All troubles pass. But you must help them on their way.

[Jeff1943]

If you're experiencing anxiety and depletion, you need understanding, reassurance and a road plan for recovery.

I assure you that they do exist. Untold thousands have experienced what you are experiencing, your feelings and symptoms are not peculiar to you alone.

First it helps to understand how you got into this state. A certain amount of anxiety is good for us, it spurs us on in our endeavours. But if we are subject to too many big problems we reach anxiety overload and our nervous system starts to complain. Those 'big problems' can include over work, worry, loss, disappointment, toxic relationships, guilt, the list is endless.

When our nerves reach anxiety overload they become over-sensitised. In this state they exaggerate all our problems and worries ten-fold. We may experience health anxiety, derealisation, agoraphobia, social anxiety and feelings of iminent doom amongst others. For example, muscular tension in the chest or missed heartbeats due to anxiety 'must be a heart attack on the way'. Always the worst case scenario! And because we worry about our symptoms of anxiety we can become depressed about the way we feel.

The reassurance comes from knowing that none of the symptoms or bad feelings our over-sensitive nerves inflict on us can really harm us. They cannot kill us, they cannot disable us, they cannot make us lose our mind. They are sham symptoms and worries caused by nervous exhaustion and over sensitisation of our nerves. See your doctor and go for tests by all means but when the result comes back "O.K." do not think the doctors "must have missed something". Accept the reassurance these professionals give.

The road to recovery requires some simple changes in our attitude towards the bad feelings and symptoms. You should stop fighting them for a start. Fighting only causes more stress and tension. You don't need more of that, you need less. So stop fighting your illness: the sooner the better.

Then you should accept all the bad feelings and symptoms for the time being. Accept them utterly for the moment. You need to break the vicious circle of symptoms causing fear causing more nervous sensitisation causing more symptoms causing more fear. And so on ad infinitum. So I say again: utterly accept the bad feelings knowing full well they are fake symptoms created by a nervous system on the blink.

When you learn to accept, to co-exist with your symptoms of anxiety, you stop producing the fear hormones on which sensitive nerves thrive. As acceptance replaces fear our nerves return to normal mode and our troubles resolve. We have completed our journey along the Yellow Brick Road to recovery.

The Acceptance method for recovery from anxiety and depletion (depression) was set out many years ago by Doctor Claire Weekes in her inspirational self help book titled 'Self help for your nerves'*. This remarkable woman helped millions to recover according to one famous Boston psychiatrist. Her book is available on Amazon and EBay new or used. Many people past and present on this forum have found it the cornerstone of their recovery.

You are not going to feel like this forever. All troubles pass but we must help them on their way. I commend Doctor Weekes' book to you in the sincere belief that what it has done for untold thousands of fellow sufferers it can do for you.

*also published under the title "Hope and Help for your nerves".

[autumnthebrat2]

Thanks Jeff, words of wisdom

[NikeYrk]

Well said! More people need to understand this and make recovery the goal instead of “coping” so they can get their life back! Claire Weekes is great!

[Jumprope14]

Thanks Jeff, great advise for the people suffering like this. I myself am reading the book now, I was recommended this book several years ago by another person that helps people with anxiety/panic issues. It is excellent! The whole worry cycle is what I deal with, not so much the physical symptoms but let's face it, it's all anxiety. Thanks again for this post.

[junglebook]

Best book ever for those dealing with nervous exhaustion. The book helped me through a terrible and lonely time in my 20's. X I would also reccomend this book. Dr Claire Weeks put in all in perspective and in the layman's language. It's only about £7 and can help anyone to put all the symptoms of anxiety into a way in which you can begin to cope and live a happier life x

[abc30]

Try for a while to not think to yourself. Think to all people that is sick on this earth, with cancer, with chronic disease at lung, people that cannot breathe, cannot live, people that are very poor. Comparing with all of these your suffer is like a breeze. In the same time try to practice elements of yoga, specially relaxation Technic. Lay down on bad, try to relax first left leg, then right leg, then left hand, then right hand, then your head. Finally feel your body heavily. Concentrate your mind to feel entire body in the same time, legs, hands, head. Concentrate then your mind to imagine that you are in the middle of meadow with a lot of flowers with many smells and wind blows lightly. Somewhere is a spring with crystal water. The sky is deep blue and you feel lost in its infinity. Try to keep this feelings for 30 minutes. Your anxiety will disappears .