Anxiety is a Habit?

[trumph]

Just read a book that explains that anxiety is nothing more than a habit. And habits can be broken.

Suffered myself from panic attacks and severe anxiety I find it hard to believe yet it sounds somewhat "sexy", since at least it seems that you're in control once again ...and I lack the feeling of being in control.

What are your thoughts?

[kev543]

i have created apicture in my mind of anxiety as a physical thing so i can imagine whooping its a s s. that has helped alot for me.

[kev543]

I like how u said trust god. We will all leave this world just like we came in it. by the grace of god. Why fear what we cant control, right? just keep living the best you can and dont be afraid to kick Mr. Anxiety right in the Kiester!

[bbxx]

That is true--some people do have anxiety over a real physical thing. When my heart beats "off" it makes me nervous (ha ha as if I can do anything about it-lol-) I need to learn to trust God when it comes to that. Then some suffer anxiety because the body just misfires. (like when my friend with hyperthyroid got her thryoid fixed, she no longer had panic attacks). There are a lot of reasons and we will never know them all. Its sad though that anyone suffers from anxiety, regardless of the cause. I guess on a good note, those who have been there can encourage those who are still there--and the cycle continues because there is always someone worried about something or someone that has a body that just doesnt work right.

[kev543]

personally, ive never heard of any person having anxiety that didn't have some reason to do so. even if you and i dont think its a good enough reason ther is still one there.

[kev543]

also, alot of people have real physical sicknesses or pains that generate anxiety and that because they go into the what if mode.

[kev543]

That is a good point too but that definetly leaves plenty of room to argue also. just because we cant find the problem we always tend to just say oh well its just one of those flukes. I agree on the whole it doesn't have to be a mental or thought trigger because stomach problems can trigger anxiety but the anxiety itself becomes the problem from there thus hiding the true culprit and we all know once you get anxiety it becomes almost like an obsession. you cant get it out of your head.

[kev543]

dude, ive always wanted to be a film maker. that is so freakin' cool. me and my buddies use to make these little movies and now we get together every now and then and laugh our as s es off. That would definetly be a great career. we always lend towards the dark comedy. man i miss those days.lol

[bbxx]

Well, I have to disagree with you here as to trigger. :) I dont believe there has to be thought or mental trigger. I do believe things can just go funky for no reason at all. In fact the human heart can do this. It can be beating along just fine for years and one day a beat can just misfire a bit, causing the ever so talked about phenomenon, and then poop--its in vfib and then person dies and everyone is shocked, and tests are done to try to find a cuase and sometimes--there is none. The heart simply misfired. There was no thought controlling the heart.

[kev543]

very good point but who doesn't have some type of stresser in their lives especially now days that would maybe subc. make u go there? the spelling has nothing to do with the talent of creativity. u still have it. you could be right about the big bang theory but what causes that big bang? i personally find it very hard to believe it doesn't have a trigger. could be a number of things. stress, meds, addiction, etc. but it all still leads back to thought process and chemicals in the body. maybe a dwelling subconjous thought of guilt and regret? i don't know, just a theory anyways.

[bbxx]

I think that is the difference though between generalized anxiety disorder and panic disorder. In my opinion when there is anxiety, it is a thought controlled thing, the what ifs or the thinking stuff. Panic disorder in my opinion is not controlled by any thought at all, it is just simply the body suddenly triggering alarm when there is none, as can happen in the middle of any situation, there was  no preceding thought, nor anxiousness. Just BANG.
As to the creativity part, I cant say I am especially creative, though I do write (however with a lot of spelling errors). I have read this about the creativity part  before, not only that but compassionate, and passionate. I believe that, but what makes a more compassionate person than someone who has suffered, and someone who has suffered becomes very driven, usually  to help others.

