Anxiety Resources

YOU ARE NOT ALONE! HELP IS OUT THERE!

 Many anxiety sufferers report feeling extremely alone and confused. This contributes greatly to the problem. The fact is it is not as uncommon as you probably think. Everyone thinks they are the only one because nobody ever talks about it. Approximately 6 million American adults ages 18 and older, or about 2.7 percent of people in this age group in a given year, have panic disorder. There are many more out there like you. People who can relate to your experiences. People who can help.

Being able to talk about my anxiety has been key to my recovery. I am fortunate to have a wonderfully supportive family. I started there. Anxiety disorders can often be hereditary in nature. By discussing this with my family, I found that my mother had battled with the same thing throughout my childhood. I had no idea. She was able to offer me great insight into this. I consider that day, talking with my mother about this, to be a turning point.

I have also found help online. The Anxiety Zone is a great forum for people with anxiety disorder, panic disorder, social anxiety, agoraphobia, OCD, phobias or depression. Daily Strength also offers discussion forums. There are many blogs, websites, books, and even videos on YouTube sharing personal experiences with anxiety disorders. Many areas even have anxiety and panic groups who gather to discuss and share.

 Help is out there, so don't give up.

Here are some suggested resources:

A Life Less Anxious

The Charles Linden Method
Stigma Smash on Facebook
NIMH
Panic Facts

Acceptance

I once read a book (Hope and Help for Your Nerves by Dr Claire Weekes) that talked a lot about acceptance as way of conquering anxiety. It's a great book, I highly suggest reading it if you are struggling with any form of anxiety or panic disorder. I read this book a while back and I got a lot from it. It wasn't until just pretty recently though that I fully grasped what she meant with her bit about acceptance.

I was heading to a job interview on a Monday morning. I thought I had entered the route into the GPS that would avoid the interstate, as I had plenty of nerves about the interview and did not need to pile on one of my classic highway driving panic attacks on top of it. But of course I was mistaken. When the lady came on with her silly voice telling me to merge right onto I-85, I had to obey. I told myself I could do it, and that I would be fine, the usual pep talk. That old familiar anxious feeling started to well up in my chest nonetheless as I drove up that on-ramp. As I got closer to the point of merging into traffic, the anxiety intensified and I was sure I was about to have a panic attack. I had just reached the point where I had had enough. I was so weary of running from these panic attacks that this time I just relaxed my body hoping to just "get it over with". I mentally told that panic attack to just go at it. Let me have it. Get it over with so I can get on about my day and put myself back together for this job interview. But it didn't happen. It just passed. I cruised the remaining 6 miles until my exit without a problem. As I realized that I wasn't going to panic after all, that I couldn't even if I tried, I became ecstatic! It was a great feeling. By accepting the panic attack, I was able to conquer it.


In this type of moment there comes a point where the anxiety either starts to subside as you realize there is no real danger, or it explodes out from your core in every direction with such speed that you'd swear steam is actually coming out of your ears. This is the point where either that second-fear (the fear of the panic attack itself rather than the perceived trigger that caused the anxiety to begin with) gets the best of you or you get the best of it. Panic is like a playground bully. It gives you trouble only so long as you react to it. When you stop fearing that panic attack, it moves along and looks for an easier target.