Feeling anxious for no reason. Feelings of anxiety - getting rid of them forever

Anxiety states (disorders) are a common phenomenon in our difficult times. Manifested by increased excitability of the nervous system. Characterized by the presence of fears and anxiety, often unfounded.

Each of us has felt something similar during certain events in life - stress, an exam, a difficult, unpleasant conversation, etc. The feeling of anxiety and fear usually does not last long and soon passes.

However, for some people, the feeling of anxiety becomes almost the norm and prevents them from living a full life. In addition, it can lead to neurosis and increases the risk of developing serious mental illnesses.

How can adults get rid of anxiety? What pharmaceutical and folk remedies can be used to eliminate it? Let's talk about it on this page "Popular about health" today:

Signs

Only at first glance, such sensations are without reason. Constant anxiety, nervous tension, fears can be early signs development of pathologies of the cardiovascular and nervous systems, various brain lesions.

But most often this phenomenon is closely related to stress. Therefore, the symptoms are expressed in signs characteristic of stress:

Frequent headaches, dizziness, rapid heartbeat, lack of or worsening appetite;

Insomnia and sleep disorders (difficulty falling asleep, shallow sleep, night awakenings, etc.);

Startling from unexpected sounds, loud voices;

Trembling fingers, frequent urge to urinate;

If the “no reason” alarm condition persists long time, there is depression, sadness, constantly present negative thoughts.

The person feels hopeless and helpless. His self-esteem decreases, he loses interest in his favorite activities, considers himself worthless, and often shows aggression towards loved ones.

If you observe such sensations, what to do with them, you ask... So the best way out of this situation is to visit a specialist. See your doctor first general practice who will order the examination. Based on its results, it will give a direction to to a specialist, who will prescribe treatment individually. Or immediately make an appointment with a neurologist.

If you do this as early as possible, you may not need treatment with serious medications and you can get by with herbal preparations and folk remedies.

How is treatment carried out in adults??

Treatment of this disorder is always carried out comprehensively: medications, psychological assistance, lifestyle changes.

If necessary, the patient is prescribed tranquilizers and antidepressants. However, psychotropic drugs only reduce symptoms and help alleviate the condition. They do not eliminate the problem itself. In addition, they have serious side effects and contraindications.
Therefore, if during the diagnostic process the patient is not found to have a serious illness in which anxiety is one of the symptoms, methods of cognitive psychotherapy are used and behavioral treatment is carried out.

Using these techniques, the patient is helped to understand his condition and learn to cope with feelings of anxiety and fear for no reason.

In addition, patients are recommended to take herbal preparations, which can be freely purchased at the pharmacy. Compared to synthesized drugs, they are effective, safe and have much fewer contraindications and side effects.

Pharmacy products

There is a large number herbal preparations, which are used in the treatment of anxiety without cause. Let's list some:

Novopassit. Effective for anxiety, nervousness, nervous tension, various sleep disorders, insomnia.

Nervogran. Used in the complex treatment of neuroses, anxiety, as well as insomnia and headaches.

Persen. An effective sedative. Eliminates anxiety, fears, improves sleep quality.

Sanason. Positively affects the central, autonomic nervous system, relaxes, calms, restores mental balance.

How folk remedies relieve anxiety, what to do for this?

Prepare a tincture from the herbal collection: pour 2 tablespoons of dried lemon balm and 1 teaspoon of finely chopped angelica root into a liter jar. Add the zest of one lemon, 0.5 tsp ground nutmeg, a pinch of ground coriander seeds and two cloves. Top up with vodka.

Close the jar and leave it where it is darker and cooler for 2 weeks. Then strain and add the product to tea: 1 tsp per cup.

An infusion of adonis (Adonis) will help calm the nerves and increase the tone of the body: 1 tbsp of dry plant per cup of boiling water. Insulate with a towel, wait for it to cool, strain. Take a sip throughout the day.

Change your lifestyle!

For treatment to be beneficial, you will have to change your current lifestyle:

First of all, you should give up alcohol and smoking, and also minimize the consumption of invigorating drinks that excite the nervous system: strong coffee, strong tea, various tonics.

Do something that interests you, find a hobby, go to Gym, attend sporting events, sections, etc. This will help you break out of the routine of everyday life, increase your interest in life, and lead to new acquaintances.

However, remember that constant stay in a state of anxiety, unreasonable fear is a prerequisite for the development of serious nervous disorders and mental illness. Therefore, if you cannot cope on your own, do not wait for it to “go away on its own” and contact a specialist.

