Anxiety and it's path of thought

Hey Guys and thank you for returning to my blog page.

Today I want to talk about anxiety and it's path of thought.

As I sit here and type this blog post I have had a pretty bad headache for about an hour or so, pain all through the top of my head going into the back of my eyes and into my neck. This is pretty normal, its a "headache" . I am probably a little tired maybe a little dehydrated and the fact that I stare at a PC all day for work would all contribute to the head ache and my normal thinking consciousness understands this.

But every so often a thought will pop into my head, "what if its not just a headache" "what if I have something seriously wrong with me" or the most common thought "what if I am dying"

Those are some of the most common thoughts an anxiety sufferer will think, most normal everyday things like headaches, or slightly blurred vision caused by a bit of grit in your eye can turn from that to almost certain death or feeling that something really bad is going to happen to the sufferer.

So Over the last few weeks I have really started to take note of my thought processes before, during and after an anxiety or panic attack.

I now refer to my anxiety as "the devil on my shoulder" You've seen it in films and cartoons with someone having a devil on one shoulder and an angel on the other and they both have conflicting views and try to get the person to either do good or evil. Well for me that's how I see my anxiety, when I start to feel anxious the angel (normal conscious mind) is telling me everything is OK this is normal and there is nothing wrong, but then the devil (anxiety) is trying to trick me into believing there is something very wrong.

I have personally found the more I focus on the anxiety the more it seems to feed on it. Like a naughty child doing something bad for the attention. When I take my focus away from the anxiety it seems to start fading. Like how a fire needs three things to survive oxygen, fuel and heat but if you take away just one of those three the fires reduces and stops. When I look at anxiety the only one thing it needs to exist is my own thoughts!

Now This is the hard part! How do we train our brains to not think negatively?! Well guys when I find that answer I will certainly let you know! There are some good self care techniques out there like Mindfulness or CBT and I am sure after a long time practising both of these you can get to a place where the negative thinking will disappear but in the right here and now for me it is still very much present even after 13 years of this curse anxiety!

Grounding techniques like mindfulness can be very effective for the immediate anxiety attack and CBT for the long term.

Both can be practised at home or in group or one to one activities, however it is worth bearing in mind they both take time and effort from you, they are certainly no miracle cure!

Those that have never had an anxiety disorder often struggle to understand how many different ways anxiety affects the mind and body. That's because everyone experiences some level of anxiety at some point in their life. Whether it's asking someone out on a date, making a presentation, taking an important test, or getting called into a meeting with the boss, some anxiety is a normal part of life.

But anxiety disorders are very different, particularly with regard to their intensity. Disorders can cause dozens of intense, physical and emotional symptoms that can cause significant disruption to your life, and one of the issues that is very common is the creation of "crazy thoughts"

Another problem that affects those with anxiety is the effects of trying to force a thought out of your mind. Studies have looked at a phenomenon called "thought suppression," which is the act of trying very hard not to think a certain thought.

These studies found that those that attempted to suppress a thought were actually _more likely_ to have the thought than those that didn't care one way or another if they had the thought or not. For one reason or another, the act of trying to make a thought go away makes it more likely to come back and continue to cause you stress.

If we look at the above diagram, this pretty much sums up the thought process of the anxious mind. The thought actually creates the initial problem. Use my headache as an example and see how it follows the pattern above.

I get a headache - My thought tells me there is something wrong or what if it isn't just a headache - that thought in turn kicks start the anxiety or "feeling" Then the physical symptoms of anxiety appear which is the behaviour like shaking or the fast heart beat for example - then that behaviour or physical symptom then reinforces your "thought" of something being very wrong.

What sometimes works for me but not always is to focus on an item in the room you are in. For me when I am at home it is my fire place, Try to avoid moving objects such as televisions or even the flickering of a candle as you can easily be distracted. If you can turn of the television or radio and sit in silence and focus on what ever item you choose to. Fell yourself sat in the chair and feel that you are grounded. Take deep breaths in through the nose to the count of 5 and out through the mouth to the count of 4, this will start to regulate your breathing and will soon start to make the physical symptoms stop. If you are feeling dizzy then close your eyes if it is safe to do so. Doing all of this not only helps you reduce the anxiety but it is also a distraction from the "thought" remember thought is the trigger to the anxiety as in the diagram above.

Thanks for reading guys and I look forward to writing my next blog post next week.

If you have any thoughts on this blog or any future blog post topics you would like to suggest then please send me your feedback to myjourneyfeedback@gmail.com head over to my Twitter page @myjourneybrez or use the contact page on the home page of this website.