No matter what the symptoms, it really is anxiety!

[Worrywart1234]

I started seeing a psychologist a few weeks ago and just wanted to share some of the things i’ve Learned. It really has been one of the best things i’ve Done....

I realise everyone’s anxiety will manifest differently, and for different reasons, so if these points aren’t relevant to you, please forgive me..

My psychologist said that it can actually be considered a useful thing to have anxiety. Yes, we’re on hyper alert all the time, but it means that when there is actually a crisis we’re the ones most likely to get out safe.

The anxiety we feel - or the voices or bad thoughts in our head, however you think of it - is when our safety mechanism has a false alarm. It’s really helped me not to panic over every little twinge, to think to myself it’s good to be safe, but it’s just a false alarm..

People with anxiety or PTSD are like 6 cylinder trucks running on 5 cylinders - to other people we look the same....until times of stress when the symptoms (read worries, physical sensations, bad thoughts) become clear and worse.

It’s really helped me to think of my bad thoughts and worries as symptoms of anxiety rather than indicators of health problems!

The biggest thing that’s helped - i’ve Learned a breathing technique where you hold your breath for 6 seconds, then breath in for 3, hold for 3, out for 3. Apparently it increases carbon dioxide and helps lessen all those symptoms of panic attacks we get.

Anyway, I just wanted to share some of the most useful things (for me) i’ve Been told so far. Hope it helps someone else!

[drivememad]

thank you that is very helpful especially the breathing exercise. x

[Halle0587]

Thank youn

[bunny11]

thank you!

[42Falcon]

It's certainly a different way of thinking about things, and sometimes that can be the bet solution possible. Another solution that I have found is using raw logic to prove the issue is impossible.

Take today for example. It's been below freezing all week, and my hands are dry and cracked. I forgot to put lotion on so when my wrist started slightly bleeding today in two pinprick spots, my first thought was I had been bit by a bat and was going to get rabies. The issue with the panic? First, all the bats in my area hibernate or fly south, so no bats around. Second, My wrist was in my coat ALL day outside, so no way a bat could reach it without being noticed. And three, I've been using hand sanitizer, which dries my hands out. Once I proved the odds were infinitesimally low, I stopped worrying a lot.

Granted I'm still on edge, but I'm not about to schlep over to the ER because two red dots appeared on my wrist and I read about rabies a few days ago. But sometimes logic can't help, the odds are high enough to be troubling. My advice during those times is not to look for reasons you ARE sick, like consulting google for obscure symptoms, but look for reasons you are not sick or occasionally a more detailed report. For example, if disease X as a 50% chance of death, it might be that it's fatal only if you are 80 years old or more and half of the patients are 80+.

[jules321]

I appreciate your sharing, and one of the points is exactly what's so hard with HA. Our systems sound off the alarm bells... but how do we know if it's a false alarm vs one of those times it's a good thing to have anxiety b/c "we're the ones most likely to get out safe?" That's what trips me up. I know my mind thinks of every possible scenario... so when do I trust my gut vs tell myself it's just anxiety?

[Mindprison]

Pretty much agree with this.

The problem isn't anxiety, the problem is that consistently high stress levels and traumatic events lowers your tolerance to anxiety. When your tolerance is too low your fight or flight is triggered too easily and your body uses avoidance strategies to keep you safe regardless of whether you are in danger or not.

Your body can't just immediately stop reacting once your mind figures out it's a panic attack, by that point it's already prepared to fight or run. But if you build your tolerance then it will take more to trigger that reaction.

We would be a failure as a species if the thing designed to keep us safe did not trigger when we needed it. As much as it is confusing, we need anxiety.

It's not realistic to expect your body to not react to anxiety, raising your tolerance and lowering anxiety to reasonable levels is the key to recovery.

I think that's why I enjoy mindfulness so much. If you keep your thoughts in the here and now then it significantly reduces the amount of things to worry about. It also gives you a better idea of what is normal for your body.

[Worrywart1234]

Jules321, that’s been my problem all along! I know that this won’t be true for all, but for me personally, I (try to!) never trust my gut when it comes to health worries - my gut is always wrong and i’m Always fine....but my body can’t tell the difference - so if I worry, there must be a reason why and there’s something really wrong with me...you know how it goes.

The psychologist told me I have never once told my safety mechanism to stop, never once told myself it was a false alarm (all true!) and therefore my anxiety has been running out of control for ages. The hard work (for me) is feeling the physical symptoms of anxiety and telling myself there’s still nothing wrong.

Take care

---------- Post added at 08:14 ---------- Previous post was at 08:11 ----------

Mindprison, the mindfulness stuff is so important!!

I’m doing a few different mindfulness exercises every day now. There’s an app call Prayanam (or something like that), that is just yoga breathing exercises that is great. And there is also one called brainwaves that puts me to sleep every night now.

[melfish]

I appreciate your sharing, and one of the points is exactly what's so hard with HA. Our systems sound off the alarm bells... but how do we know if it's a false alarm vs one of those times it's a good thing to have anxiety b/c "we're the ones most likely to get out safe?" That's what trips me up. I know my mind thinks of every possible scenario... so when do I trust my gut vs tell myself it's just anxiety?

This is what always trips me up too

[LeFi_81]

It sounds to me like it all is about getting it into the right perspective. Thank you for sharing!