Is there a 'cure' to anxiety?

[Hopeyet]

I firmly believe that people can free themselves from anxiety, but the more I look at my own experiences and those of others (on here and in 'real' life) I'm coming to the conclusion there isn't a cure as such.

People seem to have tried every conceivable method to treat anxiety head-on - therapy, medication etc. and I don't know anyone who's found a lasting cure. I count myself in that number, having endured the best part of a year of counselling and nearly a decade of quite severe (mostly health-related) anxiety. I thought I'd defeated it recently and now it's come back worse than ever.

A couple of people on these threads have mentioned low self esteem or a feeling that they don't have anyone to turn to. Some mention other pressures, such as having a new baby, which can make them feel isolated. This morning my own therapist suggested - for want of a better phrase - that I need to get out more. And he probably has a point.

I'm wondering if the best way to treat anxiety is not actually to treat the anxiety at all, but to find a minimal way of managing it, while bringing a bit more happiness into our lives? Take up a new hobby, do more exercise, get more sleep, pamper yourself for a bit, find more time to see friends, whatever...

I realise that's all easier said than done, particularly if you're feeling down as a result of the anxiety. But it may still be easier than treating it directly. Even if you're shaking with fear as I was this morning, maybe the trick is to try and devote a bit more time to yourself, share the load with those around you and make the most out of life as it is? It's the best way I can think of to make it better.

[skymaid]

you can't cure anxiety because it's a necessary part of all of us. We need it to be alive. Just like we need our other emotions.

What we can change is our exaggerated reaction to the physical symptoms of fear and the thoughts that cause it in the first place.

We can also make lifestyle changes to reduce our stress and anxiety levels.

medication can give you a break from the symptoms and therapy can teach you the tools to help yourself accept anxiety as part of you and not fear it and try and get rid of it.

[SLA]

Like skymaid said, it is an essential emotion. But for many of us it dominates our lives. Just like someone with anger issues lets that control their lives. Its ok to be anxious, and its ok to be angry.

For me, it is about managing it.

As soon as you think you've cured it, it will bite you on the ass.


I've also learnt to make peace with my anxiety, and my over-sensitive brain. Because it finds joy and beauty even in the most simplest of things. Something which someone who was tougher or more resilient might not appreciate.

Positive anxiety! That is the way forward! Be excited for the future! Enjoy the small things in life!

[Hopeyet]

It's the reaction I'm referring to. I think most people would agree that if they had an axe stuck in their leg or they were being held at gunpoint that would be valid reasons for a very high level of anxiety. On the other hand, I almost had a panic attack this morning because a plane flew over (it's a long story not worth going into...)

I just wonder if the considerable time and effort people expend to trying to confront excessive anxiety head on would actually be better spent treating themselves to the things that indirectly and subconsciously soothe that anxiety.

In other words, I think the benefits of anything done to directly address anxiety might be overstated compared to the benefits of things that we don't associate with anxiety at all.

[SLA]

In other words, I think the benefits of anything done to directly address anxiety might be overstated compared to the benefits of things that we don't associate with anxiety at all.

:bighug1:

I think you are spot on.

[jill]

Hello Hun

from what I know and understand it's all about balance, there are times to address your anxiety, talk about it, learn all you can about, BUT there are times when you must give your mind rest. We should not spend all the time trying to fix things, especially on an anxiety mind.

The mind NEEDS a break. But that being said there are people who may have anxiety 24/7 and this can be DAM hard to get a break from, it can be done but it takes a long time and practice to find something that will distract them for a minute from how they feel and finding the right support.

This is why you get adviced to find something that will totally distract you from how you feel.

Anxiety effects people in soo many different ways, when I was acute, mine was 24/7, I felt no rest from it. My story is very long will not go into that lol I have not had a panic attack in a long time as for high levels of anxiety NONE

As it's all already been said, anxiety is a normal response you are not going to get rid of it, but what your after to start is chip away at it, except it, do not expect it, but know what actions your going to take if it happens

I've not been on these forums for a long time, but when I first signed in, I stayed for mmmm not sure, I do know it was a very long time. Never posted much about my own problems, read a lot.

I do truly believe knowledge is power, but gaining the knowledge that's needed to address the problem you may just find that the problem ( anxiety) gets in the way of progress, hence being on that roundabout.

I have not cured my anxiety but what I have done over time is brought it right down to a normal level, I can still feel some anxiety at times of stress BUT it's normal, a person who has never had anxiety wouldn't even notice it, but because I know how anxiety feels I know it's there, what's important to me at these times is how I respond, my cognitive behaviour .

I've read many many things but even in every day life it's all about balance.

Except the way you are, this is you FOR NOW but help yourself understand that your NOT going to be like this forever.

Living side by side with anxiety, letting it be there, giving it permission to be there is the start to recovery the start to bringing it down to a more manageable level.

Learn how to reassure yourself, remember what anxiety is, it's a false alarm, except it, give it good reason for it being the eg ( I'm a little stuck on that roundabout but I'll get there) then go and distract yourself

DO NOT go straight into distraction, this is ignoring your natural warning system,
It wii just keep warning you.

