Constant anxiety

[Eraser]

Hi I have lots of anxiety over the last 6 months. family illness, family death, changing jobs...so much has gone on that Its like I have constant adrenaline flowing through my body with negative thoughts all the time. I meditate and exercise, but it doesnt seem to get better.....any advice

[Hidden]

Hi Eraser

I'm very interested in how you

meditate, with the negative thoughts?

exercise, also if you

eat healthily and

avoid alchohol and stimulants.

I put this on another question, thought it might help you too.

We can't avoid anxiety, its part of us, and we can't fight it either.

But what we certainly can do is

FACE IT and not run from it, and

ACCEPT it, without fighting it

FLOAT throught it without tensing, and

LET TIME PASS allow the anxiety to run its course, and it will abate.

This sounds simple but its not, so we do this, as a practice everyday, whatever the situation, good ones or bad.

Anxiety is an unpleasant state of inner turmoil, often accompanied by nervous behavior, such as pacing back and forth, somatic complaints and rumination.

Basically, we have to get do the opposite of this by getting to know ourselves again, and be KIND to ourselves, like we would nuture a little baby child

Inner turmoil, is us fighting our thoughts, so what we do is go with them, not by judging/acting on them just by sitting with them, and allowing them to pass. Meditation is perfect for this.

Nervous behaviour, when we calm ourselves this abates, meditation is great for this too.

Somatic complaints, are percieved illness and strange pains, meditation is good for this too. If we have a pain, our minds run away from it, then it gets more painful because we have the pain, then add to it our aversion to the pain. If we look straight into the actual pain, we see it for what it is, and its not half as bad as we thought.

Rumination, our minds constant chatter, we create this ourselves, by finding stillness in the mind, the thoughts become less powerfull and actually calm down too. Meditation is perfect for this.

.

We can't order ourselves about and expect it to do our bidding, thats fighting ourselves.

Say we order ourselves to not get ill, can we do that , no, the only way we could ever minimalise our chances of getting ill is by maintaining an immune system at top performance, and to do that we must, eat healthily, exercise, relax, and get good sleep. anxiety is the opposite of that.

Try some meditation, be kind to yourself, ask your doctor for some therapy so you can understand anxiety better.

Hope something there makes sense

B

xxx

[Teens20]

Hi, I also suffer from constant anxiety and worry to the point where it's taking over my life, hence the reason for joining this forum to connect with other sufferers!! Just hate being this way but don't want to take medication!! I have two small children, a job that requires travelling, I get imbalance symptoms due to cervical vertigo which doesn't help and I have a phobia of sickness!! Just feel like a freak at the moment, going on holiday tomorrow and instead of sleeping am stressing about what is going to happen!! Hate being like this, anyone else understand what am going through??

[Abittooanxious]

Hi Eraser, I'm not at all surprised that you're having a tough time after all that has happened recently - living day to day can be stressful enough, particularly in difficult economic times when people are worried about jobs etc! I don't think we realise how much pressure we put on ourselves. Exercise is great for stress/anxiety but it is important not to overdo it - you can burn yourself out even more (I know from experience!). I agree with what baylien has said about meditation (and general relaxation) etc. If you haven't already done so, go and discuss all this with your GP and see what he/she has to say. Some counselling/CBT etc. might help to start with. Then there's the likes of yoga, Tai Chi, reflexology, acupuncture... I was a bit on dubious side but have tried some alternative stuff and it can help...

And Teens20, you certainly aren't a freak. There are a huge number of people who suffer the same as you. Many you'd look at in the street, in pubs/bars etc. and think that they were fine - "I wish I could be normal like him/her" - when really you have no idea what's going on under the surface. I work with someone who you'd never for a moment think would be anxious, prone to panic attacks etc. but she went through a stressful period and reached a point where she couldn't leave the house (couldn't go shopping, in car, on trains etc.). With a bit of help from CBT and a mild dose of medication, she was and is fine - a happy life with a new baby. Give yourself credit - v hard bringing up kids and you're confident enough to go on a lovely relaxing holiday . Go discuss it all with your GP - they won't force you to take medication. There are lots of other options for anxiety.

[eric45]

Hi Eraser,

I have a diagnosis of GAD so I feel for you. Life has thrown quite a few curved balls at me in the past few years and that has played havoc with my mental health. Living on constant adrenaline rush and being blighted by negative thinking is exhausting, especially because you don't sleep well and you just get more and more tired over time.

I will tell you what my experience is and that is perhaps different from that of other people here. However, there is no right or wrong. What works for you is what is good for you!

I never found meditation helpful. Instead, it always increased my frustration at my inability to meditate and relax, which in turn made my anxiety worse instead of abating it. Not everyone likes to meditate in the same way in which not everyone likes yoga. Personally, I found that breathing exercises were really good for me. Also some self-hypnosis techniques are quite helpful in reducing anxiety over time. The secret is to practice every day.

Exercise is good but I reached a stage in which I was going to the gym and come out worse than I was when I got in. Sometimes when you are really stressed out, any stimulus triggers the "fight or flight" response in your brain. Even increasing your heart beat on a treadmill, or doing some weights, can trigger the brain into thinking that you are in danger. I had two anxiety attacks after working out. Therefore, I started walking instead. That gets you out of the house, you see people and feel included in the community even if you don't feel too well. Saying hello in a park and exchanging a few words can actually be quite calming.

If you find that your anxiety does not get reduced by anything, then CBT is a good way forward. My advice is to take medication only if you need it but that is best decided between you and your doctor. Don't be scared to go and talk to your GP about the way you feel and if you are unable to cope don't be ashamed to ask for help. If you tackle your problems early you have better chances of a quick recovery.

Best wishes.