Anxiety halting my progress

Hi. I have suffered from anxiety and panic attacks for several years. Mine started in relation to health issues but expanded to become generalised anxiety. Here are some things that helped me - Self Help for Your Nerves by Dr Claire Weeks is a fantastic book that I read over and over, Stop Thinking Start Living by Dr Richard Carlson is a great CBT book that helps you overcome negative thinking. I also read some Mindfulness books by Jon Kabbat Zinn - there is one with a great CD that helps you relax. There are a few sites with guided meditations - the Insight timer app is free and there are downloadable meditations on the Tara Brach website. Mindfulness has helped me to live in the present a bit more, rather than worry about the future.

The Anxiety Network is a website with lots of helpful info too.

There are lots of cognitive therapy exercises on the web for free - these can help you see how your mind distorts things. I am definitely someone who sees the negative side of everything and who expects the worse to happen. Your mind gets into patterns of thought and you kind of have to retrain yourself to see things in a logical way again, instead of letting your imagination run away with you.

I wouldn't say I am cured, but I am much, much better. For quite a while I was paralysed by anxiety. I lost my confidence for going anywhere and doing anything and would often have panic attacks. Your world shrinks a bit and you only go to places within your comfort zone. It's been a long haul but anxiety and mental health issues are definitely things you can do something about yourself.

There is no magic wand to make the anxiety go away, but there are lots of free resources on the web - Google cognitive behavioural therapy to start with - and anxiety is definitely something you can work on.

Best wishes.

I can understand having anxiety, and how sometimes this journey can add to it, especially when there's the rest of life to tackle.

The best advice I can offer you is to start break things down into really small steps, and to be patient and kind to yourself. Start with something you think you can handle, some habit or behavior you'd like to improve.

For me it was having breakfast in the morning (which I never did before). Didn't matter if it was a piece of fruit or a granola bar or anything else, the only thing I worried about was getting -something- in. Once I felt I had that I started to look at my lunches and look for improvements there etc etc.

This isn't a race and it doesn't have to be a competition with anyone, even yourself. Perhaps try seeing this journey as one of learning to take care of yourself, learning to prioritize your health and support your well-being beyond other medical treatments. Every healthy choice you make is supportive and could help with your anxiety.

Think of things that'll help you relax, unwind, feel encouraged and less stressed. Maybe stretch for a few minutes before bed or in the morning. Try yoga or a nice hot bath, little TLC things that you can do for yourself along the way. Because losing 5 inches or 10lbs is an achievement, but getting out of bed and facing the day is too. And you're doing that, so build on it a little more as you can handle it, and you'll get there eventually. And hopefully you'll find yourself creating a healthy and supportive lifestyle you can sustain indefinitely

Write down the things you are grateful for until you feel and over whelming presence of Joy . do this once. Day before you get out of bed or do anything. I've recently lost a loved one and this helps tremendously

believeinme0430 wrote: »

I suffer from anxiety too (I do not take medication). It is a horrible thing and it can control you. I find excercing helps me if I do it in the morning to set myself up for the day. If I get where I feel an attack coming on I need to walk that helps me focus and calm myself down. Find something that you love to do (I am still working on this part) they say that help with anxiety too. I hope you feel better soon!

Everybody has written excellent and inspiring posts. I have found that exercising and the correct diet to support it has been really rewarding for me. Unfortunately, it probably takes longer to see results compared to medication, but little victories like endorphine rushes from cardio can be felt right away. I have found that heavy weight lifting has made me feel like I'm protected in armour and my confidence has improved my strength of mind and sense of well being.