I'm comparing this day to yesterday because the activity level was about the same and the pain level the same. I also added a stress factor by talking to my bipolar friend about things that bother me a bit. Basically she is repeating herself for the last few days and her anxiety level is up. This is going to add to mine (normally) Still thinking pleasant thoughts such as how much better this bread is going to be since I will make cinnamon buns out of half of it. Pain level is quite high but I'm still smiling. It hurts and I know it is there but I do want the buns. Having a coffee and a rest since that would not be unreasonable and then I will add to the load by cleaning up even though home support is coming tomorrow. Thoughts of cinnamon buns are circling instead of thoughts of how am I going to stand long enough to do this. It will be interesting to see if this good mood can keep the negative thoughts away when I start to stiffen up later and when I start to miss my sweetie again. The pleasant thought is that she should be more than half way tonight. The unpleasant thought alternatives would be is this ever going to get better and how am I going to get to the store with this much pain. I need things but will never be able to do it. Good thought that I'm hanging onto is that I have a day to heal some more and if the mood will keep the pain manageable today it should work tomorrow. See I have choices and so far I'm still with the positive ones. There does seem to be an empty spot though where the negatives would normally be.
In addition to the previous post. You could help me by doubling up my experiment. If our mood before doing something unpleasant can dictate how we treat the unpleasant then we could actually have a CBT technique that would be equal to valium without the expense or side effects. You mentioned you have some exposures. Can you find something pleasant and positive to do just before so you go into them with a positive mood and see if this positive mood is enough to keep you from bringing up negative thoughts during the exposure. You could also see if stopping for a second and replaying the pleasant mood will recharge your mind with positives so to speak. I can see how this could work but I need more than just me to be sure it isn't just me. The more people that tried this the better the results would be. GAD is just supposed to happen out of the blue but I still say there has to be a reason and I think mood might be it.
I am going to use pain as my exposure today and lord knows I have enough of that. I will do some work that will be effected by my pain and see if this good mood I am in right now is enough to keep the pain from causing negative thoughts. In the mean time I will get something done I normally wouldn't. I will make bread because that will call for standing and increasing the pain.
Yes, this is how it works. In the program it is called distractions but they don't explain how it works. To get back to the triangle and I will use the mall as an example. I'm at one end but need to go to the other end. A large number of things happen in this process. Some conscious, some unconscious and some discarded because they are not relevant. Even the simple process of putting one foot in front of the other has to go through the thought corner of the triangle to get to the reaction corner. So the opening thought is that I want to go forward. this thought goes through my thought memory where it is looked at and decided that moving my right foot works. The reaction is that I take a step. Good so far. But what is happening at the same time is the thought that I have to cross the mall. Now this thought opens up thoughts in my memory about past times looking for something to cause a reaction. By being positive I get a positive reaction. I'm going to do this because I want to. This in turn goes back to my memory for later use. along with the thought that if I move my right foot I will go forward. This with about a million other thoughts are happening at the same time. This is why it is so important to keep your memory full of pleasant positive thoughts to draw on.
Obviously a lot of thoughts are dropped as irrelevant and not needed. Now since every reaction goes back to memory distractions can break the circling pattern where you start to feel you want to be some where else. This also goes back to the original thought corner where it starts it's way around the triangle to the reaction corner and hence back to the memory corner and around and around. Sitting for a minute can break the circle and you move on. But then the surrounding noise brings up the thought again and you go round and round till you beak the circle again. Very tiring as I'm sure you have noticed.
But you have noticed some people can live in their own world and not have any of this bother them. They must be doing it subconsciously. Some might be intentional dissociation. But I think they must have some unconscious way of breaking the the circle so that their reactions to their surroundings don't go into memory. This is what I want. I want a guard between reaction and memory that will discard all this negative unnecessary information from circling so I don't consciously have to do the distraction. I figure there must be a technique that allows others to do this and me not to. Unfortunately I think it may be a product of upbringing like core beliefs. But wouldn't it be nice to go to the mall and react to nothing but what you want to. To see everything relevant but nothing else. It would take more than 90% of the strain away I'm sure and with it the anxiety in a similar order. I have had this happen on a really good day but not often enough to figure out why. It may be that Something very pleasant has happened just prior and that is circling keeping the positive in the forefront and since the negative happening around me doesn't fit in with it the negative gets discarded and not into memory where it would interfere. I know that If I do something pleasant like work in my garden before I have to do something unpleasant like the mall that I have much less anxiety and it could be because my memory at that moment is on pleasant things and therefore when I need a thought to dictate a reaction I look for a positive one and this may be why I discard more of the unpleasant ones. I can see I am going to have my work cut out but if I can find the key to doing this subconscious then it will be a major break through to relieving anxiety.
