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Cipralex and feeling sad

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Cipralex and feeling sad

6 years ago 0 +0 / -0 85

So calmness behaviour:

1985 Dr. Beck proposed a treatment manual for anxiety disorders in a 5 step stragety called AWARE.

A: Accept anxiety. Instead of fighting against it (in your case by controlling your breath, yawning, etc), agree to receive it; welcome it as part of the exposure experience.

W: Watch your anxiety. Observe the symptoms of anxiety in a nonjudmental manner. Rate your anxious experience and then watch it flow. Separate yourself from the anxiety and observe it like you were standing on the sidelines and watching a parade march by.

A: Act with anxiety. Normalize the exposure situation and act as if you conquered it.

R: Repeat the steps. Repeat steps 1-3 until anxiety decreases to a milder, more acceptable level.

E: Expect the best. Dont be surprised by anxiety. Learn to expect that you will experience anxiety in exposure situations. Correct any false expectations that anxiety can be utterly defeated for all time. Instead replace this with the goal of strengthening your ability to tolerate anxiety. In this way you take control of anxiety rather than letting it control you. Source: The anxiety & worry workbook.

6 years ago 0 +0 / -0 71

I just don't know what new behaviours to practice. Besides trying not to control the breathing and not yawning or taking deep breaths.

Also yes I need to get rid of plant x! Lol. I like that plan.

You are so great at explaining this and making me at ease with your explanations. You make it make so much more sense.

6 years ago 0 +0 / -0 85

I totally understand.

Being aware is the first step to changing your thought pattern. You are bringing the unconscious to the conscious. You are building new neural pathways. The critical thing here is you must practise, practise, practise these new behaviours.

Think of anxiety as plant x and your new behaviour as plant y. They are both same in size and type. What you are doing by practising the new calm behaviour, is watering plant y and not plant x. If you are are still practising nervousness by way of your security behaviours, you are watering plant x. Thus by practising the new behaviour, plant y gets strong, stronger, strongest while poor plant x is slowly wilting, drying and dying. What behaviours you practise determines which plant grows stronger.

6 years ago 0 +0 / -0 71

Hahaha you definitely deserve a gold star!

I'm constantly aware of my breathing even when I'm not anxious! But I will try that just focus on what I'm doing in the moment and just say oh well these symptoms will pass. I feel like the hardest one for me to break will be the controlled breathing since that one I find myself doing it without even being aware just trying to deepen my breathe.

6 years ago 0 +0 / -0 85

Now wheres my gold star? Hahaha

6 years ago 0 +0 / -0 85

Aww. Youre so sweet. Actually its more because Ive researched anxiety to death lol.

Okay so lets break it down:

(1) Doing nothing ---> this is perfect but pointless if you are still practising nervous behaviours.

Improvement: Do nothing AND practise calmness meaning if you were driving and suddenly you became aware of your breathing, accept that these are symptoms of anxiety and go BACK to WHAT you were doing. You are telling the brain by your behaviour that all is good, dont sweat it.

(2) Controlling breathing ---> security behaviour purposed to reduce your symptoms. Goal: Extinguish. Otherwise will perpetuate anxiety. Follow (1)

(3) Taking deep breaths ---> security behaviour to reduce symptoms. Goal: Extinguish Will perpetuate anxiety.

(4) Yawning in an effort to get more air ---> security behaviour. Goal: Extinguish. Will perpetuate anxiety.

(5) Body scanning by being hyper aware of your body--> security behaviour

Goal: Extinguish. Will perpetuate anxiety.

Def of safety behaviour: safety seeking is any cognitive or behavioural response intended to prevent or minimize a feared outcome. It is also an attempt to reestablish a feeling of comfort or calm and a sense of being safe. Source: The anxiety and worry workbook by dr. Aaron beck

You are engaging in cognitive safety seeking.

6 years ago 0 +0 / -0 71

You are better than my therapist lol!

I'm so glad you sleep better now. I hated when I couldn't sleep. It was so frustrating.

Ya sometimes I do nothing and it just drives me nuts that I'm so aware and sometimes I try to control my breathing (sometimes I even catch myself doing this without even being aware at first that I'm doing it) or I take deep breaths and yawn or I just pay attention to every single feeling in my chest and throat.

6 years ago 0 +0 / -0 85

Sooner than you think.

If you can learn to be calm and allow the anxiety levels to lower naturally, youll break free from this.

So I was having severe morning anxiety to the point that I was afraid to sleep because I knew I will wake up with a full blown panic attack. I was only getting 3 hours of sleep for over a year and though medication was strongly recommended, I refused. I wanted to retrain my brain and not rely on bandaid solutions. So ofcourse every morning, I would wake up in a panic, and I would run downstairs, wear my jeans, put my make up on and be ready - sometimes this would happen at 4am. After reading (and rereading) the anxiety cycle, I rèalized I was perpetuating anxiety because by escaping I am confirming to my brain that there is danger. So now for the past month, I would wake up scared but I refused to resort to my security behaviour of getting ready to leave and just lied there until the anxiety levels came down. Once down, then I would get ready and guess what - the morning anxiety has reduced significantly to the point that now I actually get 6 hrs of sleep (huge improvement for me). I still get really panicky during the weekends so thats still a work in progress. But I guess my question is what security measures do you engage in when you become aware of your breathing? I guess taking deeper breaths and body scanning? Because these needs to be eradicated to break the cycle.

6 years ago 0 +0 / -0 71

Ugh yep I'm trying. Can't wait till the day I'm not so aware of my every breathe. One day I hope!

6 years ago 0 +0 / -0 85

Yes.

Good Amet.

By labelling it, you separate from it and able to see it for what it is - anxiety.

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Cipralex and feeling sad