One of my biggest phobias is illness. It has been since I was a little kid. When I was a kid we lived with my great grandmother and great-great aunt. My grandmother had a lot of illnesses — heart disease, high blood pressure and diabetes among them. But, I think she was not as sick as she thought she was. Was she a hypochondriac? No, I don’t believe so…she was really sick; but I think there were many times that she had symptoms generated more from depression and anxiety than her ver real illnesses. I remember my mom having to call an ambulance during the middle of the night to take her to the hospital several times.
I think being a kid who was already anxious made me even more sensitive to my surroundings. My dad left us when I was about three years old and both of my grandmothers passed away within two years of my parents divorce. I don’t remember much about either of them, but I remember enough to know that I didn’t understand the concept of death and dying. From that young age I began to feel insecure about the people around me and I was afraid of losing more of them. Seeing my grandmother suffer as often as I did deepened that sense of insecurity and instilled a real fear of illness in me.
Yes, I had a full blown panic attack yesterday morning. The upset stomach and being tired from the long weekend sent me over the edge. I felt the anxiety building and instead of doing the relaxation exercises and self-talk that “Combatting Stress and Depression Program” teaches. I let the anxiety win. Honestly, I feel like I took a pretty big step backward yesterday. It had been four days since I’d had a full blown panic attack and I wanted to make it five. But, it didn’t happen. The actual panic attack didn’t last very long, but I was anxious most of the day.
Read my latest journal update on my blog and get in on the coversation:
http://jwalkergs.wordpress.com/
Yes, I'm scared of being sick!!
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Guest
Jason,
You need to add more tools to your 'anti-anxiety' tool box.
Let me suggest the following:
Exercise - 2 hours of viggourus exercise daily, you can jog, play tennis, ride a bike, treadmill, swim, or what ever you like, just do it!
Diet - Sugar and Caffene FUEL anixety. It's up to YOU and only YOU to do something about this.
Thoughts - I'm sure you already know that if you dwell on negitive or scary thoughts THAT alone will increase anxiety. Catch yourself (yes it takes practice) and STOP yourself when this happens and change your thoughts to something pleasent. Find something you really enjoy and concentrate on that. Personally I lke trains, I know it sounds weird but when I find my self getting all worried I make a concious decision to think about trains or how fortunate I am to live in this country instead of Iran or somewhere likt that. We are WAY luckier than we realize. Sometimes it's good to stop and think about that, when I do it always makes me feel better.
Hope I wasn't too rough on you, I'm just trying to help.
God Bless and Peace be with you.
Don
You need to add more tools to your 'anti-anxiety' tool box.
Let me suggest the following:
Exercise - 2 hours of viggourus exercise daily, you can jog, play tennis, ride a bike, treadmill, swim, or what ever you like, just do it!
Diet - Sugar and Caffene FUEL anixety. It's up to YOU and only YOU to do something about this.
Thoughts - I'm sure you already know that if you dwell on negitive or scary thoughts THAT alone will increase anxiety. Catch yourself (yes it takes practice) and STOP yourself when this happens and change your thoughts to something pleasent. Find something you really enjoy and concentrate on that. Personally I lke trains, I know it sounds weird but when I find my self getting all worried I make a concious decision to think about trains or how fortunate I am to live in this country instead of Iran or somewhere likt that. We are WAY luckier than we realize. Sometimes it's good to stop and think about that, when I do it always makes me feel better.
Hope I wasn't too rough on you, I'm just trying to help.
God Bless and Peace be with you.
Don
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Guest
Hi Jason,
I can definitely relate to you!! My major fears are associated with illness and my physical body symptoms. I, too, grew up with an elderly grandmother in my house, who, thankfully, was well for some time, but then got progressively sick. My mother feared hospitals and sickness and everything associated with it--so what did she push me to do? I am in medicine!! And some days I like it, and some days it pushes me over the edge.
The physical symptoms are very real and very scary and it is important that you know that you are going to be okay. I have been trying to reel mysel fin before I get to a full-blown anxiety attack. When I start to first get symptoms, I start positive self-talk, "You're okay, you've had this before, you know what it is, it won't harm you." Most times it works, but I have had very bad moments when I am unable to pull myself in and it results in a meltdown (I had one this weekend as a matter of fact). Start journaling as I am sure you will be able to identify a pattern or a source of your stress. Also exercise is a great way to burn off that excess panic...I always go for a long brisk walk and it seems to cool my mind down. It is a process getting through this, but this is a great place to start!
I can definitely relate to you!! My major fears are associated with illness and my physical body symptoms. I, too, grew up with an elderly grandmother in my house, who, thankfully, was well for some time, but then got progressively sick. My mother feared hospitals and sickness and everything associated with it--so what did she push me to do? I am in medicine!! And some days I like it, and some days it pushes me over the edge.
The physical symptoms are very real and very scary and it is important that you know that you are going to be okay. I have been trying to reel mysel fin before I get to a full-blown anxiety attack. When I start to first get symptoms, I start positive self-talk, "You're okay, you've had this before, you know what it is, it won't harm you." Most times it works, but I have had very bad moments when I am unable to pull myself in and it results in a meltdown (I had one this weekend as a matter of fact). Start journaling as I am sure you will be able to identify a pattern or a source of your stress. Also exercise is a great way to burn off that excess panic...I always go for a long brisk walk and it seems to cool my mind down. It is a process getting through this, but this is a great place to start!