as I believe that it is much
better than just writing down information.
The following post is entitled “Taking a Break from Anxiety”
I hope everyone enjoyed a bit of ‘off topic’ in the last post. We did
seem to go back on topic from time to time, but we shared some
stories and some laughs and got to know a little more about each
- 72 -
other. This was not just an off topic subject, it was also designed to
give people a break and leads me on to my next topic.
I know Scarlet has mentioned the need to take a break to others
and I have mentioned it a lot in my book and in the past, so I thought
that if I put up a post about it and explained it in a little more detail, it
may help people.
It is very important to take some time out from the subject of
anxiety. It’s great to finally find helpful information and read up on
this topic, but sometimes people can immerse themselves far too
much in the subject, searching on Google for symptom after
symptom and spending hours looking for the answers that will make
it all go away. People who have been here for a while will know
that last year I set up a forum and within a few weeks closed it down.
Not only had I taken on too much, but I felt that in the long run it was
not helping people on here. I have never liked forums as they can
become addictive and people spend far too much time on them,
talking about their problems and trying to help others with theirs.
They reading about other people’s symptoms, day in, day out, and
miss out on the vital time outs that we need. It is the same if
someone is depressed and goes on a forum hearing other people’s
stories of depression each day. It tends to just drag you down even
further.
The mistake so many make is that they chase recovery and don’t let
it come to them. By this I mean they will spend hours every day
looking up all their symptoms and chasing that elusive cure that will
make a symptom go away instantly. I can’t tell you how much time I
wasted trying to ‘rid’ myself of anxiety rather than just living with the
anxiety there. I never considered just living and allowing my body to
regain its balance. I fought with myself daily and as far as I was
concerned, I just had to get rid of these feelings. I kept asking
myself “Why do I feel like this? Why am I not getting better? Will this
ever go away? What if I do this, that and the other – will it help? I
never gave myself a break from the subject and made the mistake of
trying to fight and think my way better. This has the same effect as
hitting a broken leg with a hammer, it will never recover.
- 73 -
It is also very important to place all symptoms under the umbrella of
anxiety and not try to separate and work on each one individually.
Nothing saddens me more than people asking for advice here on a
certain symptom, then asking about another the day after and then
another a week later. I just know that they are going to go round in
circles finding something else to worry about and something else to
Google. You don’t need to separate each symptom, just see anxiety
as one. Worrying about each symptom individually will create 20
different things to worry about. By putting it all under the umbrella of
anxiety, you can never have more than one.
I went from being a person who did nothing but consume himself
with how he felt, hiding away from everything and spending my days
feeling sorry for myself, to one who just said ‘enough is enough’.
The only way to feel normal again is to live as normal a life as
possible. So instead of feeling sorry for myself, I would go for a
swim. Instead of worrying about how I felt, I would get my bike out
and go for a ride. Instead of spending hours trying to figure a way
out of this hell, I would take a walk. Instead of hiding away, I began
to socialise again. Doing these things felt odd at first as I was
changing a habit I had developed, but by just living my life and
better than just writing down information.
The following post is entitled “Taking a Break from Anxiety”
I hope everyone enjoyed a bit of ‘off topic’ in the last post. We did
seem to go back on topic from time to time, but we shared some
stories and some laughs and got to know a little more about each
- 72 -
other. This was not just an off topic subject, it was also designed to
give people a break and leads me on to my next topic.
I know Scarlet has mentioned the need to take a break to others
and I have mentioned it a lot in my book and in the past, so I thought
that if I put up a post about it and explained it in a little more detail, it
may help people.
It is very important to take some time out from the subject of
anxiety. It’s great to finally find helpful information and read up on
this topic, but sometimes people can immerse themselves far too
much in the subject, searching on Google for symptom after
symptom and spending hours looking for the answers that will make
it all go away. People who have been here for a while will know
that last year I set up a forum and within a few weeks closed it down.
Not only had I taken on too much, but I felt that in the long run it was
not helping people on here. I have never liked forums as they can
become addictive and people spend far too much time on them,
talking about their problems and trying to help others with theirs.
They reading about other people’s symptoms, day in, day out, and
miss out on the vital time outs that we need. It is the same if
someone is depressed and goes on a forum hearing other people’s
stories of depression each day. It tends to just drag you down even
further.
The mistake so many make is that they chase recovery and don’t let
it come to them. By this I mean they will spend hours every day
looking up all their symptoms and chasing that elusive cure that will
make a symptom go away instantly. I can’t tell you how much time I
wasted trying to ‘rid’ myself of anxiety rather than just living with the
anxiety there. I never considered just living and allowing my body to
regain its balance. I fought with myself daily and as far as I was
concerned, I just had to get rid of these feelings. I kept asking
myself “Why do I feel like this? Why am I not getting better? Will this
ever go away? What if I do this, that and the other – will it help? I
never gave myself a break from the subject and made the mistake of
trying to fight and think my way better. This has the same effect as
hitting a broken leg with a hammer, it will never recover.
- 73 -
It is also very important to place all symptoms under the umbrella of
anxiety and not try to separate and work on each one individually.
Nothing saddens me more than people asking for advice here on a
certain symptom, then asking about another the day after and then
another a week later. I just know that they are going to go round in
circles finding something else to worry about and something else to
Google. You don’t need to separate each symptom, just see anxiety
as one. Worrying about each symptom individually will create 20
different things to worry about. By putting it all under the umbrella of
anxiety, you can never have more than one.
I went from being a person who did nothing but consume himself
with how he felt, hiding away from everything and spending my days
feeling sorry for myself, to one who just said ‘enough is enough’.
The only way to feel normal again is to live as normal a life as
possible. So instead of feeling sorry for myself, I would go for a
swim. Instead of worrying about how I felt, I would get my bike out
and go for a ride. Instead of spending hours trying to figure a way
out of this hell, I would take a walk. Instead of hiding away, I began
to socialise again. Doing these things felt odd at first as I was
changing a habit I had developed, but by just living my life and
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