Anxiety

[fidgiegirl]

I am noticing myself with a lot higher level of anxiety over the last six weeks or so. First it was remodeling stuff, last night it was sawdust in my eye that wouldn't come out and that we went to urgent care for (grrr, worthless urgent care . . . ), this morning it is the roads and whether I should or should not have canceled my 8:00 meeting . . . when I am unsure about something, I practically feel it physically! Not liking this, and this really isn't me! I don't think it's to the point where I need to see anyone yet, but I should work on it somehow . . . maybe some yoga again, or starting to work out once more? Ideas?

[razz]

Are you feeling that your life is getting beyond or out of control? If yes, it is a mental game that is going on. There is a strong sense of anxiety in society at present and according to psychological thinking you are experiencing "contagion" anxiety. Realize and affirm what is going well in your life, focus on that and continually remind yourself what is good and positive to counteract the anxiety.
http://www.anxietyculture.com/stresscontagion.htm
http://www.healthcentral.com/anxiety/c/64108/77147/contagious

[Rosemary]

Meditate! Just taking 10 minutes to sit down, close my eyes, and turn off the brain chatter does wonders for me.
Exercise helps me a lot, too, as does avoiding chocolate, sugar, and caffeine.
You've had a busy few months between work changes, house changes, diet changes!!! Takes a lot of energy and focus to keep all of that going. Maybe it's time to give yourself a break of some sort - maybe a weekend off from all sorts of work, just do fun stuff?

[puglogic]

I find that my internal anxiety meter spikes most when I expose myself to too much negative stimulus: news or divisive talk or television or even books portraying stressful situations and violence. When I forcefully turn away from those things, it helps. Also, I find I can generally get it under control again with:
--yoga
--meditation
--working out (cardio especially)
--diet (keeping it well-balanced, with careful use of complex carbohydrates and eliminating excess fat and sodium especially helps me)
--getting good sleep, no matter what
--identifying areas in my life that are stressful, and taking strong steps to bring them under control

Are you on a low-carb diet? That really got me rattled until I dialed in exactly the right amount of carbohydrate for me.

Good luck, fidgiegirl -- take good care of yourself.

[gimmethesimplelife]

Thanks for this post, Fidgiegirl. I am feeling a great deal of anxiety myself these days - nothing specifically horrible is going on, just too much change too fast and too many things happening too fast. I am finding that when I can get decent sleep it helps amazingly. Also when I get away from everything, even if it is only for a few minutes, it helps to center me. When the dust settles and things assume some kind of routine, I need to be incorporating some of the above ideas into my life for sure. Rob

[ApatheticNoMore]

Probably trying to do too much at once :) (there may be times in life when this necessary, but people tend to live their whole lives as if it were necessary)

[Stella]

Considering your remodeling, move and the fact that it's February in MN (and feels like it today) you are probably a little overwhelmed.

I agree with all of the suggestions above. Take a day or a weekend off from all of the stuff you have to do.

I have been going to a chapel at my church for an hour every week for prayer and meditation and my anxieties have all but disappeared. If you do want to do some meditation it might help you to find a place somewhere other than your house. I know for me, if I have a lot of stuff to do at home (like unpacking boxes) I find it harder to quiet my mind if I am sitting in the middle of my living to-do list. I like the chapel at church because it is always quiet, pretty and peaceful. It doesn't take long in an environment like that to shed my mental clutter and focus.

In the past I've also gone to Como Park Conservatory on a weekday when it isn't busy and spent a little time soaking up the warm, humid air and sunshine that I miss this time of year. That's another nice place for a one-hour retreat.

[fidgiegirl]

Thank you, all. Undoubtedly it is the remodel, starting up the rental business, the move, etc. that is helping to cause all of this. I also haven't had my typical downtime on the weekends as it's been go-go-go and even into the evenings. I need to take more time for myself, even if DH doesn't want to. Maybe that even means leaving the house, like some of you said. If he's going to work himself to the bone, well, that's up to him, but if I don't claim some time, I'll never get it. Now that we're actually moved over to the new house, there is a lot less reason to work so super hard. If some boxes stay packed for a while, so be it.

I appreciated all your responses. Actually, I was just lamenting the other day how I could never make it over to the Conservatory because of work, and then weekends are pretty much shot, or have been . . . Well, today I don't feel very well (which is probably contributing to, or due to, the anxiety part - who knows) and took half a sick day. On the way home I stopped at the Conservatory for 20 minutes. It was awesome to go during the week - very empty and so so so warm.

After I eat a hot lunch I am going to bed for a while.

[nswef]

I'd like to suggest HypnosisDownloads.com I used a travel one and it has helped me rid/drive across bridges without panic as well as drive next to a tractor trailer without panic. I've used another for anxiety. It works OK- but not as well as the travel did. They are only $12.95- you download them onto your computer and can use them immediately. Use every day for a couple of weeks and it does help. Good luck.

[JaneV2.0]

Speaking of hypnosis, Amazon has several pages of short, targeted audio downloads for 99 cents apiece in their MP3 section.

Diet-wise, I'd add protein and fat, limit carbohydrates to vegetables and low-sugar fruits, and take a good B-vitamin supplement and some magnesium.

[Stella]

I saw this post again and thought of you on this sunny, warm day. I hope you were able to get some sunshine and fresh air! Don't you love it when these first days come around that you can walk outside and it is actually almost warm? :) I'm glad you made it to the Conservatory. I love it there. Do they have their spring flowers in yet? All those flowers are like food for the soul.

