anxiety at an all time high ... cant take much more

[CharleneMac]

hey guys, im going to go off on a rant here so i apologise in advance because i need to get this out. i am literally sick of this anxiety cycle, i cant take much more of it. ive tried the antidepressants but i feel like they make me even worse ... i dont know how to keep going on with this anymore, i mean how do you get back out of it :( i know i will get better at some point but i feel like the good times arnt ever going to be coming back this time. i also know ive got some kind of infection and that my period being 3 weeks late just isnt helping the matter. im stuck in this anxiety/PMDD nightmare. im becoming more and more of a burden on my fiance and im starting to avoid other family members. i dont want to be like this ... i dont want to be a shell of a woman anymore ... i want to have fun, speak to people, go out the house on my own, be happy, not be so uptight and controlling to my family because of my insecurities !!! i just need to be getting better .... ive been waiting now for 2 years to get into CBT but that never seems to happen either. ive had a mental health assessment and i know its a situation illness ive got but trying to get help for it is impossible. ive went to every agency i can think of but again theres nothing ... in the county next to me there is amazing mental health help but because i live a quarter of a mile outside the zone i cant get anything. the fustration is getting far too much now ... i feel like i cant get all these feelings out of my body anymore. ive got constant nausea, im trembling, feel dizzy and light headed, the agoraphobia is kicking in really badly and im hiding in my bed out of everyones way !!! im sorry i know this wont make much sense and im rambling but i just need to talk to people who are like me and who knows whats going on inside us

xx

[MargaretHale]

Totally understand. This is year 5 for me of dealing with anxiety and agoraphobia.

x

[sammie13s]

Do you give the tablets long enough to fully be in your system?? Xx

[Tando]

It really sucks I know, but how I got out of having SEVERE generalized anxiety disorder is similar to how everyone else got out. Please listen to me, please please listen to me very closely. You are letting adrenaline consume you. You are letting your symptoms of adrenaline consume you. Humans natural inclination is to fear the unknown, especially when it is effecting our bodies. We've evolved with the thought that our survival is our number one priority. All of these anxious sensations in your body are caused by adrenaline, you know this. At first it's easy to say "Yeah you don't know what it's like.. I walk outside and I'm so dizzy, I feel gloomy, sick, high blood pressure, my vision is blurry, I feel like I'm not there, I constantly run home crying in panic" that's FINE, that's NORMAL. That's how I felt, it's an awful feeling. However you've got to realize that anxiety is UNCOMFORTABLE, but NOT DANGEROUS. Let that sink in. If I told you that you were letting something uncomfortable take over your life, you'd feel kinda guilty for wasting so much time.

Here's how generalized anxiety disorder comes about.

You get anxious symptoms, you react in a way that brings on more, which brings on more fear, more symptoms, you stay inside, you obsess over it, you let it control you.

How do you get rid of it?

Realize that these symptoms are here to keep you alive, not to kill you. You are in a safer position when you have anxiety, period. Do your thing, let your stress system know that it's being kinda silly because there's no danger. Go about your things, and whenever you feel an anxious sensation you STAY there, you demand MORE, you realize that it's just a fear response that'll settle down. Do NOT let this consume you any further.

I had very severe anxiety and one day I said to myself - this is absolutely torturous, this is worse than being beat up a bear. You know what? I'm not going to let anxious bodily sensations take over my life, I'm going to get out and enjoy myself. I realized that these sensations are there to protect me and they're very uncomfortable, but that's all they are. Guess what? I overcame my GAD in about a week.

The truth is, is that GAD can be overcome in really about 1 day, however it's your thought process and anxious mind that brings it back and pedals it forward. Are you going to reprogram your mind? Or are you going to say "No, it's too much, I'm just going to let it control me." It's your choice, good bye.

[GoWhiteSox]

tando that is a great post and exactly right...takes more than a day for most people though :-)...

[pollynewsome]

totally fab post Tando but what about if your anxious about the anxiety feelings?? i am not anxiuos about anything else in life.. just anxiety itself and how it makes you feel.. i cantswitch my mind off from thinking about how i feel all the time, dizzy, shallow breathing,numb etc etc you get the drift.. the second i wake my eyes i think.. how do i feel.. i automatcially feel the need to draw a deep breath and the cycle begins. Any suggestions for not thinking about it.. i take 20mg propranolol and does nothing. with thanks

---------- Post added at 21:52 ---------- Previous post was at 21:50 ----------

oh and just to add i dont let it stop me doing anything but it never ever goes..

[Dan1975]

Good post tando.

