In our world, there is so much information at every corner that it's hard to decide which direction to look when trying to stop anxiety naturally.
When I did things at random, I would always become a lost soul.
I would read that I needed to change my diet in this way or that way so I would fill up my blender with a bunch of vegetables and gulp it all down, then check in (checking to see if anything was physically wrong with me at that moment) and see if I was feeling better or not.
If I didn't have immediate results I would ditch the blender and try something else, giving up on that just as quickly.
This kind of randomness was like running from tennis court to tennis court, never finishing a game.
This way of thinking was what continued the cycle of high anxiety and worry - constantly striving for a solution, looking for a way to stop anxiety naturally, and not finding one.
When my first panic attack struck, I remember thinking that I was simply dying.
I actually remember saying a prayer and thanking the world for a life filled with adventure, and giving me the gift of what my dad would always call my 'golden arm' because of my tennis skills.
It was like being almost out of your body.
Those feelings all eventually subsided and I was left dazed and confused about what had happened.
My GAD instantly would set in, and from then on I found my world becoming smaller and smaller.
That free, fearless tennis warrior was just a memory now.
I wasn't free - I had GAD.
The label of having an anxiety and panic disorder was now something I carried around with me from minute to minute, it was my identity and my mind reminded me of that all the time no matter what I was doing.
My mind would say things like "OK you can go play some tennis, but just remember that if you put too much effort in, you just might have another panic attack or worse � a heart attack!" As if I was subconsciously sabotaging myself.
From the moment I woke up, I couldn't wait to get to sleep again so I didn't have to face my new "identity.
" Every waking minute was met with the two words that consumed me, "what if.
" What if I experience hyperventilation again around these people? What if people begin thinking I'm crazy? What if I can't play my tennis match tomorrow because my anxiety symptoms become too much to handle? These are the two most dis-empowering words I've ever come across.
I needed to get rid of them from my vocabulary if I wanted to change my new anxious identity.
These responses are good suggestions for someone with an anxiety level of say three or four out of ten, but when you're talking about someone who is gripping so tightly day by day to stay in control of these physical sensations of worry and fear, they mean nothing.
So you can't really blame the anxiety sufferer for not opening up more to the people around them or going out and meeting new friends.
This is why I think that it is really important for people close to the anxiety sufferer to be well educated on how to treat them.
We are very fragile creatures and can take things the wrong way all of the time.
A simple comment like, "did you get sunburned yesterday?" Can be an immediate emergency for a hypochondriac to get to the nearest WiFi connection to check what the chances of getting skin cancer can be from having a sunburn.
That's why, while in the process of recovery, it's important that people you see often at home and in your daily life read up on how to stop anxiety naturally, and what it's like to have GAD or any other issue related to your mental health.
When I did things at random, I would always become a lost soul.
I would read that I needed to change my diet in this way or that way so I would fill up my blender with a bunch of vegetables and gulp it all down, then check in (checking to see if anything was physically wrong with me at that moment) and see if I was feeling better or not.
If I didn't have immediate results I would ditch the blender and try something else, giving up on that just as quickly.
This kind of randomness was like running from tennis court to tennis court, never finishing a game.
This way of thinking was what continued the cycle of high anxiety and worry - constantly striving for a solution, looking for a way to stop anxiety naturally, and not finding one.
When my first panic attack struck, I remember thinking that I was simply dying.
I actually remember saying a prayer and thanking the world for a life filled with adventure, and giving me the gift of what my dad would always call my 'golden arm' because of my tennis skills.
It was like being almost out of your body.
Those feelings all eventually subsided and I was left dazed and confused about what had happened.
My GAD instantly would set in, and from then on I found my world becoming smaller and smaller.
That free, fearless tennis warrior was just a memory now.
I wasn't free - I had GAD.
The label of having an anxiety and panic disorder was now something I carried around with me from minute to minute, it was my identity and my mind reminded me of that all the time no matter what I was doing.
My mind would say things like "OK you can go play some tennis, but just remember that if you put too much effort in, you just might have another panic attack or worse � a heart attack!" As if I was subconsciously sabotaging myself.
From the moment I woke up, I couldn't wait to get to sleep again so I didn't have to face my new "identity.
" Every waking minute was met with the two words that consumed me, "what if.
" What if I experience hyperventilation again around these people? What if people begin thinking I'm crazy? What if I can't play my tennis match tomorrow because my anxiety symptoms become too much to handle? These are the two most dis-empowering words I've ever come across.
I needed to get rid of them from my vocabulary if I wanted to change my new anxious identity.
These responses are good suggestions for someone with an anxiety level of say three or four out of ten, but when you're talking about someone who is gripping so tightly day by day to stay in control of these physical sensations of worry and fear, they mean nothing.
So you can't really blame the anxiety sufferer for not opening up more to the people around them or going out and meeting new friends.
This is why I think that it is really important for people close to the anxiety sufferer to be well educated on how to treat them.
We are very fragile creatures and can take things the wrong way all of the time.
A simple comment like, "did you get sunburned yesterday?" Can be an immediate emergency for a hypochondriac to get to the nearest WiFi connection to check what the chances of getting skin cancer can be from having a sunburn.
That's why, while in the process of recovery, it's important that people you see often at home and in your daily life read up on how to stop anxiety naturally, and what it's like to have GAD or any other issue related to your mental health.