Sensitization

[moggie8]

Hi can someone help me I've got COVID and having bad thoughts and severe anxiety I worry about the anxiety symptoms can someone help please I fear the symptoms they feel so bad

[Shnookie]

so sorry U R going thru this. Tho I have not had COVID, I know what it is like to have severe anxiety. I’m giving U a hug from the US. See if U can do deep breathing exercises. If you meditate or want to try go to you tube. This will put your mind in a calmer state. The fact that U have come to HU is a huge step. There R people here like me who support you. U R not alone. I know that the anxiety symptoms feel bad. It might help to acknowledge if you know what triggered this anxiety. Facing it is a bitch but then you can try to break it down. I’m here 4 U.

Hugs 🤗 S

[moggie8 in reply to Shnookie]

Thanks I've been in the anxiety cycle for eight yrs but because COVID I'm worse anxiety can't hurt me can it

[SayNOtoPanic]

you got this. Hang in there. Anxiety will not hurt you it’s just trying to mess with you and keep you in discomfort. Just say this too shall pass and try to do some deep breathing exercises. Drink a lot of fluids too. Lifting you in prayer.

[moggie8 in reply to SayNOtoPanic]

Thanks

[punkster]

Oh, I feel for you. I had major anxiety regarding COVID and contracted it last December. It helped me to concentrate on the fact that after I was over it that I would have immunity for awhile. It should also help to know that the virus that is going around now is a milder version, and you are less likely to develop severe symptoms. Listening to music helped me when I had COVID. So did watching travel shows on TV. You will be in my thoughts and prayers.

[moggie8 in reply to punkster]

Thanks

[designguy]

I had covid and what helped was taking megadoses of Vit-C, I even used a powdered version of it which helped make it easier. It can be disconcerting having it but i knew lots of people who had gotten it and survived ok. Mine took about a week and a half before I started feeling better.

For your anxiety you might make sure your hormones, thyroid and adrenals are functioning properly because they can cause or contribute to anxiety/depression if not. For your thyroid you need a full panel test and not just the TSH.

[moggie8 in reply to designguy]

Thankyou so much I get fear of fear which fuels everything how do u lose your fear of the anxiety symptoms

[Agora1 in reply to moggie8]

Hi moggie8, "fear of fear" is that cycle we can get into that leads nowhere but

to exhausion both mentally and physically. We need to break that cycle either

by medication, therapy, acceptance or addressing what makes us fearful.

The Anxiety Symptoms are not a physical issue but coming from a negative thought

that blows out of proportion until you are living at the edge.. "What ifs", "Oh no I

can't handle this" as well as telling yourself over and over that "you are scared"...

That's what draws you into this perpetual cycle of fear begetting fear.

You tube has many videos on breaking the fear cycle so that you can move forward.

If you need more help, please reach out to us. I hope you heal soon from covid.

The less you fear being sick, the stronger your immune system will be in allowing

you to overcome this virus. Wishing you well my friend xx

[moggie8 in reply to Agora1]

Sorry what u mean the

[moggie8 in reply to Agora1]

Sorry what u mean anxiety is not a physical issue it's coming from a negative thought I'm also very sensitized but having trouble seeing the bluff could u explain these questions I have many thanks

[Agora1 in reply to moggie8]

Hi again, what I mean is that the physical symptoms are not from a physical disease

like liver failure, heart issues, gallstones etc. Those thoughts are powerful enough

to turn on the adrenaline and produce the physical symptoms that we experience.

If we can accept thatis what it is and is not harmful to our body, we can then work

on finding methods/tools to expel those feelings before they get out of hand.

Take for instance, we can usually tell when we are going to experience physical

symptoms...shakiness, heart palps, shortness of breath and oh that horrible

butterfly feeling in the solar plexus. Once we train our minds to overpower

those feelings, we can reduce the symptoms to the point of them not even

taking hold.

That is what happens when we get control over our anxiety. xx

[designguy in reply to moggie8]

It's common and called anticipatory anxiety and is caused and fueled by anxious thoughts and your body being in a high state of adrenalin/anxiety. The thoughts can happen so quickly and your body reacts so quickly sometimes that we aren't even aware of them.

What helps is understanding that the way to deal with anxiety is to initially get comfortable with the uncomfortable sensations and to not feed them with anxious thoughts. Anxiety is a paradox and the more you fight and struggle with it the more it persists and the solution is to surrender to it, allow your body to desensitize and get on with your day. Understanding what is really going on helps to reduce the fear.

I found the DARE Anxiety book and youtube videos very helpful also the book "At last a life and beyond" by Paul David and you might also check out the youtube and website of Paige Pradko for really good info.

[moggie8 in reply to designguy]

Yes read at last a life but why does it feel we in danger like something bad will happen to me

[designguy in reply to moggie8]

Because that is what anxiety's role is, its role is to protect you and continues to think you need protecting especially with covid and prevent you from dying. It is basically malfunctioning and you need to learn to desensitize it and convince yourself that you are safe and learn how to deal with it. You are also believing that your anxious thoughts and feelings are true and the reality is that they are lies and that's the truth.

You might also like the youtube/website of Paige Pradko, she is a therapist that had anxiety, healed herself and now helps others, she has good clear advice and information.

[moggie8 in reply to designguy]

Thankyou

[moggie8 in reply to designguy]

Thankyou

[moggie8 in reply to moggie8]

Not easy to to put into practice

[designguy in reply to moggie8]

Educating yourself and knowing what is really going on with panic/anxiety does help to start to reduce the fear. I found medication particularly Klonopin, helpful initially for reducing some of the anxiety/sensations to help me get use to the sensations. I also found getting over my panic attacks to be relatively easy once I learned that they didn't last very long if I just let the happen and think of them as a wave flowing over me and then it dissolving. It took longer to figure out where my anxiety was coming from. You have to decide that you have had enough with the anxiety and that you can continue to suffer with it and postpone your life or still have it and get on with your life and eventually desensitize yourself to it. You are the only person who can help yourself feel safe in your own skin. And no it's initially not easy but it does get easier once you realize it works. After i started realizing it worked I started purposely trying to make my anxiety bigger and last longer, etc... and put myself in any situation that might trigger it, it helped a lot.

You might like the youtube and books of Dr. Claire Weekes, she was a therapist that realized and taught the idea of acceptance and floating through the anxiety and getting over the fear of it which is the most effective way of dealing with it. The DARE book and program builds on her ideas and is a more simple strategy for implementing it.