Re: intense anxiety

[Guest guest]

...I can tell you that I have been there

A hard spot you are in right now...you want to let go, but you can't...you feel

out of control...funny thing is though, you were never in control of your

thoughts..

You cannot control whether or not you have a thought, you have to understand

that...nor can you control your reaction if it happens without notice...you

can't " get rid of it " like you do in the external world...surrender to that

Trying not to (which is just more fear) think or react will bring more thinking

and reacting...

Willingness to feel, to allow, to be open to the actual feelings...the thoughts

are just judgments of those feelings...erroneous ones at that...the feelings

might be a little uncomfortable because they are designed to help you protect

yourself, but they are safe to feel...no harm done, and they will lead to no

impending doom

ALLOW yourself to feel, allow yourself the thoughts, if you resist and fight,

ALLOW that too...if you find yourself feeling scared, give yourself the space to

feel that... " Can I allow myself to feel exactly how I feel at this moment " ....If

you can't Allow, Allow for that...ALLOW everything...the content is irrelevant

Be the unconditional love and acceptance you have been looking for

The labeling exercise has been very helpful to me...when you have a charged

thought (label it just as a 'thought'), if a feeling (whether an emotion or

bodily sensation) precipitates it (feel it, and label it just as

'feeling'...which is exactly what they are...thinking feeling...it's a great way

to cut off the inner dialogue

Best,

VC

>

> Despite all my ACT reading, I am in a spot right now where I feel the anxiety

is so intense that I feel frozen. It just seems like I must get rid of the

anxiety to be a " normal " person!!! It comes and goes with me. I can have times

when I feel unafraid of anything and then the wave comes on me and it feels like

I am going to get swallowed up. Do any of you still have that to deal with even

though you are involved in ACT? I feel like my lack of acceptance of the anxiety

is part of the problem, but it is hard for me to keep from thinking I have to

get rid of it to get better. I was with some friends last night and they all

seemed to be relaxed and happy. I know looks can be deceiving but I felt so

damaged compared to them. The anxiety begins with me being fearful of not good

enough as a teacher. Then it grows over a few days to permeate all areas of my

life. Then I get so worked up that I can't sleep or eat. I guess I am just

wondering if any of you get those feelings still??? I can't help but wonder if I

would be a better functioning person if I got out of teaching and found

something that didn't cause me such self doubt. Am I trying to put a square peg

into a round hole?? I would appreciate any and all comments!!!

>

[Guest guest]

Love everything you said .Thanks for the insight! I need the word " allow "

tattooed on my hands!!! HA! That allowing is very freeing, though not pain free

like I would like it to be!!!

> >

> > Despite all my ACT reading, I am in a spot right now where I feel the

anxiety is so intense that I feel frozen. It just seems like I must get rid of

the anxiety to be a " normal " person!!! It comes and goes with me. I can have

times when I feel unafraid of anything and then the wave comes on me and it

feels like I am going to get swallowed up. Do any of you still have that to

deal with even though you are involved in ACT? I feel like my lack of acceptance

of the anxiety is part of the problem, but it is hard for me to keep from

thinking I have to get rid of it to get better. I was with some friends last

night and they all seemed to be relaxed and happy. I know looks can be deceiving

but I felt so damaged compared to them. The anxiety begins with me being fearful

of not good enough as a teacher. Then it grows over a few days to permeate all

areas of my life. Then I get so worked up that I can't sleep or eat. I guess I

am just wondering if any of you get those feelings still??? I can't help but

wonder if I would be a better functioning person if I got out of teaching and

found something that didn't cause me such self doubt. Am I trying to put a

square peg into a round hole?? I would appreciate any and all comments!!!

> >

>

[Guest guest]

One thing I'd like to add. " I can't help but wonder if I would be a better functioning person if I got out of teaching and found something that didn't cause me such self doubt. " I'm only a beginner at this but from my own experience I can tell you that you can not run from that feeling of self doubt. In the frame of mind you're in right now that feeling will go with you where ever you go. You can't run from that. On top of that if you were to quit your job as a teacher and do something that you think would cause you less anxiety I think that would make you feel worse than you do right now. Think about the added stress from the perception that you would think you're a failure and any other negative thoughts that arise from that kind of situation. Trust me there would be many. That's how it would happen for me anyway. Not trying to put words in your mouth (thoughts in your head ).

In my own experience my anxiety attacks what I care about the most. For you that might be your job. Again, how it works for me. Hope that made sense. It's pretty late. Hope this helps. .

 I can't help but wonder if I would be a better functioning person if I got out of teaching and found something that didn't cause me such self doubt. Am I trying to put a square peg into a round hole?? I would appreciate any and all comments!!!