Full force : It’s coming back again and... - Anxiety and Depre...

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Full force

Stephanie89 profile image
21 Replies

It’s coming back again and it’s coming back full force and i don’t know how much strength I got left in me I wake up and before I can open my eyes completely my legs feel tingly and like spaghetti and then slowly my arms do and then the dizziness sets in along with feeling weak then panic and fear sets in causing me to just not want to leave my bed in fear of these symptoms going on that something terrible is going to happen to me or is happening already and i don’t know and it’s like i wake up like this everyday scared of going out cuz I’m afraid of what I might feel like I’m seeing a therapist now weekly but I haven’t found what’s meds to take as this is taking over my life and in some way i want to fight and fight like no tomorrow and at the same time i wanna throw my hands up and surrender but i know I can’t i just need to dig deep and find strength and courage but how when it’s so hard every ounce of strength to get up out of bed seems like I just worked out lifting heavy weights just want to find what will help me because I need help I can’t find this battle just me

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Stephanie89 profile image
Stephanie89
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21 Replies

Sounds very difficult and very trying, not sure if I quite understand and get it however I am responding because we all have a common ground. We are all human beings and everyone has something going on. We here on this forum share the hope of inner wellness. Other forums have "share" about cooking, crafts, and the very heart wrenching cancer. Sharing is so needed, to know we are not alone.

Take everyday, every moment as a step, a baby step. I hope every moment is brighter, you are not alone. We try to understand and we do care:)

Stephanie89 profile image
Stephanie89 in reply to

Thank you for this I know we all struggle in our own way and it’s nice to have people here for u when ur struggling and going through something

I’m trying to take baby steps but I know I’m slowly crawling before I take those baby steps

teemo1 profile image
teemo1

Remember, fighting anxious feelings, trying to make them go away, only makes them stronger. There is a reason for this: by reacting to an anxious thought or feeling and then struggling to make it go away, you are sending the message to your brain that you are in danger, when in fact you are in no physical danger. Your brain reacts by releasing adrenaline, which makes you feel REALLY scared, and the cycle goes on and on. It's a normal, natural function of the brain but it is happening at an inappropriate time. That's what panic is. Nothing more.

So instead, do the opposite. When you wake up feeling anxious, relax every muscle in your body. Tell yourself, "I am in no danger." Take a couple slow, deep breaths and then accept what you are feeling. Allow the feeling to be there, whatever it is, however strong it is. Float through that feeling and don't struggle with it. Just do nothing at all but allow yourself to feel it. Notice how much weaker it gets when you refuse to engage with it or fight it.

Evert time you do this, you are sending the message to your brain that you know you are in no danger. You are gradually training your brain not to react to anxious thoughts or feelings with more fear, but to just allow them to be there.

Then go out and do whatever you would normally do if you were not dealing with anxiety. Keep on accepting it all day long. Remember, panic is not something that happens to us. It is something we do, by reacting to unpleasant thoughts or feelings with fear. When such thoughts or feelings come around, welcome them, because you need to keep on retraining your brain to respond appropriately. This is your challenge now. Accepting and embracing your anxiety all day, every day.

If you feel panicky, tell yourself, "it's just anxiety. It's just a feeling, and a feeling cannot hurt me. Now I'm gonna relax and accept it and let it be there."

Over time you will notice its edge getting duller and duller. You will notice yourself caring about anxious feelings less and less, a little at a time. This is what recovery is.

Then you will likely have a bad day for some reason, and find yourself struggling again. Welcome this as a golden opportunity to recover even more! Relax, accept, float.

It will take plenty of time, but recovery will come to you, and you will be a MUCH stronger person having gone through this ordeal. And always remember that you are not alone. Millions of others deal with this as well. And you have the support of all of us here on this site. We are all looking out for each other.

