Please answer honestly..?

Do you ever feel like you can't shut off your brain? Does it ever get so bad to where you become anxious? How do you deal with it when anxiety becomes too much to bear? Even when you have no real reason to worry? Is there a way to deal with this other than medication and/or counseling? Any personal experiences or ways of dealing would be appreciated. Thanks.

Answers:
Yes, it is common to just shut down when things become too much. I do it myself. I think it is ok to do ocassionally, but not on a long term basis. It that is done all the time it is called denial and things get pushed down in your brain and unresolved anxiety and anger turns in to depression or anxiety.

There are things that happen in life that we can't help but have anxiety. But we can't constantly live in a state of anxiety.
Exercising is good. I use swimming and the water is so comforting. Go for a brisk walk. Talk out your fears.
Write letters and never send them. ( just to get feelings out)

Get involved helping others.

Learn breathing techniques to comfort yourself. Learn to do some simple Yoga. it is so freeing and opens up your lungs.

Breathing is so important..well we all breath, but when we are anxious we tend to breath very shallow. Several times a day take some slow deep breaths and exhale slowly. Work on expanding your lung compacity. Being stressed tightens up our muscles and affects all parts of our bodies.
Don't drink or drug.eventually that makes things worse.
If you can get some counseling. Most counties have free counseling for people who can't afford it .

Fill your brain with other information which will eventually push back the anxiety and make it not all consuming.

Also I recommend something I do that works..talk to yourself.
You see your brain is rehashing your bad images and memories.
It is time to change those thoughts into positive ones.
When you hear yourself talking smack in your brain..time for you to take over and change those thoughts. For example, if your brain tells you.something like this..I am such a failure..nothing ever turns out right..I am such a loser..no one likes me. Change that in to something like this...This is a new day...I have endless possibabllities.I choose to be happy and joyful in my life...I choose to make this day good. I am capable..."

I have a montra that I say over and over again when I go for a brisk walk...I choose health, happiness, sucussment, contemtment. -- the word sucess is not being rich, it just means that you do the things you want to do and do them well.

Sometimes some of us need medication ocassionally because brain chemistry can be messed up..

When you can't shut off your brain. Make a list of what you are worrid about , then tell yourself that you can rest now and you will deal with it later.

Also eat healthy. Often when we are stressed we eat chocolate or ice cream or other stuff and don't eat healthy. Be healthy from the inside out.

I AGREE! I have heard that the average human has 40,000 thoughts a day!

Antidepressants can help, but make you a bit lazy and pudgy.

But it's better than constant anxiety. Doctors can help you with the dose.

It could be any cause, though, so do check with your doctor. Good luck.

PS I realize my answer is not popular, and probably not what you want to hear.

My theory is that if one has an allergy one takes allergy pills, without stigma. If a chemical imbalance can be treated and solve this problem then I will take advantage of it as well. Maybe I rely on pills too much in general!

I may be wrong. But I wanted to offer my opinion.
the brain pretty much never stops working even in sleep but you should probably see a therapist. maybe it's acute anxiety disorder or something like that. try to relax by exercising, listening to music, etc. good luck!
Medication never helps, that is true. It can shut down the side-effects but never the source of the problem. It even makes it worse by blurring the core of the problem and making it harder to locate and solve.

For me, since you asked for personal experience, music is the answer. It sounds too easy and too simple, but it's true.
Music is a sound- sound is a wave- thoughts are waves too
(mental energy, brain waves that is).
Therefore, music can alter the way you feel. Just choose your kind and good luck.
There is, if you're serious you can contact me centaur1122 on Yahoo! Messenger
This sounds like you may have GAD (Generalized Anxiety Disorder), OCD (Obsessive Comulsive Disorder) which can manifest with only obsessions w/o compulsions, or possibly what is referred to as Anxiety Disorder NOS (not otherwise specified). The hyperactivity of your brain may be just a bit more than average, or it may be a psychological condition. I would say that seeing a clinical psychologist would be your best bet. There are ways of dealing with with and attempting to self help yourself, but they are of questionable effectiveness and psychologists are trained to help in these type of situations.
Having racing thoughts is no fun. :( It sounds like you are experiencing a great deal of anxiety. While I would recommend therapy (to help identify what is causing the anxiety, and to reduce symptoms), there are other things you can do to manage your anxiety levels (though without therapy and possible medication, it may be like putting a band-aid on a wound that needs stitches.it will help temporarily, but not fix it).
The following help to alleviate anxiety:
-meditation
-relaxing music
-walking, yoga or another form of exercize
-a balanced diet
-regular, full night's sleep

