Is all this crap brought about by negative self talk?

[nianxiousguy]

So last night I was having a read through some of my old anxiety books, I've mentioned for not had any anxiety issues in 15+ years which reappeared this week. Funny how I forget everything in these books but anyway one in particular said something which really stood out to me.

"You created your condition with your negative self talk, you created it which means you can also cure it"
To me it really hit home and I had the best nights sleep last night in over a week, for me I kept what if'ing and before I knew it i was climbing the walls, the key seems to be to stop the negative thoughts before they spiral.

Whats your thoughts?

[Scass]

It’s so true! I used to have an anxiety book that was all about focusing on your negative thoughts and fighting back at them.

Sometimes new things pop up and I can usually bat them away, but sometimes not.

But yes, basically it’s all from thinking.

[nianxiousguy]

That's so powerful really you know. We are the cause and the cure, the lock and the key really.

[lebonvin]

Yes siree.

Anxiety is an illness of the way we think and thoughts can be changed. That's what CBT does but you don't necessary need therapy.

I think the fighting anxiety by batting away thoughts and having an elastic band round your wrist has got fescredited.

It's all about accepting them thoughts and knowing they can't hurt you. They are only thoughts. That's where meditation comes in.

You don't need to know where the thoughts are coming from

[ankietyjoe]

Something it took me a long time to realise about thoughts is that there are two parts of the brain that process them, the conscious and the subconscious. The conscious brain can be logical about negative self talk, the subconscious brain cannot. The SC brain literally cannot tell the difference between something real, and something abstract. This is why horror films can scare us, and why our own reaction to a stimulus can either shorten or lengthen a panic attack. Your SC brain is like a child.

For example, if a 4 year old falls over it will immediately look around for a grown up. If that grown up chuckles and says 'oops' the child will probably do the same. If the grown up rushes over saying 'OH MY GOD ARE YOU OK!?!??!', the child is likely to burst into tears. This is almost exactly how the SC mind works.

That's not to say that everything you're experiencing is because of thought patterns, it's quite often the case that outside stress (work, diet, lack of exercise, lack of sleep etc etc) can build up to cause an environment where anxiety is more likely to happen anyway, but the self talk is the first line of defense, and something that CAN be controlled when other things sometimes can't.

[lebonvin]

Going back to your self help books, one I listened to talked about mocking your anxious thoughts with a poem or stupid song.

So if your anxious thought is what is causing your anxiety some crass ditty like this

I'm crap at my job
And I got a big gob
But there's no need to son
Coz I'm joining the Mob

I just thought that one up now but you get the idea if you can put a tune to it even better for everyone when you have that negitive thought

[nianxiousguy]

Thanks for the replies all.

[Fishmanpa]

"Life is 10% what happens to us and 90% how we handle it." - Charles Swindoll

Positive thoughts

[Darksky]

Yes I agree with this.

i read on here once....Anxiety is not something you have, it's something you do. It's nothing more than a mental habit.

that stuck with me.

[lebonvin]

It ain't the event its how you react to it

[MyNameIsTerry]

It's a question that seems simple but is really much more complex when you start to take a broader look at mental health. I agree a lot of the problem is negative thinking though and if it hasn't created the condition it has only worsened it and holds you in place preventing recovery.

Environmental factors can lead to anyone ending up with mental health problems whether it's work pressure or something traumatic leading to PTSD.

Today there was a session held in the House of Commons about women's mental health which follows up on another for domestic abuse. The statistic quoted in the domestic abuse session was that 38% of women who had mental health problems had suffered domestic abuse. That is staggering in terms of how high but not in that they ended up with mental health problems as you would expect anyone could be.

Another point raised was pre & post natal depression and it's impacts on other areas of mental health e.g. anxiety. One MP talked about how she suffered pre natal depression that greatly triggered off the OCD she was managing.

It's a massive challenge to change negative thinking. At the time it can seem impossible and it's hard to keep doing it even though you aren't seeing results. Once you start to see results it clicks into place and you know you were wrong to think that way about change but accept it was just another part of the battle.