My world is getting shorter by the minute
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9oclockreservation
- Posts: 22
- Joined: Sun Apr 19, 2009 12:32 pm
My main symptoms is dizziness. I get dizzy when I walk, when I turn my head side to side an walking at the same time, when I bump in to a table,rack or shelf by the jerking movement of the object I just hit I get an imbalance felling, when I am frustrated, when I am not sure if I took the right decision at work, when people ask me to do something that I don't fell to do. I am freaking my self out when I do normal things ( i do anyway) I am a healthy person I work out almost every day, I have eat good natural food all my life, never did drugs,blood pressure is good, sugar in the blood good also. I know the way I fell it is because of my condition not health related. I've work with the program, isn't working for me I constantly think about my dizziness,over an over. To take the edge off an relax I drink couple glass of red wine at night, but I heat to be dependent from any things. Medications I don't even want to talk about that. I know if I would take it I will start to mess with my head about me been addictive. I was thinking about natural vitamins like St. John Wort. Please help I need my life back for my Family an my career. Thank you all
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Guest
Hi,
I'm sorry that you are having a hard time, and I'm sorry that you don't feel the program is working for you. I don't pretend to have all of the answers for you, but what stood out to me from your post was your description of having dizziness "when people ask me to do something I don't want to do." In that instance, your anxiety is your defense from having to set boundaries and be assertive with other people. I think it's really great that you notice that. Perhaps it would help you to do some boundary work so that you don't have to be dependent on your anxiety as a psychological defense mechanism. I really recommend the book, "Boundaries: When to Say Yes and When to say No" by Dr. Henry Cloud. There is also another book called, "Boundaries: Where You End and I Begin?" that could be helpful.
In addition, although you don't do drugs, etc., and having a daily glass of red wine could even be seen as a healthy habit, I think you are right that you need to find other ways to relax and look at cutting that out of your routine. I see that you are doing all of these good things for yourself such as exercise, etc., so why not focus on adding in some harmless fun:)! How about a daily funny movie or show to relax?:)
Just from this limited information, IMHO, it really looks like your anxiety is your defense mechanism or way of protecting yourself from people or situations that you feel would be even worse than the anxiety, and it could also be a way to distract yourself from thinking about other things that may be more psychologically threatening to you.
Finally, I want to say that in dealing with anxiety and healing from it for many years now, I am just now facing the "shaming" aspect of anxiety. I really see that so many of us have this problem and feel a deep sense of shame about it. Some of us even use that sense of shame to motivate us to take steps to heal, but I think in the long run, it backfires. Of course, we all want to get better, but we should be motivated by love for ourselves instead of using shame as a motivation. Please understand that right now in this very moment when you feel the most pain and feel your world shrinking, you have value and deserve to be loved. You are just as good of a person with this intense anxiety as you would be without it. I think knowing that takes the edge off, and then you can focus on healing for the sake of having a better life that you as a good person deserve to have instead of thinking that if you heal from anxiety that you will be a better person than you are now. You are a good person, even at your worst with anxiety. I am reading the book called, "Released From Shame", and I think it has really given me a lot of insight in this area about my own life. This may not be an issue for you, but I'm just seeing that so many of us who have battled with anxiety feel this shame about having this problem that only adds to the pain and hinders our healing. We're all just as good as anybody else. Everyone has some weakness that they have to deal with, and most people don't feel shame for having migraine headaches. I think that's why sometimes so many of us believe that our symptoms of anxiety are an underlying physical problem. That would be more "acceptable" and less shaming. It would be great if we all could learn to love and accept ourselves at our worst with anxiety. That would be unconditional love:).
Take care,
luvpiggy
I'm sorry that you are having a hard time, and I'm sorry that you don't feel the program is working for you. I don't pretend to have all of the answers for you, but what stood out to me from your post was your description of having dizziness "when people ask me to do something I don't want to do." In that instance, your anxiety is your defense from having to set boundaries and be assertive with other people. I think it's really great that you notice that. Perhaps it would help you to do some boundary work so that you don't have to be dependent on your anxiety as a psychological defense mechanism. I really recommend the book, "Boundaries: When to Say Yes and When to say No" by Dr. Henry Cloud. There is also another book called, "Boundaries: Where You End and I Begin?" that could be helpful.
In addition, although you don't do drugs, etc., and having a daily glass of red wine could even be seen as a healthy habit, I think you are right that you need to find other ways to relax and look at cutting that out of your routine. I see that you are doing all of these good things for yourself such as exercise, etc., so why not focus on adding in some harmless fun:)! How about a daily funny movie or show to relax?:)
Just from this limited information, IMHO, it really looks like your anxiety is your defense mechanism or way of protecting yourself from people or situations that you feel would be even worse than the anxiety, and it could also be a way to distract yourself from thinking about other things that may be more psychologically threatening to you.
