Thinking of you all

Hi All

Sorry not been on much as have a lot on at the moment sorting out the final statements for my employment tribunal case coming up. I have been popping in and reading the posts and I hope every one is ok and keeping up the fight against the dreaded anxiety.

I have also been having a lot of back pain which has been an extra hassle. I am on my 4th week of a mindfulness course and highly recommend it to you all I have found it to be much more helpful than CBT so look it up on the web just a suggestion.

Take Care every one

Hibee

Hi SC

Yes case will be 7th-8th August will be glad to get it over and done with has taken a lot out of me and what ever the outcome I just want to draw a line under it and move on.

Hibee

Hi Mike

good to hear from you and I agree about what you say about CBT. CBT is good for teaching you techniques to use when you get anxious and helps you to identify the triggers but it is just one tool that you can use and I am hearing more and more people who have found CBT not for them. I was glad that I did CBT but it has not made a massive impact on my anxiety which some may find controversial when I say that as it has been the buzz word.

I think when you have an anxiety disorder or any kind of mental illness you need to have a range of tools which you can pull on to help you through tough times which we all experience. It is also a personal thing and what works well for one person may not for an other.

Over the last couple of years I have looked very closely at what makes me tick I did this buy doing a number of therapies over the last few years including Cognitive Analytical Therapy which focuses in on your child hood and looks into why you have anxiety and routes out the cause, It is a long therapy I had 20 sessions and it ultimately ended with me getting a diagnoses of Asperger's Syndrome which is the route cause of all my anxiety. I found this therapy to be very beneficial and I am glad I did it.

I then did CBT and learned ways that if I was having high anxiety I could bring it back down to a more manageable level and identified the triggers and anxiety cycles I had developed over the years which were very complex. During this time I was also seeing a pdoc and have been on medication to help with the symptoms of anxiety and depression. I was also glad I did this course and would still recommend it to members but for me I was still suffering with a lot of anxiety and intrusive/racing thoughts.

I have had a very stressful year so far (long story) and have had endless doctors appointments. My doctor put me in touch with a local mental health charity here in Scotland who offer a verity of therapies free of charge to people with mental health issues. It was there that I found out about mindfulness meditation and booked onto the course and just had my 4th session yesterday which was all about acceptance. I have found it to be helpful to me I also have a chronic back pain and have found it helps with that. I think it will just be an other tool in my armory to beat this dreaded anxiety. There is a lot of information on the web but here is some I found:-

Mindfulness meditation. This type of meditation, which has its roots in Buddhism, concentrates on getting you more in touch with your thoughts and feelings so you can truly live in the moment. Many types of meditation fall under the “mindfulness” category, like vipassana, which involves focusing on your breathing in order to diminish awareness of worrisome thoughts. “As soon as your mind wanders or you notice noises outside or sensations in your body, you just come back to the breath,” Maria says. Another form of mindfulness meditation is walking meditation. In this type of mediation, you walk slowly, carefully paying close attention to each step you take. “The idea with walking meditation is that you are present and as mindful as possible,” Maria says. With each movement you make as you walk, your attention is fully in the present moment, she explains. Mindfulness meditation aimed at stress relief is sometimes called mindfulness-based stress reduction, or MBSR.

Life for us can be very difficult and we need to take care of ourselfs and try and live in the moment the best we can. It has taken me a long time to accept and be kind to myself rather than beat myself up every day. It is important to have a good support network were you feel you can be truthful and honest with out the fear of being ridiculed by others who do not understand. We all have a hidden disability and face stigma and discrimination in our day to day life's which I am currently fighting. Mental illness affects 1 in 4 people at some stage in their life's but there is still so much stigma out there which is wrong.

Wow that was a bit of a rant so to answer your question I think mindfulness is going to help me out and help me live in the moment rather than worry about the past and the future.

Hibee

Hi Hibee,

That sounds great..I enjoyed reading your rant lol
Glad you found something that works for you..
and it sounds like something we should all be trying!