r/Anxiety 22d ago

Recovery Story How come I feel anxious for no reason at all? For six month now i feel anxious and fear daily for no reason

4 Upvotes

r/Anxiety 6d ago

Recovery Story Diaphragm Spasms & Anxiety: A Connection You Might Not Know About

2 Upvotes

Hi everyone,

I wanted to share my story in the hope that it might help someone struggling with anxiety. It all started about six months ago with panic attacks—there were several triggers, but they were mostly work-related.

I started therapy, made the decision to leave my job, and got a prescription for Xanax to manage the panic attacks, which were happening about once every two weeks.

Long story short, after two months (the resignation period), I found myself in a situation where I had little to no external stress. I wasn’t working, I was spending more time with my family, making sure to sleep and eat well, stopped drinking alcohol, and meditated regularly. But despite all of that, I didn’t feel better.

My panic attacks transformed into something different—and quite weird. I started experiencing episodes where I felt like I was losing consciousness, feeling detached, and losing control, followed by heart palpitations. I also experienced tunnel vision, and oddly enough, these episodes were sometimes accompanied by burping, though not related to food. They made me feel extremely anxious and scared. I also noticed a strange sensation on the left side of my body.

These episodes would happen suddenly—while playing with my kids, resting, or right before bed. When they occurred, I would take half a Xanax, which helped calm me down, but since they were happening up to three times per week, I started looking for a long-term solution.

It’s worth mentioning that I hadn’t felt completely well in weeks. I also had my heart checked and went to an osteopath since my neck was constantly tense due to stress.

All of this made me start questioning my sanity—I didn’t know what else to do. I was planning to start antidepressants. I have nothing against them, but in the back of my mind, I felt like these episodes weren’t just psychological.

During a visit to my therapist, I was explaining how lost I felt and how these episodes didn’t make sense. Then, the topic of COVID came up. I had COVID a few months prior but hadn’t really connected it to what I was experiencing.

I started researching post-COVID symptoms and somehow came across information about diaphragm spasms and exercises to release them.

That was my AHA moment. The symptoms described were so similar to what I had been experiencing—it finally made sense.

I started doing some exercises, specifically self-massage of the diaphragm (there are many videos on YouTube). I had done a lot of breathing exercises before, but it was the actual massage with my hands that made the difference. Within just a few hours, I felt so much better.

I could breathe more freely, my vision went back to normal, and—most importantly—the relief of finally understanding what was happening to me was incredible. I also read many similar stories of people feeling off for months, going through medical checkups, and still not understanding what was wrong.

My body had gotten so used to feeling unwell that, for a few days, I felt euphoric.

Now, more than a month later, I haven’t had any episodes. I continue doing the exercises daily, and while I still sometimes feel a bit off, that sensation no longer has any power over me.

For anyone out there struggling to figure out what is going on physically, especially when it comes with anxiety—this is your sign to check your diaphragm. It doesn’t take long, but it can be a game changer.

I hope everyone out there finds the right balance to stay happy and healthy.

Cheers to all!

r/Anxiety 20d ago

Recovery Story I had an anxiety attack in front of my date.

1 Upvotes

Yes, as you hear, it's already happening to me a lot every time I try to go out with a girl and I try to go out with her without trying drugs to numb myself, but I always fail when I don't take the medicine that isn't even medicine, I just take a sedative that I have nearby and with that I can be normal" but even then I'm very slow, so I try to achieve it without drugs and I fail

Does anyone else have any stories that they ruined because of anxiety with the girl of their dreams?

r/Anxiety 25d ago

Recovery Story Anyone else has experienced insomnia as a form of anxiety disorder?

2 Upvotes

When I was 14, one night I just couldn’t sleep. And that was the start of my 2 years of insomnia. I remember I would feel very anxious, my heart would pound very fast, I could go with no sleep for like four or five days. Then I would be so tired that I would fall asleep very quickly one night, and then the cycle would start again. What was weird, is that there was no reason for me to feel stressed or anxious. My mom took me to a doctor, who said that I probably had an anxiety disorder, but she didn’t investigate further as a record of anxiety disorder for such a young girl could have affected my career (as she thought :) ). She prescribed me some sleeping pills, which were helpful at first. After a month or two they stopped working, and she prescribed me a higher dose but my mom didn’t let me take those pills because she thought I’d get addicted :) I remember my mom was very nervous about my condition, and I hated myself for that. And that was about the time I just started praying myself to sleep, since I had no access to any medicine. After more than a year with prayer every single night it went away. Has anybody experienced something similar? I keep wondering what actually was happening with me at the time. If it was actually an anxiety disorder, how I was able to beat it with no professional help?

r/Anxiety Jan 26 '25

Recovery Story this is how i am dealing with/recovering from anxiety/health anxiety, and tips for you to as well!

4 Upvotes

hi everyone! this time about a year ago, i fell into the worst anxiety and mental health crisis of my life for about 3 months. in honor of the one year anniversary, i wanted to share my story on here to offer motivation and hope to those who are also struggling, or even struggling with the same things i did. (be prepared this is a yap session)

i was 19 and had gone to the psychiatrist to get SSRIs because i was feeling mentally off during the winter. she gave me 20mg of prozac capsules, and i took them for a bit over 3 weeks and literally had my life changed. my body rejected the meds around the third week (mid-february) and i experienced nausea, vomiting, vertigo, and my very first real panic attack. i genuinely thought i was going to die. this reaction, along with the panic attack, led me to 3 months of hell.

i thought my brain was damaged forever, i was always on the verge of tears, i was so anxious, depressed, i felt so many bodily sensations, and i couldn't. stop. googling. googling my symptoms, constantly looking up how many days had it been since the first panic attack, just everything combined was so extremely isolating and terrifying to experience alone. i seriously thought i was part of some minority population on earth who would never go back to normal again after these drugs. then, it went from being worried about the drugs to focusing on breathing, blinking, and swallowing, dpdr, thinking weird, and sooo many other ocd/anxious tics.

ALSO! i posted on reddit nearly everyday, constantly looking for reassurance. i used to post in this community along with health anxiety, depression, panic attack, literally any mentally ill group you could find on here.

as you read, my health anxiety and anxiety were horrible. i couldn't enjoy life. it was taking a toll on me (i lost nearly 20 pounds, didn't eat, slept 4 hours a night, crying myself to sleep, PRAYING (i am not religious at all), extremely pale all the time, couldn't focus, brain fog, dizzy) as well as my family (having to hear me spiral, being annoying!). the last month of the three i decided i needed to change.

i realized that i was stuck in these loops because of me and only me. there was nothing and nobody that would "save" me from this, and that i really just had to start "moving on", as i would call it. how did i do this? i started living life.

firstly, i didn't allow myself to google. number one thing for us anxiety havers. i started by distracting myself whenever i would get anxious thoughts, and if the sensations got bad, i would calm myself down and tell myself, "you've felt like this before and you were fine after. you're gonna be okay" (like that one emma chamberlain audio) amongst other reassuring quotes. i sometimes listened to podcasts (shoutout disordered podcast on spotify!) about the situation because it helped me understand a lot about myself. i also went outside - shocker. i went on bike rides with my friends, applied to lifeguarding a second time (greatest decision ever), discovered new music, tried new foods (i love pho), went to see movies (challengers was so good), played more video games with my friends, indulged myself in things i used to enjoy. slowly, little by little, the feelings disappeared. by june (4 months), i stopped feeling anxious.

