How To Stop Obsessing

I have read everywhere, under many different anxiety recovery bits of how to restore your body to health and all include to stop worrying. You have to stop wondering how you feel, why you feel that way, and it can take up to a few months until you see a change in the symptoms. I read a perfect mental saying of how to accept your symptoms and it is to go "limp" to them. You can imagine going limp. It is something you can mentally feel doing. And I notice a difference when I do this, as if theres this weight off my shoulders of, wow, I really do not need to worry? I have been worrying for months and I really....I really don't need to?

Worry releases stress hormones, stress activates the flight or fight response, this creates changes in the body, and you focus on the symptoms produced.

I have been worrying for six months and NOTHING BAD HAS HAPPENED. You would think that would go in mentally, right?

It can take up to FOUR TIMES AS LONG to return the body to normal health than it does to activate the stress which makes you feel the way you do.

So try going limp. Just for a day. Just fir five minutes. And see of you dont feel a bit of relief.

[england]

Nice comment tralbooks sounds v.use full im trying that cheers

[Agu8383]

Whatever works for you . The problem is when you have a full on panic / anxiety attack this will not work . I think also depends how high level of anxiety you suffer from . You know I am glad that for you it works and helped you .

[Hidden in reply to Agu8383]

My anxiety has gone as high as it possibly can. But I guess I'm saying don't add to the panic and recognize it for what it js

[mzdawn74]

Traibooks,

Thank you for the suggestion. It does make sense even though it does sound kind of difficult. My issue is with shutting off the negative intrusive thoughts of how bad I am and what symptoms I'm having. I literally will listen to every word that I say( I am constantly worried about my speech and what words I am saying incorrectly or when I have a blank when trying to recall a word I want to use) when I am talking to someone and then after the conversation I will score myself on how many mistakes I made, and then there I go thinking about how worse my symptoms are getting. I think maybe some CBT classes and therapy might help me in learning how to turn off those thoughts. I don't know...

[Hidden in reply to mzdawn74]

I have similar thoughts. I catastrophize. I am very imaginative so I can visualize very clearly something happening, where it happens, how I imagine it to feel, the reaction, my own reaction, and in a matter of a second. It's so hard to switch it off, or to gradually stop the habit of jumping to the negative. What helps me is telling myself: "thinking and focusing and trying to figure out the negative will in no way help me. It won't prepare me. It will make everything worse. But think positively has no downside. Not one."

[mzdawn74 in reply to Hidden]

That is great you are able to do that. I guess I need to work on positive self talk!

[Hidden in reply to mzdawn74]

Oh I am not good at it yet. Nope nope. I am still struggling. I know what to do I just have to....do it

[mzdawn74]

It's always easier said than done right? Hopefully we can some action into our words.

[foxglove]

Hi, interesting! Would you be kind enough to tell me the technique you use for going limp? - Thanks

[Hidden in reply to foxglove]

I guess I just have to reason with myself. Tell myself that I've thought this was a concern before but it turned out to be nothing; that the symptoms I worry about disappear when I focus on a new problem. I tell myself to literally go limp and let me feel how I feel. I did it once but then I started thinking again and I was shocked at how quickly everything changed.

[foxglove in reply to Hidden]

Thanks, will try to follow your very sensible advice.