Do fear and anxiety happen without a reason? Yes, and in this case you need to contact a psychiatrist or psychotherapist, because with a high degree of probability the person suffers from causeless fear and anxiety because he has anxiety neurosis. This is a mental disorder that occurs after severe short-term stress or prolonged emotional overstrain. There are two main signs: constant severe anxiety and vegetative disorders of the body - palpitations, a feeling of shortness of breath, dizziness, nausea, upset stool. A provoking or background factor can be attractions and desires that in real life are not fully realized and not realized: homosexual or sadistic tendencies, suppressed aggression, adrenaline needs. Over time, the cause of the initial fear is forgotten or repressed, and fear and anxiety acquire independent meaning.

Neurosis differs from psychosis in that neurosis always has a real cause, it is the response of an unbalanced psyche to a traumatic event. Psychosis proceeds according to its own endogenous laws, real life has little effect on the course of the disease. Another important difference is criticism. Neurosis is always recognized by a person, causing painful painful experiences and the desire to free himself from it. Psychosis changes a person’s personality so much that reality becomes unimportant for him, his whole life takes place in a world of painful experiences.

Success in treating mental illness and borderline disorders is often a matter of time. The result is always better if treatment is started earlier.

In order for anxiety neurosis to develop, in which feelings of fear and anxiety arise for no apparent reason, two factors must converge at one point:

• traumatic emotional event;
• insufficient psychological defense mechanism.

Psychological defense suffers if a person has a deep conflict, there is no way to get what he wants. Anxiety neurosis most often affects women between 18 and 40 years old, and this is understandable. A woman is always vulnerable because she is too dependent on society’s assessment. The most successful woman will always have a weak spot for which ill-wishers can “bite” her. Problem children, free leisure, insufficient career growth, divorces and new novels, appearance - everything can serve as an impetus for development anxiety neurosis.

The rapid development of society, distortions and flaws in the moral side of life lead to the fact that the postulates perceived in childhood lose their relevance, and many people lose their moral core, without which a happy life is impossible.

In recent years, the importance of biological factors. It has become known that after severe stress, the brain forms new neurons that go from the prefrontal cortex to the amygdala. Histological examination revealed that the new neurons contained a peptide that enhances anxiety. New neurons restructure the work of all neural networks, and human behavior will change. Added to this is a change in the level of neurotransmitters or chemical substances, with the help of which nerve impulses are transmitted.

The discovery of the morphological substrate of emotions partly explains the fact that the reaction to stress is delayed in time - the formation of stable anxiety and fear requires some period.

In men, the background factor in the development of anxiety neurosis is considered to be a functional deficiency of neurotransmitters or an insufficient quantity or poor quality of substances transporting nerve impulses. Endocrine disorders can play a bad role when the functioning of the adrenal glands, pituitary gland and hypothalamus - the main suppliers of hormones - is disrupted. human body. Failure in the functioning of these systems also leads to feelings of fear, anxiety, and decreased mood.

The international classifier does not have a category describing anxiety neurosis; instead, the section “designated as F41.1” is used. This section may be supplemented by the heading F40.0 (Agoraphobia or fear of open space) and F43.22 (Mixed anxiety and depressive reaction due to adjustment disorder).

Symptoms

The first and main sign is anxiety, which is constantly present, exhausting, and changes the entire habitual way of life. Such anxiety must be constantly monitored, and this is not always possible. You need to think about illness if deep anxiety lasts for at least six months.

Anxiety consists of the following components:

To assess the level of anxiety, you can use the Zang scale, which is intended for self-diagnosis.

The severity of anxiety is sometimes so strong that the phenomena of derealization and depersonalization are added. These are conditions in which the environment loses its colors and seems unreal, and one’s actions cannot be controlled. Fortunately, they are short-lived and pass quickly.

Autonomic somatic manifestations are as follows:

In all cases of initial treatment, a clinical examination is carried out to distinguish neurotic or reversible disorders from somatic or bodily diseases. In a properly equipped hospital this may take 2-3 days. This is necessary because some serious chronic diseases can begin under the guise of neurosis.

Drug treatment

It is not always used; if necessary, it is used in a short course, only at the peak of experiences. Medications can temporarily relieve anxiety and normalize sleep, but the leading role in this process belongs to psychotherapy.

Treatment begins with herbal preparations of complex action, to which it is impossible to become accustomed. The preferred drugs are those that simultaneously improve sleep, reduce irritability and alleviate anxiety. These are Persen-Forte, Novopassit and Nervoflux, they have a balanced composition and are completely harmless. They contain herbal sedatives in different proportions: valerian, passionflower, motherwort, lemon balm, mint, lavender, hops, bitter orange.

