You do not defeat the enemy by running away.

[Jeff1943]

Anxiety, and the depression that can come out of it, cannot be defeated by trying to avoid them or in seeking distraction elsewhere. They will not be overcome by hoping they will not come today.

Recovery requires that you make straight for the symptoms you fear, you must pass through panic, or whatever else distresses you, and be prepared to do so again and again. But do so armed with the understanding that none of these symptoms are life threatening, they are the side effects of sensitised nerves and will soon disperse when we recover our quiet mind. I am presuming you have been told by a doctor "it's only nerves".

Claire Weekes wrote: "Acceptance means going torward, not withdrawing from, the feared symptom...the natural reaction is to recoil, to tense against it, to stop the flash coming; however tension brings more sensitisation and so more panic...when one goes forward with acceptance into panic or any of the feared symptoms, the secretion of hormones producing the symptoms is reduced."

"Understanding makes acceptance so much easier. It is unnecessarily difficult to accept erratic heart beats if the victim believes his heart is diseased. How much easier when he understands that the uneveness of those beats is no more than a temporary and unimportant upset in their nervous timing."

"By going through panic to the other side you gain the little voice that says 'It doesn't matter any more if panic comes!' This is the only voice to listen to. It is your staff and will always come to your help."*

By doing what you fear, you lose the fear of doing it. By accepting the symptom for the moment, rather than fighting it, you reduce the secretion of fear hormones that keep your nerves sensitised.

So you will no longer ask if it will come today, or how bad it will be, because it doesn't matter: you are secure in the certain knowledge that you can cope with it.

When you reach this stage your recovery becomes inevitable.

*"More help for your nerves", Doctor Claire Weekes.

[jkl5500]

This should be required reading for everyone on this forum. More great advice from Dr. Weekes. Thanks, Jeff!

[JAYnLA]

Dr. Weekes has helped me a ton.

[foxglove_pnw]

Thanks for posting !!

This is what I need right now !

I just find that my anxiety is very smart and always comes up with new symptoms !

I have had EKG , Stress test , Cardiac scoring and Echocardiogram 1 1 /2 years ago but I am still terrified ! I have a check up every year ( last November ) and I have been to the ER with anxiety 3 times in the past year and half!

I can’t find away to overcome it ! I see a therapist , attend a weekly support group , take 30 mg of Lexapro and I don’t see much progress . I try working out but I panic every time my heart rate go up !

Where do I go from here ?

[Jeff1943 in reply to foxglove_pnw]

Foxglove, you need to stop fighting your anxiety. Surrender to it, do nothing to oppose it. Agree to co-exist with it for the moment. Agree to accept it for the time being. But only for the time being.

You are paying your symptoms too much attention, too much introspection, attaching too much importance to them.

Your preoccupation with your symptoms is flooding your nervous system with fear hormones. But anxiety symptoms are a sham as all those tests you mention proved. You were right to have them but now draw reassurance from them. They may cause discomfort but they are all fake. The moment you stop fearing them you deny them the fuel on which they thrive.

That was Claire Weekes message. Her method of Face - Accept - Float -And let time pass. has allowed untold thousands to reclaim their lives. Her first book is titled 'Hope and help for your nerves'. Currently on its 44th reprint and available from Amazon. She even has something reassuring to say about rapid heart beat as a symptom of anxiety disorder. If you haven't already read it maybe now is the time.

[anon99]

I needed this so much. ❤️

Thankyou Jeff.

[LovelySnow]

I've been reading that acceptance - or a similar method? Maybe not exactly like Dr. Weekes' but I'm not a doctor so don't know how to explain it... - can work with some kinds of OCD as well.

[Hidden]

You seem wise and give good advice. I agree with this but what about anxiety and panic attacks about something that really can kill you like tornados?? I'm panicking right now because tornado weather is approaching tonight and will be around possibly for the next few months. It's really the only thing that paralyzes me. I'm so stressed right now and it has taken me by surprise. I have been fine for two years and even got off the meds but tonight I took two different ones. Any advice?

