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context of physical sensations in Session 2

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context of physical sensations in Session 2

16 years ago 0 +0 / -0 778

I am being to challenge like you Minnie . It certainly is beginning to help . The shoulders thing makes alot of sense although i have usually got a stiff neck by the time i realize it lol .

16 years ago 0 +0 / -0 341

Hi, I just came from a bike ride, and I felt a bit dizzy before I left, I also didnt hve a lot of sleep last night. So when I started, I kept saying aloud, I am fine, I just didnt sleep last night that well, and I'm probably dizzy from that, not the anxiety. I keep having to reassure myself that it was from the disturbed sleep that I felt kind of dizzy, and a wierd feeling in my stomach, but I do feel a bit better now that i've biked a bit hard and I dont feel as bad. I try when i'm feeling a lot of the symptoms to drink water, it really helps me a lot. Also I find my shoulders carry a lot of the anxiety, I try relax them and lower them and it helps my neck a bit..I hope I make some sense.

16 years ago 0 +0 / -0 778

Will have to remember that Birdie , the smiling thing .

Hello Lonewulf , you do have a good point there . I get every single one of them as well , not from doing anything as well . I hate the choking thing . That is so scary . Mine feels tight below both ears and inside feels swollen , this lasts for ages .

Birdie is right , i think its a warning that im becoming very anxious . Even if im only just watching the stupid telly !!! A few months ago it would have set a full blown attack on , now i know what to do it dosnt . Im still anxious till it sort of goes away but not a quivvering wreck .

16 years ago 0 +0 / -0 8760

Lonewulf_99,

Are these the only physical sensations you experience? Are these physical sensations followed by the more common anxiety symptoms? What triggers cause these types of symptoms? Perhaps exposing yourself to those triggers will recreate the uncommon symptoms and you could attempt exposure in this manner?

Danielle, Bilingual Health Educator

16 years ago 0 +0 / -0 101

That is a really good point! I'll be interested to hear what others have to say to this point...

When I have those symptoms that don't match maybe a "normal' response to everyday things (I sometimes feel like I have a band tightening around my head) I remind myself that it isn't harmful, it's just my body telling me it needs to relax!

Sometimes it's a warning that I'm getting tense and just need to relax my shoulders, take a deep breath, maybe drink some water (I don't do that enough) or take a short walk. Or the big one is maybe I need to get back to the task at hand and not be obsessively thinking about what if. I may have drifted off into worry!

This may sound silly but I had a friend tell me once that they did a study on smiling. If you smile if you are happy or not your body thinks you're happy. I guess internally it response as if you are happy so when I'm at a loss of what else to do sometimes I just smile. I know it's corny but I think it works!!!

Not sure if any of this is helpful in this matter........

Birdie

16 years ago 0 +0 / -0 1

Hello everyone,

So I am going through Session #2 in the program here and I have a question about the following paragraph:

Notice how thinking about a physical sensation can affect your level of anxiety. For example, take the physical symptoms of shortness of breath, sweating, and increased heart rate. If you experienced these symptoms while standing in line at a grocery store, driving in a car, waiting for a bus, or riding in an elevator, you'd probably think that something was wrong or that you were having a panic attack. In this situation your anxiety could increase. On the other hand, if you experienced these same physical symptoms while playing tennis, swimming, or riding a bike you'd likely not experience an increase in anxiety. The physical sensations are the same: it's the thoughts that count.

While I think that the above is a great way to approach and look at "those" physical sensations, what am I suppose to do when my personal physical sensations are the following:

Neck muscles constricting tightly, which gives a sensation of being physically choked

Gagging

Dizzy, light-headed, confusion

If I experienced any of those while "playing tennis, swimming, or riding a bike" or any other activity I would still experience an increase in anxiety. What I am asking is how about some help for those of us that suffer from the physical sensations that can't where "changing context of the situation" doesn't help or can't be done. Again, I appreciate the example, but for my sensations mentioned above, there isn't a way to do that. Not trying to come across as negative here...feel free to offer suggestions (if any) on changing the context of other physical sensations like I mentioned.

thanks.

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context of physical sensations in Session 2