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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 6 of 6. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by dsmark on March 7, 2001, at 1:42:14
I have had a long problem with anxiety, but I have finally overcome it! This is the way I solved my Anxiety problem. I had a very severe case of anxiety, I was nervous all the time and I could not sleep for like nine months. It was living hell! I had this problem in the past and it would die away and resurface out of nowhere. And during this terrible time, I sought help using the Internet and books on anxiety. And the longer it persisted, the more earnestly sought help using these sources, and I found that it only got worse. I really wanted to see a shrink but I was too embarrassed by the stigma that would entail. I was really torn between the decision. I made some appointments and canceled it at the last moment. I prayed and hoped God would somehow take this away from me. I prayed for so long, I wondered if God actually heard me. I tried every avenue of hope, short of going to the shrink.
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Finally in my ninth month of this problem I stopped fighting the anxiety and started to just enjoy life anyway. As I focused on having a good time, I noticed that my anxiety was slowly decreasing. My sleep got better and now I can sleep like a log anywhere and the anxiety is no more. Anxiety is a real tricky predicament to overcome, the more you try to get rid of it the worse it becomes. So instead of fighting it, I acknowledged it, and went about enjoying life. This resulted in my anxiety lifting. So if you are suffering from anxiety, don't fight the anxiety, instead focus on enjoying life. Listen to music you like, watch your favorite movie, watch some TV. Treat yourself to a good restaurant, and just enjoy life!! You will find out that the anxiety lifting. But if you are always monitoring your anxiety level, and realizing your anxious and trying to figure out how to get out the grip of anxieties strong hold, you'll find yourself deep in the pit of anxiety. When you find yourself trying to escape the anxiety, just acknowledge that the anxiety is there and still do something you enjoy. Don't try to fight the anxiety by doing the enjoyable event, you will find that will only increase the anxiety.
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The key is to STOP fighting anxiety, STOP trying to run away, no matter how heavy the anxiety seems. Just acknowledge it, and say that the anxiety is OK!!
Then you need to something that you enjoy, fill your mind with things you like to do, enjoyable events.
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If you wait for the anxiety to subside in order to get back to your life, it will never go away. Immediately get back into life and start doing things you enjoy and are safe,
you will find that anxiety will automatically subside. The mistake I made that resulted in the nine months of anxiety hell was in trying to get rid of anxiety. When I focused on enjoying life, the anxiety was no more!!
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-MARK DS.
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manager@zerg.com
Posted by sar on March 7, 2001, at 12:59:29
In reply to OVERCOMING ANXIETY, hope my story can help you., posted by dsmark on March 7, 2001, at 1:42:14
Dear Mark,
good for you! your story has really made me think...perhaps it's time for me to drag myself out of the self-help/psychology section of Barnes & Noble. Though the research has helped, I can see it becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy too (the more I read, the more diagnoses I come up with for myself).Anyway, just wanted to let you know that I'm glad for you.
Keep on keepin' on,
sar
Posted by tina on March 8, 2001, at 11:13:40
In reply to OVERCOMING ANXIETY, hope my story can help you., posted by dsmark on March 7, 2001, at 1:42:14
"I had this problem in the past and it would die away and resurface out of nowhere."
Mark
How do you know that this isn't just a temporary abatement?
Mine comes and goes too, sometimes for years but it always comes back. How permanent do you think this solution is? I'm glad you have it under control, I envy you.
But alas, I still live in fear.
Posted by Noa on March 8, 2001, at 15:35:11
In reply to Re: OVERCOMING ANXIETY, hope my story can help you., posted by tina on March 8, 2001, at 11:13:40
I think it does help if you can address the "anxiety ABOUT the anxiety", which is the second layer piled on top of an already distressing feeling. It is the judgmentalness we feel toward ourselves. Sounds like you decided to stop judging yourself about having anxiety and that took a lot of the toxicity out of the picture.
Good for you.
Posted by Miss Amy on March 10, 2001, at 16:22:08
In reply to Re: OVERCOMING ANXIETY, hope my story can help you., posted by tina on March 8, 2001, at 11:13:40
"How permanent do you think this solution is?"
Unfortunately, there is no permanent solution for panic disorder. The panic WILL rear it's ugly head out of the blue sometimes, BUT hopefully having learned the proper coping skills, when it DOES happen we are better able to deal with it. does that make sense? When my therapist first explained this to me, it felt like a death sentence. But now I accept it as part of me. When I do have a "freak-out" (as I lovingly refer to them) I try to pay attention to what is going on in my life. What issues am I not addressing? I am not afraid of them anymore, which is what keeps them at bay. It is so funny--I feel like I am decribing some sort of duel personality or some kind of extra appendage that pops up when it is actually JUST ME. Good grief.
I just want to say how thankful I am that this Pycho-babble thing exists! I have been learning so much and doing a lot more reading than writing. Everyone's stories are so fascinating and diverse, yet at the same time connected and comforting. Through "illness" I am learning so much about myself and other people---maybe there is a positive side to the whole thing.
Posted by coral on March 17, 2001, at 10:03:55
In reply to Re: OVERCOMING ANXIETY, posted by Miss Amy on March 10, 2001, at 16:22:08
"Unfortunately, there is no permanent solution for panic disorder." This is not necessarily true for everyone. I went through panic and anxiety attacks for six months (they were percursors to the onset of severe clinical depression) ten years ago. The attacks were so bad that they woke me from sleep, prevented me from working . . . finding relief was an impossibility. I went to one self-help group, comprised of nice, well-meaning people, who told me I'd suffer from them for the rest of my life. As I explained to them, I was looking for a cure, and would not co-exist with them. They sympathetically clucked at my naivete, and said, "You'll be back." The cure for me turned out to be Buddhist meditation. I'm not suggesting this would work for anyone else but it did for me. I went through a second depressive episode just recently, but no anxiety or panic attacks. I can't prove I'll never have another attack because one can't prove a negative, but being free of them for a decade goes a long way. As someone else on this thread pointed out, the concern/fear over having an attack can be attack-provoking in itself. When I was experiencing them, admitting it to myself and to my husband worked wonders in helping alleviate the severity.
This is the end of the thread.
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