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...
Very very long post sorry
Demystify the sensations.
It is often said that anxiety/panic is fear of fear. Now this can be an enlightening statement for many and help them to free themselves very quickly from the grip they are holding themselves in. For others, this seems to just add to the confusion. I would like to help out by breaking down this statement for those who have trouble rationalising and realising this into a permanent cure. Anxiety is not really the fear of fear to me it is the fear of safe protective sensations.
Anxiety/Panic is a recipe; it is made of the same ingredients for every single person.
Some ingredients are more pronounced and some ingredients are more subdued for each person. The reason for this is the amount of attention we give each ingredient. Why do we give some ingredients more attention? This is because different ingredients scare some people more than others. In other words, although the ingredients are identical, we each react differently because we attach a different scary meaning to certain sensations. We attach scary what-if thoughts to these sensations and we try to resist the thoughts and sensations as a consequence. Why do we resist? .. because we fear, we are anxious.
The cure via understanding
If we stopped fearing, by knowing exactly what was occurring we would stop resisting,
Likewise,
The cure via exposure therapy
If we stopped resisting we would stop fearing because we would demonstrate to ourselves in real time that these sensations/ingredients are completely safe .
As you can see there are two catalysts out of this bouncy-castle of bulls**t we have built for ourselves.
As stated The sensations of adrenaline are present because we fear them.
We continue to manifest these sensations because our body initiates the defence mechanism to fight these sensations which of course produces more sensations, because of our resistance, because of our fear.
The sensations are not actually anxiety; anxiety is YOU being scared of the sensations.
The sensations themselves arent anxious, the sensations arent scared, they just are, they are just sensations, safe sensations, beneficial sensations and helpful sensations. Yes Really.
Why does the body continue to do this manifest these sensations because we continue to be scared. There are no exceptions; this is true of everyone, everywhere, for however long you have had anxiety/panic.
Dr Claire Weekes once said there is no mystery here...
As stated in the rather eclectic link www.nothingworks.weebly.com (there are many analogies contained therein) anxiety/panic is like the Wizard of Oz the wizard seems terrifying at first (as the big green projection), but when he is seen for exactly what he is (a frail old chap behind the curtain) Dorothy and her friends no longer fear him. They no longer fear him because they can see that the whole ruse/con is just a mechanism, a safe mechanism.
Let us demystify the sensations, by breaking them down into manageable chunks and addressing them one by one. Let us see what is behind the curtain so to speak
#### Sensations in your head ####
Derealisation This make the world look a little like a cartoon, it is caused by a build-up of safe stress chemicals in the nervous system. Claire Weekes described this: Strange feelings of unreality have no real significance in nervous illness. Recovery does not lie is trying to switch them off, or to tranquillise them away, or in trying to avoid them. Recovery lies in going right through them, in a relaxed a way as possible. from Hope And Help For Your Nerves It is important to note that because everyone on earth has a fight-flight mechanism, everyone in the world will experience derealisation at times, it is - COMPLETELY HARMLESS
Enhanced Hearing, this can sound spooky, like being in the cinema watching a ghost-film, we have this because we need it to listen closely for danger. It is important to note that because everyone on earth has a fight-flight mechanism, everyone in the world will experience this enhanced hearing at times. Its like having spider senses from the Spiderman movies. When I was highly anxious, I could hear a pin drop at 100 yards. It is - COMPLETELY HARMLESS
Light-headedness & dizziness, this is cause by a completely safe increase in blood pressure, your cardiovascular system changes in the fight-flight response, your blood pressure goes up as a result of your heart beating faster to make you stronger and faster. It is important to note that because everyone on earth has a fight-flight mechanism, everyone in the world will experience this light-headedness & dizziness at times. In fact you probably experienced it many time when you were young, playing hard and spinning around to make yourself dizzy. It is - COMPLETELY HARMLESS
