Anxiety about universe/existence

[MyNameIsTerry]

T
What did worry me when the anxiety lifted was that I felt so happy and relieved and felt like laughing to myself. I started to feel like I was going mad/having a manic episode. And then naturally it made me feel panicky because I thought that I was going crazy.

Yes, this is common. We used to talk about this at the walk-in groups too.

What I learnt is that when these periods come you need to learn to accept them for what they are because otherwise you only bring back your anxiety faster than it would return on it's own. Going from 24/7 non stop anxiety to periods where you can feel happier, albeit brief, means escaping from the constant cycle of being in a very bad place and moving towards being better. It's part of the recovery process as I see it.

It feels strange because anxiety has become normal. Core beliefs change to expect us to be anxious all the time so when we don't feel like that we basically get what we had when we started experiencing anxiety, something new that the subconscious doesn't expect and so in kicks anxiety seeing it as a possible threat.

Thanks by the way, I'm just glad if something I say ever helps.

...and your dog is a grounding exercise all on his/her own. Nature is good for mental health issues and pets are brilliant. I just wish I could be more like my dog!

---------- Post added at 11:44 ---------- Previous post was at 11:38 ----------

Hi,

thanks for the reply. I don't know if it's helpful and I'm sure you already know this but the universe won't stop expanding. Or, it certainly won't stop in our lifetimes. Our sun will go out well before that.

I find this topic fascinating so it's interesting to me that it scares you. Like "what does the universe exist in?" What a great question. I've heard two ideas about this. One is that it exists in itself, in that the universe is everything and there is nothing outside of it. It expands creating reality as it does.

The other is the multiverse theory. That is that we are one bubble among many bubbles.

I'm with Men In Black, our universe is just another marble some big alien is playing with.

I reckon with this type of worry, turn it into the ludicrous to reduce it's impact...make it a disc on the backs of 4 elephants on the back of a giant turtle, .

Shadows and dust as Oliver Read once famously said in a very good film.

[Fishmanpa]

Hi,

thanks for the reply. I don't know if it's helpful and I'm sure you already know this but the universe won't stop expanding. Or, it certainly won't stop in our lifetimes. Our sun will go out well before that.

I find this topic fascinating so it's interesting to me that it scares you. Like "what does the universe exist in?" What a great question. I've heard two ideas about this. One is that it exists in itself, in that the universe is everything and there is nothing outside of it. It expands creating reality as it does.

The other is the multiverse theory. That is that we are one bubble among many bubbles.

I find this fascinating as well. It's always boggled my mind and I've had an interest in astrology since I was a child. I even own a telescope. My wife and I live in an area that allows us to view the meteor showers and star gaze. I'm the total opposite in that I have no fear at all.

The universe, it's creation, the theories, all of it is really too much to wrap your head around. Perhaps as you said, that's the fear. No control. No real definitive answers. I choose to marvel at the sheer beauty and vastness.

Positive thoughts

[Randara]

...and your dog is a grounding exercise all on his/her own. Nature is good for mental health issues and pets are brilliant. I just wish I could be more like my dog!

I would say the same, but my dog likes to eat fox poop so maybe not...

Now I'm in a better frame of mind I've been thinking about it all and I totally understand how people find religion. The universe is so uncomprehensible that the only way to explain it is something external. When I was younger I thought the earth was just like a massive game of The Sims or that we were suspended in a snow globe or something like that.