Reactive anxiety.

[brtrude]

Hey guys,
i have been debating whether or not to post this thread for a while but i thought i would just go for it.
I was diagnosed with reactive anxiety a couple of months ago brought on through stress at work. It has been a couple of months now and its getting better but still i have spells were i struggle a bit more than usual with it.
I wont go into too much detail unless anyone can share some advice and a bit more detail would help but i was just wondering if anyone else has ever encountered this problem and can lend some advice or words of wisdom?

thanks

 

[Outcast]

I have my own portion of anxiety issues, with my PTSD, all I can say is talk to someone about everything you are going through. I personally have a really hard problem talking about what I am going through, but I can talk about everything that I did and had to do when I was in Afghanistan. It is very tough to go through, especially since I have random anxiety attacks. It doesn't take too much to set me off, a bad dream is all it takes, and I will be "well done" for a few days. And do not even get me started on pictures of dead soldiers, last time I saw some of those I was a wreck for 3 weeks.

 

[Karoni]

Brtrude, I don't know if you will find this helpful, but I'll offer it anyway. There's a fantastic book called Feeling Good by Dr. David Burns. It's a book about cognitive behavioral therapy. Basically, the idea is that our feelings (in this case, anxiety) are caused by our thoughts. Sometimes, our thoughts (called automatic thoughts in the book) come so quickly we aren't even consciously aware of them. Anyway, the whole premise of the book is that we can change the way we feel by changing the way we think. He says that many times we think somewhat irrationally about things and if we can "reframe" the thoughts to make them more rational, we'll feel better.

Most people who I share this seem doubtful about it. But I'm here to say that CBT really works. I highly recommend this book. I am by nature an anxious person and I have found a lot of relief by using these techniques.

Best of luck to you!

 

[brtrude]

thanks Karen i appreciate the advice, i will look into the book that you have mentioned.
I am not naturally an anxious or nervous person but the last couple o fmonths have been a real struggle. I am a qualified teacher and was part way through my first year and it just hit me, out of no were. I was struggling at home, having panick attacks in school, and then that transfered to every day situations.Now i am out of work, my contract at school was due to finish a feww weeks ago anyway but i wernt in school for about 3 weeks before the end of my contract.
I am on medication perscribed by the doctor and it is helping but he said it will take time and i will have to take them for a good while.

But, like i mentioned before, its getting better, the good spells are better and the rough patches are getting easier to deal with.

 

[Outcast]

Do you see a therapist? I know usually when I see mine I have a rough couple of days and things start getting better. If you were to be able to find out what started the anxiety, maybe you could figure out good ways of facing those types of situations.

 

[dan803]

I have severe social anxiety, depressive mood disorder, general anxiety disorder, and panic disorder with agoraphobia but overcame that. I have panic attacks from time to time but not nearly as bad as I used to. I went years without going to any sort of cinema or theater settings in fear of having an anxiety attack.

I know a lot of people think talk therapy is garbage but that along with medicine has made dramatic changes in my life and may be something you might want to think about.

 

[KingCrimson<3]

I was misdiagnosed with bipolar disorder a few years ago when I started having really terrible anxiety. They put me on all kinds of medications, from anti-psychotics to SSRI anti-depressants to ADHD medications to serious sedatives. Nothing helped, I was still anxious, and the anxiety and stress aggravated my chronic back pain which made me more anxious and stressed. I finally stopped taking all of it, and started meditating and seeing a decent therapist.

The meditation allows me to recognize and prioritize the thoughts, activities, pressures and deadlines that exacerbate my anxiety, and it gives me time to take a deep breath and really think about the things that are important. I've also found, both with my back pain and my anxiety that having a prescription for something that has an immediate effect can help ease me through activities that make me anxious about my anxiety. Knowing that you can take a pill and make it go away for a little while seems to make it tolerable, so long as you make the choice to try to get through without.

 

[oneirogenesis]

I'm going to second Karen and KingCrimson's suggestions.