Feeling like you have a tight band around your head, this seems on the surface to be a very strange sensation, but there is a definitive and beneficial reason for this. You have muscles stretching all over your skeletal system, some of these muscles stretch over and around your head. During the fight-flight response these tighten and harden to create a type of internal safety helmet. This protects your skull from any potential impact. This sensation can stretch across your shoulders and down your back. It is your internal armour plating It is important to note that because everyone on earth has a fight-flight mechanism, everyone in the world will experience this tightening at times. My wife, who has never had anxiety, will sometimes say she has a tight mushroom head. She doesnt complain about it, she just can experience the sensation if its been a stressful few days. She doesnt worry about it because she knows its of no consequence whatsoever. Of course what happens when she doesnt worry the sensation goes away quickly. Use this as an example for all sensations, notice I didnt say she never gets the sensation itself, notice that I said she gets the sensation and doesnt worry about it. Does she have anxiety? No, she has a sensation, if she had anxiety, she would worry about the sensation. The sensation is not anxiety; the resisting of the sensation is the anxiety. This sensation, like ALL others is, yep, youve guessed it - COMPLETELY HARMLESS
Numb Mouth Why on earth would we get a numb mouth with the fight flight response, well the lips, tongue and nose are body extremities where blood is not needed for fighting or fleeing, so blood is directed away from these areas. This also has a benefit especially for the mouth. The mouth is and can be a weapon, the lack of blood means the skin sensors pain receptors are fed with less fuel so one of your main weapons is pain numbed to make you a better fighter. It is important to note that because everyone on earth has a fight-flight mechanism, everyone in the world will experience this numbing at times. It is - COMPLETELY HARMLESS
Sharp and/or tunnel vision, this one should be obvious, we need sharp and focussed vision to identify predators and prey quickly and easily. It is important to note that because everyone on earth has a fight-flight mechanism, everyone in the world will experience these vision changes at times. It is - COMPLETELY HARMLESS
Blurred Vision, this one should be obvious. Our eyes get tired. It is important to note that because everyone on earth has a fight-flight mechanism, everyone in the world will experience these vision changes at times. It is - COMPLETELY HARMLESS
#### TORSO/ABDOMEN ####
Upset Stomach. Food digestion is inhibited because it is not necessary for fleeing or chasing other animals. It is important to note that because everyone on earth has a fight-flight mechanism, everyone in the world will experience these stomach upsets changes at times. It is - COMPLETELY HARMLESS
Shortness of Breath. Oxygen is required to power all of the bodily systems. Our bodys default reaction in stress is to try to increase oxygen intake. It is important to note that because everyone on earth has a fight-flight mechanism, everyone in the world will experience this sensation. It is - COMPLETELY HARMLESS
Heart Palpitations The heart is the bodys motor, during the fight-flight response it beats faster to supply energy and oxygen to all the cells which need it. I seem to recall Dr Claire Weekes saying that the heart can beat at around 200 beats per minute for hours, days, weeks on end with no ill effects. Given that the heart will only beat at this rate during the peak of actual panic, and an average panic episode will last between 5 minutes and an hour. That gives plenty of room for manoeuvre. The heart is completely and utterly well within its safety parameters, even in the most extreme and long lived peak panic experiences. It is important to note that because everyone on earth has a fight-flight mechanism, everyone in the world will experience these heart palpitations at times. It is - COMPLETELY HARMLESS
Tense muscles and joints Your body is powerful, strong and ready to fight or flee or chase some prey. It is important to note that because everyone on earth has a fight-flight mechanism, everyone in the world will experience this tension at times. It is - COMPLETELY HARMLESS
#### EXTREMETIES ####
Numb Hands and Feet: Almost identical to the numb facial features but this time to reduce pain whilst running over any terrain (we didnt always wear shoes) or fighting, the hands is and can be a weapon, the lack of blood means the skins sensor pain receptors are fed with less fuel so your main weapons are pain numbed to make you a better fighter.It is important to note that because everyone on earth has a fight-flight mechanism, everyone in the world will experience this numbing at times. It is - COMPLETELY HARMLESS
