Why does my head always want the answer

[MrIrrational]

Have suffered from anxiety for the past 14 years. I have recieved help from numerous professionals, including a period when i was medicated to help.

Unfortunately, still with all the help, i still struggle with the basic anxiety feeling of needing the answer, the conculsion, the solution to stop the irrelevant thoughts. I crave it, search for it, and ultimately feed my anxiety by allowing it to control me.

Lately my triggers have become, more more rediculous, but the attacks still occur. I'll see something on a tv show, news article etc... and my brain will draw a paralell to an incident or event in my life. Now some of these i can get the answers or concludions based tests or time, but some there is no rational way to answer the anxiety. As an example, was watching a show, DNA testing was mentioned, they spoke about finding children they might not know through the test. Straight away anxiety hit me, and my thought pattern went to an event 20 years ago on a drunken night when i much younger.  My anxiety hit top gear, asking questions, putting doubt in my head. Could that be me, my memory of the night suggests there is a very very small chance. I can't and potentially will never be able to answer the questions my brain is asking, as it was too long ago. Plus they are stupid questions, but can't move on from them.

Outside of more professional help, anyone have tools or techniques they use?

Thanks in advance

[Stanlee14]

Hey MrIrrational, and welcome to the forum. Im sorry to hear your struggling with your anxiety at the moment. Like your self I'm a long term sufferer of anxiety.

I was first diagnosed when I was 11, I’m now 30. Like yourself I’ve seen all manor of medical professionals over the years and have been on almost as many meds as well. Sadly this is all too common for many people who just haven’t found the right treatment that works for them. So you are definitely not alone.

Im curious have you ever tried  mindfulness or meditation? I was introduced to it by a phycologist a number of years ago and its one of the few non-medicated things that has helped me personally. There are a number of mindfulness apps out there if you’re unsure where to start, I can recommend Smiling Mind.

In recent years I've also started using various CBT -Cognitive Brain Therapy techniques as well. Many of these are focused on challenging those anxious thoughts and re evaluating them. CBT can be a little bit more difficult to get the hang of so sometimes is better to learn it with the help of a professional but there are many basic guides that can get you started. Not sure this helps you out but hopefully someone else will chime in as well. Im happy to answer any questions if needed. Best wishes Stan

[Richju]

Dear Mrirrational,

Thank you for your honest post about your anxiety which brought back memories of something someone once said to me:-

I have been through a lot in my life and some of it has actually happened.

But I do realise that the mind can take over, making everything seem much scarier than it really is.

I learnt to control my thinking mind through meditation. The smiling mind app is available online.

It does take discipline but with regular practise I gained results quite quickly.

Please give it a try because anxiety like yours can ruin your life if you let it. 

I hope you will continue to post.

Kindest regards,

Richju

[HappySheep]

Hello MrIrrational,

I feel your pain and share your struggle. I have been on/off medication and psychologists over the years and would not still be here without professional help.  But there are also many things you can do outside the professional stuff.

Everything I read says that exercise and mindful meditation are the key to reducing the power of Anxiety.  Unfortunately, both of these require work and building a practice. 😉 (which I am attempting to do!)

As well as CBT, there is the newer ACT - Acceptance Commitment Therapy.  CBT is based on the idea that you need to change your thought patterns and reframe things whereas ACT is based on the idea that sometimes you can't change the way you think about things but you can recognise and accept that your mind is telling you things that aren't helpful and you can live your best life despite the unhelpful thoughts.  I"m not explaining it well, but I would definitely recommend the book called The Happiness Trap by Russ Harris. He didn't invent ACT but he formalised it - he's the real deal not some pop-psychologist guru.  Even my psychologist swears by his stuff.  There's also a website with some free guided mindful meditations etc.

[MrIrrational]

Many Thanks for your reply.

I have worked on myself continuously, trying to maximize the techniques and teachings of my support network - unfortunately as we all know - anxiety can't be cured. These methods help subdue and control for periods, but my irrational side continues to flare and push the questions and "whats ifs" to a new level, especially when normal life stress increases. 

I haven't heard of ACT - Acceptance Commitment Therapy - so that is something I will raise with my network. and see if maybe that is technique that will help re-adjust my attitude and acceptance of the negative thought pattern I'm finding myself in.