How do I rest my nervous system??

[Jollymolly]

Ive read in the pages on here that I need to rest my nervous system but how exactly do I do that???

Thankls

[milly jones]

think praps u mean re relaxation. something ive yet to master hun.

if u get any tips let me know xx

i try relaxation tapes/cd etc but never manage to switch of fully enough

friends in anx

milly x

[chalky]

Hi Molly,

As Anxiety sufferers,our whole focus tends to be on anxious thinking - constantly worrying and fretting.
Think of your mind as a big box - it may be big but it can still only hold a certain amount.If the box is filled with anxious thinking,where does rest and relaxation and positive thinking fit in?
But...if we are taking action..practising relaxation techniques,reading a good book,listening to our favourite music,doing things we enjoy,etc etc...we are changing the contents of the box.The result of this is that our box doesn't have as much room for anxious thinking.By constantly doing this,one day at a time,we are actually retraining our brain to function in a more positive way.
I know this is very simplistic but trust me,it works.
To change our lives for the better,we must change.

Best wishes,
Chalky

[kellie]

hiya hun. i second everything chalky has said. we realy do have to retrain our brains to a more postive happy state. if we refuse to let the bad thoughts in and just the good ones eventualy they wont be much room for the bad ones to breed. find things that you like to do and what makes you happy, you have to have time for you and relaxation time. eventualy ur nervous will follow suit and calm down. it may take some time to do this retraining but keep at it.
best wishes
take care

kellie.xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

[eternally optimistic]

Hi

I started walking, nothing serious, from my home when my anxiety
got really bad back in the summer. Mainly because I was aware I
would have not gone out at all if I didnt. It has taken quite a while
for me to go and not have many thoughts rushing about in my head,
but most of the time, with the help of MP3, I come back feeling
refreshed. I have also started a yoga class which is great.
That has really helped me to near enough switch off completely,
even if it is for an hour. I didnt realise how busy my brain has been
for such a long time. GUD LUCK.

[Bill]

We cannot and shouldn't try to stop ourselves thinking bad thoughts because that's creating a barrier to try and resist them.

We can though allow ourselves to think bad thoughts but learning not to dwell on them or react to them.

It's dwelling on thoughts that frighten us that create our anxious feelings but if we don't dwell and instead allow these thoughts through our minds like any other of the millions of thoughts we have each day, then we don't feel anxious and control our symptoms.

We can rest our nervous system by learning 3 parts of a puzzle -

Distraction by keeping our minds occupied by doing engrossing or enjoyable things.

Learning Relaxation techniques such as meditation.

Learning not to dwell on worrying thoughts and allowing them to pass through us without reacting to them by treating them for what they are..."just thoughts".