Muscle Shakes, the muscles are primed for action, they are full of energy, in the modern world we may not use up all of this prehistoric energy. The energy has to dissipate, it does this by shaking. It is important to note that because everyone on earth has a fight-flight mechanism, everyone in the world will experience this muscle shakes at times. Claire Weekes described it as nothing more than an automatic reaction of the body, no different than tapping yourself on the knee and watching your leg jump up. It is - COMPLETELY HARMLESS
Jelly Legs You wouldnt get jelly legs if you were running or chasing something, this is because of unused energy. Although your legs feel like jelly they are much stronger than normal. You will not collapse. It is important to note that because everyone on earth has a fight-flight mechanism, everyone in the world will experience being weak-at-the-knees at times. It is - COMPLETELY HARMLESS
#### GENERAL ####
Sweating This one is very obvious, we sweat to lose heat, when the body gears up for action and the heart pumps faster and the muscles get stronger, and the body gets hot. To maintain temperature equilibrium, we sweat. It is important to note that because everyone on earth has a fight-flight mechanism, everyone in the world will experience sweating at times. It is - COMPLETELY HARMLESS
Disconnected: Feeling disconnected from your body This is the source of much confusion even amongst anxiety and medical professionals, it is often lumped in with derealisation, but it is not the same. It has as much in common with derealisation as it does with heart palpitations. It is most definitely caused by the fight-flight response and as with all other fight-flight sensations has a simple explanation. Firstly remember that you cant actually disconnect from your body. Secondly what is it? Well, we each have many senses, you know the five: sight, sound, smell hearing and feeling. Well, the feeling sense can be further subdivided, skin senses for hot-cold, pain, etc. Also there is an internal sense with a posh name of proprioception. Dont be scared by this, its only a word; this tells you the relative position of all your body parts in relation to each other. In other words, if you close your eyes, and move your arms, you can tell that they have moved, you can sense it. You can sense it because throughout your body you have little stretch sensors attached to the muscles, ligaments and tendons which continually send information to the brain to tell us what body position we are in. It happens without us ever noticing it. We only notice it when believe the signal is confused. The signal is not actually confused at all, it is operating perfectly, it is telling the brain exactly what is happening. When we tense up under the influence of good-old-safe-adrenaline, our muscles tense up, our ligaments contract, this contraction sends a myriad of normal healthy signals to the brain. He signals are still healthy, they are just different to what we have been used to in a more relaxed state. It is important to note that because everyone on earth has a fight-flight mechanism, everyone in the world will experience these proprioception changes at times. It is - COMPLETELY HARMLESS
Disconnected Feeling disconnected from your environment: This is nothing more than a tired mind, more Claire Weekes "Just like a student who has studied for 4 hours may get exhausted and can't read another word and needs to relax, so do the anxious sufferer who has been studying himself for week, months or years without any relaxation". Its not harmful. . It is - COMPLETELY HARMLESS
Hot flushes anywhere in the body - When the body gears up for action and the heart pumps faster and the muscles get stronger, and the body gets hot. It is important to note that because everyone on earth has a fight-flight mechanism, everyone in the world will experience these hot flushes at times. It is - COMPLETELY HARMLESS
Finally you would need all these changes if you were not fighting, or fleeing but actually chasing prey in order to eat around your prehistoric campfire.
This is why excitement is physiologically identical to fear.
Fear is running from the tiger because you feel you are in danger.
Excitement is chasing the boar because you love the hunt.
So what exactly is paradoxical intention?
It is when you tell you sensations to do their worst, to show yourself that they really cant harm you.
Well panic is caused by us trying to escape the sensations, by using the paradoxical approach you are chasing the sensations, trying to make them worse, you are now on the hunt, you have no fear, you can get the same sensations but now they excite you. Once they excite you, you dont fear them. Once you dont fear them. They go away.
Happy hunting.
I hope this helps.
Demystify the sensations.
