We all feel anxious from time to time, but lately we have all been feeling anxious a lot more. Of course, you could justify your anxiety by looking at the state of the world. The economy is slumping, the dollar is falling, oil prices are rising, food prices are rising, the weather is getting worse everywhere. There are millions of reasons to be anxious in today’s world, but could it be something worse? Do I have an anxiety disorder?
The word Disorder in itself is enough to make you anxious. Words have a lot of power and often the word disorder implies something terribly wrong. Disorder itself is defined as a condition in which there is a disturbance of normal functioning. It sounds very clinical but the definition itself gives us the answer to deal with Anxiety!
Our biggest anxiety is that the anxiety itself is abnormal, strange, or possibly even insane. When saddled with the label ‘disorder’ we suddenly start to think of ourselves differently, act differently, and even become more anxious about what was once very simple. Without even realizing it we create more anxiety about our anxiety. This is what I call the downward spiral and it is not fun. There is only one way out.
Choice. If you read the last paragraph carefully you will see that we are choosing to think differently about ourselves. As soon as we decide there are reasons to be anxious, we become anxious. As hard as it might be to believe, your anxiety attacks start hours before you have them. They start when you start becoming afraid of having an anxiety attack, when you become afraid of being anxious around others, and even when you tell yourself that its hard to get over your anxiety.
Remember that Anxiety is NOT a disturbance of normal function. Anxiety is quite normal. The beast your fighting gets bigger every time you decide its bigger. Stop taking it seriously, stop fearing your own fear, and the beast disappears forever.
Accepting the Panic Attack
It seems almost inhumane to say it, but accepting your panic attacks and anxiety is the key to overcoming it. Anxiety is fueled by your thoughts, feelings, stress levels and fears. If you can learn to give in to the anxiety, you can find your way to a healing place.
Anxiety attacks are like an insidious monster, and will feed on your every fear. I have lived with it my whole life and I can tell you, it does a wonderful job of turning into whatever particular ailment you might be concerned about.
Over the course of my battle with anxiety attacks and panic attacks, it has made me think I have cancer, heart problems, thyroid disease, Wilson’s disease, brain tumors and a list that could go on for years. You name it and my body told my brain that I had it. I always kept those fears locked up inside except for the times when I finally gave into the fear and went to the emergency room.
One day I learned that my fears were the driving force for my anxiety. For some this is not the case, but the vast majority have this problem if they have anxiety. After realizing that I was not dying of any deadly diseases, and being checked out thoroughly by a doctor, I began to realize that the fear could be offset by giving in to it. But what do I mean when I say giving in to it?
I allowed it to happen freely. When I began to feel a panic attack or anxiety attack coming on, I would simply tell myself to let it come. Let it wash all over your body and try to welcome it. This is not easy when you are having a panic attack, but I assure you it can be done. Somehow, not fighting the panic attack causes it to be less severe.
Have you ever noticed that when you get to the emergency room, the panic usually subsides or gets better? Why? Because you are in a safe place….(God willing)…
Hopefully this idea will help someone that suffers…If you have some thoughts or experiences that can be helpful or a comment on this, please do comment below. Also, be sure to subscribe.
Until Tomorrow….
Anxiety Depression Symptoms
Anxiety has long been a contributing factor in the development of depression. It is sometimes hard to know which one actually came first – the anxiety or the depression. Anxiety is a general term that describes those with anxiety disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, or various other problems having to do with anxiety. Depression often develops because of the intense and scary feelings that anxiety brings about.
This leads the anxiety sufferer to seek out medical help for a serious problem, only to be turned away time after time. This frustration of not understanding what is wrong and the hopelessness that naturally follows can lead to debilitating depression. This depression can lead to a whole slew of other dangerous symptoms in their own right.
The various symptoms that one might find in someone suffering from anxiety depression include a tightness in the back of the neck and head, headaches, helplessness, hopelessness, anger, fear, exhaustion, and in severe cases suicidal thoughts.
Anxiety depression, or depression that is born of anxiety is one of the most difficult depressions to beat. The reason for this is because you not only have to beat the depression, you must also defeat the anxiety as well. Both the anxiety and the depression feed into one another and this can cause both to seem insurmountable.
Depression or anxiety alone is hard enough, but having them both at the same time is truly hard.
If you suffer from anxiety depression, see a doctor as soon as possible and get some help. There are many things that you can do to make these things better. By all means, anxiety depression symptoms do not have to rule your life any longer.