Posted by GoldenSlumbers on October 19, 2005, at 16:11:04
Hi Everyone,
I am an anxiety sufferer and trying to find some answers. It's been 6 months and the pieces are coming together but the puzzle isn't solved.
I believe my entire anxiety problem is based on the way think and I further believe the symptoms would be reduced by 80% if I could just stop thinking about anxiety all the time.
The trigger for me was the sunami, I saw a lot of death and got scared by the thought of something happening to me.
What would happen to my family ?
I don't want to die !
I couldn't get the thoughts or pictures out of my head and I got really worried. I developed a stomach problem and soon convinced myself I was really ill.
I had mini dizzy spells 30 times a day, chest pain, tingling in the arms & fingers, lost my appetite and lost sleep. Really falling apart and scared.
I tried AD's to calm me but I was scared of them and the side effects made me even more anxious so I stopped.
I started reading self help books and learned that I can control my responses to the anxiety and not over react to the symptoms. This was important as I did not react as strongly to my symptoms and I learned that most symptoms are gone in a few minutes or less.
The miniture dizzy spells continued, but my fear was lessened and chest pains didn't bother me.
Medically everything was cleared and my stomach problem was treated and is no longer an issue. I also discovered anxiety is not a killer like cancer so I could relax about dying.
Now I need to deal with the dizziness and panicky feelings. It's really just a 1 second light headed feeling about 20 times a day followed by mini panic attacks. I worry about my anxiety most of the day so I have this feeling most of the day.
When I don't think about my anxiety, I don't notice any dizzyness. But I have spent months in the habit of worrying so my mind always comes back to it.
I have started a new AD and it helps me reduce the fear and reaction to the dizzyness so I can reflect when it happens. I learned most dizzy spells are caused by a fearful thought I am having.
What if I can't drive !
What if I lose my job !
These thoughts cause the dizzyness to start. I tried thought stopping but I get upset because I just can't stop the thoughts. I now think the thoughts keep coming because I want to feel better and I'm searching for a way out. It's like my soul is searching for a solution. As a result I don't get as scared when the thoughts come. I tell myself it will be alright and it's OK to worry for a moment. Then I remind myself what I'm doing to try and get better and try to apply it.
It will take some time to fully adjust to my AD but it has helped so far. I'm not as scared and I am beginning to understand the complex problem of my anxiety.
When the thoughts start now I try to replace them with thoughts of how my sports team is doing or what I want to accomplish on this earth. It doesn't alway work but it's a start.
This afternoon I was busy enjoying a friends company and a full hour passed with no thoughts and no symptoms. It was good and I'm going to do my best to do it more often.
I hope this helps even one person. I don't have the answers but I'm doing my best
Peace
GB
poster:GoldenSlumbers
thread:568922
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20051017/msgs/568922.html