topic Newbie kicking the anxiety way of life in Anxiety

Newbie kicking the anxiety way of life

Mauzy — Wed, 14 Dec 2016 04:11:23 GMT

Hi I'm a looong time sufferer of anxiety which has this year resulted in depression after a long period of stress. Medication has help sort the depression alongside excercise and some great support from family and a few choice friends. I've now decided to deal with the anxiety with meditation and after a week I'm noticing tiny changes already. Little things aren't bothering me as much, instead of waking during the night with my head buzzing with thoughts I feel more control over those thoughts, and am just feeling a little more positive. I think I just hit a wall and needed to take control of the monster which is anxiety. As for the Christmas stress I experience every year, I'm acknowledging it but not letting anxiety consume me. I AM IN CHARGE not my anxiety!!

Newbie kicking the anxiety way of life

Kazzl — Wed, 14 Dec 2016 07:21:16 GMT

Hi Mauzy, welcome to the forum. What a great, positive post! A pleasure to read.

There are many people here who would relate to having the anxiety monster, and benefit from learning more about what you've done.

What put you on to meditation and have you found it easy to do? Do you have other strategies as well?

Very best wishes to you

Kaz

Newbie kicking the anxiety way of life

Mauzy — Thu, 15 Dec 2016 04:53:18 GMT

Thanks Kazzl, a friend has been nagging me to do yoga but I decided to try meditation on my own by downloading an App on my iPad. I've also realised I need to completely change my mindset, once a negative thought enters my head I deflect it before it takes over, therefore my head's a lot clearer. It sounds simple but after a lifetime of being a negative thinker it's going to take a lot of practice. I guess that's why I've joined the forum as a way of keeping myself accountable. I've also had to cease communicating with my younger sister who also has anxiety but just CANNOT LET GO of things that have happened in the past. It's sad but a the moment I have to think about myself first and foremost. She also lacks empathy. When my older sister asked if she knew I was depressed she said "yeah I know that's why I haven't been ringing her"........um gee thanks for the support NOT!

Newbie kicking the anxiety way of life

Kazzl — Sun, 18 Dec 2016 20:27:13 GMT

Hi Mauzy, sorry, I've only just seen your response.

I try to do the thought deflection thing too, or at least to replace a negative thought with a positive one. It does take practice but it's quite effective.

There's a great thread on the forum called OTT - Old Thought Thoughts, and it's all about replacing OTTs with new positive thoughts (NPTs). Maybe take a look? It's full of lovely people and is fun.

Sounds like limiting contact with your sister is a good idea for a while. We have to manage the people in our lives and their effect on us in order to manage ourselves.

Hope you'll keep posting hun, and again sorry I didn't get back to you sooner.

Cheers

Kaz

Newbie kicking the anxiety way of life

Mauzy — Sun, 18 Dec 2016 20:52:02 GMT

Thanks Kazzl, I will check out that thread you suggested. I've been reading different threads on the forum and I am so glad I took the step of joining.

Newbie kicking the anxiety way of life

MarkJT — Sun, 18 Dec 2016 21:13:16 GMT

Mauzy, welcome to the forums and what an amazing post. "I AM IN CHARGE". Cannot say enough how much i love that quote.

Much respect.

Mark

Newbie kicking the anxiety way of life

Autumn77 — Mon, 19 Dec 2016 00:13:31 GMT

Mauzy that's awesome!

I've been feeling great myself. Your story sounds very similar to mine. Benn tackling social anxiety since a child. Now in my late 30s and too much bad stuff happened over the last 5 years and this year was the straw that broke the camel back.

I went and got help and I've never felt so normal in my life. Not worried about what people think about me and just living free as a bird. I'm glad I got help before a break down. And I forced myself to be positive. Ithe took three months of medication to get here. And I wish I did this earlier.

Love hearing feel good stories. Thanks for sharing and keep on going 😄

Newbie kicking the anxiety way of life

Mauzy — Mon, 19 Dec 2016 20:00:32 GMT

Thanks Autumn, changing my negative thinking is my biggest challenge. A lifetime of putting myself down, never feeling good enough, never believing in myself culminated in my spiral to depression. I'm just trying to take one day at a time and take charge of my thought patterns instead of my thoughts controlling me.

Newbie kicking the anxiety way of life

Kazzl — Mon, 19 Dec 2016 20:04:54 GMT

Cheering you on from the sideline Mauzy! That's such a good attitude. I hope you'll share your experiences with us (only if you want to of course) because I reckon we could all do with a dose of your spirit.

