andylan83
08-06-10, 19:19
Hi all,
I havent really posted anything in a while, but I guess that's always a good sign.
I've been pushing anxiety back and back and back to a point where the immediate anxious thought appears in my head, I can see through it and it doesnt have the effect it had on me 2-3 years ago ( Might seem like a long time to get anxiety under control, but Im getting there).
My problems used to be:
Being sick at every dinner I would have with my g/f's parents & my parents.
Feeling completely debased when walking around in crowds of people, feeling flushed, tight chested and extremely anxious.
The only real sticking point for me now is the physical symptoms. I, when anxious, get pressure around the front of the scalp and sometimes it feels like my forehead is trying its best to frown/ squint my eyes. I usually get a tension at the top of my neck which gives the feeling as if your light headed and really to faint. When speaking, although sitting down at my desk, it feels like your speaking out of breath, sometimes losing your chain of speech/thought as your concentrating on why am I feeling so breathless. In addition, although it doesn't bother me that much, a slight tightness in the chest has me carrying my inhaler everywhere, which is a habit Im trying to break as the actual carrying of the thing with me serves as a reminder that I dont fully trust myself not to get anxious and have an asathma attack. (Which in 3 years of panic/anxiety has never once happened).
Once thing I have noticed is when these occur throughout the weekday.
The first major wave usually comes around lunchtime when I will have to leave the building. Although not as bad as before, the lingering thought of having an asathma attack due to a slightly tight chest is a thought Im finding hard to shake.
The next is if I've got to do something after work or at the weekend, like driving lessons for example. The actual driving and interaction with the instructor is fine, but, the anxiety before going out on the road is so disproportionate I really do wonder were all the thoughts come from.
All these symptoms above have been exaggerated past their normal anxiety points as I have stopped smoking ( Hurrah!) But,the tension headaches from coming off nicotine are so frustratingly irritating.
So has anyone got some good remedies (not medication) for getting the tension in the neck and scalp out, the chest untight, and how to deflect the anxious thoughts tht precede the old driving lessons.
I read in one of the self help books that people's thought process has Meta-cognitive thoughts, where you're aware of your own thought process to try and calm the anxiety. Would anyone have any good ideas on how to distract from giving yourself a running commentary on what techniques your using to calm yourself down? In the past, meta-cognitive thoughts only served to batter down whatever technique I was trying at the time. The result was always the same as I convinced myself that it wasnt working and therefore gave that technique up.
Cheers all
Andy
I havent really posted anything in a while, but I guess that's always a good sign.
I've been pushing anxiety back and back and back to a point where the immediate anxious thought appears in my head, I can see through it and it doesnt have the effect it had on me 2-3 years ago ( Might seem like a long time to get anxiety under control, but Im getting there).
My problems used to be:
Being sick at every dinner I would have with my g/f's parents & my parents.
Feeling completely debased when walking around in crowds of people, feeling flushed, tight chested and extremely anxious.
The only real sticking point for me now is the physical symptoms. I, when anxious, get pressure around the front of the scalp and sometimes it feels like my forehead is trying its best to frown/ squint my eyes. I usually get a tension at the top of my neck which gives the feeling as if your light headed and really to faint. When speaking, although sitting down at my desk, it feels like your speaking out of breath, sometimes losing your chain of speech/thought as your concentrating on why am I feeling so breathless. In addition, although it doesn't bother me that much, a slight tightness in the chest has me carrying my inhaler everywhere, which is a habit Im trying to break as the actual carrying of the thing with me serves as a reminder that I dont fully trust myself not to get anxious and have an asathma attack. (Which in 3 years of panic/anxiety has never once happened).
Once thing I have noticed is when these occur throughout the weekday.
The first major wave usually comes around lunchtime when I will have to leave the building. Although not as bad as before, the lingering thought of having an asathma attack due to a slightly tight chest is a thought Im finding hard to shake.
The next is if I've got to do something after work or at the weekend, like driving lessons for example. The actual driving and interaction with the instructor is fine, but, the anxiety before going out on the road is so disproportionate I really do wonder were all the thoughts come from.
All these symptoms above have been exaggerated past their normal anxiety points as I have stopped smoking ( Hurrah!) But,the tension headaches from coming off nicotine are so frustratingly irritating.
So has anyone got some good remedies (not medication) for getting the tension in the neck and scalp out, the chest untight, and how to deflect the anxious thoughts tht precede the old driving lessons.
I read in one of the self help books that people's thought process has Meta-cognitive thoughts, where you're aware of your own thought process to try and calm the anxiety. Would anyone have any good ideas on how to distract from giving yourself a running commentary on what techniques your using to calm yourself down? In the past, meta-cognitive thoughts only served to batter down whatever technique I was trying at the time. The result was always the same as I convinced myself that it wasnt working and therefore gave that technique up.
Cheers all
Andy