after effects until the body metabolizes it or you pee it out in your urine.

So, you would need to accept that when this happens, its a normal bodily function and that reacting any other way that this is the irrational part that just results in more panic which just results in more adrenaline causing it to take even longer to dissipate.

How can you make these symptoms this go away? Exercise will cause the adrenaline to be burnt off or metabolized. Deep breathing also helps. Acceptance won't make them go away, but it will prevent further panic which prolongs them. So, its clear you have to do both to benefit which shows an example of using 2 tools together for the desired effect.

Acceptance seems most popular on the HA board from what I've seen and it does makes sense in that you need to avoid pursuing symptoms to make a diagnosis which will potentially be flawed. This is the opposite of trying to understand a symptom, its understanding whether its only anxiety or something that requires true medical incite. This is a hard issue.