[cnote]

I'm A filmmaker, and musician. I can play almost any instrument. All by ear. It's kinda crazy... I think there is. Link between anxiety and creative people. Sometimes we think TOO much.. And an idle mind is a devils playground for us sometimes. I find myself doing alot of "scenario" playing in my head, trying to play out different outcomes of a Situation I might be dwelling on. But I agree about the habit thing. It's not like a habit we like. It's a bad habit... It's a subcon. habit. It's the habit of fearing. It's the habit of "what if thinking". It's the habit of dwelling. Alot of it comes down to, is how all these habits effect us chemically. Each thought creates a chemical reaction in the body... Therefor we start to "feel" the scary sensations... Then the pattern/habit begins.. The fear of having that scary dreadful feeling again... Then we dwell about it, only causing more fear and more sensations. It's a vicious cycle.. And in a way... It is a habit that we created..

Luckily I'm starting to figure it out. It's taken me 3 years to figure out. And I've been anxiety free for 5 months almost. Med Free! :) That's the longest I've gone without anxiety in 3 years. My advice to anyone suffering is don't give up, find a good support system, whether it be family or friends. Keep a journal, seek therapy if you can... that has helped me in the past. And pray! Crying is good to do as well! Also talk to your dr about meds. It's trial and error, but after trying a lot the past 3 years I found out that anti depressants aren't for me.. And Ativan is the only thing I need and a very small amount when needed. Again I haven't had Ativan in 5 months! So excited! And if I do get anxiety again in the future, I'm ready to cope with it. I've got my tools. I'm learning how to cope my own personal way. And I think everyone has to have their own way on dealing with it. Also, patience is key. Patience and time. Sorry so long. Lol.

[kev543]

but back on the creative thinker.

i am a songwriter/singer and i can play four diferent instruments. i also have a nak for writing short stories. I dont know about you but everyone i know with this has some sort of creative side.

[kev543]

im sorry, bbxx. you said adrenalin.

[kev543]

the whole adrenalin thing that you were talking about i think is acurate. when i go for walks or work out it tends to subside but you have to get through that wacky feeling of not wanting to do anything but curl up in a ball.

[kev543]

I agree that it is sort of like a habit. most anxiety sufferers are very creative thinking people and we tend to take things to the next level. for me, it was an overcoming of my thoughts and fears that finally made me sucessful in beating it. its almost like we acidentaly tap into a part of the brain that controls the breathing and nervous system. it sounds a little sci fi i know but in the process of everyday stress or tramatic events, we have wound up there and cant seem to leave.stay with me on this, i have read that some monks are even known to be able to control there heart rate and body tempature. the mind is very powerful and we only use a certain percentage of it but what if somehow we acidentally stumble into portions we dont normally manually control. this is just a theory and i'm just randomly typing because i'm bored but it sounds plausible, maybe? anyways, i beat mine by bowing up at it and charging. it works but its scary as hell. after awhile you dont fear it anymore. Man, i just read that stuff and i sound like a real wack job...lol

[bbxx]

Well I kind of agree with Rich99. The thing is, some things can become a habit, for example when you allow your mind to wander and start thinking of all the what ifs. On the other hand, sometimes the body just floods you with adrenaline for no reason at all. For example, a person can be having a great time laughing and so forth, not thinking about anything other than the thing that made them laugh when without warning they experience a sudden burst of adrenaline-the symptoms were there before they had to time to think anything fearful at all.

[Rich99]

I believe it can be just a bad habit that can be overcome.     I'm not saying that as a blanket statement for everyone since some of the experts think it's inherited in your genes.      But for me,  it was the fact that my thinking made me very anxious.        At an early age,  I was anxious around other students.     I was anxious for many other reasons.      My worse fear was being called upon by the teacher in front of the class.     Responding like this at a very early age may have set up the pattern I got into.       Anxiety is the brain's response to some sort of 'threat' it sees in the environment.      Chemicals are released to help us protect ourselves by giving us extra strength to fight off the threat.    If we  don't use it for that purpose, it can result in inner anxiety.      If you keep responding the same way year after year,  you have trained your mind to think the same way over and over again.     For many of us,  we had to learn to change the way we think.          

[worrydsik]

Honestly..sounds to easy..as a lifelong anxiety sufferer I think it is way more then just a "habit"..I believe it is an illness with varying degrees amongst us...I have toyed with the notion that I can just talk myself out of my anxiety...its never worked for me..