Hi, I have anxiety...How bout you?...lol :D

Hi Flower and welcome!

First of all, thank you for starting a thread of introduction for yourself! It really helps us to get to know you and advise you in the best possible way.:) (and makes the job of moderators so much easier!)

I am sorry to hear of your back pain, and anxiety issues that are in connection with it. I think you have a really good understanding of your triggers however, and this is a very helpful for your recovery goals!

Finding a good fit in terms of therapy is important! Professionals often network, so asking your doctor about a referral would be a good place to start. :)

I have found much benefit through therapy, and I definitely encourage you to pursue this treatment option!

For now, here is the link to our Resources, filled with great self help material that you can get started on anytime. Doing the recommended exercises regularly can lower overall stress levels, and help you to manage both the anxiety and possibly even your pain.

https://www.healingwell.com/community/default.aspx?f=9&m=104206

Post with us anytime for support! We understand, care and are here to listen and keep you encouraged.:)

Talk to you soon,

Scaredy Cat

Hi Scaredy Cat, I'm glad to be here. Thanks for welcome and the resources I will definitely look into them. Glad to know that therapy helped your anxiety. I think it will help me too. How did you know when councillor or therapist was right for you? I was also thinking of going to a chiropractor for my back pain and read how they can help with anxiety. Huuugggss xoxo


Hi Stacey,
Thanks so much for the welcome :) Sorry to hear about your chronic pain. Do you have pain in your back as well?..Have you tried anything for inflammation? I thought I was the only one who had trouble standing in lines.

Great idea, I think I will start exercising to help with my anxiety. So true when you are feeling any pain or feeling down the last thing you want to do is exercise but I'm excited to try. What does the exercise do to help you with anxiety?... and what kind of exercises do you do?

Sorry to hear about your rough couple of days?...I hear ya. I find going for walk helpful too also sitting in the sun and in nature. Ooo, I think I may start a routine of positive mantras too. Hugggss xoxo

Thanks everyone for your support. It means a lot :) <3

Flower,

The first therapist I saw was a referral from my GP. I lucked out, as he was a very kind and calming/gentle type of personality.

If I had not felt comfortable with him after the first two or so sessions...I would have looked elsewhere.

The second therapist I worked with, I found through my insurance network...and again, I was fortunate to find a good fit. :)

Bottom line...if you feel comfortable talking and asking questions...feel like you are being listened to...and can relax and open up without fear of judgement...

...you've likely found someone you can work with!

S.C.

Anxiety sucks big time! Some people will look at you like you're crazy and weak. But not most of them will because people here will understand you and not think that you're crazy or mentally weak. We all have experienced anxiety, I mean all of us in the world. The difference between those you think they don't have it and us is that they just coped and adapted so fast without even being aware of it. In short they didn't let FEAR linger on and create a cycle. This is what we have, a cycle which we became very aware of. It worsens by having racing thoughts, looking up symptoms over the internet, checking yourself up (pulse rate, blood pressure), keeping yourself away from what you've been doing in life before which makes breaking the cycle more harder. I've gone through this before, thought I was terminally ill, had heart problems and kidney failure. I did all the things I've mentioned which made my anxiety worse. I had a week of full blown panic attacks which I thought at first like I was having a stroke or heart attack. Then more symptoms came in like sweating, sudden rise in pulse rate, dizziness, vision problems, sleeping problems and so on. I also had developed agoraphobia.

I overcame all this by reversing what I've been doing since I had anxiety. I stopped googling for symptoms, I kept my mind busy by doing something instead of just focusing on my symptoms or checking on my body the whole day, visited this site more than googling for symptoms, accepted the fact that I have something wrong in me which really didn't really exist because of our fear, ate healthy foods, tried my best to go out where there are other people and started not to care about what they think of me (by doing this you'll get enough sunlight and appreciate the beauty of life around us despite of having anxiety, we're not just the ones who are having a bad day, some people out there are going through more suffering than us and I've seen them all when I go out and often get inspired on how they're able to make themselves look that they're just fine and happy) and also did the breathing techniques which I learned here. I also started to challenge my panic attacks to give me their best shot which just made me understand and more confident that IT WILL NOT KILL ME. And the most important of all is having faith in God that He loves us and He will not let anything happen to us, the only thing He asks us is to TRUST and BELIEVE in Him. With all this, the help of the people here in healingwell and especially God's help, I was able to set myself free from the cycle. I really felt that I was terminally ill and will just have approximately 2 years to live. But I overcame all this within a year and half since I first had it in 2013. It's a hard and long bumpy road but in the end, it's true they say that there's light in the end of the tunnel. Now it's 2015 and I'm still alive and kicking. I have less to no symptoms of anxiety at all. If ever I will have a panic attack it will just be a mild one since I became more confident that it will not do any serious harm on me. There is hope for everyone here! Before I thought there's no hope of improving. Sometimes I even felt like what people say here to me was only meant to make me feel better, that there's no hope for our anxiety, that what I read here will just only help prolong the process before we lose ourselves completely in the cycle, it's either we'll end up losing our minds or that dreaded feeling will eventually kill us. But I was wrong! THERE IS REALLY HOPE FOR US! If we just believe we can overcome all our fears! Going out where there are people and having panic attacks will not kill us! We will feel a lot better by breaking the cycle of fear! We can end it, the thing we have to do is just TRY! If fear made us feel like not going out, TRY going out more often, if fear made us to think we are terminally ill, TRY and start to think that you're not and believe me you'll feel a lot better. Thinking that we're sick can really make us feel that something is wrong with us even if there's no illness at all.

about your back pain I think it can be the cause of some inflammation or the minor out of curve alignment. I hope it will get better in time. Treasure all those days that you feel better! God bless!

Hi Everyone,
It's so great to meet all of you. :) I took some of your advice so far and did some excercise today which I plan to do everyday. Also started eating more fruits and vegatables. I plan to start using on the workseets too.


Hi Hibee, Thanks for the welcome. Huggsss :) I looked into the Bowen Technique and it looks super relaxing. I think I may also get massages as well. What shifts did you notice with anxiety with mindful meditation?


Hi Scaredy Cat, That's great!! Thanks for your suggestions...I really appreciate it.


Hi Stacey,
I found the exercise I did really helpful today. Sorry to hear about the chronic pain that you are experiencing hope you are feeling even better than before. Do you go to a chiropractor?..would they be helpful?


Hi Jojanxiety, Wow!! That was beautiful. Huggs :) I am so happy that you found healing on your journey and that there is hope for us all to heal. Yesterday, when I posted and I saw and felt all the support from everyone here...I cried a bit. I have felt very unsupported in my life and part of that was contributing to my anxiety....so I know I am on the right track. I am going to go back to the times before anxiety and revisit the things I love and filled my heart and my spirit as I feel like I am lacking those things in my life...Less Googling and more living...lol I want to start new adventures.

I want to take new roads, new paths to change things that are no longer working in my life. I want to make a list of all my fears and think about what I need and what I want and stop worrying about what other people think. I have started to shift to thinking that I am well and I am noticing subtle shifts. Yes, it's true some people do look at people with anxiety as if they are crazy and weak but it's not true. It takes soooooooooooooooo much strength to have anxiety...they have no idea how courageous we are. Maybe anxiety is a sign from our bodies that somethings in our life need to change. Thanks you for sharing your journey....I feed good :)


Hi Happy Turtle!! :) :) :)