worry carousel

[ladygrey]

Whenever I make a decision or plan to do something I'm quite happy for a little while but then my brain suddenly decides its all going to go wrong and I imagine all the terrible things that are going to happen and i start panicking and really believe what I'm imagining. Not just me either, but I imagine things happening to my family too. My brain seems to be constantly searching for something to worry about so even when the threat has gone I feel a sense of relief for a little while and then off it goes again looking for something else. It feels like I'm on a carousel with the worry keeping it turning but as soon as it slows down and i try to get off then whoops its off again.Some days I'm drained of energy with all the effort of worrying. How to get off the carousel?

[Matthewray]

You stop fighting. Let the thoughts come. Allow yourself to feel that anxiety. You are only training your body to perceive these thoughts as threats thus feeding the anxiety of your brain. When you start to feel this way and think these thoughts you need to not pass judgment like "oh not this feeling again" because then you register this feeling in your brain as a threat and further give your brain reason for anxiety. Accept the way your feeling. Its not gonna be fun but you need to stop teaching your brain to perceive it as a threat. That doesn't mean its not gonna feel like crap but it will stop feeding your anxiety and eventually the thoughts wont bother you but you have keep living your life like the anxiety isn't there. I'm not saying to ignore it, acknowledge its there and move on with your day regardless of how it feels. What you have is a text book anxiety symptom. I recommend reading "at last a life" by paul david for more info.

[ladygrey]

Thanks matthew. I'm working on acceptance but its so hard! I'm better at dealing with the early morning anxiety than I used to be so i'm trying to keep positive about that but then it hits me during the day, particularly if i've had a bad night. Sleep seems to be a big factor for me. I will look for that book thanks.

[Matthewray]

Thanks matthew. I'm working on acceptance but its so hard! I'm better at dealing with the early morning anxiety than I used to be so i'm trying to keep positive about that but then it hits me during the day, particularly if i've had a bad night. Sleep seems to be a big factor for me. I will look for that book thanks.

Don't "deal" with it. See it as something that just happens.

[Bittersweet05]

.Thank you for the advice. You sound like you got it all together. Glad to hear your words. That is me. I find something to worry about if things are good m i feel i should be worrying about something. I just bought book the worry trick. Get it today. I hope it helps.