“Rock bottom became the solid foundation in which I built my life.” – J. K. Rowling.
On this episode, I talk about 5 big reasons why being stuck in the anxiety cycle SUCKS. I touch on: how anxiety makes you feel alone and unique, how they make sensations uncomfortable, how anxiety keeps you fixated and dependent, and how it shrinks your wold down. Must knows if you feel stuck in this stress cycle! Below, are the key points talked about in this episode.
- The fifth reason why anxiety sucks is that it makes you feel alone and unique. You have a construct of what the problem is. Could be cancer or a certain disease. Usually it is something you reacted to strongly on Dr. Google. So you go to your doctor and you tell them what it is and they check you. They come back and say that it isn’t what you said it is. You are fine. That can be a temporary relief BUT the sensation/feeling comes back later that day. This confusion is at the forefront of the health anxiety mind. Also, if everyone around you is telling you to relax or that you will be fine and you do not feel fine, this can make you feel alone in your struggles.
- The fourth reason why anxiety sucks is that the sensations are uncomfortable.The anxiety response produces a wide range of physiological changes within the body. Some changes include: the increase of adrenaline and cortisol which in turn, increases heart rate, breathing, blood flow, and tightens up the body. Then typically, people label these sensations as DANGEROUS and this only heightens their anxiety even more.
- The third reason why anxiety sucks is that it keeps you fixated. If all of your attention is going towards how you feel, then your health, job, and relationships become neglected. If you continually talk about your agony with those around you, that drains them, but also it attracts like-minded people. Now you become part of a community of set-mindset (coping) people.
- The second reason why anxiety sucks is that it keeps you dependent. Coping strategies like: reassurance seeking, alcohol, sex, food, and drugs have a short term life span. It only provides a temporary numbing with more consequences rather than gains. The more extreme the dopamine blast, the more intense the come-down is (when you stop using the coping mechanism).
- The first reason why anxiety sucks is that your world slowly shrinks down. You start to avoid small uncomfortable situations more and more. Then this grows rapidly into the avoidance of everything. Eventually your own house won’t protect you from the snakes (your fears). The anxiety sufferer is looking to build as many walls around them as possible. But unfortunately the confines of your home are of no help to the monsters inside of you. Your safe zone then becomes another coping strategy that DOES NOT WORK. You must become comfortable with being uncomfortable. To face what you fear so that you show to yourself that you are capable of much more. That you can handle the chaos and not die.
Listen to the full episode below for a more in-depth list of why anxiety sucks!