Fighting anxiety

[joey]

There is something inherent in anxiety that makes you want to fight it. To refuse acceptance. That's what anxiety is - it makes you want to fight, often yourself.

I have been quite accepting of my depression. I didn't like it but eventually I accepted it's presence. I admitted it to myself. But not my anxiety. I have never really accepted that I have an anxiety disorder. Any yet in the end it probably affects me equally if not more. I am no longer depressed but I am still anxious. I still occasionally have panic attacks. Maybe its because I can't accept the problem (even though I know it and can write it, deep down I can relate to it). 

Does anyone else find anxiety harder to accept than depression?

[Scotty2013]

Hi Joey for me the other way around, Dep i find very hard to accept, I like to be upbeat , although good at hiding it. I find people accept  Anxious better ,but  Depressed is like , I will give you a miss today, your bringing me down dude!!!.  Anxiety  can make you grouchy irritable though I'm sure both are closely Knit  sometimes accompanying the other. I guess with a Panic Attack you know it will be over in 10 minutes with some hope of normality , but Dep can linger all day much scarier. TC

[SharonBV]

Hey Joey. I've had social phobia, anxiety and bouts of depression for as long as I can remember, and spent my life thinking I was stupid and weird. So diagnosis when it got way out of control a few years ago (I'm in my mid 40's) was a relief and I now have some knowledge and tools to help me with it. 

I also find the anxiety harder to deal with, but I think possibly because it's harder to think (sometimes impossible) and reason out the thoughts and feelings to try and deal with it. If I feel down I know what to do to help bring me back up at least to a manageable level, and it may take days or weeks, but I can do it. It's harder to stop your mind bouncing around, your heart from pounding, the nausea, and your whole body from shaking and sweating. Stopping and taking deep breaths and trying to quiet my mind helps with low levels of anxiety but when it cranks up I can take deep breaths until I'm light-headed and I'm no calmer and sometimes that makes it even worse. 

You're right in saying it makes you want to fight it (yourself) in an attempt to regain control. I accept that I have a severe anxiety disorder, and I can accept it when it's at low levels, but I'm at war with myself when it gets worse, both mentally and physically. Maybe it's because we can hide depression with a smile and a joke, but you can't hide anxiety, it's on show for all to see.

I wish you well, and thanks for giving me some food for thought with your post 🙂