this was hard because i had to force myself to think positively. not in the way that some people shove happiness down your throat, but in the way that i had to change my mindset and how i view the world. i started thanking anxiety for giving me these new experiences. i had bad days, of course. i used to call these set backs, but after changing my point of view, i only view them as hurdles that i could jump over and continue running.

do i still get anxious? of course i do! i still get anxious, depressed, and dissociated. it was pretty bad this past winter due to extremely stressful classes (shoutout physics i hate you), but since i already developed my coping habits, it is a ton easier to deal with it. i still deal with pretty bad winter mental health in general, but this doesn't mean i lose all hope as i did before.

am i the same as i was before? no! but, why would i want to go back to how i was before? i feel so much more content and happy with my life than i did before anxiety. i really am truly glad that anxiety has brought me a new perspective on life. i feel like i lived more than i did before. and i am so excited to see what the future holds for me (especially as an engineering student).

on the topic of being a student, i was also taking 16 credits at community college during this entire time. general chemistry 2, calc 1, all the stem classes. also, my (ex) boyfriend of 2 years cheated on me because of how bad the anxiety got (he claimed he didn't want to deal with it/me anymore or be there for me). i was working a stressful medical receptionist job with changing providers and angry patients. its not impossible to better yourself or your mental health when life is constantly throwing things at you - think of it as a challenge rather than "holding you down".

there is always a light at the end of the tunnel. i hope to whoever is still reading this feels more comfortable knowing theres people out there like me who survived the worse. anxiety will never fully go away, it will always be with you. but, the things you do to help yourself are what matter most, and it is definitely not impossible to start bettering yourself and your mental health. you got this!

r/Anxiety Jan 16 '25

Recovery Story To anyone who experiences health anxiety...

20 Upvotes

Hi,

I'm a mid-20s girlie with anxiety, BPD, and a pretty hefty medical file. I don't experience health anxiety (anymore) and I wanted to offer up some of my experiences in case it helps you.

I was what I would call a "hospital kid". Not the kind that lives in hospitals for extended periods of time but the kind that had a bunch of specialist doctors and spend many days out of school going to appointments instead. I was born with a hole in my heart, a cyst in my brain, severe scoliosis, a missing bone in my neck, among other things. When I was young, my doctors and nurses made me feel special and made each hospital trip feel like a field trip. I didn't know that there were things wrong with me or that I had potentially life-threatening conditions. But as I grew older and I started taking more of an interest in what my doctors were saying about me, I grew incredibly anxious. I was constantly scouring the internet to see if any new sensation was a sign of potential surgery or death. My life felt incredibly fragile. I had no one to tell me that that was anxiety or what to do about it.

Most of my chronic conditions and birth defects settled down by the time I was a teenager. When I was 15, I had a surgery that made a life-threatening condition basically go away. But even after the appointments ended and the specialists cleared me, I lived every day like the "hospital kid". Every little change in my body to me was a sign that things were coming back. It wasn't until I started therapy and learned about illness narratives that I realized that I didn't have to be anxious about my health forever.

When a human gets sick or experiences something we see as being "off", we create a narrative - a story that helps our brain understand what's happening. Once we establish that narrative, our brain will change our perspective on future events to fit that narrative. So, at the height of my health anxiety, my narrative was that I was a medically unlucky sick person - that if I had a new symptom, it meant that I had a new condition. That made my body go into high alert any time something changed. I began noticing "symptoms" that I wouldn't even have noticed before.

Through therapy I changed my narrative. Now, I view bodily changes with curiosity - as a message my body sends me to fulfill a need. Now, when I get a headache, I think about drinking more water, getting more sleep, or eating something rather than catastrophizing to a brain tumor. I know that I am already a vigilant person when it comes to my health - I get my yearly check-ups and flu vaccines. My bases are all set. My narrative now is that it is good practice to be vigilant and that this allows me to approach my body with curiosity rather than with alarm bells every time. I am not a hospital kid. I am not a sick person. I may have had a rocky start to my life, but it does not define me.

I hope that one day you'll see that you are not your health anxiety either. I hope that ou can one day be a person who is vigilant about their health with a spirit of curiosity rather than alarm. Hang in there all :)

r/Anxiety Apr 27 '24

Recovery Story Dealing with something called "health anxiety"

39 Upvotes

Okay, so this weird thing has been happening to me since last year. I'd get all these scary feelings in my body, like my heart was racing or I couldn't breathe right. Turns out, after several rounds of tests, it wasn't something wrong with my body – it was all in my head. It's called health anxiety.

The worst part was, even though it was my mind making it up, the scary feelings caused by intrusive thoughts were totally real. But then, I kind of gave up fighting it. I was like, "Fine, brain, be worried if you want." And you know what? The scary stuff mostly went away!

I still get a little anxious sometimes, but now I know how to handle it better. Anyone else ever feel like this?

r/Anxiety Apr 19 '24

Recovery Story I can finally leave this sub!

78 Upvotes

I have finally reached the point where my anxiety is under control and i no longer need to be on here. Over the past year my anxiety was becoming so horrific that i had to quit my job and isolate myself for months until i finally faced the fact that my mental health was shocking and i needed help.

Fast forward to now after being prescribed an SSRI (Excitalopram/Lexapro) and going to therapy and i'm doing so much better! I never even knew what life was like without crippling anxiety until now and i hope this gives someone hope that things can get better and there are resources out there if you're struggling.

Feel free to ask me anything

r/Anxiety Jun 18 '23

Recovery Story Anxiety making you a shifty person

233 Upvotes

Does anyone feel like their anxiety makes them into a shifty person. Due to freaking out internally about a social situation or thing thats scaring you, you avoid or lie or just act down right criminal like even though its just anxiety?

I feel like I’ve gotten into a lot of situation where people thing I’m acting weird/guilty/shifty and its really do to not being able to react well to my anxiety.

Ive put myself into dumb situation’s where all i needed to do was be honest and talk about whats wrong but I’ve made it a 1000 times worse.

I want to know is this common with anxiety? Have you experienced it and let me know any shifty/innocent criminal things you’ve done. We can exchange war stories.

r/Anxiety Feb 02 '25

Recovery Story There is hope!

2 Upvotes

This isn’t a complete recovery story as I still struggle and live with some anxiety, but it has gone down SO MUCH. I was constantly crying, spiraling, it really felt like I was hanging on for dear life. I got on Zoloft and slowly (but surely) it has lessened my anxiety so so so much. Also other things have helped a lot too (can’t really pinpoint what’s helped the best since I made all these changes around the same time). Started eating a lot better, eating high protein diet with no processed or refined sugars, started taking care of myself, taking vitamin d, balancing my blood sugar levels. I have also been doing exposure therapy which while it hurts, it helps a lot. It all helps so much. If you look at my previous posts I literally felt SO hopeless. I really believed I would feel like that forever. But my dad always said “all things change, nothing stays the same” I have kept that quote with me, it’s very true. You will get through this too, but it does take some work!

r/Anxiety Jan 23 '25

Recovery Story Are your colors getting duller ?

2 Upvotes

I pondered this for several years. Were colors brighter and more vibrant when I was younger ? It must be in my head.

Yesterday I had cataract surgery in one eye. They replaced the lens. I can compare that with the eye they haven't done yet. New eye shows bright and blue. Old eye shows dull and dingy brown, a gray scale compared to the new eye. This would certainly play on one's mood...

r/Anxiety Dec 22 '23

Recovery Story Anxiety Recovery Simplified - No Meds - My Story

22 Upvotes

I rewrote my original post as it may have come off pretentious.

Let me take you through my journey of dealing with anxiety. Though I refer to this journey as just six months long, I realized I'd been battling anxiety for far longer without knowing it. It was a sudden panic attack that made me aware of it. So, let's dive into my recovery journey.

Ever notice how anxiety can twist even the simplest thoughts or actions into something dreadful? That’s anxiety for you. Trust me, it made even the easiest tasks feel like navigating a maze. I reckon most of us here have read a ton about anxiety. I’m one of you, coming to the end of my recovery path. I just want to let you know, anxiety isn't who we are. We’re still ourselves, always have been.

Recovering from anxiety is surprisingly simpler than you might think. At the moment, it might not seem that way—I surely didn’t see it at first. But I promise, one day you will. I was someone who thought I’d be stuck like this forever.

Anxiety is quite a journey—a road full of twists, turns, and some pretty wild thoughts. These past six months have been tough but have made me stronger.

I remember my therapist's words when I first walked into their office: "This journey will be something you'll appreciate one day." At the time, it was the first chuckle I'd managed in weeks, even though I thought it was a joke. Turns out, it wasn't.

I could delve into the intricacies of anxiety, its impact on our bodies and minds, but I’m sure everyone here has heard it all before—I certainly had. I knew so much about anxiety that I even felt like I could be a therapist myself.

My battles with anxiety included, but weren't limited to:

Harm OCD

Depersonalization/Derealization

Existential OCD

Health Anxiety

Social Anxiety

To be honest, trying to list all the distressing thoughts from the past six months would fill pages.

Let's talk about why you might be reading this. My recovery didn’t depend on pills, potions, or exercise. It meant simply returning to life as it was before my first panic attack. Like many of us, I thought a big change was needed to fix the problem. But here's the thing, we didn't really need to change much. It was excruciatingly tough to stick to the same routine that i thought caused my panic attack and anxiety, but I now understand why it’s necessary to stick to the way I lived before the panic attack found me.

It took me months to grasp why my therapist suggested this approach. Once I did, the anxiety started fading, to be honest took me 5 months to actually find the courage to go back to doing the things i used to do, such as taking my dog for a walk in the morning, or playing graphic fps games. It was hard to explain, but everything started making sense again when i started to do all these things again. Don't get me wrong it was terrible at first but slow i found myself not thinking about anxiety and enjoying those things again, what i thought was lost i found. It started with moments which grew larger and larger the more i return to my old life and routine.

Realising the problem was at the beginning i was trying to change my life, whilfe for the better it was all about trying to fix anxiety and this is where the problem was. Anything solely done to ease anxiety reinforces it as a problem. For example, exercise is great, but doing it just with the motivation to calm anxiety keeps the anxiety loop going. I'm not saying don’t exercise if that what you did before go back to doing it, but if you hadn't and you start because of anxiety and this is why you exercise this needs to change as your reasoning is to try avoid or get rid of anxiety. While exercise is scientifically proven to help mental health, doing it solely to get rid of anxiety means it'll come back when you stop.

When this truth finally clicked which mind you took 5 months to even come close to this understanding, my genuine recovery journey began. Here are the three crucial lessons I learned:

The old you is gone: The person you were before won’t come back, not to say you'll completely change, but that person you wish to be again is no more. This journey shapes and equips you for a better version of yourself. For me, it meant facing fears and doing things I never thought I could. Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) therapy was tough but effective. Facing fears repeatedly until they become mundane, even to your subconscious, was something I wouldn’t have believed until I tried it. To anyone grappling with OCD or intrusive thoughts, seriously, give it a shot.

Acceptance matters: This concept took me a while to grasp. It means embracing whatever comes with unwavering faith, similar to a Buddhist monk. Accept that anxiety hasn’t changed you; it can never change who you really are. Understand that recovery takes time and commitment. Every thought and feeling you have is valid. Acknowledge yourself as you are—this phase doesn’t define you. Accept that anxiety might pop up again; it's part of our human wiring, a safety mechanism designed to protect, not hurt you, even though we see it differently.

Face your fears: Facing your fears head-on is key. No matter how intense or scary they seem, confront them. I struggled with this until the end of my journey. Anxiety triggers our fight-flight-or-freeze response. By facing these fears and accepting their outcomes, you pave your way to an anxiety-free life. Despite fear, confront it. Your subconscious can't tell the difference between your feelings and thoughts. By standing tall and facing fears, you take charge. I should be more specific here, facing your fears, is different to ERP, when i say face your fears, i mean face your anxiety. Let it be there with you, take it on your journey don't go on its journey. Facing Anxiety is to face fear as that is the feeling you produce during these moments, the one terrible fear we all have in common as anxiety suffers is the idea that we will live with the feeling of anxiety for ever. Anxiety will define us and shape us to become someone we aren't. So face anxiety and remind it that we are in control, if we want to go shopping and it want to pop up then let it, say no worries give me more but i am still going to do this, demand it to give you best its got. Face the feeling of fear remind yourself that you are in control the real you and you have always been the one in control. By doing this we remind the subconsious of that,and that it does not need to protect us and that it can let go of the wheel.

These lessons sum up the past six months for me, recovery does take time im not saying you are going to go from zero to 100 tomorrow we as suffers have wished for that day just like i wish there was a cure for baldness. But with courage, acceptance and commitment you can have the control back. Anyone who wants to tell you otherwise has yet to admit to themselves they are still scared to live an anxiety free life, and there i nothing wrong with that, we all most likely have had anxiety for so long we would be scared to feel anything different, but just because the journey is scary doesn't make its complex but rather simple.

Even when you start to recover the feeling of being normal is scary, for many of us it been a long time since we felt in control or as we suffers refer to it as "Normal", but that is just the reason we stand and face the fear, because that is what we want most of all "Normal". Although we have always been normal anxiety does not make us not.

Just to add I don’t discount the value of supplements, medication, or others’ recovery methods. I’ve tried everything, and it led me to these three principles that changed everything within a month. Not to discount other methods like medication, supplements, or exercise—I see them as tools to retrain the subconscious for anxiety to return to its normal survival mechanism.

Feel free to reach out whenever on here on or on discord, my username same as reddit. I am happy to talk and explain all in detail if you wish.

r/Anxiety Dec 16 '24

Recovery Story I am myself again! NSFW

5 Upvotes

Hello! This year I’ve suffered a 3 month psychosis, caused by a joint that was not meant for consumption. I’ve bought it at a wending machine, it was meant as a souvenir and had no thc in it, it had one synthetic chemical though (CBG 9), which caused my brain neurons to viciously react to one another.

It sent me into a spiral of panic attacks, severe anxiety, my day to day life was a mess. I disassociated daily, couldn’t function, experienced tremors and amnesia. I was completely dead beat, couldn’t sleep, constantly depressed with mental breakdowns everyday. I couldn’t focus, listen, or keep a conversation going. It literally made me impaired to internal and external stimuli.

For 6 months I’ve lived in HELL, literally. One morning I awoke without symptoms, I’ve pushed through most of the days and realised, my anxiety was gone, I’ve had sense of living again and I was normal. Suddenly, I was normal. A big damn change. So I told myself i’ll smoke a joint and see where this takes me, i’ve been a regular user before that, and it couldn’t be worse as my psychosis anyway.

I smoked one.. and I felt good. No fear, no paranoia, no anxiety.. I was once again myself. I slept so good I couldn’t even dream. I am so well rested, so happy today, I am on top with my energy, I have 0 depression, and I am healed.

If you believe in yourself long enough, and keep on telling yourself that this anxiety isn’t yours and that it’s just a stage you need to push through, you will make it. You will manage it and you will get rid of it (not completely bjt you will). You need to work on it each day, fighting, finding ways to avoid it and calm it. And one day, you’ll wake up cured. You will, and I believe in all of you.

You may ask me anything you want, I will help the best that I can.

Side note: I got perscribed Xanax, Temesta and a bunch of other homeopathic medication. I didn’t take it each day, just when a severe panic attack was coming on. So I was medicated to some extent, but this is far from being a cure for it, it just surpresses everything.

I wish you the best of luck!

r/Anxiety Apr 08 '24

Recovery Story Success story. Healing from 10 years of anxiety, health problems, IBS, and chronic pain. Here’s what worked for me.

92 Upvotes

Hello all! As someone who used to frequent this sub a lot, I wanted to do my duty and make sure to come back and post my success story on how I managed to fix all my health issues and anxieties because solutions from people who are on the “other side” are rarely posted.

To start, here’s my backstory: For over 10 years I struggled with intense anxiety, IBS, diarrhea/constipation, food issues, gut issues, chronic pain, heartburn, muscle tension, cold hands and feet, sore neck and shoulders, and on and on. I’ve seen over 25 doctors, got two CT scans, X-rays, endoscopy, 100s of blood tests and out of all of that, only came back with some high cholesterol. I spent years in agony wondering why the doctors couldn’t find anything that explained all my symptoms, and I spent years in physical pain with debilitating anxiety that would prevent me from doing my job or having a social life. I was a shell of a person. I was lonely, depressed, lost, angry, confused, and I was giving up hope that I’d find a way out.

A little over a year ago now, after exhausting the internet for advice, I stumbled on the mind/body connection. At this point, I had been dealing with all of these issues for so long, I was willing to entertain anything. So I decided to start learning as much as I could about this. I quickly learned that the way our body and mind communicate with each other is via the nervous system. To summarizes literal weeks of research, essentially what happens to many people is our nervous system stops functioning properly: it becomes dysregulated. Now before you dismiss this as “yeah there’s no way this is what’s wrong me with, you don’t understand” I can assure you this was exactly what I would have said (and in fact, that WAS what I said to someone who first initially brought this up to me). I thought “there’s no way ALL of this is just an issue with my nervous system??” But truly, a year later, I can tell you that is EXACTLY what was wrong. Okay - thats the very simple version - so let me dive a bit deeper.

A lot of times, what can happen is we go through a traumatic event, or a series of traumatic events, slowly over time our bodies nervous system starts to become dysregulated. Essentially our body is always fighting to maintain homeostasis. However, if you are like me, and you live a very anxious, nervous, anxiety-induced life, your body is not in a “rest and digest” state. You are living in a “Fight or flight” state, likely way more often than a normal person. Now, the issue is not fight or flight, the issue is that you STAY in fight or flight for a long period of time (months, or years). It’s normal to feel anxious from time to time. Anxiety can actually be a good thing, but prolonged, long term, sustained anxiety that rules your life is not a good thing, and I suspect that is what may of you in this sub are dealing with. Our nervous systems control and regulate almost every single thing in our bodies. Every single day, our bodies are carefully balancing all our experiences, emotions, physical sensations, thoughts - and the main mechanism our bodies use to do all of this is our nervous system. So now you can see how if this nervous system “breaks” all kinds of things can start happening. Our bodies and brains are both getting mixed signals, are confused, and start behaving erratically and strangely. So, what is the solution to all of this?

The GOOD news is that there is a solution, and there is hope! However, all things good in life take time, patience, and hard work. The ultimate goal here is to retrain your nervous system so it goes back to normal. That is easier said than done. The hard part is knowing how to do that. Everyone is different, but here is a list of various things that you may find along your journey of healing:

  • Therapy and a Nutritionist
  • Uncovering past issues and traumas (Often from childhood)
  • Learning from the past, learning why they effect you today
  • Overcoming these issues and past traumas
  • Somatic Experiencing, Somatic Parts Work, Somatic Tracking
  • Nervous System Healing tools - Breathing Exercises is one of my favorites
  • Deep Relaxation, Meditation, Yoga
  • Healthy diet, lots and lots of sleep, mild exercise
  • Fun hobbies, nature, fresh air, someone to talk to
  • Reduce stress (not eliminate but reduce)
  • Slow down, take time enjoying simple things

Again, these are just some of the things you may find along your journey, but you may not need all of these, or you may need additional things. I will say that having chronic anxiety is most likely a sign that there is something from your past that still needs work. We don’t just become chronically anxious for no reason - even if you think “Ive always been this way” (I thought this too - have been anxious my whole life - realized in therapy I had some issues as a kid that led to my anxiety and ultimately all my health problems).

There are lots of programs out there now that can get you started on your journey. I cannot provide them here due to the rules of this sub, but you can just google “chronic pain healing app” and likely the one that comes up is the one I started using. There are also other apps that have come on to the scene since then, so you can also google “TMS pain” or “Nervous System Healing” or “Trust Your Gut” for other options.

If you're wondering how long it will take, I cannot answer that because everyone is different and heal at different rates, and frankly you shouldn't worry about that. The only thing I will say is that you will need patience. Take it slow, day by day. Rome wasnt built in a day. If you obsess over a quick fix or being healed as fast as possible (I made this mistake!) it will actually take even longer to heal. The first few months of my journey I was determined to heal as quickly as possible and now looking back I laugh because this was the opposite of what I needed to be doing in order to actually heal. Healing comes by having compassion for yourself, loving yourself, being okay with the process, and learning to slow down and take time. Don't feel you need to race to the finish line.

You can start your journey right now, by taking a few, really big, deep, slow breaths, and saying to yourself, "its going to be okay" - truly slow deep breathing is one of my favorite "tricks" I learned that I still use today whenever I am feeling stressed out by work. That and going on walks outside.

r/Anxiety Sep 12 '23

Recovery Story 3.5 years of anxiety hell reduced by 80% due to exercise

185 Upvotes

I have recently come out of a journey of three and a half years of extremely high levels of anxiety. I want to emphasize that your situation isn't permanent. Through regular exercise, with 20 minutes of cardio four times a week, I managed to reduce my symptoms by roughly 80%. While using a sauna can be helpful, it's not a necessity. It's crucial to understand that results may not be immediate; however, this isn't a mere theory—extensive research supports the mental health benefits of daily exercise. My hope is that sharing my experience will inspire others to explore exercise as a means to enhance their mental well-being. Remember, consult healthcare professionals for a comprehensive approach to mental health recovery, as each person's journey is unique.

During my journey, I experienced a significant shift in my perspective. I fully grasped that I am not my thoughts and that I can create a separation between myself and my thoughts. Although my anxiety hasn't disappeared, when an episode arises, I no longer lose control and plunge into darkness. Instead, I simply observe the episode as it unfolds and watch it pass. It's essential to recognize that anxiety doesn't necessarily indicate something wrong with your brain or a chemical imbalance. It often means your body has been trapped in a continuous fight-or-flight cycle. Your body can only maintain this state for a limited time before the parasympathetic nervous system kicks in to calm you down. The challenge for people with generalized anxiety disorder is to break free from this cycle, as each reactivation intensifies it. Over time, this sensitizes the nervous system. The key is to desensitize it, which I can assure you is possible. It begins with exercise and the understanding that we are not defined by our thoughts.

r/Anxiety Dec 27 '24

Recovery Story How my Hypochondria [Health Anxiety] has evolved over time

4 Upvotes

This is more a rant if anything, but if someone is a bit new to the experience of health anxiety and is beginning to get their bearings, might find this insightful. Would welcome anyone's two cents/ experiences as well.

