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...
When I first joined this support group I was stuck in a really low point with my anxiety. I was frustrated and upset with myself all the time. I was trapped in a continuous circle of "what ifs", "shoulds", and "shouldn'ts". I just didn't know what to do anymore. I was seriously considering medication, a route I said I would never take, because I felt like I was going to be trapped in my anxiety forever.
Since then, a lot has changed in my life. After hitting such a low point with my anxiety again, I started making a real effort to turn things around. Believing that I had the ability to do that was an extremely important step. It was not easy at first but I kept pushing myself through. I worked with my counselor to to really discover the route of the anxiety. I started being more open about my thoughts and feelings with her than I ever had been over the past three years. I was always afraid of the judgement that I would get over letting people know that I had problems with anxiety, but I finally let my closest friends and family in on what was going on in my life. The advice and support that I got from everyone was more than I could have asked for. I realized that the judgement I was afraid of never came, instead I found some relief. Knowing that I could turn to the people who I love the most in my roughest times helped to calm my nerves a little bit.
Another thing I learned to do was start thinking more positively. Thanks to a lot of the advice and guidance that I received from everyone in the group I was able to learn how to do that. Noticing negative thinking and then being able to change the thoughts was something that took a lot of effort at first. But with the encouragement and guidance that I was receiving from my friends and family as well as many people in this group, it became possible. Now it has become more of a natural process. The positive thinking made a huge difference in my life. It didn't take long for me to notice the happiness and a sense of relief coming into my life.
With the anxiety not completely gone, I knew I still needed to make another change. After being discouraged by an appointment with a psychiatrist, I became even more motivated to prove everyone wrong who told me that medication was the one of the best routes out of anxiety. The next change I made was reconnecting with my faith. I reached out to a ministry leader on my campus and told her about everything that had been going on in my life. Reaching out wasn't easy, but I'm really glad that I did. Reconnecting with my faith and getting involved in church again was something that I needed in my life. I"m not saying that it's what everyone needs, but personally, it was something highly important that I was lacking in my life. Once this happened, my problems with anxiety ultimately disappeared.
The point I want to make here is that being anxiety-free is becoming a reality. A couple of months ago I never would have seen myself at this point. Now I haven't had any anxiety symptoms or feelings in about three weeks and all without ever turning to medication. To be able to say that makes me so happy because for a while I never saw that as a possibility. I feel that I am back in control of my life and now I control my anxiety instead of my anxiety controlling me. I have finally achieved what I have been striving to reach for years now. What I once thought was impossible I now see never was really impossible, I just had to go through the process and find what worked for me.
I want to extend a huge thanks to everyone who helped me through this. Whether it was an encouraging message, advice about a question or situation, or suggestions on how to change the anxiety thoughts. All of the kind words are greatly appreciated and really helped me to figure everything out. I am going to continue doing all that I am doing. I know that I am going down the right path with my life and I plan to continue in this positive direction. For anyone out there who feels that anxiety is forever I recently proved to myself that it is not. There is a way out and everyone has the ability to find the way with a little work and determination.
Since then, a lot has changed in my life. After hitting such a low point with my anxiety again, I started making a real effort to turn things around. Believing that I had the ability to do that was an extremely important step. It was not easy at first but I kept pushing myself through. I worked with my counselor to to really discover the route of the anxiety. I started being more open about my thoughts and feelings with her than I ever had been over the past three years. I was always afraid of the judgement that I would get over letting people know that I had problems with anxiety, but I finally let my closest friends and family in on what was going on in my life. The advice and support that I got from everyone was more than I could have asked for. I realized that the judgement I was afraid of never came, instead I found some relief. Knowing that I could turn to the people who I love the most in my roughest times helped to calm my nerves a little bit.
Another thing I learned to do was start thinking more positively. Thanks to a lot of the advice and guidance that I received from everyone in the group I was able to learn how to do that. Noticing negative thinking and then being able to change the thoughts was something that took a lot of effort at first. But with the encouragement and guidance that I was receiving from my friends and family as well as many people in this group, it became possible. Now it has become more of a natural process. The positive thinking made a huge difference in my life. It didn't take long for me to notice the happiness and a sense of relief coming into my life.
With the anxiety not completely gone, I knew I still needed to make another change. After being discouraged by an appointment with a psychiatrist, I became even more motivated to prove everyone wrong who told me that medication was the one of the best routes out of anxiety. The next change I made was reconnecting with my faith. I reached out to a ministry leader on my campus and told her about everything that had been going on in my life. Reaching out wasn't easy, but I'm really glad that I did. Reconnecting with my faith and getting involved in church again was something that I needed in my life. I"m not saying that it's what everyone needs, but personally, it was something highly important that I was lacking in my life. Once this happened, my problems with anxiety ultimately disappeared.
The point I want to make here is that being anxiety-free is becoming a reality. A couple of months ago I never would have seen myself at this point. Now I haven't had any anxiety symptoms or feelings in about three weeks and all without ever turning to medication. To be able to say that makes me so happy because for a while I never saw that as a possibility. I feel that I am back in control of my life and now I control my anxiety instead of my anxiety controlling me. I have finally achieved what I have been striving to reach for years now. What I once thought was impossible I now see never was really impossible, I just had to go through the process and find what worked for me.
I want to extend a huge thanks to everyone who helped me through this. Whether it was an encouraging message, advice about a question or situation, or suggestions on how to change the anxiety thoughts. All of the kind words are greatly appreciated and really helped me to figure everything out. I am going to continue doing all that I am doing. I know that I am going down the right path with my life and I plan to continue in this positive direction. For anyone out there who feels that anxiety is forever I recently proved to myself that it is not. There is a way out and everyone has the ability to find the way with a little work and determination.
Remember anxiety is not an illness...there is nothing...absolutely nothing wrong with you. Anxiety is nothing more then a habit that plays with your emotions. In fact your body during stressful times is acting spot on. The symptoms may feel uncomfortable while you are going through it but it is in no way harmful to you. During these times, instead of worrying.......problem solve and come up with ways to either alleviate what your dealing with or dust your self off and move on.
Life is soooo filled with positives, but us anxious folks need to program our brains to see this! Continually head in the direction of this positive way of living. Keep working everyday on this and I assure you, life will take on a new wonderful light. Happiness will fill in the cracks that you didn't even know you had. I continue to learn things about myself and I have been over anxiety and depression for almost 4 years now.
To your continued success and happiness!