Fear of the fear

[maya]

I am going back to work next week after being off for three months due to Panic and GAD.

I went for CBT for the panic and they consider it to be under control and now am dealing with the GAD.

The thing is that lately I am constantly worried...about everything and sometimes I don't even know what.

When dealing with panic I found CBT so helpful as I could identify what I was thinking during a panic attack and dissprove it.

The GAD is different. Sometimes I get so anxious when I don't have thoughts (and really I focus and there is nothing negative or incorrect going through my head), I know it spounds weird but I think its more of an unconcious association I have made with things. For example when I think about going back to work, its the picture in my mind of me there that causes me intense fear to the point that I start to space out of reality. And there is nothing bad in the image I have of myself back there --it just sets off unpleasant feelings, but No thoughts about this or that happenning at work enter my mind.

I'm starting to realize this happens in other situations as well, ie. if I'm on aroad I used to panic on I get fearful, but the thought "I paniced here before" does not enter my mind, its only later in the day that I make the assumtion that that is why.

Does anyone else have this happen and how do you break associations when you don't even know what the incorrect thinking is behind it?

And how do you get over the fear of the fear?

Thanks,
Maya

[Bill]

It's an automatic response.

If we're confronted by a lion, we don't actually think we're going to be eaten, we just automatically feel fear because our subconscious responds to the association of lions meaning danger.

These days of course, it's not normally a lion we associate danger with but instead situations that represent the lion such as a street or the office where we've experienced fear. Our subconscious automatically connects them because of a previous bad experience.

So like you say, how do you break this association? Imagine recording an upsetting TV programme which you decide you need to erase by replacing it with a recording of a "happier" programme. The problem is you still need to pick up the upsetting recording to record over it and you could feel fear simply by thinking about having to touch it. You feel fear of feeling the fear of going near it.

However, once you've managed to pick up the upsetting recording and recorded a "happier" recording over it, the fear subsides because you feel there's no longer anything to fear from it.

It's the same in life. To overcome a fear of fear is to pluck up the courage to touch our fear. To break the association is to record a happier recording by going back to the place where you had a bad experience and having a "good" day and so prove there is actually nothing to fear other than a bad memory - To treat every day as if it's a New day and not dwelling on bad experiences when they arise.:hugs:

[Jrank1]

Bill's advice is really good and cbt works great for GAD as well. You just have to capture the automatic thoughts that cause the anxiety and counter them in a TEA form and you will feel better. It's the same process as overcoming panic but the thoughts are more hidden. Putting yourself in situations that you know cause anxiety for you and actively monitoring what is going on in your mind at the time is a great way to come up with the thoughts and reactiuions that lead to the anxiety and once you get the you can counter them in a TEA and start to feel better.

[keepemlaughing]

I hope you feel better soon. I felt that way after a week's vacation, so you must be 100 times worse.
Good luck.

[Jrank1]

Vacations are supposed to reduce anxiety, but I know what you mean:wacko: