Consider that humans feel a VERY wide range of things, anxiety being one of them. Be careful about falling into the trap of deciding that feeling anxiety to start a new year is some kind of predictor or sign of failure or being beyond hope. xx
I needed the message and information in this podcast today. My journey started last year and after a brief period of relief I started feeling the anxiety and experiencing insomnia again. Just hearing that what I'm feeling is totally normal really helped. I wrote this after walking in the park while listening to this. I walked in defiance of the anxiety telling me that it wouldn't help. I am definitely better than I was a few months ago so realizing that is helping me to tolerate what I'm feeling now. Thank you for this.
I think you get better when you don't care that much about getting better and you start to care more about other activities in your life although they might be more or less triggering.
Accurate! I would modify just a little. You will care about getting better. We can't decide to not care about that. But we CAN decide to shift our focus to the other activities in life. Excellent comment! Episode 283 of The Anxious Truth is out tomorrow and it talks about this exact thing.
Thank you.I am behaving differently from three months ago.Just having a few anxious days/nights.Still doing exposures even though I got frustrated at the process.
Drew I notice you don't talk much about the physical symtpoms of anxiety which is a problem for a lot of people. May I ask why? Thank you so much😊 (I'm talking more of the chronic symtpoms and not during panic attacks only)
In a one-on-one situation with a therapist or counselor, there would likely be discussion of your symptoms at the start of the relationship. That's the psychoeducation and productive assurance thing. In this environment - social media and RUclips - if I were to focus on individual symptoms I would have no time to talk about anything else. I am describing an approach to symptoms that gets applied across the board once you start from the promise that bodies react to fear and stress and that none of those reactions are special, dangerous, or in need of specific examination or "fixing". Sometimes I am asked why my RUclips channel is not larger. Probably because of this. If I made videos every week about anxiety symptoms I'd probably have a far bigger audience. There are lots of people doing that already so I'm happy to leave that to them. ;-)
Here I am back to this “what if I never get better” obsession. I’m here every time I suffer severe anxiety & panic attacks for a period of time. I usually require medication because I get so locked in the cycle. But, after time, eventually I do get better. It usually takes me months to “get better” very slowly with daily medication. Anyone who is doing this without medication, know you are brave, strong, and it may take even more time but the work you are doing is so worth it. It’s the ideal victory yoga pose on the mountain that I think we often do hold as the standard to how we feel, even if we weren’t necessarily that person before. & yes sometimes it’s a moment. Even those people victory on the mountain usually aren’t that person 24/7, but in our anxiety brains, we somehow falsify this and convince ourselves that it’s the standard. The standard which we keep comparing ourselves to and gauge as “being better”. As my partner said “it’s not like you did a whole lot more before”. It was tragic yet humorous to hear- but true.
Ive been stuck for 6 months straight with severe anxiety all symptoms all day and overly fatigued My head tells me ill never get better i dont want to leave home I have thoughts i can not do anytjing ill never leave home again etc i have multiple panic attacks at night and never get sleep i feel im losing my mind
Thank you so much for saying the part of omg am I going to get worst and get schizophrenia or other serious mental health problems. This is something I always fear. Getting other mental health problems 😬
Fear of insanity or some other serious mental illness "because of anxiety" is one of the most commonly expressed fears in this community. Top 5 for sure. Its really not just you. You're not alone in that. And for the record (you've probably heard this many times before), there is no path from anxiety to insanity. They are two different things. So forget the insanity or the schizophrenia for a minute. Instead, ask yourself how often you ask if that can or will happen and how often you've felt better hearing the answer ... then needed to ask again the next day. THAT is the issue to focus on. Not the thing you fear. xx
What could I show someone to explain sort of… like, why I can walk to the mailbox today perfectly fine. But then have a massive panic attack doing it next week to seem as if I’ve back slid but be perfectly fine doing it the next day. They wanted to know specifically “ Why your mind hasn't been retaining what you learn when you push yourself to face your fear and everything turns out okay.”
In a room full of 100 anxious people, my reasonably educated guess is that 80 would say this exact thing. So you're not alone in that feeling. But also in the vast majority of cases this assertion turns out to be untrue and only represents that magnified fear arguing that it can't possibly be wrong and should never be faced or allowed without resorting to evasive action.