A psychiatrist can prescribe medications from the following groups:

The doctor always prescribes these psychotropic drugs for neurosis with caution. Benzodiazepines are given in a short course, and they quickly become addictive. A pronounced effect from antidepressants should be expected no earlier than 4 weeks, and the duration of the entire course medicinal correction usually does not exceed 3 months. Further drug treatment inappropriate good improvement it won't give anymore.

If the condition does not improve significantly during drug treatment, this indicates that the person has something deeper than neurosis. mental disorder.

If the functioning of internal organs is disrupted, drugs that affect the heart rate (beta blockers) and digestive system(antispasmodics).

Physiotherapy

It is always useful, especially techniques aimed at removing the muscle “shell”. Improving the condition of the muscles, getting rid of muscle tension improves the state of mind through the biofeedback mechanism. Physiotherapeutic methods are good at eliminating vegetative manifestations.

Massage is useful, everything water procedures, electrosleep, darsonval, electrophoresis, low-frequency pulsed currents, sulfide baths, paraffin applications.

Psychotherapy

The leading method of treating anxiety neurosis, in which personal problems are consistently worked through, which ultimately contributes to the acquisition of new experience and a revision of a person’s entire value system.

Good results are obtained from the use of cognitive behavioral therapy, which uses confrontation and desensitization techniques. In collaboration with a psychotherapist, the patient voices his deepest fears, dismantles them “piece by piece,” while being completely safe. In the process of training, destructive patterns of thinking and beliefs that are devoid of logic fade away.

Traditional hypnosis or its modern modifications are often used. In a state of controlled relaxation, a person gets the opportunity to fully reveal his fears, immerse himself in them and overcome them.

In large medical institutions use this option group psychotherapy like sociotherapy. This method is more about communication based on interests, obtaining joint impressions. The patient council can organize visits to concerts and exhibitions, excursions, during which personal fears and concerns are worked out.

Group psychotherapy allows you to communicate with people who have similar problems. During the discussion, patients reveal more than during direct communication with the doctor.

Methods that combine communication with a specialist and working with the body are successfully used. This is rebirthing or connected breathing, when there is no pause between inhalation and exhalation. Special breathing allows you to “bring to the surface” suppressed experiences.

The Hakomi Method reveals to the patient the meaning of his favorite poses and movements. Using strong emotions and appealing to the spontaneity that every person has, the specialist guides the patient to awareness of the problems.

The normal treatment period for anxiety neurosis is at least six months, during which time you can completely get rid of it.

Anxiety is a feeling that makes you worry, feel tension in your body, bite your lip and rub your palms.

The mind is in tense anticipation of something dangerous, unpleasant, bad, but it cannot always identify what exactly, and moreover, we cannot always realize our deep-seated anxiety if it has become chronic.

We will analyze the nature of causeless fear and anxiety, and also recommend effective techniques with which you can remove anxiety and fear without medical care .

What is anxiety and anxiety?

Anxiety is emotional condition, caused by nervous anticipation of what may happen in the near or distant future. It can have either a definite object (anxiety before meeting someone, anxiety before a long journey), or it can be vague, a kind of bad feeling. This feeling is closely related to the instinct of self-preservation and often manifests itself in stressful, shock, or simply unusual situations.

It's normal to feel a vague feeling of anxiety when you're in an unfamiliar area of ​​the city at night or walking past a crowd of drunk people. It’s a completely different matter when anxiety bothers you even in a state of complete safety and stability.

Anxiety is accumulated tension in the body, psyche and consciousness. People can experience nervous tension non-stop for no apparent reason, which greatly slows down their daily activities and prevents them from sensibly weighing their own actions and their consequences.

Feelings of anxiety and restlessness in psychology

Feelings of anxiety include a whole range of emotions:

• fear;
• shame;
• shyness;
• complex.

In general, anxiety occurs when there is a feeling of threat or a lack of feeling of comfort and safety. If the situation is not changed in time, it will develop into a chronic anxiety disorder.

Fear and anxiety - what's the difference?

Attacks of fear and anxiety are similar in many ways, however, again, their difference is significant and lies in the lack of specifics. Unlike fear, which often has a specific object, anxiety can be unidentified and causeless.

Common symptoms of anxiety

According to medical statistics, anxiety for no reason is common to more than 90% of teenagers and more than 70% of people aged 20 years and older. This condition is characterized by the following symptoms:

• feeling of defenselessness, helplessness;
• inexplicable panic before an upcoming event;
• unreasonable fear for your own life or the lives of loved ones;
• perception of standard social functions as an inevitable encounter with a hostile or judgmental attitude;
• apathetic, depressed or depressed mood;
• inability to concentrate on current affairs due to obsessive anxious thoughts;
• critical attitude towards oneself, devaluation of one’s own achievements;
• constant “replaying” of situations from the past in the head;
• searching for “hidden meaning” in the words of the interlocutor;
• pessimism.

