Best Treatment - Severe Case

[LittleLionMan]

It took me several years to 'get' anxiety tbh. Just because you suffer with it a while, doesn't mean you have the answers.

In terms of practicing mental habits, there are a few things that work wonders over time.

1) Use mantras, construct your own. One of my favourites was 'this will pass', and this is something I still use from time to time now. If you go out for a run, keep telling yourself that you will recover. It sounds ineffectual, but the subconscious can be re-programmed, and self dialogue is one of the most effective ways of doing this. You are what you think, remember?

2) Meditate. I cannot stress just how effective this can be. I would urge you to read up on what meditation actually is. It is NOT a relaxation technique and it is absolutely NOT about emptying your mind.

3) Acceptance. I'm going to pick you up on something, and that's using running to take the edge off. By all means, exercise, but try not to attach an escape emotion to it. If you feel on edge, accept it. If it doesn't bother you, does it matter? This is hard, and takes practice.

I'll just leave this video here too. I found it after I had mostly recovered from anxiety and I think it's one of the best balances of science, explanation and 'it just works' out there. If you are an analytical type, it gives you a reason to believe in it.

I'm going to find a mindfulness course, and maybe even a Skype mindfulness teacher if any are available. Just worry about doing it when I'm this anxious.

I didn't mean go for a run when I get anxious, I meant get back to my training.

It's this acceptance thing I'm struggling with, I'm feeling awful now, and trying to take that acceptance attitude but it's hard to know how to approach it without my mind pondering what's wrong with me.

You are really good at explaining this stuff man, really appreciate it!

[ankietyjoe]

It's this acceptance thing I'm struggling with, I'm feeling awful now, and trying to take that acceptance attitude but it's hard to know how to approach it without my mind pondering what's wrong with me.

You just keep it simple. Tell yourself you feel like crap because you have anxiety (it can make you feel like utter, utter crap) and that it'll pass. There's nothing to approach, there's no special technique. Anxiety is a part of life and nobody can be anxiety free all the time, it's not possible. The issue for us anxiety sufferers is that it becomes a predominant reaction/emotion. You need to re-learn that anxiety (and every other emotion) is temporary, and that the way you're feeling now will pass. It might be a day or a month, but it will pass eventually. In the meantime draw on your experience that you're in no danger, and that you are going to be ok with the way you feel. Don't try and do anything to evade it or switch it off, just tell yourself you accept it for now.

Going back to meditation. At its core, meditation is the practice of acceptance and non reaction to stimulus. Meditation is about focusing on one thing and then re-directing your concentration back on that one thing when your mind wanders or you experience a sensation that draws your attention away. The goal of meditation isn't to succeed in focusing, it's the practice of re-focusing when you become distracted (and you will become distracted, constantly). It's this practice that re-wires the brain away from unconscious reaction and why it's so powerful at combating anxiety.

[LittleLionMan]

You just keep it simple. Tell yourself you feel like crap because you have anxiety (it can make you feel like utter, utter crap) and that it'll pass. There's nothing to approach, there's no special technique. Anxiety is a part of life and nobody can be anxiety free all the time, it's not possible. The issue for us anxiety sufferers is that it becomes a predominant reaction/emotion. You need to re-learn that anxiety (and every other emotion) is temporary, and that the way you're feeling now will pass. It might be a day or a month, but it will pass eventually. In the meantime draw on your experience that you're in no danger, and that you are going to be ok with the way you feel. Don't try and do anything to evade it or switch it off, just tell yourself you accept it for now.

Going back to meditation. At its core, meditation is the practice of acceptance and non reaction to stimulus. Meditation is about focusing on one thing and then re-directing your concentration back on that one thing when your mind wanders or you experience a sensation that draws your attention away. The goal of meditation isn't to succeed in focusing, it's the practice of re-focusing when you become distracted (and you will become distracted, constantly). It's this practice that re-wires the brain away from unconscious reaction and why it's so powerful at combating anxiety.

