[Closed] How do YOU deal with anxiety?

I took up yoga a couple of months ago.
As well as making me feel stronger physically, it's very calming and has a non-religious spiritual side about looking after yourself. I know that sounds a bit hippy but it's really effective.
I have a total idiot boss at work who would normally stress me out but regular yoga is keeping me on the straight and narrow. Better than normal exercise has...

alcohol and garibaldi biscuits.

I stay up late, drink alcohol and avoid things by surfing the net.

Eh? I'm lost. What do you mean?

At the moment i'm wound tighter than a magnets coil (5 points if you can name the song and band)

That'll be 'Magnets Coil' from Sebadoh.

I'm lucky in that I don't have panic attacks, but I do have fairly regular bouts of continual low level anxiety brought on by a combination of work, family and life just being busier and more complicated than I would like. I find riding is a huge help, but that self medication via the stw classifieds and eBay only gives fleeting relief.

I'm interested do people feel they suffer nerves and do they associate the 2 things - anxiety & nerves - together?

I suffer from what i'd describe (if being honest) extreme nerves. Started at high school and peaked between final high school years and university. Initially my big fear was talking formally in public - presentations, meetings, group situations etc. But it spread to using the telephone, talking with people I perceived to be in a position of authority such as my bosses/tutors, job interviews etc. I'll even feel sick with nerves if I watch people acting in a film or TV programme where they are doing any of the above, a kind of 'associated nervousness'.

At times I feel this has ruined my life, in almost all other respects I'm quite confident and most people who know or work with me would be astonished if they knew my secret. I say it's a secret and people would be astonished because I've always fought tooth and nail to hide this from absolutely everybody I know...because i reckon it's perceived as a weakness of character. Maybe it is?

It came to a head at Uni and I went to my GP. I had to prepare a big presentation in my final year and I knew I wouldn't be able to worm my way out like I had all the others up to that stage. I did CBT and also started taking 1/2 Inderal La beta-blockers. I fell away from the CBT for a variety of reasons but 11 years on I still take the beta-blockers. They allow me to hide my 'secret' and lead a 'normal' life but I'm very dependant on them and if I run out or leave home without taking them I can get very panicky, shaky hands, sweaty etc. None of the normal triggers need to be present, just the realisation I don't have my safety net. Placibo. This in itself can lead to panic attacks.

Anyway when I get asked from time to time (such as Doctors in A&E) if I take any medication, and when I say I do I then always get asked 'what for' I always call this anxiety as I believe it's less of a stigma than saying I'm just an 'irrationally nervous person'.

I don't think one or the other is more or less valid but I'd be interested to hear if anybody who suffers anxiety would associate this with nerves, or describe this as 'nerves' or if the 2 things are seperate for other people.

OMG - I've probably just written and revealed more about this than I've ever done in my life...internet's an amazing place eh 😐
cheers

Really interesting reading through this thread - thanks to everyone thats shared their experiences!

I don't think I'd class myself has having clinical anxiety or whatever, just a worrier! More often than not now I spend the small hours of the morning tossing and turning, thinking about things which for the most part really aren't that significant, turning various situations (some that have happened and some that haven't) over in my head. Have noticed over the last couple of months that the amount of time I spend during the day feeling nauseous (and not being able to eat!) and just generally a bit low thanks to worrying/thinking about things is definitely increasing.

Hoping all will become well on its own though...

Some very interesting posts. No need for me to say about my own condition, it's a mixture of a lot of the conditions described by you lot. My biggest fear? That it's a weakness and makes you less of a person than the next. I'm incredibly hard on myself, to the point that I wont even ride in fear of not going as fast as possible and riding perfectly on every trail. That's just one example. In reality, all I see is a normal person, who hasn't excelled at anything, and that's the big block.

There are only two things which cause anxiety.

Uncertainty, and fear itself.

There are only two things which cause anxiety.

Uncertainty, and fear itself.

and occasionally physiological chemical inbalances..

I have been having counselling with a psychotherapist for this for getting on for a year. A work situation triggered the onset and she has helped me to find coping strategies and a way through to change the work situation. She has also helped me put stuff in context. When the gp/wife suggested it I was in favour but a little sceptical as I knew that there seem to be quite a few well meaning "talking therapy" types out there, and I didn't want to go to someone who didn't know their stuff. I ended up paying for sessions with a psychotherapist on the local mental health team.

One of the self help tools suggested by my therapist was to do some meditating on the " mindful way", a strong theme of which is to concentrate on the present and not spend huge amounts of time fruitlessly ruminating on what has happened in the past or worrying about what will happen in the future. Easy to say but difficult to put into practice, and that's where the meditation can help. Again I was sceptical about the softly spoken californian taking the meditation on the cd but I found it very helpful (although I haven't been very goof at doing it regularly. The book (and cd) are called "The Mindful Way through Depression - Freeing Yourself From Chronic Unhappiness" Mark Williams et al £10.72. Although the title is directed towards depression it has some helpful content that applies to anxiety.

And ride a bike - connect with the present and savour the moment.…

Focus on something positive that's going to happen in the near future, even if it's as mundane as enjoying a good breakfast.
Alternatively think of the worst time you've ever had and the fact that it's been and gone and you're still here now.

I had a big issue with oral medication. I refused to believe it helped, even though I was being told that there was a 'physical' problem with me - some kind of chemical imbalance. The tablets sure did something, generally making me drowsy, lose my appetite etc. I stopped over a year ago, didn't wean myself off them. Did me no harm.