This is something I can relate too..The mall is a big one..It find it unbearable at times being around crowds of shoppers. Like I am going to scream..They make my skin crawl..Thats when I go outside and take a 10 minute break before going back into finish getting what I need to..Sometimes we just decide I have had enough for the day and decide to call it a day and try it again the next day if it is something I really need to purchase..My partner can see it coming and says I start looking like I am a wilting flower..this happen before it hits me hard..When this happens I feel like the life has been drained out of me..My partner says I also have a very dead pan look on my face...We then know it is time to leave and try again later..There are other exposures and thoughts that cause this reaction for me..I am not ready to go into them all right now because that would bring them all to the surface again..Just can't let that happen..
Back to your question about finding a way to keep it from getting into your memory and looking for something to do to relief this that doesn't take a lot of conscious thought..This might sound simple but looking at a magazine helps me, or just picking up anything and reading it..doing a word find, looking up words in the dictionary..Just something to put my mind in a better place..I wish I could help you more..I will try to come up with some others if I can later..
I wonder if picking up one of your pieces from one of wood projects and doing a little sanding in your chair if you can't stand would help? Can you get down to your shop? If not do you have someone who can drop by today and go down stairs to your shop and get you something that you can work on upstairs? Just am idea...
It is like a flash flood in the desert. You might have seen the lightning and ignored it. But if you are down stream it is going to affect you. It seems things we barely notice or shrug off can affect
us even if they are not related. An example would be a shopping mall. You may be there for one item but have to pass through the hussle and bussle to get it. All that other crap must have some effect. So I am trying to come up with a way to stop it from circling around and getting into my thought memory. Short of wearing a discman and covering it with white noise. I mean I'm looking for something simple that I can do without conscious thought.
Your therapist my be on to something..Not knowing can cause a lot of anxiety..Fear of the unknown. What if 's could be a problem also..You have been making a lot of changes to your home and life lately also. They are positive changes..Even with positive changes I still find I can have some anxiety/apprehension. As for the pain I think you are doing great with replacing the negative with positive..I known pain is a tough one..I deal with this one most every day to varying degree's..I am glad I can walk and my back surgery got rid of most of the pain..I can not due what I used to do, like I used to do it..So I have modified the way I do things and have learned to adapt..I have had to accept the fact that there are some things I will not be able to do anymore. This is and was the hardest thing for me to do.
Davit, I am hopeful that you will find answers and ways to lessen your anxiety soon. Your advice has been very helpful to me over the past few days. I wish that I had some good advice to share with you in return. I logged in today because I was having an anxious morning (I am overtired, I think this is why). I am trying to take inventory of what's on my mind and challenging the anxious thoughts. I find this works most of the time. Please keep us updated and take care.
I do not know how many people understood the thought triangle that I described that controls whether a trigger causes panic or ignores it.
Today I had a conversation with my therapist and wanted to know why I keep getting anxious thoughts that circle back to my thought memory since It is full of positives.
The reason has nothing to do with the triggers which no longer trigger negative thoughts so there should be no panic reactions. Put there is anxiety that should not be there.
She says the pain is causing worry since I do not have a definite diagnosis saying it will get better so subconsciously I am adding negatives to my memory and they are influencing my memory search causing me to dig deeper into the realm of the buried negatives. I have to deal with the negative thoughts on the pain. That should be fun. How do I find something positive.
Well there are a few. It is getting better, it is only one leg, I've been able to get assistance with my home. It would help if I knew for sure what was wrong with it is the big thing causing negatives.
Worst comes to worst there is valium and I can ride it out.
It’s been a while since you were active on this site. Please extend your session below
You have been logged out due to inactivity.
Please sign back in.
We use cookies to help us learn about how our platform is used and how we can improve your experience. To
learn more please see our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