Finally, I want to say that in dealing with anxiety and healing from it for many years now, I am just now facing the "shaming" aspect of anxiety. I really see that so many of us have this problem and feel a deep sense of shame about it. Some of us even use that sense of shame to motivate us to take steps to heal, but I think in the long run, it backfires. Of course, we all want to get better, but we should be motivated by love for ourselves instead of using shame as a motivation. Please understand that right now in this very moment when you feel the most pain and feel your world shrinking, you have value and deserve to be loved. You are just as good of a person with this intense anxiety as you would be without it. I think knowing that takes the edge off, and then you can focus on healing for the sake of having a better life that you as a good person deserve to have instead of thinking that if you heal from anxiety that you will be a better person than you are now. You are a good person, even at your worst with anxiety. I am reading the book called, "Released From Shame", and I think it has really given me a lot of insight in this area about my own life. This may not be an issue for you, but I'm just seeing that so many of us who have battled with anxiety feel this shame about having this problem that only adds to the pain and hinders our healing. We're all just as good as anybody else. Everyone has some weakness that they have to deal with, and most people don't feel shame for having migraine headaches. I think that's why sometimes so many of us believe that our symptoms of anxiety are an underlying physical problem. That would be more "acceptable" and less shaming. It would be great if we all could learn to love and accept ourselves at our worst with anxiety. That would be unconditional love:).
Take care,
luvpiggy
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Guest
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Guest
Ok explain this then. This morning right after I posted this above, I got in the car to go to the GYM. I was at the stop light because I had red, green light it is for me I roll the SUV to pass the crossover, I see a Jeep Cherokee coming fast toward me, he's going to T bone me, I press the gas pedal get out of he's pat but I got hit on my rear bumper. This guy run a red light, if I was one going to cross the cross way one second after for sure I was going to go to the Hospital or alse. I come on of my car to go talk to the red light runner, an I realized I was CALM, NO DIZZY,not nervous at all. Why? I almost go kill. How come I get all panicky,dizzy,nervous when I am not in danger or didn't have any thing happening to me like a car accident. This mean something. How can I use the state of calm I felt after the crash toward my condition. Any ones? Thanks
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Guest
90clockreservation,
I also had a car accident this winter and I was cool as a cucumber. I just calmly called 911, my insurance company and the towing service. I wasn't one bit nervous. When the policeman arrived, I was completely fine and answered all his questions. I cannot explain it--you would think I would have been freaking out, but I was not. Maybe it was because I was dealing with a real situation and not something scary that my mind had conjured up and I was letting scare me. That is the only way I can explain it. Our scary thoughts are not real, we juast let them terrify us; but the accident was real and I just dealt with it.
You probably did the same thing. That only proves how wierd all this anxiety stuff really is, doesn't it?
I also had a car accident this winter and I was cool as a cucumber. I just calmly called 911, my insurance company and the towing service. I wasn't one bit nervous. When the policeman arrived, I was completely fine and answered all his questions. I cannot explain it--you would think I would have been freaking out, but I was not. Maybe it was because I was dealing with a real situation and not something scary that my mind had conjured up and I was letting scare me. That is the only way I can explain it. Our scary thoughts are not real, we juast let them terrify us; but the accident was real and I just dealt with it.
You probably did the same thing. That only proves how wierd all this anxiety stuff really is, doesn't it?
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Guest
9:00 and SamCat -
I had a very similar experience with a car accident several years back. I think that you're absolutely right that we didn't panic because we were dealing with a real situation.
Remember that when we go through a panic or anxiety attack, we become so fearful because the body symptoms are coming at a time when it is inappropriate to feel that way. They don't connect to the reality of the situation. But when they occur when they are supposed to, like in a car accident, then we don't fear what our body is doing because it is acting normally.
If only we could be so rational when we're panicking for the wrong reasons!
Jamie
I had a very similar experience with a car accident several years back. I think that you're absolutely right that we didn't panic because we were dealing with a real situation.
Remember that when we go through a panic or anxiety attack, we become so fearful because the body symptoms are coming at a time when it is inappropriate to feel that way. They don't connect to the reality of the situation. But when they occur when they are supposed to, like in a car accident, then we don't fear what our body is doing because it is acting normally.
If only we could be so rational when we're panicking for the wrong reasons!
Jamie