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Originally Posted by ellie  I suffer from anxiety. Anyone else here struggle with anxiety or have improved their symtoms?
Sorry I'm not feeling like going through all my symtoms, but basically I fear a lot of things, especially talking to people in high authority (which I have discussed in another thread). This is my main concern at the moment.
I would say my symtoms are mounting in a lot of areas and i really want to feel better.
I needs some guidance or feedback. |
Anxiety is something I understand. There are a wide range of anxiety disorders, with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder being at one end of the spectrum and Generalized Anxiety Disorder being at the other.
My mother has all the classic symptoms of OCD (counting, repetitive behavior), and my father has symptoms of Social Anxiety. I too have struggled with anxiety (generalized), further evidence of a strong genetic component.
I had trouble falling asleep at night because I couldn't stop worrying about the day's drama -- most of it invented by me. I used to turn on a fan and put my ear right up to it when I slept, which gave me a wicked case of tinitus, but drowned out the cacophony of my thoughts as I drifted off. I tried Paxil. That helped for a while, but it eventually made my brain feel like Jello, so I stopped taking it.
Do you want to know what finally solved all my anxiety problems? I started living what Steve would call a "congruent" life. In other words, I started living in a way that was harmonious with my internal energies and motivations.
Whenever my anxiety starts getting crazy, it's a sure sign that something in my life is out of balance. Sometimes it's a job, sometimes a relationship. The funny thing is that the object that appears to be causing all my stress isn't always the real source of the problem. To give you an example of what I'm talking about, one time I obsessed about the arrangement of furniture in my living room for two weeks (trying to get it just right, a symptom of many anxiety disorders), when the real source of my stress was my job, not my furniture.
I have learned to quickly identify the areas of my life that are out of balance and to course correct. Anxiety has not been a problem for me in over 3 years.
--John Place