fear of your own thoughts

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I have spent years fighting all my fears and no longer have panic attacks. I am now at a stage where I can cope in any situation, but all the time anxious thoughts go round in my head. I realize that all the time I am trying to frighten myself-it is almost a compulsion. My husband said to me that I am and always have been afraid of myself. I realise this is true. I am terrified of what thought my brain will come up with next to frighten me. I know most people have a concrete fear, but does anyone else feel like me, afraid of what their brain will do next?
janet c

[Meg]

**I am now at a stage where I can cope in any situation**

This is great news Janet and very well done for getting this far. I know its hard work.

**afraid of what their brain will do next?** I think you're well beyond that now and actually both you and your husband are in the past when you say *I am and always have been afraid of myself. I realise this is true.*

You have moved on now and this is no longer true. If you can control panic and avert it you can do anything with a bit of practice !!

Heartiest congratulations Janet

**


Meg
www.anxietymanagementltd.com

Your anxiety is the human representation of the pictures that you paint using your many vivid colours of revolving and reoccurring thoughts.
How big is your gallery ?

[kt]

Hi Janet,
I also have the same horrible thoughts. I am constantly battling with them. My partner says I am a born worrier and if I don't have anything to worry about that will make me worry too!
It sounds as if you have made huge progress, try and take comfort in the fact that you are so much better than you were, you obviously have a lot of inner strength to have got where you are today! kt x

Be gentle and you will need no strength, be patient and you will achieve all things.

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thank you for your words of praise and encouragement.
However -the problem I now have is that I am fundamentally AFRAID, and it was easier when I was afraid of something concrete. I don't know where to go from here. I am not where I thought I would be at the end of all my struggles. Maybe I thought that I would not have anxious thoughts any more. I am very disappointed in the way that I am feeling at present. I am going through the menopause which isn't helping-HRT made me worse so am not on it -so maybe I am not firing on all cylinders mentally. I have gone through periods of enjoying life even though I always seem to be worrying, but now it all seems like such an effort. Janet c

[Meg]

This is teh changing thoughts stage . You know you can avert panic but still get very anxious.

Have you read ' What to say when you talk to yourself' Shed Helmsletter .

You can buy it through this site to Amazon. Click on this link http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/redirect-home?tag=nicsmismatcofuse&site=amazon


Meg
www.anxietymanagementltd.com

Your anxiety is the human representation of the pictures that you paint using your many vivid colours of revolving and reoccurring thoughts.
How big is your gallery ?

[removed]

Dear Meg
thank you for that. i love self help books-never heard of that one. I will certainly try to get it. Many thanks for your prompt answers-I feel much less lonely, knowing someone understands
Janet

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following on from my last posts-just to say that I have been using St John's wort for 2 weeks now. I have actually stood back and watched my mind come back to clarity in the past few days.
I am sure that repetative thinking (in my case anyway) is a result of depleted seratonin levels in the brain. I lose the ability to think rationally and start frightening myself again.
I would recommend that anyone who doesn't like the idea of antidepressants and suffers with frightening thoughts to give it a go.
Janet c

[Meg]

Glad you're feeling better ..


Meg
www.anxietymanagementltd.com

Your anxiety is the human representation of the pictures that you paint using your many vivid colours of revolving and reoccurring thoughts.
How big is your gallery ?

[Ambience]

To be honest Janet, even reading about panic and anxiety sets me off panicking , that's how bad it is for me, but i figure it's the best place to start confronting this. If i panic reading a forum and can overcome that , then that's step one. My thoughts are always negative predictions, you need to stop thinking full stop, don't think about the future at all. Think about this moment now, feel the textures around you, hear the sounds, is there anything to fear or be anxious about no? I didn't think so, and there never is, it's just about reconditioning our brains to understand this, it's tough but i find the best approach is to take one second at a time and be aware of how you feel, acknowledge if you feel bad, then rationalize why it's stupid you feel this way, then decide to continue what you were doing, and it will fade gradually. Thinking too much into the future is bad for people who suffer with this imo, Ask yourself is there anything in this room to be anxious about, frightened about, not is there anything in your thoughts, that's not real!! Just the things you pysically have to deal with only be aware of these things that are happening now, and if your brain starts thinking negatively, ask the question again, you will realise, your subcious will realise that you aren't going to stand for any more s**t, excuse my french, and with any luck you will overcome these feelings of self doubt.

Good luck with everything honey,

Love Janey x

"There would be nothing to frighten you if you refused to be afraid." "Life is 10 percent what you make it and 90 percent how you take it." Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. "Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing." "Courage is doing what you are afraid to do. There can be no courage unless you are scared." "Feed your faith and your fears will starve to death" "Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that something else is more important than fear."

[Meg]

Hey Janey

Wow , thats very powerful.. Great post.

**My thoughts are always negative predictions**

Shad Helmsletter - see our reading pages ...

Meg
www.anxietymanagementltd.com

Your anxiety is the human representation of the pictures that you paint using your many vivid colours of revolving and reoccurring thoughts.
How big is your gallery ?

[jen]

hi

Sometimes i wish we didnt have thoughts , Im constantly battling them, and they are never positive !!

chin up though hey
jen xx

[Sue K with 5]

I have been fighting my thought for 30 years now, and I have come to conclusion it is my may of avoiding real problems, which might sound daft but at the time, it stops me from worrying about the things I can't change! the fears are like a form of punishment for myself which can be pretty ****** awful on a daily basis, I agree about being a born worrier, it would just be nice to turn it around somedays and not focus on oneself


tc


sue with 5

scknight

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Hi susan
I agree totally, and that's what I try to do.
When i am feeling ok and not menopausal, I try to keep on the go all day. Luckily I am not agoraphobic any more so I go out, i swim or mooch about the shops, chat to people etc. I find that doing ordinary things makes me feel normal.
I have been suffering with depression on and off during the menopause, and i have noticed that that is when the anxiety returns, because I dont feel like doing my normal activities to distract myself.
It is amazing how turning your thoughts outwards instead of inwards can make you forget about it all, even if only for a little while.
janet c

[tulip123]

Hi. I have suffered the unpredictability and the harshness of thoughts for a long time. But by fighting them head on seems to make me worse = thinking about them more and more until they have won. I try to accept them and not try not to get annoyed about them. Thoughts are part of me just like everything else and like all people they can be nasty = willing my downfall and the world turning upside down. As a compulsive anxious worrier I have a tremendous amount of what ifs running about my mind - what if I stop breathing - what if I become this that and the other: I found that all of these worries haven't happened yet and are not likely to either so I let them do their worst - which is usually nothing in the end. No use worrying until they have actually happened and then it is too late to do anything about it. Most people in these situations I found (and I definitely include myself) have become very harsh with themselves and find they find it very hard to forgive the actions of their own mind = loss of confidence. Everyone is different and that is what makes this world beautiful and acceptance can be part of the progress to a cure - there are no magic wands but over time one's mind will become occupied elsewhere as there is nothing to fight, just an invisible enemy - which is nearly always oneself.

Tulip