Our problems do not cause our Anxiety, our Anxiety Causes Our Problems

[85634]

From the 15+ years I have had anxiety, I have had many effects. Shortness of breath, chest tightness, muscle aches, infections, feeling nauseous, lack of appetite, dizziness, rapid heart rate, numbness, heart palpitations. I believe it has lead to the development or exacerbation of my asthma, allergies, IBS, GERD, and now recently ectopic beats or whatever heart condition that the MD has decided I have. It has robbed me of a normal life in many ways -- such as social isolation, hours spend worrying over things I can't even remember nor matter anymore, opportunities lost, limiting me and making my mind draw blank in situations that I know I can excel in. Causing depression and low self-esteem, overthinking everything.

In many ways I believe that I should not be focused on my health problems, but I should be more focused on anxiety and stress, because in the end these are the deadly diseases of them all IMO because they affect your body in a full-spectrum, are chronic (requiring lifelong management) and there is no easy cure. Look up the effects of stress and you see that it probably plays a role in every major disease out there.

If there was just a way I could cope with the things required of me everyday and be able to relax, I'm sure many of my health complaints would vanish as well. I'm wondering if anyone else feels the same way, that we need to draw our focus on our anxiety and not our health problems (easier said then done, I know).

[Going home]

Anxiety and stress are not deadly diseases, they are reactions fed by our negative thoughts. That's all it is sorry.

Anna xx

[daybyday]

Very well stated.
It is said that more than 80% of diseases are a product of stress, fear and anxiety.
Our bodies were not designed to withstand that intensity that many of us live in.

[85634]

Stress is dead, look at the stress adaption cycle. The last phase is exhaustion, where yr body tissues start to break down and yr body can no longer cope with the stress. Stress in uncontrolled amounts is dead, like daybyday said, it's also a trigger for all the diseases we fear. I figure that we are moving ourselves down a bad path if we continue to live with on such high alert, with sympathetic nervous system at hightened awareness. If we do not learn coping techniques our body will suffer.