Except the feeling, just let them be there, give them reason for being there, reassure yourself THEN go and distract your

Always try any put fun things in place no matter how small

Oh dear I've gone on a bi lol

I do hope this has been of some help

You take care NEVER give up and find your balance

Jill

[Super_Freaked]

I think i have met people that have lost their aniexty totally but it's pretty extreme set of circumstances like being monks or some sort of spiritual master. At least they say they don't have anxiety.

I don't think i could get rid of it as i live in a competitive world and everything is keep moving or be left behind, I don't have much faith in God and things like that that sometimes seem to cure people.

[MyNameIsTerry]

Do you want to get rid of anxiety? No. It's part of the human survival instinct and cutting it off completely means surgery or damage to the Amygdala. Surgery is rare and for the most severe cases.

But what we are discussing here is not how to get rid of anxiety but how to normalise it back from being a disorder. We weren't born like this, epigenetics has demonstrated that off the back of expensive cancer research. Even a gene passed on has to be activated to flick the "on switch" just as a cancer starts. This is known as methylation and it's happening an incredible number of times a day to us.

Words like "cure", "recovery", "management", etc can mean different things to us. For me, "cure" means 100% and better (some ex sufferers have said their lives are better, like how people confronted with death live life to the full), "recovery" is the process of getting better and go on for a long time and "management" splits into the first part where you reducing triggers to make your recovery easier and then later if you can't achieve a full recovery to get to the cure. But it's open to interpretation really.

What I can tell you is that some say you can't recover from anxiety because it's lifelong and the same has been said for depression. Tell that to my dad! He had 2 years of depression, couldn't work, had some meds, there was no therapy back then and he worked his own way out. He has never relapsed in over 40 years to date.

So, if there is anyone that has recovered to the point of what we may call "cure", which really is more "reset yourself to your pre-anxiety days", it disproves those saying it's not possible. Plus the medical world may call them "chronic" but don't call them lifelong.

If you asked my dad about your thoughts or how you feel about things he will tell you to change how you think to be more positive. The correct term may be something like "reframing" but the essence is the same. He will tell you to get on with your life and not let things stop you, not to dwell on things too much, learn to accept certain things you can change and some you can't so stop fighting with yourself, set reasonable goals and give it time, etc. All stuff you may hear in modern therapy and people like Claire Weekes.

The thing is, much of what we hear in therapy can be found in conventional wisdom. Weekes didn't invent acceptance, she didn't invent "getting on with life despite feelings", etc. They were there from the dawn of mankind and we've been doing them all the way. Just like how CBT can be traced back to Greek stoicism. Labels only exist from when someone discovers something or creates something. PTSD is relatively new and earlier forms can be traced back through the Iraq war, the Vietnam war and to the world wars yet we've been having traumatic events since we started bopping each other over the head with clubs in our caves.

Much of it is built up on, road mapped and improved. Fear Conditioning might have a date of invention but scaring people to act a certain way certainly goes back thousands of years. It just never had a label and wasn't documented in modern scientific methodology.

The question I believe is "can I get better", not "is it possible", because people have shown it is. I don't know if I'll make it, I hope so, but I know people who have suffered all their lives too. As ever, the question is completely individual, like the issue of meds, but we can try everything we can and see what happens.

[Sylver1975]

Is there a "cure" in the conventional sense? I would say no. But that doesn't mean that people don't get better and recover, they do. I tend to be somewhat of a believer in the "Fake it till you make it" school of thought, where no matter how bad my anxiety is, I try not to let it show and so can manage to still be productive at work and get on with living life. That in itself can be draining of course but to my mind it's about not letting anxiety dictate life to me.

I had my first panic attacks in 2009 and I have to say that though I've had bouts of heightened anxiety since, I've never gone back to being that bad ever again, I've learned how to cope with things better and grown more accepting that anxiety at some level is just part of who I am but it's not ALL that I am.

[Ronan23]

Hey Hopeyet,

Your post really resonated with me because you sound exactly the same as I did. I used to get really annoyed that there was no proper cure for anxiety, specifically panic attacks.

I've suffered from panic attack for years and tried all sorts of shit to beat it. Mine was situational--I used to feel like I was losing control when at the top of a building. I'd get a panic attack thinking I was going to jump off, it was really messed up. I also got severe panic attacks when hungover, so I had to give up alcohol.

I tried benzos and they're obviously quite effective, but hardly a decent solution for someone who doesn't want to become addicted. Plus, they just mask the issue really.

There's a very effective method you can learn to treat anxiety, with a weird-sounding name, I think it's "neuro-activation" or something. Some woman called Anna Gibson has a program about it called the 60 Second Panic Solution. I paid $52 for it more in hope than anticipation that it would help stop my anxiety, but wow, it worked a charm.

There's a good honest and in-depth review about it on the Brain Hack Review blog, which convinced me to buy it in the first place. I'm pretty sure the guy who wrote this used to be in serious discomfort thanks to panic attacks.
You can read what he has to say about the program at http://brainhackreviews.com/60-second-panic-solution-my-review/

For me, it was really effective, im not sure if thats because it helped as a distraction or not but hey, my panic is gone so i wont complain.

