Anxiety's Bluff

[CarlJames]

Anxiety is your body’s attempt to keep you safe...

...but from a danger that doesn’t exist.

The anxiety state develops when you become anxious about feeling anxious.

It’s important to understand that anxiety is a bodily reaction to anxious thoughts. Your nervous system is getting you ready for “fight or flight” by pumping adrenaline and other hormones and chemicals into your bloodstream to make you better able to run away or defend yourself.

But the sensations you feel cause you to react with anxiety and fearful thoughts. Because of these fearful thoughts, your amygdala or lizard brain believes you are under threat and triggers the release of more adrenaline. It is doing what it thinks is necessary to keep you safe.

The problem is, you are not actually in any danger, so the fearful thoughts are inappropriate to the situation. The subsequent unnecessary reaction of your nervous system gives you more feelings and symptoms of anxiety (raised heart rate, sweating, shallow breathing etc.). You react to these with even more fear (second fear), causing even more intense anxiety. In the short term this can become intense anxiety, or can spiral into a full blown panic attack.

In the longer term, the anxiety symptoms become the focus of your thoughts, your nervous system becomes highly sensitized, and you slip into the anxiety state.

But all of this is not because of any real danger you faced, but simply because of how you initially reacted to anxiety.

To recover from anxiety, you must start giving your mind and body truthful messages, i.e. that you really aren’t in danger, and that the anxiety symptoms and fearful intrusive thoughts you are having are just a bluff.

[Adlon57]

I have Juvenile Myoclonic Epilepsy, had for 52 years, but anxiety pressure stress are the main components for setting off a seizure, about 80% of the seizures happened within 2 hours of waking up, so that was always my weakest time, if I had ANY appointments, exams, meetings etc I ALWAYS try to have them in the afternoon, not as bad now, but that affected me throughout my life, thousands of them I either had put to afternoon, or I would have the obligatory seizure in the morning. I would lie in bed looking at my clock, most of the time no sleep at all, anxiety at its peak, seizure! Early working shifts, I was a postman for a few years, 'he's going to have a fit!' threw me onto the postbags! It was always anxiety/stress that set them off until January 2018, on the process for a new epilepsy medication, at my local health centre, I had a panic attack [first one Nov. 2016] the double seizure [a bit of a mess😣😣] BUT know now a panic attack could set off a seizure, diagnosis in July 2021 next seizure 'last one'! So well aware now of anxiety and panic attacks!⚡🙄😏

[CarlJames in reply to Adlon57]

Sorry to hear that, Adlon. Epilepsy mixed with anxiety and panic attacks would certainly complicate things. I hope you find some medication that works for you. ❤️

[Adlon57 in reply to CarlJames]

Thanks CarlJames, my medication I have been on since then real success, one since I started on in April 2018, shaky hands main side effect?

[EndUser13 in reply to Adlon57]

Yikes, that sounds awful! I'm sorry you've had to endure this for so long 😞

[Adlon57 in reply to EndUser13]

I'm a survivor EndUser13, have to be for that long👍

[Joshgw]

Well put, but very hard to remind yourself or keep this perspective when you're in the moment of that anxiety attack

[CarlJames in reply to Joshgw]

Agreed. It takes practice.

[Jeff1943]

What you have written here is so true. Everybody who is new to anxiety disorder would do well to read it. And then read it again. It brings understanding and reassurance: the first two steps towards respite and recovery.

[secrets22]

This is a very insightful post....thank you.

[RemySue]

I journal alot when my Anxiety is in full bloom. Only three weeks this summer, as compared to three months last summer :). My therapist suggested I go back (now that I'm in a better state of mind) and write an argument for everything that my Anxiety was telling me.

Anxiety is such a liar but it's so real when I'm in a spiral

[designguy]

Good clear description of the paradox of anxiety, try to look at it as a warning that your thinking is off.

[Hidden]

Very interesting and thank you!I agree with most of this but I don't think "my anxiety" is straightforward.

A lot of the time I feel OK but when triggered by people or events I flashback to childhood and become extremely anxious as this is the state I was in an awful lot of the time around my narc mother. It was simply to unsafe to be around her and the anxiety was warning me of this - a real danger.

Fast forward and when I start to feel anxious in someone's presence this is a warning that I need to take heed. Unfortunately I have often ignored those red flags and dismissed myself at my peril. So occasionally anxiety in my case is good, a warning of real danger from toxic people and I need to get away. But on the whole you make some very good points.