Cheers

Kaz

Newbie kicking the anxiety way of life

Mauzy — Sat, 24 Dec 2016 00:46:58 GMT

Thanks Kaz. Christmas is usually a very trying time for me but this year feels different. Got through my food shopping today with minimal stress, not fretting about whether I've forgotten anything and generally feeling very calm. It's definitely been a deliberate choice for me to not fall into the anxiety trap at this time and so far so good. Merry Christmas to all. Mauzy

Newbie kicking the anxiety way of life

Kazzl — Sat, 24 Dec 2016 04:47:52 GMT

Hi Mauzy

Merry Chistmas! I hope you have a peaceful, calm and happy time tomorrow.

Cheers

Kaz

Newbie kicking the anxiety way of life

Mauzy — Fri, 06 Jan 2017 05:47:13 GMT

Well, here goes. Struggled through Christmas, had older sister and family visit from NZ which was lovely, very full on, very noisy, all routine went out the window ( I thrive on routine). Anyway they went home on the 28th, my daughter went away with friends for a week and I fell in a heap. My anxiety was pushed to the limit and I think the whole expectation of a great Xmas lunch, having people here, general family "chaos"just got to me. Maybe tiredness combined with a lot of emotion, considering the Xmas period, and just too much happening at once pushed me to the limit. Oh yeah and I went back to work on the 29th, so that was a huge struggle.

Anyway now the good part, I've been meditating for about a month to deal with anxiety, and I would highly recommend it, I feel so much calmer and in control. Also have signed up to a diet/exercise program on-line, which involves keeping a daily written record of progress for comparison down the track. I feel so much better even after just 4 days. I'm eating better, being far more positive, and not beating myself up if I can't do the amount of exercise recommended.

I guess I'm posting this because I want to pass on that there can be light at the end of the tunnel. I've taken a risk signing up for this program, which is something I've not done for a long time. There is not going to be a risk of failure, because just taking the steps I have mean I'm better than I was 9 months ago when diagnosed with depression. I've been so closed down in my thought processes that I felt like I was worth nothing. So maybe it's the whole New Year thing that has pushed me to feel better. Posting this makes me accountable which will help me stay on track. Happy New Year all

Newbie kicking the anxiety way of life

Mauzy — Mon, 16 Jan 2017 00:34:37 GMT

10 days since my last post so I thought I'd check in. Had a couple of teary breakdowns about 3-4 days ago, but much better since. I thoroughly recommend a good cry to wash things away, clean the slate as it were, and then start again. I've stepped up my Meditation by going to a different App which goes beyond just 10 minutes a day, and looks at different aspects of your life and how to improve them. (Not sure if allowed to give a free plug, so won't name the App). I'm actually looking forward to doing more which is a revelation for me. I like to think I'm shedding layers, layers which have been weighing me down for so long. Better diet and exercise also helping me.

Cheers.

Newbie kicking the anxiety way of life

MarkJT — Mon, 16 Jan 2017 04:48:20 GMT

Mauzy, you are dominating this. There can be no expectation that one will recover and not have ups and downs. It is the recovery from mental illness or injury that can be expected but at some stage, the good and bad days even out, then the good days outnumber the bad days and then bad days are rare.

You are eating well, exercising and now consistently meditating....as said you are dominating this and so positive about it.

Such much awesomeness going on here!

Mark.

Newbie kicking the anxiety way of life

Mauzy — Tue, 17 Jan 2017 03:27:44 GMT

Thank you for your kind words. I hope just one person may read this thread and see that there is hope of a way out of the hell that is mental health issues. I've been as low as I thought I could go but am slowly turning things around. For the first time in my life I am seeing that I AM WORTH IT!!

Newbie kicking the anxiety way of life

MarkJT — Tue, 17 Jan 2017 21:35:21 GMT

Mauzy, you're welcome and outstanding that you are seeing how much you are worth. keep building on that and if you have a bad day, so be it. This does not mean that you have relapsed. It is completely normal to have a down day, that is life. The key is to recognise it, be kind to yourself on that day and do the things that have got you feeling good.

I can almost guarantee that someone who is really struggling will read your post and get a lift out of it. The power within your words cannot be underestimated. You will most likely have made someone smile, when they thought they cannot. Wow. So much power.

Well done.

Mark.

Newbie kicking the anxiety way of life

LittleSoftie — Wed, 29 Mar 2017 11:34:36 GMT

Hi Mauzy, just a quick thank you for sharing. Your post inspires me. I too started meditating at the beginning of last year and the positive effects of it just amazed me. It wasn't until I stopped for a while that realized how much good the meditation was actually doing. It's soooooo wonderful to exist with mental peace.

Keep it up,you are definitely worth it!! And thank you.