Acceptance therapy it works

[Meewah]

Hi

Why don't we all just stop fighting the anxiety and panic, after all they are only feelings and sensations. As Claire Weekes says if you accept it it will lose its power. I have begun meditation where you meditate and then think about the most anxious day you can and examine the things that go through your mind and the feelings they create. You do this over and over and practice being mindful and relaxed at the same time. When you get a physical sensation or a thought you begin seeing them as just that thoughts or physical sensations and they begin to lose there power.

See it as watching yourself from a distance. You are calm but you are watching your minds thoughts and the physical sensations and how they come about and what they feel like.

It is incredibly powerful you feel calmly detached from your thoughts and feelings without fighting them and interacting with them and so they lose there power over you.

I still get panics and symptoms suddenly even after months of good days but I still apply the same acceptance and mindfulness.

I have learnt through the course that everyone experiences the same anxieties that we all experience the only difference is that we stop everything and try to fight it which gives it its power.

Mee

[starlight78]

Great post Mee, I found Clare weekes book really helpful as well and i've practiced letting the anxious feelings come and go trying not to respond to them. I too have found mindfulness helpful. Good luck in your recovery xx

[Mully]

I've not read any Clare Weeks etc, but I believe that ' Acceptance' accepting that this is happening in your life,for whatever reason can play a huge part on your road to recovery or at least a managable life.

It was a huge weight off my shoulders when I stopped feeling sorry for myself and wondering 'why me?' every day. Then i found ways to deal with my problem and use set goals to aim for, regardless of if I failed to attain them or not. Its not easy, it takes courage but it helps you gain more control over your life, and learn about yourself. Also for me personally, I had to learn forgiveness, because it was my lifestyle that finally turned my world upsidedown for years I blamed myself and hated myself for what I had done to myself. I accepted that also. Visulalization helped also, before i would go anywhere I would visualize it happening and then put into a scenario all the things that could happen, including the worst!.. as well as everything being ok. I found this helped alot as I was able to be prepared for any situation and thus more relaxed. It is easier said than done but with practice I found I did not have to do this so much anymore and was more accepting of what could or would not happen and know that I would be able to handle anything. Even so, some days I just can't do it.. but these days are getting rarer and rarer.. and I don't beat myself up anymore when I can't go to the shops or meet with friends.. i just accept it and know that next time I will go.. and i do..

We all pretty much experience the same, it's how we think about it and deal with it at the time that makes the difference. Finding what works for you can be an ardous journey, but having the will to get better and live your life the best that you can, to re learn about yourself and to believe in yourself helps.:) not easy at first.. but it is possible.

[Moondance]

Acceptance was the key to my recovery. Some days it was really difficult to accept the very real and distressing physical symptoms,, the feeling of dread in the morning and worst of all, the panic attacks. I started to learn not to add any more fear and allow the uncomfortable feelings to just 'be there'. It took a long time, but eventually, as I gave less importance to my thoughts and feelings, they began to fade. I learned not to fight panic but to let it happen and let it do it's worse, there was nothing at the other side of the panic, I didn't faint, fall down and die and I didn't make a fool of myself. I began to feel confident in my ability to accept and not care about the panic. It's been over a year since I had a major panic attack, there have been times when I've felt like I might have one, (for no reason at all,) there have been other times when I've been stressed, but acceptance is standing me in good stead. It's a process and takes as long as it needs to but there is light and recovery at the end of the lonely and dark tunnel.

Best wishes

[sharona]

Hi All

I found Claire Weeks's books brilliant, I am just waiting to put them into practise.

Good luck

Sharona

[Meewah]

Thanks All

Thanks for all the positive feedback. I feel this thread should be moved to success stories.

I feel there is a honeymoon period for acceptance to work. I had to convince myself that I was not going to die or was not terminally ill and undiagnosed. Once this was accepted I could allow the physical symptoms with a better confidence that I had all the tests I required to make me feel less worried about my health.

Take care and accept

Mee

[Gregor]

Hi,

I don't know if what i experience is true 'acceptance', but i do feel accepting how I feel has definitely helped. About a year ago, i had no idea how to cope - i was a mess - i didnt know how to even begin to get better. Now, having been with a psychologist for a year, i now understand so much better and i use a lot of accepting in my practise everyday. It may not always work, but it helps more often than not.

For a lot of people, though, just stop fighting anxiety is easier said than done. When at rock bottom, you just cant see anyway up..

.. that's what we're all here for though.