Anxiety Support Group

Anxiety is a physical condition marked by intense and persistent feelings of distress, fear, angst or dread. General anxiety caused by routine day-to-day stresses usually passes quickly and is experienced by almost everyone at one time or another. However, such feelings that linger over time and are very difficult to cope with, and which lack a clear cause, may indicate...

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Can anxiety be hormonal AND Turning fear into joy

ChlKaw
ChlKaw

I suffer a generalised anxiety that strikes at its worst as soon as I wake up in the morning. The more I have to do that day, the worse it is. Simple things like driving to the shop or meeting a friend make my heart pound faster. This has been going on for 4 years. Anyone going through a similar thing?


I read somewhere recently (it may have been on this forum) that physiologically in the brain, anxiety is no different to the adrenaline of excitement, and that its our interpretation of the sensation that makes it a negative one. Anyone heard of this, and have any suggestions of how to reprogramme the response to adrenaline to be a positive one instead of negative?


Also, I'm female and i've noticed my symptoms worsen at certain stages of my cycle. Is it possible for anxiety to be linked to hormones? And if so what can be done to manage it?


Thanks for your responses to any of my questions! Peace to all xx


GirlinCalif
GirlinCalif
I'm not certain about the first part, but my doctor did tell me that female hormonal cycles do contribute to anxiety levels. This may be why more women than men suffer with anxiety disorders. Hopefully someone else on this forum can answer your first question regarding adrenaline. I'd like to know, myself.
arfie
arfie
Hello Chlkaw. Welcome to the forum.

The OB/GYN who helped me through both of my pregnancies was utterly convinced that hormone surges produce anxiety, even without the hyper-vigilance of mental illness. Adrenaline is a hormone.

As for reprogramming my responses to my anxiety attacks, My psych pros and I believe it is both possible and desirable, "Mindfulness" and "Radical Acceptance" are my primary tools. ^It^ is what ^it^ is, whether I stay on track with my day or drop everything to run in circles crying, "The sky is falling. The sky is falling."

I've also heard rave reviews about CBT as an effective means to the reprogramming end.
Hephzibah
Hephzibah
Hi Chlkaw! I agree with Arfie that it is possible to reprogram your responses. I grew up in a family full of anxiety, stress, anger etc... For me I use thoughts from my faith in God. When I wake up in the morning I have to start my day with prayer, journaling and some positive music/or message. It brings me back to a place of peace. When I go back to see family this becomes much more necessary for me;-) Also I have to be careful how much coffee I drink in the morning-which is very difficult for me cause I love my coffee! The caffeine just kind of puts my nervous system on high alert and kind of turns my brain into scrambled eggs. I haven't been that great with the exercise and diet thing, which helps a lot, so Im determined to get back on track! Hormones definitely effect me and there are times I know Im going to be more emotional than others and I try to prepare myself for it and tell myself "this too shall pass" and maybe try to rest a bit. Peace and prayers <3
Ghostwolf04
Ghostwolf04
I am dealing with the exact same thing since a few months ago. My skin is all broke out, I'm emotional, exhausted, I have pain in my kidney and ovary areas, blood in urine, weight gain....
Doc told me my hormones are out of whack but have yet to identify the cause. They did find elevated cortisol (adrenal gland problems) and they did a test for thyroid issue. I still have more tests to do and check for some rare conditions.
The thing is, prior to earlier this year I never had issues with stress, didn't know what anxiety was.
How can it just come on suddenly like that?
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