Stephanie89 profile image
Stephanie89 in reply to teemo1

And that’s exactly how I feel he more I fight it the more it takes control over me and the more the physical symptoms take over me where I been in my drs office every other week and hospitals and i feel like I’m losing my mind cuz I honestly feel like I’m slowly diying a horrible death it’s like every month I feel a new symptom and the anxiety kicks in in overdrive

I’m going to slowly tell myself that and each and everyday i hope it helps me to become stronger and not a prison in my own body

And I’m definitely going to see if there’s is any medication that may help me at this point I’m even seeking to go to a treatment center or something my anxiety is so bad and taking control over my life

I know i won’t be better overnight I’m just wanting the panic to subside I was doing so good and now I’m back to square one thank you for it was very helpful and I definitely will put this to good use I can use any help techniques right about now

Thank you for being here for me

marheart profile image
marheart

It's exhausting! I don't understand it, how can I expect outsiders to understand the disorder?!

Stephanie89 profile image
Stephanie89 in reply to marheart

I know it’s so exhausting to where I know my bf doesn’t understand and it can put a strain on our relationship but idk if he’s being mean cuz I’m to much to handle with my anxiety or what and my family doesn’t really understand only a couple

Formy2kids profile image
Formy2kids

Im feeling the same way today. I went to Sprouts Market and I cried there. I got Bach Flower drops and a magnesium calm drink. I have tried everything. My panic is horrible but I survived today, I called in sick to work and Im going to sleep and get my mind OFF of ALL .

I hope you get better with this cuz for me, I feel Im the only one, is hard to find someone that can REALLY understand. It will go away, I promised!! Send you a big hugs

Stephanie89 profile image
Stephanie89 in reply to Formy2kids

Thank you I send u a hug too and I hope we all get through this it’s hard for anyone who doesn’t go through this to understand I’m fighting I really am and trying my best i think the little accomplishment mean the most

Strebbs profile image
Strebbs

Hey,

Take a deep breath.

You aren’t alone. We’ve all been there. I haven’t been there in many months and was starting to believe I never would be again, and then bam, 2:30am, I let my thoughts spiral a bit to far and the panic set in. I almost called my girlfriend on the spot and broke up with her lol, anything and anything to isolate and escape. Experience and trust barely held me together. Just that itself in a massive victory for me.

Hey. You’re going to be okay. You are, alright? You know, when we spiral out of control, it’s really just because we’re feeding the fear and we don’t know it. Especially if we’re so used to doing it. And it takes a long time to develop the mental tools we need to know what to do when it starts to happen.

One thing that might help you - don’t challenge the thoughts themselves, instead ask yourself “what’s the worst that could happen right now?” Often, the answer will be “pain.” Or, “I’m worried it’s getting worse, it’s getting worse, oh god oh god...” And you can kind of juggle back and forth with that thought, keep going like “oh, you’re worried it’s getting worse getting worse, huh? Well okay, what will that do? What’s that going to do that’s so bad to me?” Pain is just pain, and the less you let it sink it’s claws into reality, distort what’s actually going on in your life or what may or may not be to come, the less it hurts, the quieter it gets. Truly, the more you remember that it’s nothing to fear, the less you fear it.

Try things like that. Try saying to yourself “I am having a panic attack, and how many of those have I already survived?” And I’m guessing you’ve already survived like a bunch of those, right? It’s not going to kill you, and it’s not going to get worse.

I like phrasing these as a bit of a question, too :p Like I’m giving my brain a little bit of a challenge, or puzzle to solve, because it needs that. If forced me to think with the left part of my brain a little bit more, and go “huh, yeah, what are we really worried about?”

This might not help you feel better, at least right away, and that isn’t really the goal. The goal is to get your brain out of its spiral and back into rationality a little bit - which, interesting, often leads to you feeling better.

I hope any of that helps!!!

Stephanie89 profile image
Stephanie89 in reply to Strebbs

Thank you for this

And I’m definitely going to try this

I know I definitely give into my fear and that’s why I’m spiraling downhill and sometimes I don’t know how to reason with myself once I get to that point of anxiety when it’s already at the high point I think this will help to become more stronger with my anxiety and not let it get the best of this is a great technique and I thank you for sharing this with me

Strebbs profile image
Strebbs in reply to Stephanie89

You’re very welcome! I know it’s so hard. This is something I’m still struggling with, and I talked to my therapist more about it last night.

