Dear ramy88844:

Anxiety- I define it as excess, ongoing fear. What happens when we are anxious is that the thinking brain is activated big time, trying to find a problem to solve in order for the anxiety to go away. It thinks and thinks and thinks… with no success.

Psychotherapy with a competent, empathetic therapist will help you to stop the ongoing thinking, relax and then think. When you think too much, it creates this fog in the brain and you can’t see clearly through the fog. This is why relaxation is necessary: clearing the fog is necessary for seeing clearly, for thinking clearly.

The guided meditations that my therapist introduced to me were about taking a break from over thinking; observing your thoughts from a calm place instead of being lost in the storms of thinking.

Therapy also helped me get insight into the origin of my anxiety, my childhood experiences with my own mother.

Insight into the past, mindfulness (ongoing meditation, that is ongoing paying attention to my thoughts, feelings, sensations, the environment) and other skills all should be learned in therapy.

Until you get therapy, simple, short guided meditations aimed at calming anxiety should be available online. Start with a five minute long guided meditation, not a lot of words.

Glad you stopped weed and nicotine. Hope you stay away from other drugs. Hopefully competent therapy is available for you. I wasn’t able to “heal myself” (the title of your thread)- I needed help and I did finally find a competent, empathetic and hard working therapist. I sure hope you find one!

Please do post again, anytime.

anita

I love Anita’s advice! Try reading “Where Ever You Go There You Are.” It helps teach you to be in the moment.
Try to get out in nature…take a hike, paddle a kayak. Pick up a hobby. Painting, photography, wood burning, bird house painting, or evening knitting! It helped one of my uncles. When you are creating you are in the moment, the zone, unable to constantly think about troubles, fears etc.

Fill your senses. When you eat a strawberry, eat it slowly. Look at how beautiful it is. Smell it. Taste it. Feel it on your fingertips.

Another trick I’ve used is the rubber band around the wrist. Snap it when you say something bad to yourself in your mind.

You are the only one of you in this entire world. No one else has your background, genetic code, thoughts, talents…NO ONE.
Every morning look in the mirror and say one thing you like about yourself physically and personality wise.

Love yourself daily. Put one hand on each shoulder and hug yourself before you go to bed.
Jeanne

Dear ramy:

Thank you for posting an update, almost a year since your last post. Glad you are having a better life experience!

anita