Best of luck!
Exercise will help greatly with this.
yeah...i have OCD you should look into that
honestly i can say exercise has helped me with mine.
Yes, I have learned to stop saying what if and stay in the here and now. I also use distraction.
I have a bi polar disorder and when I am in manic mode, my mind won't shut up. It's called ruminating. I take other meds for bi polar depression, lupus, migraines and stuff, but the one that has helped me past this hurdle (especially when I need to sleep or concentrate!) is Clonazepam which is an anti anxiety and can be given in extremely low doses. ask your doctor for a sample. This is not something that you should need to take every day, just when you think you are having a hard time. Try it, you might find it is your cure all?
Don't let anyone tell you it is ok to feel this miserable...there is a better way to live.....please start out by going to the best trained MD.a psychiatrist..it is a highly trained specialty area and counselors are good for listening, but you need an MD to prescribe whatever meds you might need and also suggest what kind of therapy you might need...there are lots of anti anxiety meds that will not cause you any harm..only good.
Good luck and God bless you.
My mind goes in alot of different directions all day long to the point at times where I cannot get to sleep at night. I try to put myself in another time, I am over anxious alot, I try to relax my thoughts, I write poetry, sometimes I draw. I just try to think of things that are relaxing, like being on the beach and listening to the waves. Walking through a nice park. Anything that you would find relaxing.
yes the doctor gave me tranqs id rather not take them though
well i have a friend who is bipolar and she had alot of problems with being manic and having racing thoughts but didnt want meds or counselling so she tried a very good nitritous diet and lots of exercise, especially aerobic, she runs alot. and she has been able to balance herself pretty well that way.
sit in the north-east portion of your house and mediate on the letter 'OM' for a few mins. Do like this for some period. Eventually you will be out of this problem. Honest answer.

spavc
Go to the library and learn about meditation.That is actually the only way you can reach vacuity and peace of mind without drugs or medication. You will actually learn to be a "silent witness" of these thoughts of yours.The more you practise with the methods available, the more you will have longer periods of silence in your head! One book that helped me in this regard is : Practising the power of NOW! by Eckhart Tolle. Astonishing book,and available to anyone who wants to reach serenity and have more focus in daily tasks of life . It's actually more than that but anyways.Just meditate!

Peace,.of mind.

Your friend,
Spaceman
I have so many thoughts running around in my head at all times, sometimes to the point I go into Panic Attacks.
Many people tell me that I worry about the littlest things, to me they are not so little, I understand that it was conditioning when I was younger.
Even though I believe that Therapy does help out, you need to release that energy.
I work in my Garden, it helps to keep me focused. Or I do some kind of Physical Activity.
I have been prescribed meds(Valium, Zanax), but usually I only take them when I am really in a tizzy. I don't like them anyway, and the chances of getting addicted is way too high.
So, I would suggest talking with a Doctor, and letting them know your circumstances, let them know you do not want to take meds and you do not feel you need Therapy at this time.
They should be able to direct you to a solution that will be right for you.
Good Luck.Been there, done that.still am.
it may be the side effect of the drugs.stop taking them unless very necessary.
i know u said about no meds and no counseling, OK heres the thing, u could always say to yourself this will pass and try to picture yourself in a nice surrounding etc. but let me give you my honest opinion take it or leave it its up to u, I was like you too i didn't want to take meds for my anxiety and panic attacks either,i was 18 at the time, it took me till i was in my late 30s early 40s to get the help i needed, today its like i have a new lease on life.Please you don't have to suffer,nothing is wrong with taking the meds alot of ppl take them.Hope you find the answer your looking for
The problem is that your letting your mind take over, don't let it. Think of positive things like happy moments, good memories of something or someone. I don't know about your religion, but I've gone through this myself and what I've done is say the lords prayer over and over, it calmed me down tremendously or read the psalms on the bible, it makes you feel protected..
I have this all day every day. Sometimes it interrupts my sleep at night. Figure out if there is something bothering you that you are trying not to think about. Also, a few days off work or taking a trip somewhere helps a lot too. Another thing that helps is to write down the thoughts that I can't seem to get rid of, then tear up the paper and throw them away. Sounds crazy, but it helps.
all the best
rivka
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