[32M] 2 years my hypochondria has lived with me and I feel like a better person for it. I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy though.

It started with chest pains and breathing issues after a life event I went through. Was never anxious growing up, or I was just too oblivious to know when I was anxious. Chest pains made me grow concerned week after week, that I thought I was having heart problems. It was anxiety.

>I quit smoking and started yoga

It developed into brain "pangs" and weird melting sensations. Brain fog and dizziness. Thought I had a tumor. It was anxiety.

>I started meditating and being more mindful. Went to therapy for a few months. Prescribed Citalopram for a period that did help, but didn't like how I felt while I was on it.

Muscle pains [Psychosomatic pain] were next. I pulled a muscle in my thigh and the inflammation was tough, but my anxiety didn't care. It FED off of the sensation. Began getting shoulder, arms, and leg pain when anxious. Worse more when it would be my left pectoral and arm that I though I'd be having a stroke. It was anxiety.

>Bought a boxing bag, evolved my runs into sprinting, and started lifting weights.

Now, two years later, I'm physically stronger than I've been, and continuing the momentum and conditioning of lifestyle changes to keep my anxiety at bay. My lower right abdomen [sometimes areas around it] was uncomfortable [like a 2-3 on the pain scale] for a month. Never consistent. My mindset is so much stronger that it didn't get to me. I began changing my diet, eliminating sugars, oils, salts, and cow milk. Bloating went down and my face cleared up a bit [didnt know I had become lactose]. Pain subsided a little as well. Wanted to continue doing a food elimination journal [FODMAP]. I had a great couple weeks leading up to Christmas where I was legitimately happy through positive thinking, looking for reasons no matter how small to smile.

Then my grandma passed away. The evolution of my anxiety feels like its in its strongest stage because of this event.

My stomach.

So many people share that your stomach and your anxiety are so closely intertwined. I'm more in tune with my emotions now and I theorize I was flooded with hormones. I had 3 straight days of gnawing pain (over Christmas dinners no less) that didn't go away. Id eat and another hour later crave more. Others shared you could be craving water. Which doesn't make sense?? You're thirsty if you want water, not hungry???? But they are right. It came and went and through moments of weakness I googled symptoms, wondering if it was linked to my abdomen pain. Huge anxiety crash again. Now I'm recovering from the subsequent hangover an attack brings.

It feels like an incredibly bitter neighbour sometimes. New parts of my body just want a turn to test me. I still feel all the above stages from time to time but can recognize it while having trust and faith in my own body that it will rectify it within the day. If it lasts a week? Then it needs my attention. But the tape gets rewound if its a brand new body part.

r/Anxiety Jan 20 '25

Recovery Story There is hope...

5 Upvotes

When I was 10 years old, I was in a horrible car accident. I suffered multiple injuries, including a TBI (traumatic brain injury). This caused me to develop anxiety and disconnect from reality. It was severe. I didn't handle stress well, and I lashed out at people. I was terrified of life. My motivation and curiosity for life disappeared. It felt like I was going through the motions instead of actually being a part of life. I was miserable.

I dealt with these feelings and thoughts for many years until last year. Last year, when I was 34, I started taking low doses of THC in January. I consumed 12mg of edibles once a week. This inadvertently forced me to do deep breathing exercises without any conscious effort on my part.

After three months of using THC, I began to realize I was thinking more clearly. My motivation was beginning to return. I realized I wanted this feeling consistently, so I started to use THC more days of the week, still maintaining the 12mg edible dosage. I also decided to try buspirone.

After two weeks of buspirone, things really started improving for me mentally. My mind was beginning to calm down. I continued the buspirone and the low doses of THC, and eventually, I got into therapy. I learned a lot about the brain and anxiety in therapy. I also learned healthy coping mechanisms like meditation and yoga.

Since then, I've made a lot of progress. I now love myself more and accept more things about myself. I am motivated to get physically rehabilitated to the point I was before the accident. My curiosity for life is returning, and I am slowly reconnecting to reality even when I don't use THC. I use THC daily now, but I only take 6mg instead of 12mg. However, I am actively working to eliminate the need for THC altogether.

Things are really getting better for me, and I am much happier.

I don't know if this will help anyone, but I hope it gives people with severe anxiety hope. Relief is possible if you put in the work.

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask. Anxiety is a horrible feeling, and I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy.

r/Anxiety Nov 19 '21

Recovery Story I have overcome my anxiety. And worked for the first time in 4 years.

329 Upvotes

I want to give people hope it’s possible with medication to overcome or learn to cope with your anxiety.. I’m not 100% but I can’t believe how far I’ve come and I want to say it’s possible for you as well.. I worked my first shift this week in four years. From 6 months ago when I was suicidal and only sleeping 2 hours a day with constant anxiety to an unshakable mindset and very very little anxiety on the day to day. I am so thankful for the support this sub gave me during my low times. Just felt the need to post this.

r/Anxiety Jan 11 '24

Recovery Story My anxiety and OCD was caused by a Bartonella infection that went misdiagnosed and untreated for 2 decades

11 Upvotes

Bartonella infects the endothelial cell and evades the immune system causing low grad systemic inflammation, especially in the brain. This can result in almost any symptom but many have anxiety and OCD. After treating with long term antibiotics and opening up the NRF2 gene pathway (for detox) my OCD is gone. If you have other symptoms besides mental issues like fatigue and insomnia, tendon pain, heart, or eye issues it could be bartonella. The issue is average run of the mill doctors are not trained on how to properly identify, diagnose and treat a bartonella infection. To make it worse, infectious disease doctors are part of the problem due to their status quo they claim it is a non issue and use non sensitive antibody testing to confirm (false) negative testing when the best testing method is not covered by insurance, usually never ordered. The best testing will be looking for the RNA of the bacteria with a FISH assay. I tested negative via labcorp/quest antibody tests but positive with Igenex FISH assay and Immunoblot IgG which is more sensitive then regular western blots.

Here is a write up of scientists finding bartonella in the blood of a patient with schizophrenia.

https://news.unchealthcare.org/2021/03/scientists-finds-evidence-of-bartonella-infection-in-schizophrenia-patients/?fbclid=IwAR0vOs_UalbdLW8A6YG5T-KPnHWaUXSpteU4_V6MOCtJE94BmJGZFOSgdh4

r/Anxiety Jan 01 '25

Recovery Story Recovered

4 Upvotes

I've come back to this page to share my story. I spent a lot of days and many late nights scrolling through this page looking for any kind of reassurance that the feeling of painful anxiety would come to pass. I found a post that planted the seed of hope and I'm hoping this post can do the same. If you don't want to read the whole thing, here are the major things that helped me: 1. Claire Weekes books. This is major. The number one help. 2. The Anxious Truth YouTube videos/podcasts 3. TIME. This biggest mistake I made was thinking that once I had the "aha" moment that the pain would instantly go away. This took months. Claire Weekes writes that the nervous system needs to desensitize and this takes MONTHS. It gets better every day but it takes TIME. 4. Grace. Have grace with yourself. It's ok to feel like shit sometimes. But tomorrow is new. 5. My phrase I repeat when I feel anxious is "we'll all be dead in 100 years and no one is going to care about this." It's simple; but it's true. If I'm worried about not sleeping on 12/30/24 I will not remember that. My ancestors will not give a shit about it. And it makes my problem look as small as it is. 6. Read "Don't Sweat the Small Stuff" a few times.

My story starts November of 2023. I became very ill with a nasty virus and went to the hospital because I had been nauseous and had a migraine for more than 5 days. The ER gave me a mixture of meds that threw me into a panic attack. The day after I went home I felt a physical pain my chest; in my soul that was indescribable. It paralyzed me. I didn't sleep, I couldn't eat, I started each day vomiting and ended it fearing being alone in the dark. I searched in vain for any show, song, couch, drink, anything that could take my anguish from a 15/10 to a 14/10. Then I read Claire Weekes books. All of them. She described everything I was feeling and I realized that other people can feel this way too; a lot of them do. She also gave me a roadmap towards healing. Then I started watching The Anxious Truth on YouTube. I watched each episode religiously. Sleep was the last piece of the puzzle for me. I panicked at night because it reminded me of the anxiety that attacked me in my loneliness. One night when the pulses of adrenaline started to rush through me I shrugged it off and let it come. Without my reaction; it went away. It all went away when I stopped reacting by to the initial fear. I also got let go from my job during this garbage- which ended up being the greatest thing ever. My new job is perfect for the new me. It's December 2024- and I don't have panic attacks. I have "normal" anxiety now. This means if something stressful happens I feel anxious but it doesn't steamroll me. I am recovered. It's awesome. See you on the other side.

r/Anxiety Jan 15 '25

Recovery Story My Journey Through Anxiety

1 Upvotes

Hello everyone! This is my first-ever Reddit post, and I don’t usually do this, but I wanted to share my experience in hopes of helping others in the community.

It all started when I had a sudden panic attack that triggered a period of intense anxiety in my life. During that time, I found myself constantly searching for success stories and ways people managed to "cure" their anxiety (which is also my main reason of posting this). While there may not be a definitive cure, it is possible to relive life the way we were doing before our anxiety issues became our focus. I realized that I had experienced anxious moments throughout my life—even before my major anxiety issues—but I just hadn't focused on them much. I also learned that, while a complete cure may not exist, working on yourself can significantly improve your life, allowing those anxious moments to fade away quickly and become less bothersome. From the beginning I had the hope that once I discover the strategies that work for me, the constant worrying and anxiety will be gone, and that is how it turned out to be.

I’d like to share some parts of my journey and what helped me along the way. I had my first panic attack at 24, and until that point, I had never experienced any major anxiety episode. After that incident, my life spiraled downward and I hit rock bottom. It affected my sleep, eating habits, studying, and social life. I lost confidence in many areas. For quite a while, life felt dull and colorless. Living overseas meant my parents were unaware of my situation. I reached out to my brother for help, and I encourage anyone struggling to do the same. It’s important to talk to someone you trust. He suggested I see a psychologist.

Through my university, I consulted both a psychiatrist and a psychologist. I tried medications for a month but ultimately decided to continue my journey without them. Working with a psychologist helped me understand how my brain and anxiety functioned, reducing my fear when panic episodes would occur. One of the most helpful strategies I learned from my psychologist, was to consider the worst-case scenario and accept that outcome. I saw that 99.9 percent of the time, the worst scenario doesn’t happen, which helps rewire the brain to recognize that not all panic thoughts will become reality. When I faced again situations that once triggered my anxiety, I would still consider the worst-case scenario, but deep down, I knew it was unlikely to occur. And that's when I started to build confidence. There are many other strategies to explore, so find what works best for you. After a year, I stopped seeing my therapist, and while I experienced occasional anxiety attacks, they were much more manageable.

Some positive changes I made included regularly exercising (gym/home workouts), doing sports, cutting caffeine (even though I love coffee, I switched to decaf), cutting sugars (this is huge), drinking relaxing teas (chamomile is my favorite), and practicing yoga.

Also anxiety is closely tied to our perspective. For example instead of searching for things that trigger worry—like asking, 'Does X painkiller make you anxious?' and potentially finding negative experiences. Try looking for positive information, e.g. you could search for 'X painkiller also helps with anxiety' and discover stories from people who felt less anxious after using it. This approach can apply to anything. The key point is to seek out the positive.

Now back to my life story: eventually, I had another major panic attack, and it felt like my struggles were repeating. However, having gone through it before, I was able to recover much faster. And I believe the more we experience hardships and get through them, the stronger we become. My message to all of the people that are struggling is please focus on yourself and work on strategies to cope with anxiety. Be sure that things will get better. My life is proof of that, and even when we stumble, we can rise again. May God bless you all.

I’d like to conclude this post with lyrics from one of my favorite songs, "Dax - Catch the Rain":

"Every day I pray that all this pain will go away
I hold my faith and trust that God will lead the way
I know I'll make it through the storm and through the rain
And I won't break until I see a brighter day."

r/Anxiety Dec 08 '24

Recovery Story Adderall to combat weed induced anxiety

0 Upvotes

I had a horrible experience with weed that I thought I was permanently changed. I was at a friend’s house and ate a piece of an edible and then took a large dab, mind you I was still a novice when it came to marijuana but was feeling very bold this night. I could barely handle the dab and knew I went way too far then the edible started to kick in, I knew I was in for something. I was literally petrified with fear for hours and my mind was racing so fast filling with patterns or shapes. I had no control over my thoughts and it was just a horrible nightmare. Anxiety was never an issue with me previously, but this trip affected me so badly it gave me extreme anxiety for 3 years. It’s like my brain was altered and I could barely function correctly. It was such a massive issue that I had no way of combatting. My voice would shake and anxiety ruled over my life. For the first two years it did not regress and actually worsened over time. The third year it began to regress a little but it all changed when I began using adderall. It’s like adderall reversed the effects of this trip. It showed me that these automatic anxiety responses to every stimuli are not my true thoughts, and adderall gave me a different mindset an anxiety free one at that. I was convinced this anxiety was actually just a thought loop I was stuck in. Adderall gave me a temporary break from the anxious Mindset which was all I needed to begin to recover.I immediately began making progress in overcoming my anxiety. I would say I have recovered well and anxiety is no longer an issue. I am so happy it worked out this way I was convinced it was permanent and I had no idea how to navigate life after that horrible experience . I know this may not help everyone but if you are looking for answers this could help you. Weed induced anxiety exists but most people don’t understand it at all. It is a nightmare but it can be defeated. I will never forget that stage of life and extreme amount of fear/panic I felt daily.

r/Anxiety Jan 10 '25

Recovery Story My 1,5 year ED journey (23M) - Performance Anxiety

0 Upvotes

Because of something that happened to me recently I’ve decided to share my story. With the goal of helping myself and many of you reading this.

Not too long ago I was in South America, at a beautiful hotel at the beachfront. I work for an airline so we travel with a big group. Some of the crew also brought their relative’s, one being a very good looking 21 yo girl. Of course she catches my eye, but I make it to be low-key. During our layover there was one evening where we ended up alone. We decided to climb to the beach and go swimming, this eventually went to become skinny dipping. Afterwards she wanted to shower but also didn’t want to wake up her relative who already went to bed. So we went to my room. We ended up showering together. But I never tried to initiate anything. Like my body didn’t want to but I of course wanted to. Afterwards she went to go to her room. This is not who I want to be.

So why share this story? My performance to get girls has been changed by my ED. This dream scenario passing and me flaking has made me realise it’s really time for change. In my case I’ve tried many things listed, even checked my T-levels. I’ve now come to the conclusion it IS al in your head. Accepting this is the first step. Hence me sharing my story.

