- Date posted
- 3y
- Date posted
- 3y
My anxiety peaks early in the morning too. I found it best just to get out of bed, and start your day. Get into a routine of making your breakfest, maybe go for a walk, listen to a podcast. Just try and get yourself going. I can't lay in bed anymore awake.
- Date posted
- 3y
that is how an anxiety disorder works! your brain kind of becomes addicted to the chemicals and processes involved in creating anxiety. when you're constantly feeling this way, your brain eventually begins to anticipate it for you. so then you get a bodily feeling of anxiety because your brain is getting prepared to send off those signals, as that's your "new normal," and often feeling this anxiety feeling and not knowing why can lead us to become more anxious and try to find a reason! thus creating a vicious cycle. we have to recognize that our body is only creating this anxiety because we continue to feed into the cycle. when we instead sit with the feeling and realize there is actually nothing to be anxious about at the moment, the anxiety slowly starts to lessen.
- Date posted
- 3y
@anonymous, learning how to sit with the anxiety (yes, including long term all day anxiety) without doing a compulsion to counteract it, is part of the treatment for OCD. this is what you're going to be advised to do in therapy. of course, getting through this part is difficult because certain things that are recommended for general anxiety, like challenging your thoughts, are not recommended for OCD. the basis of your response should be along the lines of acceptance. "maybe my thought is true, or maybe it's not." it may take a long time before you're able to sit with the anxiety with ease. (i'm still not completely there) but we take it one step at a time, no matter how small. my tips for coping with anxiety include progressive muscle relaxation, breathing exercises, and grounding techniques. keep in mind we are trying not to respond directly to our thoughts, but only to the anxiety that the thoughts are causing. if you feel your anxiety is so severe that you're unable to function, then you probably need medication to help. at least temporarily, so you can successfully go through with treatment, but many people find they need medication for their entire lives.
Related posts
- Date posted
- 21w
Anyone else just have days where they feel more calm and don’t have as many intrusive thoughts? But then later at night time it just comes back so you only had relief even for a little bit 😞😞 I feel like even when I’m not having my OCD send me intrusive thoughts, I always have a feeling in my stomach that something is wrong/off or a sense of doom. I always just feel on edge and anxious as if my mind is always preparing itself for the next horrifying intrusive thought to torment me with ugh 🫠
- Date posted
- 21w
I'm wondering if this is a common OCD experience: does anyone else find that when you have idle time, your mind just spirals into endless rumination on negative "what ifs" & intrusive thoughts? It's been happening to me for the past three years, which coincides with starting a really high-stress job. Weekends used to be my time to relax, but now I dread weekends...I only feel relief when I'm sleeping because it's the only time my mind seems to quiet down. It's honestly so depressing to lose that enjoyment. Does anyone else relate to this, and if so, what helps you cope?
- Date posted
- 19w
Is this even a possibility? I'm not even sure if it's an OCD issue, GAD, or maybe a lack of something else, but I'm just constantly feeling off. Even if I'm not getting constant intrusive thoughts, I just feel on edge all the time? Is there anyone who's been able to overcome this? It bothers me so much 😭
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