I was diagnosed with social anxiety disorder a few years ago. I did cognitive behavioral therapy with a psychiatrist at that time and it helped me develop enough confidence to land my first real job. CBT worked wonders for me. I'm still amazed all the time by how much I can do now that I am not inhibited by constant social anxiety. A big part of my therapy was not only being mindful of my thoughts, but testing the accuracy of my thoughts. If I frequently find myself thinking a certain negative thought that precipitates anxiety, I conduct an investigation about that thought. For example, if I think "I'm going to mess this up," whenever I speak in public, I consider it a hypothesis to be proved or disproved with evidence. To date, I've been commended by my peers whenever I actually have spoken in public, which is evidence that I probably won't really mess anything up. CBT is a process of carefully listening to your thoughts and recognizing certain thoughts that tend to bring on negative feelings for you. As you slowly change the way you think, you start to feel better. It's about thinking realistically.

Prayer and meditation are also very effective methods for quieting and centering the mind, if you have a spiritual bent of any sort. The principles of CBT are surprisingly compatible with the Buddhist practice of mindfulness. I would definitely recommend picking up a course, a book or some form of instruction on meditation if you are able. It is not necessary to have any specific religious/spiritual beliefs to practice meditation and it achieves results for a wide variety of people. Buddhist meditation techniques are a good place to start, but different techniques work for different mindsets. I'm a bookworm and I like to memorize passages from books, scriptures and poetry that calm me, which I can recite to myself whenever I get stressed. Reciting them means that I can't chatter and worry in my mind anymore, because all of my mental faculties are focused on recalling and understanding a text.

I hope all goes well for you. Being self-aware and opening up is the most important step. Best of luck in everything!

 

[brtrude]

I'm going to second Karen and KingCrimson's suggestions.

I was diagnosed with social anxiety disorder a few years ago. I did cognitive behavioral therapy with a psychiatrist at that time and it helped me develop enough confidence to land my first real job. CBT worked wonders for me. I'm still amazed all the time by how much I can do now that I am not inhibited by constant social anxiety. A big part of my therapy was not only being mindful of my thoughts, but testing the accuracy of my thoughts. If I frequently find myself thinking a certain negative thought that precipitates anxiety, I conduct an investigation about that thought. For example, if I think "I'm going to mess this up," whenever I speak in public, I consider it a hypothesis to be proved or disproved with evidence. To date, I've been commended by my peers whenever I actually have spoken in public, which is evidence that I probably won't really mess anything up. CBT is a process of carefully listening to your thoughts and recognizing certain thoughts that tend to bring on negative feelings for you. As you slowly change the way you think, you start to feel better. It's about thinking realistically.

Prayer and meditation are also very effective methods for quieting and centering the mind, if you have a spiritual bent of any sort. The principles of CBT are surprisingly compatible with the Buddhist practice of mindfulness. I would definitely recommend picking up a course, a book or some form of instruction on meditation if you are able. It is not necessary to have any specific religious/spiritual beliefs to practice meditation and it achieves results for a wide variety of people. Buddhist meditation techniques are a good place to start, but different techniques work for different mindsets. I'm a bookworm and I like to memorize passages from books, scriptures and poetry that calm me, which I can recite to myself whenever I get stressed. Reciting them means that I can't chatter and worry in my mind anymore, because all of my mental faculties are focused on recalling and understanding a text.

I hope all goes well for you. Being self-aware and opening up is the most important step. Best of luck in everything!

that sounds great! its really good to know that this is something you can get over!
If you dont mind me asking, what job do you do now? I dont know if my future is still in teaching,, or whether i just need to do something more ordinary and less stressful for a couple of years to make me stronger and give me more experience working full time.

 

[oneirogenesis]

I have a pretty ordinary job; I'm a barista at a local independent cafe. I attended uni for almost a year when I was younger and could not finish due to a combination of social anxiety and unforeseen changes in my living situation. At this point I've finally figured out where my passion is and I'm starting to apply to hopefully get back into university.

Working in retail is not a lot of pay, but conversely, not a lot of responsibility. I'm ready to get the education I need to move on, but it has definitely thickened my skin to work in a retail environment. I'm so much more comfortable working in groups and talking to strangers now. It has been a huge help being in a position where I have to communicate with the public.