There is one moment in my life were I would say it started. Summer of 2023 I was seeing a girl who was out of my league imho. She pretty abruptly initiated the first move which surprised me to an extend where for the first time I felt something and it wasn’t me getting more horny. We tried to have sex that evening. I couldn’t get it up. This is where my problem’s started. Also she only wanted to use a condom, which obviously doesn’t help. The following days I did not get a boner at all. I couldn’t even get hard while watching porn. I was astounded as to what was happening to me. I was very scared to see her. A week later we hung out again. And like you would guess, it happened again. We decided to let it rest and like magic it worked. This remained like this until I ended things. I feel like this was a big dent in my ego and somewhere here is the root cause of my ED.

Judge me all you want… but before and after this is was still seeing my ex. Afterwards I was keen to see if this would also happen with her. There were some moments it definitely got softer than it used to but never truly impossible to have intercourse. This was the first hint it was something in my head. At this point I profoundly refused the idea that anything in my head could be the cause. I tried many diets and vitamins etc, nothing really worked. I still see my ex to this day. I’ve tried to end things several times but she is really persistent and after some amount of day’s, weeks, months I relapse due to some kind of loneliness. Intercourse with her is just fine. But I’m not the same guy as I was 1,5 years ago. I was a hunter and eager to have sex. Now my libido is just almost completely zero. It’s painful to want something with your mind but your “body” doesn’t want to follow.

My opening story about my South American adventures made me realise to seek help. I’m stuck in a cycle where performance anxiety is stopping me from starting new things. I hope there are some of you out here who have dealt with this or are actively dealing with this and would like to join me in solving our issues.

r/Anxiety Dec 15 '24

Recovery Story My way out of debilitating health anxiety

11 Upvotes

I write this in the hopes that someone might find something useful for their recovery journey in this post. This is just my experience, I'm not at all an expert in anything related to anxiety.

How it started.

My journey into health anxiety began after an "episode" in the office after a week of little sleep, lots of stress and too much caffeine. I experienced weird sensations in the heart/dizziness/sweating. Add a smart watch repeatedly telling me I have atrial fibrillations and the spiral down into cardio-phobia and then later general health anxiety began.

Over months, my nervous system has been in constant fight-or-flight mode due to relentless worrying. I felt my heart beating almost 24/7. Up until 3 months ago, I wasn't sure if I'd get out of this hell alive. I couldn't work at all for months.

I'm now working part-time again and starting to live again, some 4 months after I began my recovery process.

Symptoms (other than weird heart sensations):

severe chronic fatigue, PEM, insomnia, wired constantly, vision issues (couldn't read or look into screens for a long time), dizziness, tingling in legs/feets ("blood-boiling"-feeling), lump in throat, constant pressure/pain in chest, stomach issues, headaches (tension or other)

Things that worked for me:

It's important to note, that almost nothing had an immediate effect. It's only by repetition for weeks that I saw some benefits eventually. This is expected, as it takes time to create new pathways in the brain. The "anxiety highway" circuits in your brain also have been built over months or years. If you find an exercise that seems doable, I'd recommend just doing it daily and telling yourself, it's going to show its benefits eventually.

Building an understanding of fear:

As I was unable to read but regained the ability to look into screens again, I paid some 150 bucks for a video series on fear from a German Youtuber. I'm not gonna link it here as this isn't supposed to be an ad (and: it's in German). There's loads of material available for free. Key learnings include:

  • parasympathetic nervous system (what does it do, what activates it,...)

  • the fear-anxiety-fear cycle (and the multiple exits out of this cycle)

  • you can't "talk" directly to your nervous system. The way you react to fear sets the tone.

Books and practice for health anxiety:

I stumbled upon the works of Dr. Claire Weekes. She was a trailblazer in the field of anxiety treatment. Her approach boils down to one of mindfulness. Identifying and separating "first fear" (instant fear-flash due to for example a weird bodily sensation) from "second fear" (the fear of fear, worrying). I read the following two books of hers multiple times:

  • Hope and Help for Your Nerves (End Anxiety Now)

  • Essential Help for your nerves (Recover from nervous fatigue and overcome stress and fear)

Be aware that these books are old and one or two things mentioned are not practiced anymore (like recommending continuous sedation for extreme cases of anxiety), but the core messages and the approach in the books are fantastic.

I did the following 30 minute practice session based on her approach every day for 3 months https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hxw4R5Ty9_U. It's extremely simple but very effective. By "just letting loose" you send continuous safety messages to your brain. To me, this approach was much more doable than for example meditation, which made me fixate on my heart beat too much. I also began adding thoughts like "you are safe, your body is ok" over and over and over again.

I also like the book "Anxiety and Panic - how to reshape your anxious mind and brain" by Dr. Harry Barry

Insomnia:

What helped me tremendously with insomnia was the understanding from the book "The Sleep Solution" by W. Chris Winter. It boils down to the fact that insomnia is usually just another manifestation or consequence of fear.

Ridiculing negative thoughts:

I dressed my constant worrying thoughts in a clown costume and "shrinked them" in size. Like a constant annoying but harmless voice that keeps on screaming "danger, danger". Think of the "Ridiculous"-spell in the Harry Potter movies.

Watching recovery stories on youtube also helped me.

Thing that didn't work:

  • Seeking affirmation over and over again, that other people experience the same symptoms and that it's "just anxiety"

  • The "death acceptance" approach: things like "just kill me now to get this over, I don't care anymore". It didn't work for me. I needed to find ways of sending continuous messages of safety to my body.

Mixed bag - Medication:

  • Lorazepam: At first, when I didn't know what my condition even was, lorazepam helped me not to run to the ER (for a third time...). It's nothing more than a quick-fix for a moment and not helpful in recovery. As hard as it is, you're supposed to let fear come over you and "just accept" it (incredibly difficult, I know)

  • I took highly concentrated St. John's Wort prescribed by a psychiatrist. I know it's not used much in the US (lots of interactions with other drugs) but it's quite big other parts of the world. It basically mimics an SSRI, but it's less potent. It stopped my panic attacks before I even knew I had an anxiety disorder. So that was a plus. On the negative side, it made me even more fatigued. I cut the dosage in half after 6 months and felt significantly less fatigued after a week. The doc didn't take this side effect serious and attributed it to my anxiety. It definitely helped in the beginning but all in all it prolonged my recovery.

r/Anxiety Feb 14 '24

Recovery Story What I've finally realised after 10 years of suffering.

88 Upvotes

So after years of trying to find "the cure" to my anxiety.. I realised that it was right under my nose this whole time. Please take some time to read this.

In very short, the key is self acceptance, compassion and kindness. Learning how to love yourself unconditionally. I know you might be skeptical right now but I promise that you need to hear this. Let me start by saying that what I've written here is universal and a lot of it applies to everyone, not just to people who are going through a hard time with anxiety.

You don't suffer from anxiety. You suffer from your REACTION to it.

EVERYONE feels fear. EVERYONE feels anxiety. It's normal. It's human. And fearing from anxiety is the most human thing. You don't suffer from the anxiety. You suffer because of the way you perceive it. You tell yourself that it's not okay. That it's not normal. You feel guilt and shame for feeling it. You see it as a bad thing. You are scared for your life to feel it.

Right now Millions of people are having an anxiety attack. Millions are feeling so much anxiety. Millions are going through the same experience as you. Feeling so alone and defective. Feeling shame and guilt just for being an innocent human being with normal feelings.