[larknm]

Sounds to me like more conservatory is good to try for. Also it's helped me to think of 5 things when I go to bed, that I'm glad happened that day.

I think the world's political situation is so volatile we're all getting extra anxiety from that, even animals and plants are I think.

Hanging out with any available animal often helps me.

Good luck,Fidgie, your posts lower my anxiety every time I read them.

[fidgiegirl]

Thanks for thinking of me, Stella. I am feeling great with the change of weather, and of course, being able to push work off the mental radar helps too :) It's spring break in this teaching household.

Larknm, thank you. So sweet! You know, it's interesting what you say about animals. I feel the same way, and have been really, really interested in therapy animals lately. We have some at some of our district buildings - guinea pigs and dogs. I would really like to get into it with dogs, especially with nursing homes. But you have to get the right dog, I guess, from my reading, because much of the therapy aspect is the dog's personality more than the training.

Happy, happy, happy spring!!!!!!

[redfox]

The entire country is in high anxiety... has been since 911, IMHO. The intensity of the campaign is driving it, I think. Tune it out!

[fidgiegirl]

You know, actually, since starting this thread I've made an effort to turn off MPR News and over to MPR Classical more often, and it's made a difference . . .

[Jemima]

Taking a rather large dose of fish oil has helped me a lot - 3000 mg. three times a day, along with some other unrelated supplements. Jane's nutritional suggestions are also right on, IMO.

And when you're feeling tired or harrassed, just sit! Or go lay down and take a rest where you can get away from it all. I'm working on retraining myself in this area, as I tend to push and push until I'm really tired, cranky, and irritated.

[fidgiegirl]

And when you're feeling tired or harrassed, just sit! Or go lay down and take a rest where you can get away from it all. I'm working on retraining myself in this area, as I tend to push and push until I'm really tired, cranky, and irritated.

Yes, need to work on this, which has been my reality this afternoon. My DH wants to do this certain task TODAY, and I don't. So we've been fighting about it all day, and he won, and it's still not done and now I'm mad. At least he's making supper.

Another anxiety thing I've noticed is that I take on others' anxiety. So my FiL and SiL are both very time-oriented. Going out to a meal at a restaurant is just one big worry about how long it is going to take until the next step of the meal. And so then I start to get all anxious, too. I've noticed that to an extent, DH does this. He is imagining that our BiL will want his nail gun back, even though BiL has said nothing about it and only lives a mile and a half away, so if he wants it, big deal, we will take it over there and then he'll happily lend it back to us to finish up. He's inventing these deadlines, and it stresses me out. We have enough REAL deadlines in this life.

We are going to go for a bike ride after dinner. Hopefully that will help. The longer days do, too. We don't feel like we're "out" of time for the day since it is still light out.

[Mrs-M]

I watched a great program on anxiety last night, and thought I'd post the link to the show for anyone interested.

http://www.cbc.ca/doczone/episode/age-of-anxiety.html#

[Stella]

LOL, Kelli my dad is just like that! We'll all go out to dinner and he'll be so stressed out about getting out the door on time, but there's really no "on time" we have to be. Who cares if it takes us 5 extra minutes? No one is waiting for us.

[Jemima]

I watched a great program on anxiety last night, and thought I'd post the link to the show for anyone interested.

http://www.cbc.ca/doczone/episode/age-of-anxiety.html#

Thanks, Mrs-M. That's a really interesting topic.

[fidgiegirl]

Wow, I could only see the promo, Mrs. M, but very, very interesting. I guess the full episode maybe won't go up until a few days after it's been on the air?

[Mrs-M]

Jemima and Fidgiegirl. There's an option for viewers (directly below the video), that offers either a promo watch or a full-length watch. Have you guys tried selecting the full-length watch, option? When I posted the link I actually posted the full-length version for everyone, and it loads for me, no problem. Let me know.

[Cypress]

Anxiety is an old shadow of mine. The best relief may be to remove yourself from the situation for a little while. If it is a person you live with, perhaps taking a quiet walk at the end of the day on your own can help relax the nerves. Food can help. Sweet potatoes, bananas and green tea seem to treat anxiety naturally. I haven't been too anxious to eat in a long time. Sleep yes, sometimes that is evasive. I started taking a supplement called GABA daily a few years ago. This product helps overall with sleep, mood and steadiness. The best antidote of all time is when I maintain a regular tai chi or yoga practice. If the anxiety is very strong, Rescue Remedy taken in regular doses is also effective. I always chose non-traditional medical approaches first. If the anxiety is causing excema or manifesting in other ways, I am not sure what to say. Stress is too common, especially for women.

[Weston]

. The best antidote of all time is when I maintain a regular tai chi or yoga practice. If the anxiety is very strong, Rescue Remedy taken in regular doses is also effective. I always chose non-traditional medical approaches first. If the anxiety is causing excema or manifesting in other ways, I am not sure what to say. Stress is too common, especially for women.

I have a sister in law who heavily pushes rescue remedy and other homeopathic potions. I have tried them several times and have seen absolutely no effect whatsoever. Call me cynical but I really don't believe that the dew collected from the blossoms of fresh flowers contains an “energy” that is the “soul” or “essence” of the plant. Or that by consuming this early morning dew, patients can heal the emotional imbalances that lead to disease.

I think that natural remedies do exist (such as the tai chi and yoga practices you mention) I just think that these potions rarely work and when they do work it is because of the placebo effect.

[ApatheticNoMore]

Has anyone mentioned this yet? Give up caffeine! If you partake ... seriously though it may not be the whole solution, but it can't but help to give up the liquid anxiety.