Basically, as you seem to know, the reason why we “spiral” deeper into obsessive thoughts and rumination is typically because we fight it. We try to push those uncomfortable thoughts away.

My therapist gave me a very good metaphor: Imagine one day you find a cute little tiger cub on your doorstep. So, you take it in, you play with it, you dawn over it, and then it starts whining, so you realize it’s hungry, and you feed it some raw meat. Every day you feed it, as it’s your harmless pet and you want to placate it. It whines for more and more food, and it grows bigger and bigger. Then one day, you realize it’s become massive, a wild beast that’s no longer under your control, and it no longer whines for food, it growls menacingly until you feed it.

Our thoughts are the same. We tend to want to resist the uncomfortable ones through the day, especially if they seem small, and we think “what’s the harm”. Now obviously we don’t really say that to ourselves, but our problem is that we’ve just done this for so long that’s it basically become a lifelong habit, and we often don’t know any better. We may not have learned how separate ourselves from intrusive thoughts not by resisting them or arguing with them, but by observing them, without fear or judgment, recognizing that they make us uncomfortable and just not paying any greater attention to them than that.

This can feel like a massive, daunting and impossible thing. For myself, I can tell you that even though I’ve made myself aware of this unhealthy relationship I have with my thoughts (among many others) and I’ve been trying to work on it for the better part of a year (mostly without help, without even knowing what I’m doing) I still struggling daily.

Changing the way you interact with your thoughts is changing an integral part of who you are, and how your anxious brain tries to help you survive when you (it) feels threatened. It’s not easy or quick, and it may even feel wrong sometimes, like a betrayal to yourself. It’s exactly as difficult as any other challenging task outside of yourself, like learning to play a new instrument. It’s no less valid and no less challenging just because it exists within your head, and you are not at fault or somehow less-than for having anxiety and not feeling like you’re making any progress. That spiral of fear you have surrounding your anxiety itself is a perfect example of feeding the beast because you haven’t learned to do differently. And you are going to have days where you feel better or even feel like you’re on top of your anxiety-game (or as I like to say sometimes, “good enough” lol) and have plenty of others where you feel like you’ve made no progress at all.

Talking and working with your therapist will be the best thing you can do, is you aren’t talking/working together already - if you are, great job, just keep at it! Just don’t give up, keep talking about it and developing the tools you need, and hang in there!!

Stephanie89 profile image
Stephanie89 in reply to Strebbs

Thank you for this I just left my drs office and therapist and both agreed that I need both medication and therapy as well as starting to exercise to get better I’m a little nervous been put on cymbalta 30mg and I start taking it today to help me cope with how severe my anxiety is and I’m going to be incorporating new techniques to help me along the way as more as positive thinking my dr told me o will get out of this just takes time but to have hope and faith and that’s what I am holding onto let’s see how this medication reacts with me and I hope everything goes to ok to a better happier life day by day

Strebbs profile image
Strebbs in reply to Stephanie89

That’s wonderful, you’re on the right track for sure. You can do this!

Yeah, I’m a little hesitant about going on meds myself but I’m going to soon anyway. Medication + therapy is like the gold standard for treatment. Doing better will definitely take time, you’re going to get scared and uncomfortable (but how bad is that compared to now, really?) so try to be patient with yourself. It sounds likes you’ve been having a really, really hard time, so I hope all goes well for you!! ❤️ It’s going to be okay.

Stephanie89 profile image
Stephanie89 in reply to Strebbs

Thank you so much yes I been struggling really bad lately and I learned I can’t do it by myself and I know it can be scary to start medication but ur right how bad can it be if I already feel horrible and the body pain and dizziness and not sleeping I’m going to see how this works for me and my doctor said in 5 months I should be a better person and he wants to see me every couple weeks to see my progress I truly found a great doctor and I am blessed to have thank you so much for this it’s nice to know I am not alone in this and I have people who are here

Strebbs profile image
Strebbs in reply to Stephanie89

You're going to do great. Just take it one day at a time. Baby steps <3

marheart profile image
marheart

Great news about your plans to take back the control into your life. Keep it up! I feel inspired reading about your progress.

