Anxiety Issues

[trueboo]

Does anyone here have problems with anxiety? Well, I do. It intensifies about a week-and-a-half before my period, too. Hence, I put it Women's Health.

 

Anyhoo, I've been this way all my life. I've made every ordeal into a much bigger issue than it should be. I'm also really good at worrying so much about something that may or may not happen, or something that has already happened but I wish I could change, that I get all the physiological responses that would come with this stuff actually occuring. Going on that, I've started imagining good things that might happen and revisiting proud moments of my life. It works a little, but not as strong a reaction as the negative stuff. Still, it's a start.

 

Does anyone have any other suggestions on controlling unwarranted anxiety?

[Aaron]

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy.

 

Essentially you retrain your head by not feeding the negative thoughts.

[trueboo]

Thanks for the response, Aaron. That's something you can train yourself to do, right? I'd prefer not to get anyone else, like a therapist, involved. I'm trying to be more self-reliant. I could also train myself to feed the positive thoughts, I would assume. Can you recommend any good books on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy?

[Clever Name]

Feeling Good or The Feeling Good Handbook by David Burns are both user-friendly and available at bookstores. They can be used with or without a therapist. Burns is a biggie in CBT (cognitive behavioral therapy), as are Aaron and Judith Beck and Albert Ellis (though I'm not as fond of Ellis). I don't actually have any of Beck's books, but I like his approach. Hope this helps!

[trueboo]

Thanks, Clever Name! I'll check those out. Have you used CBT before?

[Clever Name]

Trueboo, I have...both on myself and with the people I work with as a counselor. In both cases, sometimes it helps, and sometimes not so much...kind of like anything in life! Though I WILL say that, much like folks in 12-step programs say, "It works if you work it." Meaning, don't just read the book and think about how much sense it makes and then wonder why you're not getting any better (as I've been prone to do). I've also noticed that, for myself, simply talking about what I've learned is more helpful than only thinking about it, but still not as effective or long-lasting as the change that comes about from actually doing the exercises laid out in the book. This means be prepared to write--and if CBT is an effective approach for you, you'll start feeling better soon! I wish you luck and look forward to reading about how it's going.

 

Peace,

Beth

[Aaron]

You can probably do it by yourself. I didn't. I read a ton of stuff but in the end having someone help me out with it worked wonders beyond anything I read. I might've been in a bigger mess than ya'll though. In the end I looked at it like getting a personal trainer for my head. We did a few sessions, then I knew what I needed to do and was able to do it.

 

Now I think I've got a pretty solid grip on my mental health to go with my physical health.

 

I'm not big on the 12-step stuff. I tend to believe in cures... I know it works for a lot of people but it didn't seem like a solution for me.

[trueboo]

Thanks, you two. I guess I could get some help if a therapist is covered by my insurance. It's just one of these things I'm sick of dealing with. I'll look into it for sure!

[CollegeB]

You might be able to avoid going to a therapist and finding some kind of support group for anxiety, or maybe there is a therapist doing an anxiety group. I think it's helpful to have others around to point things out and bounce ideas off of.

[Aaron]

If there's a college with a graduate psych department in your area they might do a sliding scale based on income.

[trueboo]

Thanks, Aaron and ColegeB. Those are both good ideas. Never thought to look for groups or look into the grad student thing. Maybe I can combine books with other therapy and kick it for good. Sometimes it hardly bothers me, and every so often it practically paralyzes me. Keeps me on my toes, though. I'm always on top of things. I'd like to extract that quality from it, and lose the other stuff!

[Clever Name]

Aaron, I love your analogy of "a personal trainer for your head." I often use that with my clients--especially those who view therapy as essentially verbal masturbation that can and should go on indefinitely. My job is to make myself unnecessary, not to foster dependence.

 

About the insurance thing--whoo, I hear you there! Ironic, isn't it, that a therapist can't afford therapy (I work for a non-profit serving those with no insurance). I wonder if public defenders can afford lawyers...

 

Does your employer offer an EAP (employee assistance program)? My last job did, and you could get 5 free counseling sessions each year. I'll also chime in and echo the suggestion about the college counseling center. That's how I got my start doing therapy. It was provided free to students and staff, and for $60, members of the community could get 12 sessions. That's $5 a session! Another local university offers 8 free sessions to members of the community.

 

Good luck!

[trueboo]

My work doesn't offer me any benefits besides being extremely flexible with school schedules! I have my insurance through my husband. I'm going to check into those other options. Thanks for the well wishes. I really believe I can accomplish just about anything if I try. I've been surprising myself these last few years!

[lotus]

I definately get anxiety. Not so bad I have to go to the hospital or anything, just mild. But trying to do anything about it gives me more anxiety. I just try ot be aware it is happening and take deep breaths and if I can I tall someone I am feeling anxious. Sometimes, just talking about what is making me anxious right then helps.

[artystik]

listen to this lecture

[Veganitaliana]

listen to this lecture

Thanks for the lecture! Ciao

[artystik]

there are 7 more if you want them go to Garynull.com and click on the audiobooks link on the left hand side. They are entitled "self empowerment". His wisdom helped save my life

[trueboo]

Thanks for the link to the lecture! I haven't peeked at this thread for awhile, but thanks a lot.