Posted by Noa on November 7, 1999, at 9:49:23
In reply to Uncommon issues in anxiety treatment [long], posted by Phil R. on November 6, 1999, at 23:51:14
Phil, I could see how one could become anxious about doing relaxation exercises--I think of it as a performance anxiety, the fear that one is going to mess it all up. Also, you talked about how letting your guard down is scary--getting relaxed might be a form of letting the guard down, and who knows what might come to mind then.
I think one thing that could help is a therapist who will be very supportive, and not make you go at a pace that is too fast. Opening up difficult topics in therapy can induce anxiety and other symptoms, so you would need a therapist who would let you control the pace and who could talk with you about the anxiety you feel in the therapy itself. Finding a therapist with whom you feel very very comfortable and who is very very patient would be helpful. It would also help if you could sort out your meds and find one (or a mixture of several) that help take the edge off the anxiety. Good luck.
poster:Noa
thread:14715
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/19991108/msgs/14729.html