It is often said that anxiety/panic is fear of fear. Now this can be an enlightening statement for many and help them to free themselves very quickly from the grip they are holding themselves in. For others, this seems to just add to the confusion. I would like to help out by breaking down this statement for those who have trouble rationalising and realising this into a permanent cure. Anxiety is not really the fear of fear to me it is the fear of safe protective sensations.
Anxiety/Panic is a recipe; it is made of the same ingredients for every single person.
Some ingredients are more pronounced and some ingredients are more subdued for each person. The reason for this is the amount of attention we give each ingredient. Why do we give some ingredients more attention? This is because different ingredients scare some people more than others. In other words, although the ingredients are identical, we each react differently because we attach a different scary meaning to certain sensations. We attach scary what-if thoughts to these sensations and we try to resist the thoughts and sensations as a consequence. Why do we resist? .. because we fear, we are anxious.
The cure via understanding
If we stopped fearing, by knowing exactly what was occurring we would stop resisting,
Likewise,
The cure via exposure therapy
If we stopped resisting we would stop fearing because we would demonstrate to ourselves in real time that these sensations/ingredients are completely safe .
As you can see there are two catalysts out of this bouncy-castle of bulls**t we have built for ourselves.
As stated The sensations of adrenaline are present because we fear them.
We continue to manifest these sensations because our body initiates the defence mechanism to fight these sensations which of course produces more sensations, because of our resistance, because of our fear.
The sensations are not actually anxiety; anxiety is YOU being scared of the sensations.
The sensations themselves arent anxious, the sensations arent scared, they just are, they are just sensations, safe sensations, beneficial sensations and helpful sensations. Yes Really.
Why does the body continue to do this manifest these sensations because we continue to be scared. There are no exceptions; this is true of everyone, everywhere, for however long you have had anxiety/panic.
Dr Claire Weekes once said there is no mystery here...
As stated in the rather eclectic link www.nothingworks.weebly.com (there are many analogies contained therein) anxiety/panic is like the Wizard of Oz the wizard seems terrifying at first (as the big green projection), but when he is seen for exactly what he is (a frail old chap behind the curtain) Dorothy and her friends no longer fear him. They no longer fear him because they can see that the whole ruse/con is just a mechanism, a safe mechanism.
Let us demystify the sensations, by breaking them down into manageable chunks and addressing them one by one. Let us see what is behind the curtain so to speak
#### Sensations in your head ####
Derealisation This make the world look a little like a cartoon, it is caused by a build-up of safe stress chemicals in the nervous system. Claire Weekes described this: Strange feelings of unreality have no real significance in nervous illness. Recovery does not lie is trying to switch them off, or to tranquillise them away, or in trying to avoid them. Recovery lies in going right through them, in a relaxed a way as possible. from Hope And Help For Your Nerves It is important to note that because everyone on earth has a fight-flight mechanism, everyone in the world will experience derealisation at times, it is - COMPLETELY HARMLESS
Enhanced Hearing, this can sound spooky, like being in the cinema watching a ghost-film, we have this because we need it to listen closely for danger. It is important to note that because everyone on earth has a fight-flight mechanism, everyone in the world will experience this enhanced hearing at times. Its like having spider senses from the Spiderman movies. When I was highly anxious, I could hear a pin drop at 100 yards. It is - COMPLETELY HARMLESS
Light-headedness & dizziness, this is cause by a completely safe increase in blood pressure, your cardiovascular system changes in the fight-flight response, your blood pressure goes up as a result of your heart beating faster to make you stronger and faster. It is important to note that because everyone on earth has a fight-flight mechanism, everyone in the world will experience this light-headedness & dizziness at times. In fact you probably experienced it many time when you were young, playing hard and spinning around to make yourself dizzy. It is - COMPLETELY HARMLESS
Feeling like you have a tight band around your head, this seems on the surface to be a very strange sensation, but there is a definitive and beneficial reason for this. You have muscles stretching all over your skeletal system, some of these muscles stretch over and around your head. During the fight-flight response these tighten and harden to create a type of internal safety helmet. This protects your skull from any potential impact. This sensation can stretch across your shoulders and down your back. It is your internal armour plating It is important to note that because everyone on earth has a fight-flight mechanism, everyone in the world will experience this tightening at times. My wife, who has never had anxiety, will sometimes say she has a tight mushroom head. She doesnt complain about it, she just can experience the sensation if its been a stressful few days. She doesnt worry about it because she knows its of no consequence whatsoever. Of course what happens when she doesnt worry the sensation goes away quickly. Use this as an example for all sensations, notice I didnt say she never gets the sensation itself, notice that I said she gets the sensation and doesnt worry about it. Does she have anxiety? No, she has a sensation, if she had anxiety, she would worry about the sensation. The sensation is not anxiety; the resisting of the sensation is the anxiety. This sensation, like ALL others is, yep, youve guessed it - COMPLETELY HARMLESS
Numb Mouth Why on earth would we get a numb mouth with the fight flight response, well the lips, tongue and nose are body extremities where blood is not needed for fighting or fleeing, so blood is directed away from these areas. This also has a benefit especially for the mouth. The mouth is and can be a weapon, the lack of blood means the skin sensors pain receptors are fed with less fuel so one of your main weapons is pain numbed to make you a better fighter. It is important to note that because everyone on earth has a fight-flight mechanism, everyone in the world will experience this numbing at times. It is - COMPLETELY HARMLESS
Sharp and/or tunnel vision, this one should be obvious, we need sharp and focussed vision to identify predators and prey quickly and easily. It is important to note that because everyone on earth has a fight-flight mechanism, everyone in the world will experience these vision changes at times. It is - COMPLETELY HARMLESS
Blurred Vision, this one should be obvious. Our eyes get tired. It is important to note that because everyone on earth has a fight-flight mechanism, everyone in the world will experience these vision changes at times. It is - COMPLETELY HARMLESS
#### TORSO/ABDOMEN ####
Upset Stomach. Food digestion is inhibited because it is not necessary for fleeing or chasing other animals. It is important to note that because everyone on earth has a fight-flight mechanism, everyone in the world will experience these stomach upsets changes at times. It is - COMPLETELY HARMLESS
Shortness of Breath. Oxygen is required to power all of the bodily systems. Our bodys default reaction in stress is to try to increase oxygen intake. It is important to note that because everyone on earth has a fight-flight mechanism, everyone in the world will experience this sensation. It is - COMPLETELY HARMLESS
Heart Palpitations The heart is the bodys motor, during the fight-flight response it beats faster to supply energy and oxygen to all the cells which need it. I seem to recall Dr Claire Weekes saying that the heart can beat at around 200 beats per minute for hours, days, weeks on end with no ill effects. Given that the heart will only beat at this rate during the peak of actual panic, and an average panic episode will last between 5 minutes and an hour. That gives plenty of room for manoeuvre. The heart is completely and utterly well within its safety parameters, even in the most extreme and long lived peak panic experiences. It is important to note that because everyone on earth has a fight-flight mechanism, everyone in the world will experience these heart palpitations at times. It is - COMPLETELY HARMLESS
Tense muscles and joints Your body is powerful, strong and ready to fight or flee or chase some prey. It is important to note that because everyone on earth has a fight-flight mechanism, everyone in the world will experience this tension at times. It is - COMPLETELY HARMLESS
#### EXTREMETIES ####
Numb Hands and Feet: Almost identical to the numb facial features but this time to reduce pain whilst running over any terrain (we didnt always wear shoes) or fighting, the hands is and can be a weapon, the lack of blood means the skins sensor pain receptors are fed with less fuel so your main weapons are pain numbed to make you a better fighter.It is important to note that because everyone on earth has a fight-flight mechanism, everyone in the world will experience this numbing at times. It is - COMPLETELY HARMLESS
