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Thread: Anxious about what???

  1. #1

    Anxious about what???

    Hi guys

    I know I suffer with anxiety and mild depression, and have done so for at least 20 years. I get all the usual anxiety symptoms when it strikes - tight chest, headaches, muscle spasms, wonky eyesight, trembling, the full hideous works! The thing is, I don't know what I'm anxious about and never have. I can be fine for days, then all of a sudden I don't feel like I can cope. I keep it to myself but I become a complete emotional wreck, and I never know why - I just can't pinpoint a reason/cause.

    My life is nothing special but I have no real worries. My health is good for late 40s, sleep ok, work pays the bill, and I'm in a stable, longterm relationship.
    I exercise regularly, don't smoke, and only drink moderately at weekends.
    Yet despite ticking all these 'happy and healthy' boxes, my emotions just keep crashing. I can live with it, I get by, and it can be a struggle, but I just wish I knew why it happens.

    I've tried meds (sticking plaster) and talking therapy (helpful at the time), but nothing changes longterm. I'm OK for a bit, go though the nightmare, then chill for a bit.

    Anxiety is a fear of something, but in my case, I don't know what I'm scared of.
    Does this ring true for anyone else - being utterly on edge but never knowing why?

    Witsend

  2. #2

    Re: Anxious about what???

    Mine is the same just appears from no where but when i look back on the day i dont know what I was anxious about

  3. #3
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    Re: Anxious about what???

    Some for us are just anxious. My parents remember me being anxious even at 3 and 4 years of age.

    thats why I stay on meds...I don’t ever expect mine to fully go away.
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  4. #4
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    Re: Anxious about what???

    Could be diet.

    Anxiety is caused by stress, stress can be anything, even if it goes unnoticed.

    If your body doesn't like something you're eating, then it can easily cause long term anxiety.

    The main culprit is often bread/pasta/gluten/refined sugars.

  5. #5
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    Re: Anxious about what???

    Anxiety can simply be a fear of fear. And fearing the symptoms can be enough to bring them on.
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  6. #6
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    Re: Anxious about what???

    I sometimes think that some people are just naturally wired that way prone to anxiety , depression and need the kick of antidepressants .
    I feel like one of those people.

  7. #7
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    Re: Anxious about what???

    Quote Originally Posted by keta View Post
    I sometimes think that some people are just naturally wired that way prone to anxiety , depression and need the kick of antidepressants .
    I feel like one of those people.
    There is no evidence to suggest that this is true, and anxiety/depression is absent in all isolated communities.

    It's when Western diet/lifestyle is introduced that these problems occur because our habits are frankly terrible.

  8. #8
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    Re: Anxious about what???

    I’m gonna have to agree to disagree on this one, Joe. I do agree that environmental factors contribute a lot, I know in my family mental illness has gone back several generations, and not all of my family is Western either.
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    Re: Anxious about what???

    Quote Originally Posted by AntsyVee View Post
    I’m gonna have to agree to disagree on this one, Joe. I do agree that environmental factors contribute a lot, I know in my family mental illness has gone back several generations, and not all of my family is Western either.
    Agreed. There are genes that can be passed on and there are windows for this however these genes do need to be activated (a useful offshoot for us from the epigenetic research into cancers) so it's a bit of both really.

    There is no clear answer though, science hasn't got there yet. They don't fully understand stress impacts on the young or at least they didn't last time I was delving into epigenetics about this issue. But the interesting thing about this is that if a gene can be activated (on position) the reverse is also true (off position) and there have been studies of children to show shifting methylation does this both ways...which takes us back around into "everybody is right" because diet, environment, confidence & self esteem, etc are all connected to this.

    Mental health is known now but since it's part of the human condition is will have been around forever in some way. When you read Dr Claire Weekes you can see how some of it is what people used to tell others hundreds & thousands of years ago about dealing with stress. And PTSD is a relatively recent label (adapted due to recent wars through several labels e.g. shell shock) but unless humans worked in a different way back then how could shock not exist whether it was a warrior or those they attacked?

    I'm with Darksky when it comes to GAD. Whilst it is a wide ranging disorder than can mimic elements of many others it's something that just seems to be always there whether there are triggers or not. This makes it even more important to learn not to respond to them but it's very hard work because it's relentless and a blight on every day for many.
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  10. #10
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    Re: Anxious about what???

    This is a causality/correlation issue.

    If a family has mental illness passing through generations then it's going to be habits/diets passed on that are the root cause of the anxiety rather than a genetic predisposition for anxiety.

    Terry's comment about gene's being expressed is important too. Understanding that the core of anxiety is the fight or flight response, and that response is natural is a key part of understanding this too. Every single person on the planet is hard wired to have an anxiety response, but this response is only triggered given sufficient stress triggers.

    Delving even deeper, we need to look at what stress actually is. For example -

    Sitting indoors all day, is stress.
    Not seeing nature, living in built up areas, is stress.
    Eating intensively farmed, processed foods, is stress.
    Staying up for hours after sunset, is stress.
    Working long hours, is stress.
    Drinking alcohol, is stress.
    Eating too many refined carbs, is stress...

    This list goes on, but also goes unnoticed in day to day life because we feel it's all normal, but it's not. Going back to my reference of isolated cultures. If you go and live in the forest with a tribe of 'natives', you will see zero mental health issues. This has been recorded time and time again all across the globe. What we perceive as a normal way of living is actually relatively new, starting around the time of the industrial revolution. It's when people's lives started to move indoors and food started to be bought from factories rather than picked from a field or bush. This has massively accelerated in the last 2-3 generations since the 'Standard American Diet' was introduced in the 60s.

    PTSD related mental health issues aren't the same as GAD issues that people here are more often dealing with. PTSD is a 'normal' response to trauma. 95% of people here though are stressed about simply existing, and the idea that it's just the way some people are is wrong. It's the way we live that's the problem, not the way we're wired.

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