Sub-conscious anxiety

[SmithsFan]

One of the common features that seems to make us reluctant to believe anxiety is the cause of our symptoms is the belief we're not feeling anxious at the time.

Are there any good resources explaining how we store anxiety sub-consciously? I once read a poster's signature on another forum that had a great line about most anxiety being rooted in our sub-consciousness and being the result of years of poor stress management. Can't find it again though.

[MyNameIsTerry]

It sounds like you will want to read about Core Beliefs and possibly Schemas. These threads might be a useful read for you:

http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=168981
http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=169302

The OP would have been an ideal person for you to talk to about this but he's no longer on here. He's on another forum last I heard, I can give you the name.

[Primula]

Thanks for those links. After nearly two very good years I'm going through the struggle again. Sub conscious anxiety is a very interesting concept, and one I need to find more about. Especially now I'm embarking on the second year of a counselling diploma. ��

[MyNameIsTerry]

Glad they were of use.

I remember when I started clawing my way out of the worst I've ever been that when I had a day that wasn't awful, I would question what I was feeling. Was it normal? Was it a new experience or how I felt before my anxiety? The result was just making myself anxious again. I've spoken to people on here and at the charity walk-in groups I went to and they have found the same.

We train ourselves to believe that our correct state is to be anxious. New core belief. So, we work on recovery and have to re-activate the old core belief about how we can feel or create a new one. The anxious one starts getting mothballed through lack of use.

Our negative thinking styles (Cognitive Distortions) fight us all the way so learning about them, to spot them an most importantly how to think more positively, helps us build new healthy core beliefs.

Intrusive thoughts can be an easy way to understand this. You get the thought, you react with fear, you feedback the negative reaction the amygdala is looking for (it only looks for negative in the fight or flight process) and you end up reinforcing it through repetition. The more you associate to this, the more that core belief builds what Davit called "attached cores". You make it more complex. So, you start off with a fear of violent thoughts and what you "may" do, down the line you are hiding knives "just in case" and all you do is associate knives with that fear and the subconscious learns from that - your core belief adds a new element.

Good luck with your second year, Primula, we need more people like you helping us!

[SmithsFan]

Thanks mate. Will give those links a proper read and the name of the forum would be appreciated.

I did some stuff on core beliefs with a counsellor last year but it was more to do with general feelings of insecurity and lack of confidence rather than my health anxiety. Although what I found was that they, along with depression, were part of the same package. After I felt better I fell out of the way of my CBT exercises and when I became stressed I fell back into the way of negative thinking.

I've never been diagnosed with a somatoform disorder but the pain and other sensations I experienced last year are back with a vengeance and for weeks I've been fighting the 'but I'm not feeling anxious and I'm still getting these symptoms. Must be MS/ALS/Parkinson's/Cancer etc after all" thoughts. Understanding more about how anxiety exists at the sub-conscious level will hopefully help me get over this hump.

[Fishmanpa]

I've described anxiety as being akin to a campfire. When you're anxious, the fire is burning hot and bright. When you've calmed down and don't feel anxious, you still have hot coals burning and waiting for some more fuel for the fire. Those hot coals can still cause symptoms. It takes a long time for those embers to finally go out. Sometimes you need professional fire fighters (therapy) or a fire extinguisher (meds) to help get the fire under control.

Positive thoughts

[Primula]

Great analogy Fishmanpa. I think I still have some glowing embers that need putting out. Still more work to be done.

[tjb113]

Thanks for those links. After nearly two very good years I'm going through the struggle again. Sub conscious anxiety is a very interesting concept, and one I need to find more about. Especially now I'm embarking on the second year of a counselling diploma. ��

It's funny, I too am having HA issues again after a 2-year span of doing fine. I've also noticed from other people that there seems to almost be a 2 year cycle to this for many. It's like when we're dealing with it we start to build up defenses to better cope with our fears until the anxiety takes a back seat, and those defenses last about 2 years before the fear starts to become overwhelming when the next major trigger occurs.

[Primula]

I hate it so much. In the past I've had 8 and 5 year spans of no anxiety, wish I could do that again. I get so weary with going through this all the time. Might just have to accept this is how it is.

[MyNameIsTerry]

Thanks mate. Will give those links a proper read and the name of the forum would be appreciated.

I did some stuff on core beliefs with a counsellor last year but it was more to do with general feelings of insecurity and lack of confidence rather than my health anxiety. Although what I found was that they, along with depression, were part of the same package. After I felt better I fell out of the way of my CBT exercises and when I became stressed I fell back into the way of negative thinking.

I've never been diagnosed with a somatoform disorder but the pain and other sensations I experienced last year are back with a vengeance and for weeks I've been fighting the 'but I'm not feeling anxious and I'm still getting these symptoms. Must be MS/ALS/Parkinson's/Cancer etc after all" thoughts. Understanding more about how anxiety exists at the sub-conscious level will hopefully help me get over this hump.

The name of the other forum is PanicCenter, based in Canada. The member has the same name on there - but he is no longer there as I've just been informed, all his posts will be on there though so may be worth a scan.

Are you an OCD sufferer? The reason I ask is that something you can find in OCD is that you become habituated to the obsessions and this can cause a change from "I must be this monster because I think of these things" to "I no longer get anxious from these thoughts, that must mean I am turning into X". The latter is termed "backdoor spike". You tend to find this when you are recovering because as you deal with your compulsions, you tend to find you are no longer urged to conduct them like before. ERP works to remove them that way to, through elimination, but the actual obsession can take longer or need other methods and it may regrow back or morph into some other compulsion.

I've had that and I know a few others who have too. We discussed it ages ago and agreed it was like a dismantled process. We even had compulsions that seemed to be triggered with little anxiety but we just did them as if it was habit and this just needed addressing through elimination again but the fear wasn't there.