Serious question can all of this work while being on an ssri like 5mg of Lexapro? No one has mentioned about being able to he’s while on meds. Is that possible?
This is actually addressed quite often. Meds. No meds. Coming off meds. All are welcomed in this community. The use of medications or the choice to try to get off them are very individual choices. The principles I am always talking about apply regardless. The debate over meds isn't if they're right or wrong or if they work or not or if they mean this won't "work". The debate tends to be over who gets the credit when you face your fear and move through anxiety challenges? Do you get the credit or do you insist that it was the medication that got you through? That's the issue you want to focus on.
One of the times I was going through anxiety and panic I took anti anxiety meds but I ended up abusing them. Then I got a whole lot better after working an AA program for 8 years. Anxiety came back last year so I'm thinking this is an opportunity to work on this anxiety in a healthier way.
Here's a reframe that might help. Instead of "the crazy came back" might be be more accurate to say "I'm still afraid of how I feel at some level and I'm responding to that fear by trying to avoid and fix it." That's not crazy coming back. That's a reversion to old habits designed to get away from how we feel, which is way better because we do have some say in that process. I hope this helps.
@@TheAnxiousTruth I meant that the feelings of anxiety hit me hard. I am not afraid of them they are just uncomfortable and annoying. I def dont enjoy the experience it sucks but you cant do much about it except wait for it to pass. For me anxiety hits physically.... I am grateful that the mental worries dont happen anymore.
I have severe PTSD and anxiety. I feel i will never get better or be happy again. I can't stand how i feel.
Really needed to be teminded of this as waking up to another year with anxiety being the first thing i feel
Consider that humans feel a VERY wide range of things, anxiety being one of them. Be careful about falling into the trap of deciding that feeling anxiety to start a new year is some kind of predictor or sign of failure or being beyond hope. xx
In the UK anxiety very high today
I needed the message and information in this podcast today. My journey started last year and after a brief period of relief I started feeling the anxiety and experiencing insomnia again. Just hearing that what I'm feeling is totally normal really helped. I wrote this after walking in the park while listening to this. I walked in defiance of the anxiety telling me that it wouldn't help.
I am definitely better than I was a few months ago so realizing that is helping me to tolerate what I'm feeling now. Thank you for this.
I think you get better when you don't care that much about getting better and you start to care more about other activities in your life although they might be more or less triggering.
Accurate! I would modify just a little. You will care about getting better. We can't decide to not care about that. But we CAN decide to shift our focus to the other activities in life. Excellent comment! Episode 283 of The Anxious Truth is out tomorrow and it talks about this exact thing.
@@TheAnxiousTruth yeah, sorry. Not that you don't care. More like not minding that much. MINDing it literally and figuratevly.
Thank you.I am behaving differently from three months ago.Just having a few anxious days/nights.Still doing exposures even though I got frustrated at the process.
Well it can be a frustrating process at times. No doubt. Good job with all your progress Sean. That was not easy to achieve, I know.
How can I never feel good I try so hard people think no it so easy they don’t know how had it is at times I have thought about ending my life 😢
Drew I notice you don't talk much about the physical symtpoms of anxiety which is a problem for a lot of people. May I ask why? Thank you so much😊
(I'm talking more of the chronic symtpoms and not during panic attacks only)
I believe he doesn’t talk about them because it gets very redundant. It’s never the symptoms that are the issue, it’s how we respond to them.
In a one-on-one situation with a therapist or counselor, there would likely be discussion of your symptoms at the start of the relationship. That's the psychoeducation and productive assurance thing. In this environment - social media and RUclips - if I were to focus on individual symptoms I would have no time to talk about anything else. I am describing an approach to symptoms that gets applied across the board once you start from the promise that bodies react to fear and stress and that none of those reactions are special, dangerous, or in need of specific examination or "fixing". Sometimes I am asked why my RUclips channel is not larger. Probably because of this. If I made videos every week about anxiety symptoms I'd probably have a far bigger audience. There are lots of people doing that already so I'm happy to leave that to them. ;-)
Excellent point.
Elioked, that is a good question, I have the same question.