Yeah, it makes perfect sense mate, just easier said than done I suppose when it's this bad. I can see the benefit in that though, as it stops your mind chasing thoughts and symptoms, and lets you let them go, to a point.

I do something similar when I watch tele before bed actually, I put something on that I know will engross me, and then when I feel my mind wandering, I bring it back to what I'm watching (then I turn it all off, and my mind goes mental again). Doesn't always work, but it shows how busy my mind is, and sometimes quietens it down.

[ankietyjoe]

Definitely easier said than done, which is why it's important to practice every day. The more you do it, the faster it'll become ingrained.

[LittleLionMan]

Definitely easier said than done, which is why it's important to practice every day. The more you do it, the faster it'll become ingrained.

I had another session with new therapist today, CBT based.
All makes perfect sense until this - tiredness/not with it - feeling comes, and I can't associate any thought/situation with it. It just happens, and then I'm written off until it leaves. Nightmare.

Did some mindfulness last night, going down the Headspace route. Wasn't as scary or difficult as I imagined so going to try and do it every night before I have a shower.

[ankietyjoe]

All makes perfect sense until this - tiredness/not with it - feeling comes, and I can't associate any thought/situation with it.

Why do you need to? Anxiety and/or stress are often completely exhausting both physically and mentally. You don't need to connect the dots.

and then I'm written off until it leaves. Nightmare.

Written off by whom? Are you really being written off? Try and keep on top of overly negative mental presumptions. Nobody has written you off, you're just dealing with it by yourself for a while.

Did some mindfulness last night, going down the Headspace route. Wasn't as scary or difficult as I imagined so going to try and do it every night before I have a shower.

That's great news. You can slip mindfulness into your day at any time. You don't have to sit down in a dark, quiet room to do it. Once you get a little more used to it you could do it during a trip to the supermarket if you chose to. Examine those baked beans in intimate detail, slowly and mindfully

[LittleLionMan]

By written off, I mean too tired and 'out of it' to function.

It's worrying me because it doesn't even come with panic, increased heart rate, or anything, so I'm more confused about what it is, as it doesn't fit with any symptoms of anxiety that I've had in the last 10 years, and it's not presenting in a way that anyone seems to talk about. It's more like I fall down a fatigue/slightly derealised hole, without any warning, and it's scaring me to death, and stays for hours!

I did get to that part in my old mindfulness course and try and carry it on whilst I have a shower and stuff.

[ankietyjoe]

It's more like I fall down a fatigue/slightly derealised hole, without any warning, and it's scaring me to death, and stays for hours!

It's just one of those things that can happen, probably magnified by the current global situation.

I'm currently experiencing nightmares every night about unstoppable forces of nature. Tidal waves, snow storms etc etc. I'm not particularly stressed about Covid right now (no more than I really should be) but my subconscious is still manifesting. I might even wake up with my heart pounding, my body ready to panic...but I just get up and have a pee, drink some water and lay down again. What you are experiencing now is scary, but it's not dangerous. Try to remember to just accept it for what it is right now.

What we are all experiencing right now is significant, whether we acknowledge it consciously or not.

Try and keep on top of your diet, make sure you eat well, make sure you exercise and make sure you get enough sunlight. All of these things add up to good physical and mental health, and remember this takes time.

[LittleLionMan]

It's just one of those things that can happen, probably magnified by the current global situation.

I'm currently experiencing nightmares every night about unstoppable forces of nature. Tidal waves, snow storms etc etc. I'm not particularly stressed about Covid right now (no more than I really should be) but my subconscious is still manifesting. I might even wake up with my heart pounding, my body ready to panic...but I just get up and have a pee, drink some water and lay down again. What you are experiencing now is scary, but it's not dangerous. Try to remember to just accept it for what it is right now.

What we are all experiencing right now is significant, whether we acknowledge it consciously or not.

Try and keep on top of your diet, make sure you eat well, make sure you exercise and make sure you get enough sunlight. All of these things add up to good physical and mental health, and remember this takes time.

I honestly just want to feel 'normal' for an hour so I remember what normal feels like! 😂