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Magee

Updated 1y ago

Overcoming Anxiety: Is it Possible?

Is it possible to overcome anxiety or will it debilitate me my whole life?

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Luluu

2y

I think you can overcome it. It becomes easier to manage overtime, and in some cases it doesn’t affect you at all anymore. I used to have panic attacks when presenting in front of class, but I joined speech and debate and after a few months of very stressful growth, I’m now alright at public speaking. Sometimes it takes directly challenging yourself, sometimes it takes time, sometimes it takes the right medication and/or therapy
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Leeanne

2y

I think mine was the worst when I was in my 20’s. For me, finding good supportive people that knew about my anxiety triggers and would help me through panic attacks was important. Another thing was the right meds and a good therapist. It really depends on what your anxiety is stemming from and how severe it is. But hopefully with some help and changes, you won’t have it forever. Or if you do, it will be very much more manageable.
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ThatGreenGent

2y

I wholeheartedly agree with Leeanne!
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Valentina

2y

All depends on how you approach it.
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SkylerRose

2y

I have general anxiety disorder, and I can tell you anxiety never goes away, but with that knowledge you can find ways to make it easier to deal with.
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CactusCat

2y

1. Become good at recognizing your triggers. Notice when you're getting heightened before the panic sets in so you can self soothe sooner. 2. Practice grounding exercises when you are not panicked so that you remember to do it naturally when you are. These will help you snap back into reality and get your thinking away from the limbic system that keeps you in your emotions and fight, flight, freeze responses. 3. Be ridiculously kind to yourself... Remember what you're feeling is something you're experiencing, not YOU. Allow yourself grace to pause or even walk away from whatever you're doing so you can give yourself what you need. It does get easier to manage with practice. As you face it, some of it will fade...and some of it will continue to not make sense why it's even there. It doesn't have to rule your life, but likely will still pop out it's ugly head often-- It gets better if you learn and accept your limits and really love yourself through it.
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CitySunrise

2y

thanks for this!! this is really helpful
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Tyler26

2y

I feel like anxiety is always going to be a part of life, however, myself and many of my friends have been able to manage it so it’s not debilitating. I started sertraline 50mg about 3 months ago for depression and anxiety/social anxiety and ever since I was 2 weeks in I could notice positive improvements in myself. It felt like change like the way we age. I never just woke up and was like NICE I am cured. But after a few weeks showering, brushing my teeth, cleaning my room all became stronger habits. After a month or so I noticed I was reaching out to my friends more and felt just happy to be alive and a little less scared of people haha. Now, I’ve noticed I can prioritize myself better, take care of myself better, be more social/extroverted, and my routines and relationships are only getting stronger. I’m still on my journey. Some days are definitely not the best, but I’m learning what bad habits I fall into to cause those bad days and how I can try my best to give myself a fighting chance to have a good day. I’m new here, but I hoped some of that helped! You got this!! I believe in you!!!
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PWB414

2y

I think the thing with that is that anxiety never fully goes away. You Just find better ways to cope over time. For some it can get worse. For others better. For some jr remains the same. It's all in how You choose to let It define you.
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AuntBeeDoesGames

2y

Life is full of tools to help us through life...in our tool box of life we have a little bit of knowledge in several catagory of kinds. However learning to use these tools is the hardest task...in the heat of an attack our minds are busy telling us why we need to panic. What I do is get logical about the situation causing the anxiety...panicking in an emergency included...what are the things you need for things to get under control? Or feel more in control? In an emergency calling 911 and getting some walk through help to help the situation until people who know how to deal with the situation and start focusing on those tasks that you need to do. In instance it's not emergency, it is just our mind talking worse case scenario, first you need to ground yourself..(ie. count how many things are a certain color and go through colors until you are present in the now) then you need to ask yourself what the situation would look like if it was not possible or a very odd chance of it ending in a result that is a catastrophic and think of how to talk yourself out of it as if you were talking to a friend. What could be done about the situation? Can you figure out a way for it to not end in catastrophe? Hey maybe it's a million dollar idea. Can you apply said solutions to prevent catastrophe? Or is it out of your control? What can you do to ease the anxiety of the situation that is out of your control? what would you tell your friend to do? Be kind to yourself. Another grounding method I use is the 5 senses one https://www.urmc.rochester.edu/behavioral-health-partners/bhp-blog/april-2018/5-4-3-2-1-coping-technique-for-anxiety.aspx where you find 5 things you can see, 4 things you can feel (don't have to go feel it though just imagine the texture best you can), 3 things you can hear, 2 things you can smell, and one thing you can taste. You can make yourself a care kit that holds something you enjoy using your senses on so when you need it you have something you can see maybe a calming picture or cherished picture or video on your phone that brings you comfort or makes you laugh or whatever grounding emotion that would help ease your situation, have something you can feel a soft swatch of material, a stuffed animal, what ever brings you comfort, have something you can listen to, a music playlist that calms you down or distracts you, have something to smell (a perfume sample plastic things you find comforting or empty perfume bottle (don't want breakables) or you can spray your favorite smell on the stuffed animal and knock two birds out with one stone, and something you can taste, sugar free gum, candy, something you can focus on that goes in your mouth that brings comfort, there are tons of flavored sugar free gum and hard candies even your mom's famous meal. Now for these things to work best you must practice when you don't need it. There are lots of other grounding techniques out there Google grounding techniques and find one you can do that brings you back down to reality and practice practice practice.... Once you master these your life will become so much easier to get through your day and night sometimes it happens at night. You can talk yourself out of anything you talk yourself into. https://www.aspirewithaileen.com/blog/2017/3/2/you-can-talk-yourself-into-or-out-of-anything#:~:text=In%20the%20image%20above%2C%20the,link%20to%20her%20work%20here.&text=I'm%20a%20corporate%20wellness,busy%20professionals%20manage%20their%20stress. And https://www.spiritedwellbeing.com/ talk about it but you don't need to buy or sign up for anything just get inspired by the words and learn how to apply them and keep at it... Don't give up, walk away from toxic people who are not in your corner and you are in theirs, for relationships of any kind there needs to be communication, trust, honesty, support, understanding, and humor in everything reasonable (not everything can be funny and insults are never funny they can be hurtful). Support systems are very important. And safety plans are also important. Hope this helps :)
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ivylee

2y

you definitely can overcome anxiety. mine used to be so severe that i had an anxiety-induced manic episode for days straight, and i do not have bipolar. i still have anxiety now, but it's honestly my smallest challenge these days. i think a lot of my anxiety was caused by being stuck in really stressful, high-pressure circumstances for years while also having undiagnosed adhd. once i got out of school, my anxiety got worlds better.
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AuntBeeDoesGames

2y

To have worse anxiety in 20's is to be expected we were raised in hopefully safe environment and then when we reach adulthood we are thrown into the real world that is a scary place outside the safety of our parents (again hopefully that is the case but I know it's not always the case). Normalizing your situation can help sometime alleviate unrealistic fears. There are so many coping skills available you just gotta find the one that helps the most. Trial and error which is life...no one ever got it right on the first try...and that's okay. Giving yourself permission to make mistakes is huge...and hard to do..but practice makes perfect so set an alarm for everyday to practice your technique so when you need it you will know exact what to do to ground yourself in the now and get through it.

The content in this post is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.

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