Mockingjay, you need to realise that all these sensations originate in your head. I think so many people that suffer with anxiety think that their body has a mind of its own and just randomly throws these feelings and sensations at us. This is not the case. Your mind is responsible.

The more you try to control them / rid yourself of them / cure yourself, the more you are slipping into the anxiety cycle. It's like quicksand. You need to accept this is how you feel at the moment and get on with your life. Acceptance is the answer. Remove the struggle with it and you remove the fuel that feeds it. The struggle IS the essence of the anxiety disorder. It took me 20 years to realise this!

I suggest you read The Happiness Trap, At Last a Life and The Letter by crymraig Chris (it's an online blog really. Google it). These really helped me understand the condition - knowledge is power after all.

To be honest I found these books infinitely more helpful that one to one therapy.

Hope this helps and please PM me if you want.

Dan

---------- Post added at 23:04 ---------- Previous post was at 22:54 ----------


totally fab post Tando but what about if your anxious about the anxiety feelings?? i am not anxiuos about anything else in life.. just anxiety itself and how it makes you feel.. i cantswitch my mind off from thinking about how i feel all the time, dizzy, shallow breathing,numb etc etc you get the drift.. the second i wake my eyes i think.. how do i feel.. i automatcially feel the need to draw a deep breath and the cycle begins. Any suggestions for not thinking about it.. i take 20mg propranolol and does nothing. with thanks

---------- Post added at 21:52 ---------- Previous post was at 21:50 ----------

oh and just to add i dont let it stop me doing anything but it never ever goes..
See my previous post polly. I was like you - wake up and feel fine for a few minutes, then remember I have anxiety and boom, there it is! You need to flip this situation on its head. Accept and it goes away instantly.

Try it. Sit there and really feel your symptoms. Open up to them and let them in. Don't tense up against them and see what happens. I guarantee if you genuinely accept them (I.e. don't accept them in order to get rid of them) then they will go away. The struggle, the unwillingness to accept them is the issue here.

[pollynewsome]

aww ty for reply. yes i will give it ago. cheers guys xx

[Tando]

Don't take medication, it's a psychological disorder that can be overcome naturally. No matter how long you've had it, you should never ever give up on your goals no matter how much anxiety you have. Go to the gym and panic, go to school and panic, it gets silly after a while then goes away.

[sial72]

Fantastic advice Tando and Dan. I don't seem to manage it all the time but I do believe it is the only way x

---------- Post added at 08:34 ---------- Previous post was at 08:25 ----------


Good post tando.

Mockingjay, you need to realise that all these sensations originate in your head. I think so many people that suffer with anxiety think that their body has a mind of its own and just randomly throws these feelings and sensations at us. This is not the case. Your mind is responsible.

The more you try to control them / rid yourself of them / cure yourself, the more you are slipping into the anxiety cycle. It's like quicksand. You need to accept this is how you feel at the moment and get on with your life. Acceptance is the answer. Remove the struggle with it and you remove the fuel that feeds it. The struggle IS the essence of the anxiety disorder. It took me 20 years to realise this!

I suggest you read The Happiness Trap, At Last a Life and The Letter by crymraig Chris (it's an online blog really. Google it). These really helped me understand the condition - knowledge is power after all.

To be honest I found these books infinitely more helpful that one to one therapy.

Hope this helps and please PM me if you want.

Dan

---------- Post added at 23:04 ---------- Previous post was at 22:54 ----------


See my previous post polly. I was like you - wake up and feel fine for a few minutes, then remember I have anxiety and boom, there it is! You need to flip this situation on its head. Accept and it goes away instantly.

Try it. Sit there and really feel your symptoms. Open up to them and let them in. Don't tense up against them and see what happens. I guarantee if you genuinely accept them (I.e. don't accept them in order to get rid of them) then they will go away. The struggle, the unwillingness to accept them is the issue here.

Dan, I've tried to find the blog you mention but can't find it. Can you let me know exactly how to Google for it please.

[AstralBeing]

Thanks Tando & Dan, been having a bad spell of attacks for the past few weeks. Starts with noticing tremors, get a weird vibrating feeling inside and down the rabbit hole I go.

Literally passed out trembling in my bed yesterday only to wake up and notice it was still there (or I made it happen...). It's all in the head, but the head won't listen sometimes... I can repeat to myself over and over "you are fine, it's the anxiety" it sticks around long enough for that glimmer of doubt to be there and make it stay...


Thanks for the reading suggestions, will check it out, though like sial72 I can't find The letter by Crymraig Chris on Google...

Mockingjay, if you need someone to chat about it all, give me a shout. I've found that talking with people who understand the feelings we go through helps to gain some peace of mind, even if only temporary.