Anticipatory Anxiety?

[Gryphoenix]

This sort of thing just kills me because there isn't much I can do about it except hold on.

Breathing exercises and 'trying' to relax don't work that well because it just signals to me that I'm getting anxious in the first place which makes me anxious and there we go. :D

Like yesterday I had to show a clip of a movie in front of the class (everyone had to show one) and I knew I would be fine 'logically', but my innards must've gotten a different message cause I was getting all anxious and excited and anxious again and by the time my name was called the ole ticker thought it was in a NASCAR race. I ignored it though and went along with my piece and lo and behold, I was fine like half a second later while watching my clip.

I was just wondering if anyone had any tips on dealing with anticipatory anxiety, because it doesn't seem to respond to logic. Like even though I KNOW I'm going to be OKAY I can't help but get anxious due to the situation itself happening.

Maybe I really am thinking of anxious thoughts and didn't realize it, even though I kept trying to convince myself otherwise. I'm going to a convention soon to sell my art and I just know I'm going to be thinking, thinking, thinking. I'm sure I'll be fine once I get there but the day beforehand and that morning...yeeeesh.


Is this the sort of thing you have to treat like a nasty cold, ride out the uncomfortable feelings until it's over? Is there any point in which it WILL BE OVER and I won't feel like this anymore?

[Bill]

Hi,

Regarding the movie clip- It's an instinctive reaction. Trained behaviour. A program replaying. Faced with the same situation our minds go into autodrive. The thoughts processes are so fast we don't realise and all we notice is the body's response.

If you program a computer, it'll produce the same results every time until it's re-programmed.

In the same way, we have to re-program our minds so that the thought processes produce different results so that our body's don't react.

With regard to the Art- The more time we have to "think", the more time we have to get ourselves into an anxious state. The more you keep your mind busy thinking about other things, the less anxious you'll get.

If a confident person has hourly meetings, he'll tackle the first meeting safe in the knowledge that he has the "Confidence" to tackle it. The next meeting follows immediately so he has no time to even "think" and create doubts that may affect his confidence. :winks:

[louwilliams]

I feel exactly the same hun. I've put a thread on called "anticipation" if you want to read it. It may make you feel a bit better if you realise your not alone x

[Gryphoenix]

Thanks for answering and the tips, Bill! :D

I guess there really isn't anything I can do about the pre-programmed feelings, and the more I get worried about feeling them the worse I get, which is what I think I might've been doing. So I guess the best policy might even be to just ride it out, even though it's highly uncomfortable.

The next time I have to do it (next Thurs) has been bothering me because I'm going at the end of class and I was worried that I might end up being anxious the ENTIRE class or something.

LWilliams: Cool, I'll check it out. It is nice to know I'm not alone. :D

[Bill]

Hello phoenix!

I really think you're learning to fly again and it's great to read your posts both about how you're getting on and the support you're giving to others! Maybe you should call yourself "golden phoenix"!:hugs:

Phoenix, "I guess there really isn't anything I can do about the pre-programmed feelings, and the more I get worried about feeling them the worse I get, which is what I think I might've been doing. So I guess the best policy might even be to just ride it out, even though it's highly uncomfortable."........You ARE re-programming those pre-programmed feelings by doing what you ARE doing! You're teaching yourself how to deal with them so you're re-programming your mind not to react to them as you used to because of whatever was the original cause.
By conquering your fear, the pre-programmed feelings won't feel as bad and so you'll be able to cope even better than you already are because you'll learn not to be so afraid of them!

In that same paragraph you've answered your own statement!:hugs:

[Gryphoenix]

Wow, thanks Bill! :yesyes:

I'm definetly one of those people that keeps mulling over things again and again and again and again, which what probably creates most of this anticipatory anxiety. And of course, when I think about it I get a little scared, then I try not to think about it but it comes back again and I get scared a little more as it's approaching, and that coupled with that again and again...well, you know how it goes. :huh: It's like that one law of something or the other: try to not think of an elephant and what do you think of? An elephant.

I can feel the pre-programming start to turn off, like you said. It's still there, but each day the edge is taken off bit by bit. It's still frustrating cause it's still 'there' but it's come far. I guess we're just so used to getting a 'cure' right away with society nowadays it's different to work on something like this that's slow and steady.

[Bill]

Hello phoenix,
As you say, we look for a quick fix cure to stop the bad feelings and the doctors prescribe medications which only ease them when actually curing anxiety takes much longer and is more more complex so it takes more resources than doctors often have at their disposal.

How can a medication cure fear when in our minds and in our lives it's always there until we sort it ourselves? In All cases our symptoms are created by something in our lives that is troubling us. It could be because we feel trapped by too much pressure at work, a panic attack once suffered when we were out or a fear that developed when we were young etc. If we all delve deep enough we'll find out what our true fear is that causes our symptoms and then it's possible to work out how to confront it.

I think you're doing a wonderful job and you are on the right road. I have every confidence in your ability to overcome your fears because you have found the strength to confront them. You know what's caused it and you have the knowledge and right attitude to work through it.

i honestly believe you have a very bright future and I'll be really pleased for you. :hugs:

[Gryphoenix]

Aw, thanks so much for your encouraging words, Bill! :D

I actually had a better time of it on Thursday when I presented my clip again--I decided the night before that I was probably going to feel anxious anyway no matter how much I 'fought' it, so I decided to just not fight it and accept the adrenaline surges and the heart going bonkers as normal reactions to what was going to happen.


I notice that I'm usually either running or fighting anxiety. But then I keep realizing that how can truly avoid anxiety I when life itself is full of such things? If it's not school, it's going to be the dentist (next month, ugh :D), or some other event. There's always going to be 'something.' And even if I try my hardest to 'fight' these anxiety feelings it makes it worse because they don't go away. So now I'm going to try and play it like it's all supposed to happen. I'm trying to remember what it 'used' to feel like before I really got hit by anxiety and PAs during naturally anxiety-producing situations, and quite honestly from what I can remember, it's not that different. Except now I can upset and pump myself up faster and get my heart to go all kinds of wonderful, record-breaking speeds :D.

I wonder if it's not unlike a stretched sock--now that I've been there to the highest end of anxiety and adrenaline, it's easier to get there, like a sock that's been stretched doesn't snap back right away?

[Bill]

Hi phoenix,

There's a saying in sport that to be nervous before a match is a good thing because it gets the adrenaline pumping but when it's time to serve out the match, sometimes the nerves get Too much so a person "chokes" because they start thinking about how they're feeling rather than focussing on the game.

As you say, we all get days when we're naturally going to be nervous and it only takes One day for those nerves to really frighten us which can affect every day thereafter. Just as the sportsman, in the next match he'll think of the match he lost Because his nerves got to him rather than winning the match by keeping control of them.

If we win, our confidence builds. If we lose, we also lose confidence and the cycle can spiral out of control.

In other words, we need to block out the days we lose and focus on the days we win, and in doing so keep our confidence high.

I decided the night before that I was probably going to feel anxious anyway no matter how much I 'fought' it, so I decided to just not fight it and accept the adrenaline surges and the heart going bonkers as normal reactions to what was going to happen. In other words, you accepted you'd be nervous so when you were it didn't knock your confidence, and also in that way prevented the nerves from getting out of control. A Great attitude!:yesyes: