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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Hypervigilance

Brockster
Brockster

I'm finding now, as I have in the past, that after a period of intense anxiety I'm now in this place of hypervigilance where I'm sort of constantly monitoring myself for thoughts or feelings of anxiousness. It's sort of a feeling of waiting to be anxious, if that makes sense. It's frustrating, because it tends to become a self-fullfilling prophecy. Constantly scanning myself to see if I'm anxious creates anxiety.


I recognize what I'm doing, and I try to get out of my mind, but it's tough. I know there is a time component to this, where the longer I go without feeling super anxious the more I'm able to relax from hypervigilance to just vigilance and eventually to just awareness or something, but it's frustrating, or maybe more like disappointing. Whichever, I'm trying to be gentle with myself, take my PRN meds if I feel like I need them and working on accepting the feelings instead of trying to run from them.

Community LeaderMid
Mid
Keep on writing it out.
arfie
arfie
The all natural, hormonal cocktail which provides the physical enhancements of anxiety is self-perpetuating, replenishing hormone cocktail automatically during rounds of sustained anxiety. Turning off that auto-replenishing feature gets my vote as the hardest part of recovering from a bout of sustained anxiety.

I try to focus on the physical effects of this bizarre little all-natural high. Racing thoughts, etc., are one of those physical symptoms. Accepting that I am temporarily impaired helps me lighten up while I work my recovery.

Easy does it, Brockster. You are not alone. Lean freely. Lean often.
Brockster
Brockster
Thanks guys (and everyone else here). Having the support of people who understand first-hand what it is to deal with this is a source of both comfort and strength.

A setback like this after years of remission, or whatever you want to call it, sucks and is disheartening. But it also reminds me that I have a lot of work to do that I was ignoring while I was feeling okay.

So, little by little, day by day, I'm going to try to work my way back to feeling like myself, doing what I need to do to for myself and my family. (which is all way easier to say at this moment when I'm feeling pretty good then when that little voice is whispering in my ear and my heart really wants to start racing for no reason).
Sunshinegirl0228
Sunshinegirl0228
I have times like that. Where I’m anxious about feeling anxious. Grounding exercises really help with that. Learn to be in the moment. It’s hard at first but if you practice, you’ll get better.
Secouya
Secouya
I have pretty constant hypervigilence. I’ve been through some pretty bad experiences and have seen things that no one should ever see. This has left me with huge trust issues. I keep my house locked up like a fort, I don’t do well in crowds because I don’t like people walking behind me and I’m always on guard.. it’s exhausting, but I’ve seen what people are capable of.

I am trying to work through this, but have a difficult time with it. I hope you find serenity and peace.
Brockster
Brockster
Anxiety can certainly create a helluva feedback loop. When I'm anxious I want to know why I'm anxious and how to "fix it" so it goes away which makes me more anxious because it doesn't work that way. When I'm not anxious I wonder when anxiety is going to show up. Like you said Secouya, It's exhausting.

I know from past experience that this too shall pass. That these feelings will slowly fade and, eventually, I won't remember what I was so worried about. But I'm slowly learning that changing my relationship with anxiety is the only thing that's going to work long-term, so I'm really trying to commit myself to working on that.

Here's to hoping we can all find internal peace.
arfie
arfie
It helps me to remember that anxiety is a natural part of the human condition and there is no cure for the Common Me. That awareness allows me to treat anxiety like a smoke detector that goes off just as loud for burnt toast as for a house fire. I shoot to investigate, turn off the alarm (when I can find that damned reset button) and get back to more important business.

There is no cure for anxiety, but it can be managed, even during acute flareups.
hyperpgal
hyperpgal
that is so interesting--I have a problem with hypervigilance--but it is always directed outward--looking on the horizon for the next thing that will be a problem.....can't imagine if I were always screening myself--I guess you could turn it into a good thing if you instantly address the tension and stress that you are beginning to feel--like dealing with it before it gets to a big huge problem...? start deep breathing-writing in a journal-say some positive affirmations...and so on...
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