Can We Beat It ?????????

[Desprate Dan]

CAN WE BEAT IT ?

Just really trying to understand Anxiety.....:huh:

When did your Anxiety start or when did you become aware of it??

Does anyone feel like they have opened a door and entered into a room they wish they hadn't..? :ohmy:

I suppose i have suffered with mild Anxiety all my life but i never really knew about it i just took it as being normal after all i how do you really know how others feel..:huh:

But when i became very unwell in March this year my doctor diagnosed Depresion and Anxiety, at the time i was glad that it wasnt something much much worse...

But now i am aware of Anxiety is even worse, i feel as if i am looking out for it all the time, i can feel it every day just bubbling under the surface, which it probably was before but at least then i just thought it was normal and everyone was the same..

I really wish i hadn't opened the door and entered into this room (Anxiety) because now i feel i cant escape..:weep: :weep: :scared15:

Please can anyone else relate to this???

And has anyone any tips to beat it?:unsure:

Thank you all..:)

Desprate Dan

[meg86]

Hello Dan :)

I was diagnosed with Anxiety 2 years ago, i developed mine due to a series of unfortunate events that had happened over a few years, i was struggling and trying to be happy and pull myself together and be happy and then i started having panic attacks.

I am lucky in the respect that as soon as i started having them and the worrying thoughts set in even though i had never heard much about anxiety i knew i had it and i knew exactly what caused it!

2 years later i am still struggling and have GAD, i mainly suffer from Health Anxiety and negative thoughts, i feel like i have a war going on in my brain it is so full of doom and disaster!

I believe that if i received the right help early on i wouldnt still have it but there you go!! i start CBT in October, if you havnt tried it i would suggest that as i have heard fantastic things about it :) xx

[gtrgrl3369]

Hello Dan, first off I want to let you know you didnt open the door, your mind did. Once anxiety and panic set in it serves to feed on your fear. I can honestly say that I am "recovered", I have had only 1 panic attack in 11 months. I went to the dentist and the feeling of having my mouth numb scared me to death. Anyway, it took a lot of hard work to get where I am and I will share what worked for me. When my started I was a wreck, I stopped eating and sleeping and really thought I was going to die everyday. The anxiety and panic attacks seemed to roll over each other. I remember waking up one day and telling my husband I had had enough of this. He went to the library for me and got every book he could find on anxiety and panic even biographies. I read everyone, I made my ipod full of soothing music> The biggest thing I learned was once you no longer fear the symptoms this will go. I would literally walk around my house yelling " Im not scared of you, bring it on", it didnt work at first because my mind was still scared, after about a week, I realized I hadnt had an attack all day. I guess what Im trying to say is once you no longer feel the fear the anxiety and panic will go with it. I hope this helps you. Sorry its so long, its a long process, but you can do it.Take care.:yesyes:

[Desprate Dan]

What a great positive post "gtrgrl3369" and "meg86" thanks very much for replying....:)

I will beat this.....:)

I suppose its hard being a man to think you are affraid of the feelings brought on by anxiety (Not really a man thing) as we are suppose to be big and brave and look after our women.. But i feel such a big "WIMP" i keep this tucked away inside as everyone probably thinks i am strong, but on the inside i a frightened and weak..

I really like the idea of tackling it head on "saying come on do your best" you wont hurt me it will probably be the biggest fight i have ever fought but one i am determined to win....:) :)

I feel better now just reading your posts thanks very much..

Cheers

Slightly less Desprate Dan...:roflmao:

[krog]

Hi there,

Just really posting to back up what has already been said.

My anxiety started three years ago but was not actually diagnosed until last year. That meant that it basically had a good two years to entrench itself into my mind.

I had therapy for a short while last year and that for me was the beginning of understanding the ways of controlling and hopefully one day, beating this illness.

I still suffer and when I do I feel terrible but in hindsight my 'attacks' are nowhere near as bad as they used to be.
Thats because I am no longer letting my negative thoughts and physical symptoms control my life.
I let them come and go as they please, but I live with them and although they can be scary, I do not fear them in the way that I used to.

I think that when we are in that moment of anxiety or panic, we feel as if its the worst its ever been or more importantly we fear that it is going to get worse, but in my case, it certainly never does and that is a key point. Accept the 'moment' when it comes but treat it like a minor blip. Try to distract yourself which will help to alleviate the symptoms and then when it has passed, immediately learn from that moment and move forward with a determination to not fear the next installment !

I guess also, in the long term, learn to recognise the triggers to your attacks and work on ways to make them have less of an impact.

As I always end up saying in my replies, you are a lot stronger than you think and with a little bit of patience and a lot less fear, you will start to see the back of this condition.

Take care and good luck,
krog.

[AntiLove_SuperStar]

I have always been an anxious person by nature, and so its difficult sometimes to know what is abnormal and needs sorting out, and what is merely my personality. Since anxiety in itself is normal, it can be difficult to know when to call a person "recovered"...you could use the diagnostic criteria and so forth, but it does no justice to human complexity!

However, the past year or so has been my most anxious yet, and I'm getting quite concerned at the moment because I think its getting a bit out of control. I do indeed meet criteria for General Anxiety Disorder, but due to previous depression, eating disorder etc etc I've had enough of psychiatrists..I may go back to therapy, but as a student its a little hard financially. I cannot say where my anxiety came from originally. The current worsening - obsession over allergic reactions/health, worrying incessantly about the future, blah blah - comes from/is triggered by my Final university exams looming in December, and trying to find (I know, cliched) a meaning in life for the upteenth time.

People do recover from terrible phobias and the like, so I think there is hope for most people, definitely. Including you and I! But I know from bitter experience that it is a very difficult road. I can't honestly remember what a life without excessive anxiety even feels like. For instance, today I got a simple heatrash the size of a 2p coin on my wrist and I nearly passed out from fright. Then a (perfectly legitimate, planned ahead) gas man came to do a routine check, and I was convinced he was going to murder/rape me..oh I could go on. Quite a typical morning.

But honestly, I do believe that there IS hope.

[kazzie]

YOU CAN BEAT IT DAN!!!!:yesyes:

Theres lots on here who have!!!

Kaz x:hugs:

[gtrgrl3369]

I have faith in you Dan...you can do this and it doesnt matter if you r a man or not we all still feel scared sometimes. This is yours and you can beat it big hugs to you...:hugs:

[carter]

hi dan,

i can so so relate to your post..

about 2 months ago i was 100% then i started getting anxiety attacks..

its horrible becuase normally you do things without thinking about them but soming normal like going to the supermarket/people are visting ..those feelings set in..

im getting better slowly but the hardest part is comming to terms with it all and having to deal with these feelings...when they come....

keep your chin up mate :)