This is the only non-med method that has ever worked for me. The actual website for the program looks a bit scammy but I assure you it works well to reduce anxiety drastically.

[Mercime]

I was having a look at thie method you mention Ronan, like so many others, I can't find a single truly independent review, but tons of the type that's usually seen whenever an anxiety "cure" comes up. I dug a little deeper (OK, I couldn't sleep lol) and saw that Ms Gibson-Steele runs expensive retreats at her place in Ireland too, as well as receiving what must be a pretty good income from her cure. How did you find out about it?

Her spiel is pretty hazy too, she found the solution to panic attacks etc after having pain issues post car accident. I have got to admit, I'm always sceptical when I see magical cures, because they usually involve parting with cold hard cash - they never seem to want to share their good fortune with others who suffer, and in fact, seem to make a very nice big earning business out of it. Opening retreats, sometimes patenting their methods, lecturing - but always for a cost. You mentioned 52 dollars cost but I see that you're in Ireland so I take it you mean Euro's? Maybe this lady is better known in Ireland as I see that's where she hails from and that's where her business is based, including the retreat. How long did the cure take to work for you? Did you have panic attacks as well as the HA you've written about?

[MyNameIsTerry]

I was having a look at thie method you mention Ronan, like so many others, I can't find a single truly independent review, but tons of the type that's usually seen whenever an anxiety "cure" comes up. I dug a little deeper (OK, I couldn't sleep lol) and saw that Ms Gibson-Steele runs expensive retreats at her place in Ireland too, as well as receiving what must be a pretty good income from her cure. How did you find out about it?

Her spiel is pretty hazy too, she found the solution to panic attacks etc after having pain issues post car accident. I have got to admit, I'm always sceptical when I see magical cures, because they usually involve parting with cold hard cash - they never seem to want to share their good fortune with others who suffer, and in fact, seem to make a very nice big earning business out of it. Opening retreats, sometimes patenting their methods, lecturing - but always for a cost. You mentioned 52 dollars cost but I see that you're in Ireland so I take it you mean Euro's? Maybe this lady is better known in Ireland as I see that's where she hails from and that's where her business is based, including the retreat. How long did the cure take to work for you? Did you have panic attacks as well as the HA you've written about?

I remember going through her advertising to find she uses the same cons that got another anxiety guru in trouble with the ASA and now Trading Standards:

http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=181200

I'm glad to hear something has helped Ronan. But I'm very wary of people who operate like this with their fast acting ""cures". Whilst there are some they help, they tend to leave a trail of ripped off anxiety sufferers too.

It might be in dollars, it's probably a clickbank site. We get spammers on here promoting them. NEVER buy from people like that, their sites are turnkey operations, buy from the source if you really want too. Clickbank sites tend to be fakes as well with their "reviews" which are really just advertisements.

[Mercime]

Yes - given that, maybe Ronan will consider removing the link from his signature, as its promoting a product that needs to be bought. I'm glad it worked for him, look forward to hearing how it works (if he doesn't mind sharing), but would worry that somebody could be paying for something that is a scam. Are there rules about advertising on this site?

PS - Just read that thread Terry, I forgot about that, I'd responded there too. It's a grey area, but my guess is that this kind of link to a product that makes erroneous claims - and costs over fifty quid to boot - shouldn't be allowed. Just my opinion though.

[MyNameIsTerry]

Yes - given that, maybe Ronan will consider removing the link from his signature, as its promoting a product that needs to be bought. I'm glad it worked for him, look forward to hearing how it works (if he doesn't mind sharing), but would worry that somebody could be paying for something that is a scam. Are there rules about advertising on this site?

PS - Just read that thread Terry, I forgot about that, I'd responded there too. It's a grey area, but my guess is that this kind of link to a product that makes erroneous claims - and costs over fifty quid to boot - shouldn't be allowed. Just my opinion though.

Sadly, I've known Admin turn a blind eye when it's established members on here, something I completely disagree with.

There are rules about this but how they are interpreted changes based on who they are applied too. A new member will be seen as a spammer and dealt with, an old member will be considered trusted so can link to anything to sell their own wares on here, if Admin approve of the product.

I disagree with this policy, or rather lack of, I believe they should vet such things to ensure they are not scams or in contravention of the ASA's CAP code (which can be used as a guide outside the UK to understand fair advertising) to protect members.

I'm not fond of this ebook trend either by recovered sufferers. All they do is write their own story in front of methods from Weekes & Co and free info online, including on here, yet Admin have allowed some of those simply because they are established members. Some are low cost, so less of an issue but some are priced as high as the professionals who write books many times longer. Anxiety sufferers still chasing the cure buy them but like was said last time "only NMP is relevant, not the wider community", or words to that effect. I'm a member of a local charity as well, I'm a sufferer before a NMP member and disagree with that statement, but I gave up that argument as I knew why it was going on.

You could raise it for clarity. I've considered it before but gave up because of the above but I would certainly support you or anyone else who did.