I know why i didnt recovered from anxiety

This isnt blaming others, but for years now i learned that you have to accept anxiety and then stay busy, live your life and dont give attention to anxiety, try to focus on the day. I just learned this now that this is actually avodiance, when you try to be busy to avoid anxiety. I did this cause i still didnt revovered from anxiety and im still afraid of experiencing that or panic. I felt everytime that its like im still avoiding it cause i try to be busy and some even say "act like anxiety isnt there" well i did all that and i just pushed away the anxiety. Idk how that helps for others but i made me recovery worse cause i didnt actually recovered, i just pushed away fear...

PRIV8

Date posted: 1y

Its so crazy i just see now what i do, i get a thought and i just try to say "its ocd or just a thought" and i try so hard to push it away and stay busy on life or focus 100% on life... this is actually what kept me stuck...

Anonymous

User type: OCD Conqueror

Date posted: 1y

Well aren’t you supposed to go about your day? Accept the anxiety is there but don’t ignore it? Cause yeah that’s avoidance if you try to ignore it

chloe_h

Date posted: 1y

@Anonymous2120 Yes, still do life with anxiety! Keep going, even when anxious!

PRIV8

Date posted: 1y

Many times i didnt understand that and everyone says it differently, some say ignore it, some say accept it that is there and focus on your day but isnt that ignoring it? Also these are statements that someone like me can use to avoid anxiety, cause you can focus on your life to avoid anxiety just like i did. I tried to focus so much till i cant be grabbed back by the thoughts. But if i just accepted them, and i let them be there as other said, i still focused on them time to time, and it was playing in my mind and i was responding to them. When i tried to not respond to them, then i was pushing them away. Its not that simple. You have to learn to be kind to yourself and be able to deal with the feelings. Im not sure what i need to do still but im learning

scenic

Date posted: 1y

Avoidance is just a cycle that will repeat. It’s an endless loop. Which is why, ERP has been helpful to many people as you’re accepting it and letting it go, which actually helps in the long run. And it also explains why it’s a recommended therapeutic practise for people with OCD.

scenic

Date posted: 1y

And reading from your response above, by accepting I mean you need to accept the uncertainty that your fear is causing you. That it might or might not happen. It’s distressing and can be really difficult in the beginning. But it’s meant to be that way as we’re supposed to face our fears, and develop the coping skills required for it, as distress as a whole cannot be removed from our lives. So it’s important as to how we deal with it and that it’s done in a healthy way so it’s not recurrent and something that we’re stuck in. ERP might be difficult and may cause horrible anxiety at first, but it’s important to accept it through it and eventually with time it gets better. I would definitely recommend you to work with a therapist as you’ll have the necessary guidance and help. Hope things become better for you soon! 🤍

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