Muscle Shakes, the muscles are primed for action, they are full of energy, in the modern world we may not use up all of this prehistoric energy. The energy has to dissipate, it does this by shaking. It is important to note that because everyone on earth has a fight-flight mechanism, everyone in the world will experience this muscle shakes at times. Claire Weekes described it as nothing more than an automatic reaction of the body, no different than tapping yourself on the knee and watching your leg jump up. It is - COMPLETELY HARMLESS
Jelly Legs You wouldnt get jelly legs if you were running or chasing something, this is because of unused energy. Although your legs feel like jelly they are much stronger than normal. You will not collapse. It is important to note that because everyone on earth has a fight-flight mechanism, everyone in the world will experience being weak-at-the-knees at times. It is - COMPLETELY HARMLESS
#### GENERAL ####
Sweating This one is very obvious, we sweat to lose heat, when the body gears up for action and the heart pumps faster and the muscles get stronger, and the body gets hot. To maintain temperature equilibrium, we sweat. It is important to note that because everyone on earth has a fight-flight mechanism, everyone in the world will experience sweating at times. It is - COMPLETELY HARMLESS
Disconnected: Feeling disconnected from your body This is the source of much confusion even amongst anxiety and medical professionals, it is often lumped in with derealisation, but it is not the same. It has as much in common with derealisation as it does with heart palpitations. It is most definitely caused by the fight-flight response and as with all other fight-flight sensations has a simple explanation. Firstly remember that you cant actually disconnect from your body. Secondly what is it? Well, we each have many senses, you know the five: sight, sound, smell hearing and feeling. Well, the feeling sense can be further subdivided, skin senses for hot-cold, pain, etc. Also there is an internal sense with a posh name of proprioception. Dont be scared by this, its only a word; this tells you the relative position of all your body parts in relation to each other. In other words, if you close your eyes, and move your arms, you can tell that they have moved, you can sense it. You can sense it because throughout your body you have little stretch sensors attached to the muscles, ligaments and tendons which continually send information to the brain to tell us what body position we are in. It happens without us ever noticing it. We only notice it when believe the signal is confused. The signal is not actually confused at all, it is operating perfectly, it is telling the brain exactly what is happening. When we tense up under the influence of good-old-safe-adrenaline, our muscles tense up, our ligaments contract, this contraction sends a myriad of normal healthy signals to the brain. He signals are still healthy, they are just different to what we have been used to in a more relaxed state. It is important to note that because everyone on earth has a fight-flight mechanism, everyone in the world will experience these proprioception changes at times. It is - COMPLETELY HARMLESS
Disconnected Feeling disconnected from your environment: This is nothing more than a tired mind, more Claire Weekes "Just like a student who has studied for 4 hours may get exhausted and can't read another word and needs to relax, so do the anxious sufferer who has been studying himself for week, months or years without any relaxation". Its not harmful. . It is - COMPLETELY HARMLESS
Hot flushes anywhere in the body - When the body gears up for action and the heart pumps faster and the muscles get stronger, and the body gets hot. It is important to note that because everyone on earth has a fight-flight mechanism, everyone in the world will experience these hot flushes at times. It is - COMPLETELY HARMLESS
Finally you would need all these changes if you were not fighting, or fleeing but actually chasing prey in order to eat around your prehistoric campfire.
This is why excitement is physiologically identical to fear.
Fear is running from the tiger because you feel you are in danger.
Excitement is chasing the boar because you love the hunt.
So what exactly is paradoxical intention?
It is when you tell you sensations to do their worst, to show yourself that they really cant harm you.
Well panic is caused by us trying to escape the sensations, by using the paradoxical approach you are chasing the sensations, trying to make them worse, you are now on the hunt, you have no fear, you can get the same sensations but now they excite you. Once they excite you, you dont fear them. Once you dont fear them. They go away.
Happy hunting.
I hope this helps.
This is absolutely terrific. Don't apologize for the length... this is a HUGE help for so many. Many of us suffer with a more physically-based condition as opposed to phobic/situational conditions so it's great to see someone giving such extensive education on that end of things.
