Posted 10/21/2014 8:09 AM (GMT 0)
Hi Guys,
Ive suffered for more than 15 years. But I have come a long way in recent years. Mostly due to Dr Weekes method.
I just want to share some things about anxiety that have helped me, as I hope it can help someone else!
Here´s what Ive learned thats changed my understanding of anxiety! Let me explain!
You may be quietly going about yor day, minding your own business, when suddenly you feel a wave of panic sweeping over you. It´s a very frightening experience. You feel panic and fear but for no apparent reason. You just can´t make sense of it. So you are left scared and confused. And don´t know which way to turn. Nobody seems to have the answers you´re looking for.
This isn´t a nice situation to be in. I´ve been there and it´s horrible to say the least. It´s amazing how fear and panic can suddenly come into our lives. It´s like watching a horror movie. The ghost appears, your heart starts to beat fast, you become apprehensive, thinking whats going to happen next, will something terrible happen. Your breathing becomes shallower and faster, you may even start to sweat, and become tense.
Horror movies can be very frightening to watch. Personally I´ve never been a big fan. I´d much prefer to watch a comedy and have a nice laugh than to subject myself to feeling scared and apprehensive for more than an hour. If I´m watching a comedy I laugh to myself and feel relaxed and happy. Isn´t this much better!
Comedies give me good emotions, laughter, amusement, fun, happiness and this make me feel good and relaxed.. Whereas horror movies make me feel a little scared, apprehensive, confused and a little worried. And this makes me feel anxious.
The reason for the different reactions to the different types of movies is because our bodies record our emotions. When we feel emotions such as fear, anger, frustration and so on, our bodies via our nervous sytems record these emotions. It starts as an impulse in the brain which travels through nerve channels and goes to different organs and glands in our bodies.
The emotions excite our nervous system which stimulates organs such as our hearts, kidneys, bowels and lungs, to name a few. And it also stimulates glands such as our tear glands, sweat glands and adrenal glands. This is why we get physical symptom like palpitations, a churning stomach, tension and so on.
When the movie finishes however then we stop experiencing these emotions and our nervous systems calm down and everything goes back to normal. The problem with anxiety sufferers is that we unknowingly subject ourselves to our own personal horror movies. We feel anxious and over-react to things, our bodies record the emotions, cause the sympotms, and then we become alarmed because we have these strange symptoms.
Your heart beats fast, you sweat, you may shake, your stomach may churn and so on and this scares you. And the emotion of fear further stimulates the symptoms. This gives your body a lot of work to do. It is working overtime recording all these emotions, so naturally it becomes tried. It becomes fatigued.
And when it becomes fatigued it stops working properly. Whereas before a small emotional reaction would hardly be recorded ,now it is recorded at a higher intensity. You have a small worry such as ¨What if I don´t get to work on time?¨ And you feel anxious. Before you´d be able to dismiss little worries without a second thought but now you become consumed by them. And as you think them you have the symptoms which makes the thoughts seem very scary.
You may even just be concerned with the physical symptoms themselves. Your heart palpitates and you worry about it, you become scared. And as a result it beats faster. You get caught in a cycle of fear adrenaline fear. You feel the symptoms, become scared, which releases more adrenaline, and then the symptoms get worse.
When your nervous system becomes tired like this it is called sensitization, because it becomes more sensitize to your emotions. This is why suffering from anxiety can seem so tricky, you feel like you are at the mercy of every worry you have. And you may feel trapped in your body and mind. You feel lost and bewildered.
But once you understand sensitiztion then you can see how you are unwittingly causing the symptoms to persist. And how by changing your atttude to them, by facing, accepting, floating and letting time pass, then you allow your nervous system to calm down.
So don´t be alarmed by these symtpms they are just a result of a tired body. There is nothing bad happening to you. Take deep breaths, exhale slowly, let go of yourself, stop adding more worry, and let time pass for things to calm down.
Your body is tired and can take time to respond to your new approach, but all the while the adrenaline will be lessening, and your symptoms will subside in their own time. Be easy on yourself. Stop fighting and stop trying to work everything out. Just chill and let it all happen!
Best,
Jon