Here I am back to this “what if I never get better” obsession. I’m here every time I suffer severe anxiety & panic attacks for a period of time. I usually require medication because I get so locked in the cycle. But, after time, eventually I do get better. It usually takes me months to “get better” very slowly with daily medication. Anyone who is doing this without medication, know you are brave, strong, and it may take even more time but the work you are doing is so worth it.
It’s the ideal victory yoga pose on the mountain that I think we often do hold as the standard to how we feel, even if we weren’t necessarily that person before. & yes sometimes it’s a moment. Even those people victory on the mountain usually aren’t that person 24/7, but in our anxiety brains, we somehow falsify this and convince ourselves that it’s the standard. The standard which we keep comparing ourselves to and gauge as “being better”.
As my partner said “it’s not like you did a whole lot more before”. It was tragic yet humorous to hear- but true.
Ive been stuck for 6 months straight with severe anxiety all symptoms all day and overly fatigued
My head tells me ill never get better i dont want to leave home
I have thoughts i can not do anytjing ill never leave home again etc i have multiple panic attacks at night and never get sleep i feel im losing my mind
Hope you found the right help , how are you feeling now?
Thank you so much for saying the part of omg am I going to get worst and get schizophrenia or other serious mental health problems. This is something I always fear. Getting other mental health problems 😬
Fear of insanity or some other serious mental illness "because of anxiety" is one of the most commonly expressed fears in this community. Top 5 for sure. Its really not just you. You're not alone in that. And for the record (you've probably heard this many times before), there is no path from anxiety to insanity. They are two different things. So forget the insanity or the schizophrenia for a minute. Instead, ask yourself how often you ask if that can or will happen and how often you've felt better hearing the answer ... then needed to ask again the next day. THAT is the issue to focus on. Not the thing you fear. xx
What could I show someone to explain sort of… like, why I can walk to the mailbox today perfectly fine. But then have a massive panic attack doing it next week to seem as if I’ve back slid but be perfectly fine doing it the next day.
They wanted to know specifically “ Why your mind hasn't been retaining what you learn when you push yourself to face your fear and everything turns out okay.”
I feel that my anxiety is different from everyone else’s
In a room full of 100 anxious people, my reasonably educated guess is that 80 would say this exact thing. So you're not alone in that feeling. But also in the vast majority of cases this assertion turns out to be untrue and only represents that magnified fear arguing that it can't possibly be wrong and should never be faced or allowed without resorting to evasive action.
Whats the Programme you are using? By the way thankful for your Content. God Bless you😊
I believe the meaning of life to be to Love God, Love your fellow man and do Good!
Serious question can all of this work while being on an ssri like 5mg of Lexapro? No one has mentioned about being able to he’s while on meds. Is that possible?
This is actually addressed quite often. Meds. No meds. Coming off meds. All are welcomed in this community. The use of medications or the choice to try to get off them are very individual choices. The principles I am always talking about apply regardless. The debate over meds isn't if they're right or wrong or if they work or not or if they mean this won't "work". The debate tends to be over who gets the credit when you face your fear and move through anxiety challenges? Do you get the credit or do you insist that it was the medication that got you through? That's the issue you want to focus on.
One of the times I was going through anxiety and panic I took anti anxiety meds but I ended up abusing them. Then I got a whole lot better after working an AA program for 8 years. Anxiety came back last year so I'm thinking this is an opportunity to work on this anxiety in a healthier way.
I wish you would give solutions To what you talk about. How to apply the recovery process..
245 Podcast episodes, three books, and a metric ton of social media content all about how to apply the process.
The book provides instructions on how to create and execute a recovery plan.
I was good for a long time. Got sick with the flu and all the crazy came back im shocked
Here's a reframe that might help. Instead of "the crazy came back" might be be more accurate to say "I'm still afraid of how I feel at some level and I'm responding to that fear by trying to avoid and fix it." That's not crazy coming back. That's a reversion to old habits designed to get away from how we feel, which is way better because we do have some say in that process. I hope this helps.
@@TheAnxiousTruth I meant that the feelings of anxiety hit me hard. I am not afraid of them they are just uncomfortable and annoying. I def dont enjoy the experience it sucks but you cant do much about it except wait for it to pass. For me anxiety hits physically.... I am grateful that the mental worries dont happen anymore.