It's so awesome what you're doing, Chris. Thanks so much from all of us.
I am learning so much and everything that you, Adventureguide, LuckyEmpathy have brought to light will and are helping so many ppl.
I'm still having a few sensations.....but now they actually make me smile and I get on with my day (or night). I'm learning to ignore the few symptoms I have left and I'm not afraid any more. This diffuses the whole thing IMO.....what a difference when you look at it at a whole different angle.
This would be a great print out for those that need reminders until they "get it"
Thnx for jumping on board and helping us tackle anxiety :)
Remember your anxiety is a five year old child, scared sitting in a dark bedroom looking at the vague outline of a terrifying monster sitting on the chair in the corner of the room.
Tell that child you and him/her are going to turn on the light and see the monster. You and your child are going to look at the monster in the eye.
To do this you are going to ask you body to actually bring on the sensations. You are going to turn on the light.
Note: The monster is actually just a pile of clothes.
It is impossible to be anxious about the normal sensations of stress if you don't fear the normal sensations of stress.
It's ok to have stress sensations.
Also. Non anxious folk still have anxiety, they fluctuate between a 2 and a 4 out of ten on most days.
To eradicate a fear you must face your fear. Whether it be a situation or a sensation(s).
To use sensations as an example, if you fear being lightheaded and dizzy to face this you must let yourself be as dizzy and lightheaded as possible without trying to put on the brakes.
You putting on the brakes is what keeps anxiety switched on.
I'll reword. Anxiety has an ON switch and an OFF switch.
The ON switch is you trying to be non anxious.
The OFF switch is you genuinely trying to make your sensations worse with no conditions.
This is not easy. It takes practice and dedication, if you fear a lot of the normal sensations of stress.
Or it can happen quickly, for example if you fear a single sensation, and are willing to concentrate on the sensation you fear and try to make it as bad as you can without any conditions.
A great example of this is found in Dr David Burns (the father if modern CBT) book about panic attacks. He had a patient who was terrified of having a heart attack. He had her doing jumping jacks until she realised that doing jumping jacks was the complete opposite of what actually happened in cardiac wards. She was absolute terrified during the therapy session but she TRUSTED him enough to take his advice. She finally demonstrated to herself under guidance and through her own bravery that it was impossible for her to die from panic.
Anothe great example is DR Harry Barry who requests that his patients try to have as many panic attacks as possible for a week.
Yes they are that safe. 100% safe.
Have you ever noticed that although you may be scared if panic and anxiety , your body doesn't give a stuff what you think. Because your body knows how safe the sensations are. Once you stop fearing it, it evaporates. If it is still present it is because you are still scared, there is no other reason.
So here's an offshoot question...
What if it's not specific symptoms we fear, but the fear of the general condition returning? i.e. fear of setbacks?
I've worked on the fear of individual symptoms for years now and made great progress. So day to day, I still have anxiety and panic but I can roll with it.
But when I get into setbacks, they are so extreme and harsh... the panic rolls across days and weeks at such a high level it's hard to cope and not catastrophize because my mind feel so compromised by the chemical state. (This usually starts out of a sleep pattern and rolls on.)
How do you suggest one gets their mind in a better place to handle a condition that has big wide swings like that, particularly when they feel so automated and out of the blue?
Did you go through any kind of similar phase?
So what if your heart beats fast let it beat fast.
So what if you feel dizzy let yourself feel dizzy.
So what if you feel numb let yourself feel numb.
Etc etc.
Get the tools and knowledge to fully understand that your disorder is not a disorder, its just a collection of normal sensations. UTTERLY HEALTHY sensations.
Know your symptoms to know you are not ill. This will stop you catastrophising.
Thus if YOU KNOW that it is just normal bodilly sensations only being present because you feared them (the vicious circle) you would FULLY UNDERSTAND THE FOLLOWING:
THERE IS NO CURE, THERE IS NO MAGIC WAND, THERE IS NO MAGIC PILL, THERE IS NO MAGIC TECHNIQUE.