Stephanie89 profile image
Stephanie89 in reply to marheart

Thank you

Yes I have to take control of my life if not then anxiety will take control over me and that’s not gonna happen I want me back and I know I will get there

There was a point where I forgot about anxiety and starting to live my life and i will get there again

tmjourney profile image
tmjourney

Stephanie,

Would you let me pray for you? I have so much to say on what you are going through. I have had anxiety and repeat playing thoughts that never stop since I was a young girl. I am 21 years old now. I was medicated (that made things worse). I found God a few years ago and was able to get a hold of my anxiety. Recently, I had a horrible flare up with anxiety because my doctor told me they wanted to put me to sleep to have a bronchoscopy (2 days from now). I was so bad these last two weeks that I thought I was going to end up dead or in a psych ward. I lost 12 pounds in two weeks, couldn’t eat, couldn’t sleep. I felt no one understood or cared about what I was going through. Despite doctors and people around me trying to pump me full of medication, I prayed and prayed and prayed to God. Finally, I am at peace again. I want you to know that I genuinely care about what you are going through and want to help you. I know how horrible it is to feel how you feel. I hope you are doing a bit better and I can’t wait to hear from you. God bless you

Stephanie89 profile image
Stephanie89 in reply to tmjourney

Of course u can thank you I would really appreciate that. I am a Christian and I believe in God but I know I haven’t been 100% faithful and committed it’s just hard for me to pray when I feel like death is knocking at my door 😭 I’m sorry u had a bad flare up and I hope u are doing better now I went to a mental. Institution last year but no help there at all I just feel like I’m at my wits end and I do believe God will heal me along with myself but I know I’m not 100% there especially when I feel so weak dizzy and like I’m here but not here I guess foggy but I know I just need to believe in every part of my body that I will be ok and I’m not 100% there yet but I know one day I will and I can’t wait for that day

tmjourney profile image
tmjourney in reply to Stephanie89

Hey Stephanie! How are you doing? I just prayed for you and I have been praying for you. Girl I understand you 100% during my last spell of anxiety that lasted for weeks I was literally crying to God and not understanding why I couldn’t have peace, sleep, or eat. I thought I wasn’t a good enough Christian or committed enough to be healed, but as I started reading Psalms and changing the way I prayed I realized that wasn’t true. I realized that God’s healing takes TIME, even though it is hard he wants us to refocus on him through our struggles and rely on him. And sometimes we need to really think about what we are praying for. For example, I started commanding evil spirits that were trying to control me to leave my body in the name of Jesus Christ. I was battling the evil spirits of fear, anxiety, insomnia, and terror. I began doing that a few times my body began to calm. I also repented and thanked God for what I do have which helped a lot! The feelings that anxiety brings like dizziness, nausea, insomnia are so horrible and it really can make us believe that there is no hope, but girl you have Jesus and you are strong! Nothing can break you! My sister recommended this to me when I was struggling and it helped me: my.bible.com/reading-plans/...

It’s free and it may help you too :) also here some encouraging verses:

Psalm 91

2 Corinthians 1:9

Isaiah 41:10

Psalm 40

There are many more I can send you too :) remember that God knitted you in your mother’s womb and that He loves you more than you can imagine! Keep praying and try to figure out exactly what evil spirits are trying to attack you!

Also, I like to remind myself this: “just because a thought exists, doesn’t make it true.”

Hope you are doing better, can’t wait to hear from you!

God bless

Stephanie89 profile image
Stephanie89 in reply to tmjourney

Hi thank you for this I am seeing therapy and I actually got the book love the life you live by Joyce Meyers and I have to say I love it so far and these past couple days have been a lot better for me I know with god on my side and me changing my ways I know I will get through this thank you for the Bible verses as well too 😁

I am doing by best to say to myself it’s just a feeling nothing more it’s my anxiety I felt it before and I was ok and I’m ok right now I’m in no harm or danger and the more I tell myself the more I will believe it this is the hardest thing I have ever had the deal with and everyday is a battle but I want nothing more than to over come this and live a happy healthy life

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