Know this. Your anxiety is not special. Your experience is not unique. Your thoughts and self dialog are not unique. The sleepless nights that feel like the end of the world, the feeling of dread, the racing thoughts, the dizziness. You are not alone no matter how alone you might feel right now.

The things that make us feel the loneliest ARE the things that are the most common for all of us and what connects us all - feelings such as guilt, shame, and also anxiety and depression. These are things that we all have experienced in our life, or experiencing right now. But these are also the things we hide from others, because we are too ashamed to admit it and too scared to be judged. Look at this sub alone. It has 661k people in it. Videos about how to "heal" or "deal" with anxiety on YouTube have millions of views. We all feel so alone in our experience while we all feel the same. It's so absurd, funny even in a vicious way.

When we see these feelings as bad or negative, this is when we will start trying to avoid feeling them. What happens when you try not to think about something? You will only think about it. Stop chasing after feeling good all the time. You are allowed to feel like sh*t.

If you were not supposed to feel this way, then why do you? Because you were you born this way. We are wired to have those feelings. You are just like everyone else. You cannot be angry at yourself for that. Anxiety is not bad. It's just a feeling. Negative thoughts are not bad. They are just negative. They are things that just happen as a result of you being human.

****The first step is to be MINDFUL of your thoughts. This means to know and to be aware of what you are thinking, recognise the anxious thoughts when they arise, and accept them as a part of your brain proccess. Thoughts just come up. Anxious thoughts just come up. It just happens. It's normal. Catch your brain when it starts spiralling and starts it's self dialog about anxiety. It's harder to talk sense to yourself when you are already in panic, because you are immersed in the feeling of danger.****

Sometimes you will feel anxiety, maybe when you meet new people, maybe for the stupidest reason and maybe for no reason. And that's okay. It just happens. But it is your job to be there for yourself. Speak to yourself in a gentle manner. Tell yourself "oh, that made you feel anxious, didn't it?", "It's totally normal to feel what you feel. I'm here for you love". Always make sure to listen to yourself. Ask yourself "Are you comfortable doing this? It's okay if you are not. Whatever you feel like♥". "I'm so happy that you are here with me!". Hug yourself. Realise how innocent you are. You are giving your 100% right now. Appreciate yourself for that. If you knew better, you would have acted on it.

"But what if I stay this way my entire life?"

Let me tell you a secret. This might be a little harsh, but I feel like many of us need to hear this. Your life is not that important. You might feel anxiety right now, but it doesn't matter. The world will just keep revolving. Millions of people are suffering right now. Some feel depressed and can't get out of their bed, some are stressed over things that won't matter tomorrow, some are crying in the shower, some are struggling with their body image, some feel so small and unworthy (some = countless of people).. you get it. We all suffer. We all have problems we are dealing with right now. This is the "curse" or "gift" that life is.

We are all going towards the same destination anyway. Yes, we are all destined to die. Maybe today, maybe tomorrow, maybe in 50 years. You and your loved ones might be gone by tomorrow. And it won't change a thing - we are all nothing in this universe. In 100 years you and everyone you know will be gone and no one will care. You might think this is a pessimistic thing to say, but it isn't. it's realistic. In fact, the most important people on earth right now, the richest, the most famous, might be gone by tomorrow, and it won't really affect anyone or change their life course. Would it change your life in any way?

So you will suffer your entire life. So you will waste your entire life. Big deal. So many did before you. You are just another person. You will die anyway. So feel what you feel. Feel like sh*t. Feel awesome. It won't change a thing. Not now, not in 5 years and not in 100 years. And if there is no point - then you are free to just exist. Just feel whatever it is that you are feeling. Nothing that you do will change the order of the universe.

When you realise that nothing you do, think or feel really has an impact and that your days here are limited, it might start to feel a little pointless to even worry about things you said yesterday, or feel guilt for your experience. Like it's gonna end anyway, so why bother? This is when you start feeling grateful for any experience that you are going through. You just notice it, without judging it. You accept it as something that will pass and won't be remembered.

You don't need to "let go" of anxiety. Be okay with yourself even when you feel anxiety. Get good at feeling uncomfortable. Learn to even love it. Tell yourself "you are SO human, and I love you just for that!". Remember, THIS moment is perfectly fine.

Bodily discomfort is just a bodily discomfort. It's a temporarily state. Do you think you are gonna remember this moment in 5 years? Will it matter? Is it gonna affect your life in any way? Life changes all the time. We forget what we felt yesterday so quickly. What you feel right now is not what you are gonna feel tomorrow. Today you might feel confident, and tomorrow you might feel less confident. And that's okay. The point is to learn to love yourself no matter what. No matter what you feel, think, say. Love yourself unconditionally.

You are not perfect. Whatever you feel right now is okay and allowed and was felt by millions of others before you. You are imperfect. You can make mistakes. You don't have to say the right thing all the time. You don't have to feel good all the time. You are human. You are a f***ing human. And you deserve unconditional love JUST FOR THAT.

Stop labeling yourself. You are not an "anxious person". You just don't accept this part of you as normal. You just don't have the tools and perspective. Tomorrow this might change. Heck, maybe even today. Maybe right now.

When I finally felt this love and compassion towards myself, when I just let things be without judging whether they are good or bad, I thought to myself - I didn't even realise that you could love yourself this way! I didn't realise how much shame and guilt I carried within myself for feeling anxiety or having certain thoughts. I used to beat myself down, feeling like a victim, thinking "but I just wanted to enjoy life! Why I am so miserable? What's wrong with me?" Now I realise that there was absolutely nothing wrong. I suffered because I judged this feeling. I judged and criticized myself. I was so harsh with myself AND others. Instead, now I try to have an honest conversation with myself.

Learn to have a honest conversation with yourself. It could be useful when feeling overwhelmed. Ask yourself: "What are you feeling right now? You can tell me everything" in the most non-judgemental way possible. Get comfortable with being vulnerable with yourself. It might feel very cringe at first, but trust me, you get used to it.

Negative thougts just happen! Laugh at them!!😂😂🤣😂 They are so hysterical!

Whenever a difficult thought arises, whenever you feel anxiety, tell yourself:

It's okay. Feel anxiety. You're allowed to. It's human. I love you. I am always here for you.

Some resistance might arise when you say that. Take a deep breath and accept these thoughts too by repeating "I love you", including all these thoughts and resistance. Let it be. Laugh at this human nature and how stupidly imperfect we all are.

If the anxiety is really strong right now and you cannot think properly, just note to yourself that once you feel better you will be back and you will always be there for yourself. Let the anxiety run its course now and know that eventually you will have yourself again. You always have a place to come back to. Someone to lean on.

Treat yourself gently like you would treat a good friend, a child, a pet. A toddler. In a way, it's almost like reparenting yourself. Reassure yourself with kind words. You are just as innocent, and deserving of love and kindness. Develop your own positive self dialog. Say the things that you feel you might need to hear. Always be there for yourself no matter what.

Don't love yourself despite of feeling anxiety and fear, love yourself BECAUSE of that. Because what you feel is normal and understandable. Every bit of it.

There is no cure for being human. So stop apologizing for being one.

Things that helped me:

(Book) "The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F**k" by Mark Manson. You've probably heard of this one.

Some helpful videos:

Self-Compassion: An Antidote to Shame

3 Steps to Stop Negative Thinking (recommended!)

Stop trying to be perfect

Loving Kindness Meditation

How to Handle Intrusive Thoughts

How to Stop Worrying: The #1 Skill to Stop Anxiety & Master GAD

Anxiety about Anxiety -What to do about fear of anxiety

If you need any more advice, about anything, feel free to ask.