Anxiety? You win not by the punches you give but by the punches you take.

[Jeff1943]

It's no use 'fighting' to overcome anxiety disorder. When you fight back it only causes more tension and more stress. And that's the last thing over-sensitised nervous systems need. Because it was too much tension and stress that got them that way in the first place. 'Fighting' only prolongs the period you suffer from anxiety, it's like throwing fuel on the fire when to recover you need to deny your anxiety the fuel it thrives on.

Although it goes against our natural instincts, we should deal with anxiety by doing the very opposite: we should simply accept anxiety fir the time being. Accepting instead of fighting means we generate less fear, less stress and less tension which gives over-wrought, over-sensitised nervous systems a chance to recover. There's a 'but' coming.

But it's not an instant fix. You probably spent a lot of time and effort getting into your present state of anxiety so it will take a little time at least before you feel the beginning of your recovery. Overcoming anxiety disorder through acceptance may be easy to understand but it's not necessarily easy. Because in the face of all the bad feelings anxiety can throw at you you have to accept them without fear. This takes practice and self-discipline and to begin with you may only be able to accept the symptoms of anxiety for a few min6tes at a time. But accepting for just a few minutes is a good start and you can build on it. This is called 'glimpsing'.

But let's be clear, by acceptance I don't mean just 'putting up with' the bad feelings I mean utter acceptance. So you're still going to feel bad to begin with despite practicing acceptance, it's just that you have found a weapon with which you are going to slay the beast. And you know that the beast is a fraud.

It makes you feel dizzy but it can't make you fall over. It makes you feel nausea but it can't make you vomit. It makes you think you're going to have a heart attack or stroke and die but you never do. And it can give you visual disturbances and sensitivity to light so much so you think you're going blind but you never actually lose your vision do you?

You've allowed yourself to be bullied by a toothless tiger and nobody needs to fear a toothless tiger, that's for sure. So instead of 'fighting' the demons of anxiety do just the opposite: instead of flinching let every muscle in your body relax - and adopt passive resistance to give your frayed nerves a chance to recover.

[Cjonesabq]

Tham you for these words today! Perhaps you were an angel on my shoulder today and knew i needed to here them. Today i have fought and fought. Two trips out and 2 panic attacks later i am back home. When i calm down again, i am left with the jumpiness and jitters in my chest which our constant and completly wrought over something bad happening like my heart giving out.

I remember Claire Weekes saying that you will have physical symptoms for awihile. And that i will recover by Facing, accepting, floating and letting time pass.

Thank you again for these words today!

[mam10583]

Thank you. Especially today. I needed this so much. Another rough day but tomorrow will be better.

[Beevee]

Another great post Jeff. I couldn't have said it better myself.

[91342]

Sensitized nervous system may be the results of emotional or physical trauma. Nevertheless long after the trauma has been neutralized the panic and anxiety persist. Has the nervous system been permantly damaged.? Acceptance, meditation etc all deal with trauma which for most is long gone. Is a damaged nervous system more likely to be the culprit of the physical manifestation shared by most victims. I maintain there is a physical root cause for anxiety and we need to continue to demand medical research

And acknowledgement of so much suffering that has been largely ignored.

[Jeff1943]

91342, it is my understanding that the nervous system is not permanently damaged by being sensitised by emotional or physical trauma, I say that because I have never heard it suggested before. But the sensitisation remains after the emotional or physical trauma that started it has passed. But by then the sensitised nervous system is producing its own symptoms/self-induced traumas that until successfully dealt with by acceptance perpetuate the sensitised state.

It would be interesting to know if there are unknown physical root causes, the only physical root cause I am aware of is that some people's biological make up can produce too much or too little of some particular hormone which causes anxiety and depression. This can sometimes be inherited.