There are strategies we can implement in times of derperation duing our self created BS but ultimately ...
STOP TRYING TRYING TO CURE NO AILMENT.
You cant cure no disease.
You can't put into order something that isn't disordered.
If someone goes to the doctor with nothing wrong with them, what cure should the doctor use?
If someone who was completely healthy went to the local hospital emergency department what should the doctors do? Yes nothing.
When the doctor tells you you have anxiety or panic, he is actually telling you that there is nothing whatsoever wrong with you in any way.
No interlectualise this:
The is no cure ... fully understanding this IS the cure.
That's what Dr Claire Weekes was telling us all along.
That person is you.
I love all of your scientific "back up" to what cause anxiety. Your information is right on the money.
Truly...knowing this information is what helped me to completely overcome anxiety and depression. It allowed me to understand what was making my body feel so awful.
Because of this information....when my sympathetic nervous system kicked on and ignited my fight or flight response with a jolt of adrenaline.....it no longer scared me. I could then calm down simply by slowing down my breathing and turning on my parasympathetic nervous system. Ahhhhhh...I am thankful for this normal body function! This then gave me an opportunity to change the negative thought that started the whole process to begin with.
Doing this over and over again rewired the thoughts that caused my anxiety. Hence the anxiety and depression eventually dissolved. Now when a stressful situation comes up....I have tools to help myself process through it.
Thank you for the WONDERFUL explanation!
My best to you!
Observation: Asking the body to show me what I feared, not shrinking from it.
Embracing: Asking for a little more so I could take a learning from it ... what learning ... that it wasn't quite as scary as yesterday.
After the fear the body can still produce the same sensations, but they are only the sensations of tiredness, mental fatigue, and surplus adrenaline burn up.
Thanks for the reply.
There really is nothing to fear, there really is no illness.
I have the knowledge and tools to free myself from anxiety. My body is responding well to all the information I apply from your info...Adventureguides info, and Luckyempathy's info.
I can not emphasize enough to STOP.....LISTEN TO YOUR BODY.......APPLY THE TECHNIQUES SUPPLIED......AND RETURN TO NORMAL.
I have learned to stop the snowball effect and I have exited the merry-go-round of anxiety. Whew!
Corralling your energies when they have gone awry is tricky....but not impossible.
If a young child came to you in total distress....you would need to calm him/her down first in order to help them. Talk to yourself like you would this small child in distress to calm them down. If it means wrapping yourself up in a warm blanket or playing some soothing music, etc.....do that while telling yourself you are ok no matter how bad the symptoms seem. If you can't calm down, go to your computer and turn on youtube and listen to self hypnosis clips for anxiety....I love the ones that are guided so I don't have to think of the words myself. Once you are calmed down a bit.....you can look around and become aware of your surroundings to see that you are not in any danger and knowledge that. Don't try to figure it out (the trigger).....just continue to try and soothe yourself. Do the deep breathing until your breathing comes under control.
Replace the thoughts with positive affirmations.
In other words....talk yourself through it and then praise yourself for being able to calm yourself and think positive thoughts.
Make sure you do some kind of distraction if you feel yourself being sucked back into panic attacks. If you feel one coming on......go for a brisk walk or some kind of activity like jumping rope to go with your heart beating faster and or harder....that's right.....work it out.
I'm not as eloquent or in sequence like cjdb or Adventureguide are....but as the thoughts of what I have done come to me is what I am typing at too fast a pace to corral my thoughts in order.
These folks are not selling snake oil or asking for money.....they are giving you facts and things to rid yourself of anxiety and panic attacks once and for all......I'm proof it works!
By the way....your posts are wonderful and encouraging for folks who are also on the path to putting anxiety into their pasts. You have a wonderful way of bringing what you are learning into real life situations and examples. I have learned so much from you also. I love your calm down techniques and your ways to use up excess adrenaline....wonderful!