Stress Center Peer Support

You know- this may sound silly to many of you but back when this disorder was at it's peak for me, dizziness was probably one of the hardest symptoms for me to deal with. I think it scared me more than anything. I read somewhere that if I was afraid of the dizziness symptoms to deliberately make myself dizzy to challenge those symptoms. So I remember, being on the grass at my parents house with all the children, deliberately spinning in circles and then giving myself permission to feel that way.
One might ask how this was effective for me and I can understand why someone would think it was silly, but to be honest it helped me to deal with that feeling and not fear it anymore. It really is nothing more than a symptom of anxiety. One thing we are all good at is being afraid of the symptoms that come with it.
Trust me when I tell you that I've been there and as uncomfortable as dizziness is, it can never hurt you. In fact, if you do your own research you will find almost all people with dizziness problems do not have any serious underlying issues. I just want to encourage you all to accept your feelings of dizziness no matter how hard that may be. By not accepting them, you are only increasing your anxiety and increasing your symptoms (which in include more dizziness). Hang in there - drink plenty of water and work on your breathing and relaxation methods.

Thanks Sunset 34

Your post made a lot of sense!
Were you symptomatic everyday?

I am 46 years old and have been told that it could be peri-menopause causing the balance/dizziness stuff. I have it everyday.........not feeling anxious, just off balance. I have been getting headaches lately too, they seem to make my balance worse : (

Can anyone relate?

Coco : )

Hi Coco2,

I was definately symptomatic everyday until I stopped caring so much. I think when I began accepting the symptoms, and giving them less power, I began to notice them less and less.

TMJ can cause dizziness, hormone imbalance, dehydration, inner ear problems (labrynthitis) or simply fluid in the ear/sinus, breathing improperly.....

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR REPLY!!!

I understand what you are trying to say,
a Claire Weeks approach. Sometimes I can do that
but having balance issues daily is hard!!! My body and brain are saying 911!

What were your worst symptoms?
Did you ever try meds?

Coco : )

Coco2,

YES!! A Claire Weekes approach for sure! Focusing on something so much only makes it more intense and bothersome.

I would have to say that dizziness and my unreal feelings bothered me the most. I always thought they were signs that something worse was going to happen to me and because of this, I walked around in fear ALL the time.

There was a short time in the beginning when I thought I needed an anti-depressant. I actually heard a story on the news which caused me to think that I needed meds to stop me from freaking out and becoming manic. I remember going to the ER and speaking with a psychiatric nurse. She gave me a prescription for Paxil.
I never took them as prescribed - In fact, I was so afraid of taking them that I cut them into small slivers and only took that for about 6 weeks and then just stopped.

And when it came to anti-anxiety medication, I went to the doctor once and I remember sitting in the room and saying " I feel like I am going to go crazy". He asked me about what was going on in my life and I told him ( I had many, many stressful events) and then he prescribed me
Ativan. I told him that I did not want to become addicted and he said "you won't- I won't let you". He told me to take them 3 x day for 10 days and then no more refills and encouraged me to see a therapist. Well, again, this was around the time I was doing "The truth about Medication & Alchohol" tape and decided to only take an Ativan as needed when I was at my absolute worst. I never ended up finishing that bottle of pills. In fact, they turned to dust I had them so long.

The program told me that I would eventually have to learn to do things without meds and that meds and so I figured why prolong my own suffering?

I have to say it was the best decision I could have made for myself. I believe this is a big reason why I am recovered today and have not had a relapse.

I am glad that I am not the only one that feels this way, sunset34 you said when you stopped focusing on it it got better. Do you have any tips on how to do that? Or anyone eles who has been helped.

Hi Rudie -

I really believe it has alot to do with your internal self-talk. I spent alot of time listening to my cd's, tapes and reading positive things that reinforced those truths.
I also made my own tape of my own voice saying the things I needed to hear and I would listen to it throughout the day. It really is about convincing yourself and this takes ALOT of effort. You have to be persistant.