[Jeff1943 in reply to Hidden]

Sorry to hear of the impending tornado but statistically the odds are in your favour. Stay calm and everything should be O.K.

[Hidden in reply to Jeff1943]

Thank you.

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

Hi, what is it about tornado weather that scares you?

[Hidden]

Wise words as always!!!🤗thankyou for sharing!!!

[pink83737]

This is so true!

[Needtovent]

thanks Jeff, you are always so eloquent in your delivery of this optimistic message from Dr. Weekes. I’ve been working so hard on acceptance. However I have been feeling depression creeping in and am concerned. But I will continue to persevere and pay attention to my body. I hope many take notice of this message

[Jeff1943 in reply to Needtovent]

Needtovent, Thank you for your kind words, there are several causes for depression, an obvious one is that we become depressed about having anxiety. Claire Weekes preferred to call it depletion, constant nervous exhaustion depletes us of our nervous energy. There are chapters on depletion in her first book. It's also important to get at least 8 hours sleep, economising on sleep is so easy to do but it runs our batteries down. Sufficient sleep is more important than most for those experiencing anxiety disorder and depletion/depression.

We can also become depressed about specific problems facing us bearing in mind anxiety exaggerates problems ten fold. Easy to say that these problems should be dealt with, maybe seek advice here from someone trustworthy whose wise opinion you respect.

Problems that cannot be solved immediately: do what can be done to mitigate the suffering for now and await a change when you see an opportunity to deal with the problem once and for all.

[Needtovent]

Everything you’ve said is 100% accurate related to the depression and why it’s peaking now:

Getting a handle on anxiety - in process

Sleep - will try and improve

Seeking advice here - ongoing

Opportunity for change - forthcoming

Thanks

[Rgatcia77]

Jeff, Thank you for your insight and straight forward words....

I too had a hard couple of weeks with the worst anxiety I have ever had. Felt like I was going crazy and could not control my thoughts and feelings. The pain I had in my stomach was excruciating but has been decreasing. I have started today determined to not listen to my stomach and did not take prescription Xanax. It was a good day and my stomach pain has subsided some. I feel like I am in control of my thinking... not my stomach!

Thanks again for the timely advice!!

[art62grammie]

Greatly put! I can not agree more. I have been in that situation millions of times. I do not have panic attacks though. I only get a lot of triggers from my past abuse. Remember I am the recently recovered Anorexic of 40 years. The fear of asking a perfect stranger which was my therapist for help. The fear of going back to the basement of all the abuse that had happened. That same abuse that I had repressed for fifty years. Now I know all of it. I have relived it time and time as my mind begins to heal. As to recover from Anorexia I had to go back to 14 years old. I have to know the reason that I became ill in the first place. I am standing tall and proud. I have conquered every fear. I did it all with fear. I won. I now at 56 have all my repressed memories. I processed each one as they came. I released each one too. It is no way easy. I made it. I am alive and survived it. I have no fear. I am like an eagle who soars in the wind. I am free. I am as strong as the ox. No one nor anything can fear me again. I feel that I have been through enough in my life. Fear is not in me anymore. I am proud to be a survivor of abuse and Anorexia. Never to be a victim again. Thank you for the awesome post.

[Jeff1943 in reply to art62grammie]

Thank you so much for sharing your experiences here, you are an example to all of survival and recovery despite the extreme traumas that you were forced to endure.

[maxedout1]

You could not be more on target! Anxiety and depression are very real but recovery is also very real. It all starts with educating yourself. Google "the anxiety guy" or go to anxietycentre.com. You will find a wealth of reliable information at either site. Recovery is not easy but living a life being the victim of your anxiety is harder.

[Jeff1943 in reply to maxedout1]

I have used a similar phrase myself "Practicing Acceptance is hard but putting up with anxiety is even harder." This of course is a reference to the Acceptance method for recovery first set out many years ago by Doctor Claire Weekes in her first book "Self help for your nerves".

As with all self help books there is a tendency for some to believe that just reading a book will cure you. When in fact although the book may bring understanding and reassurance it takes many weeks/months of practicing what is in the book to effect recovery.