Physical manifestations of anxiety syndrome include:

• shot down heartbeat;
• weakness and fatigue;
• feeling of a “lump in the throat” as before crying;
• skin redness;
• problems with the gastrointestinal tract.

And internal anxiety is quite clearly visible in behavior:

• lip biting;
• scratching or wringing of hands;
• snapping fingers;
• adjusting glasses or clothing;
• hair straightening

How to distinguish normality from pathology?

The norm is anxiety caused by external factors or a person’s character. Autonomic symptoms like rapid heartbeat however, they do not appear at all. Pathological increased anxiety accompanies a person regardless of the reasons and affects his physical condition.

What can increased anxiety lead to?

Anxiety and restlessness for no reason can lead to behavioral disturbances and loss of social skills, for example:

• Tendency to exaggeration and fantasy. This technique is often used in horror films. We become doubly scared if we don’t see a creature making frightening sounds. The imagination imagines a monster, although in fact it could be an ordinary mouse. Also in the case of causeless anxiety: the brain, having no specific reasons to feel fear, begins to complement the picture of the world itself.
• Aggression as a defensive reaction. Frequent companion social anxiety. A person expects that the people around him will judge, oppress or humiliate, and as a result he himself shows anger and wariness, trying to maintain his self-esteem.
• Apathy. Lack of initiative, depression and the inability to concentrate on important matters often accompany individuals suffering from anxiety for no reason.
• Psychosomatics. Stress often finds its way out in the form of physical illnesses. With anxiety, problems with the heart, nervous system and gastrointestinal tract are common. I recommend an article about...

Causes of anxiety in adults

Despite the fact that a person experiences seemingly causeless fear and anxiety, the illness always has a prerequisite. She may become:

• Genetic predisposition. A child of phlegmatic or melancholic parents is likely to inherit this feature of neurochemical processes.
• Features of the social environment. Anxiety is characteristic of a person who experienced high pressure from the parents or, on the contrary, was under guardianship and did not have the opportunity to make decisions independently. Adults who were outcasts or targets of bullying in childhood also experience unconscious anxiety before going out into the world.
• Fear of losing life. It could be an accident, an attack, a fall from a height - a traumatic experience is fixed in a person’s subconscious and emerges in the form of déjà vu, when what happens is somehow reminiscent of events from the past.
• Being in a state of stress non-stop. Working in emergency mode, intensive study, constant conflicts in the family or financial problems negatively affect morale.
• Severe physical condition. The inability to control one’s own body hits hard on the psyche and makes one think in a negative way and fall into apathy.
• Hormonal disbalance. During pregnancy, after childbirth and during menopause, women may experience uncontrollable seizures fear, aggression or anxiety. Anxiety can also be a consequence of dysfunction endocrine glands.
• Shortage nutrients, microelements and vitamins. Metabolic processes in the body are disrupted, and first of all, fasting affects the state of the brain.

The production of neurotransmitters is negatively affected by a lack of B vitamins, glucose and magnesium.

• Passive lifestyle. If in a person’s life there are not even minimal physical activity, all metabolic processes slow down. Feeling anxious for no reason is direct consequence such an imbalance. A light warm-up helps release endorphins and provide at least a short-term distraction from depressing thoughts.
• Brain lesions. Birth injuries suffered in early age heavy infectious diseases, concussions, alcoholism or drug addiction.

Causes of increased anxiety in children

• Anxiety in a child in 80% of cases is a mistake on the part of the parents.
• Overprotection from parents. “Don’t go there - you’ll fall and hurt yourself!”, “You’re too weak, don’t pick it up!”, “Don’t play with these guys, they’re a bad influence on you!” - all these prohibiting and restricting freedom of action phrases put pressure on the child, which manifests itself in adult life self-doubt and constraint.
• The suspiciousness and hysteria of the guardian. Anxiety disorder often occurs in people who grew up with their grandmothers. Loud sighs and screams when a child falls or gets hurt are stored in the subcortex as a block to actions that involve minimal risk.
• Alcoholism, drug addiction, religious fanaticism of parents. When a child does not have before his eyes an example of a person who knows how to take responsibility for his own actions, it is very difficult for him to learn self-control.
• Frequent conflicts between mother and father. A child who regularly sees his parents arguing withdraws into himself because of his helplessness and gets used to living with a feeling of anxiety in his soul.
• Cruelty or detachment on the part of parents. Lack of emotional contact, affection and closeness with parents in childhood leads to the fact that a person becomes socially awkward in adulthood.
• Fear of separation from mother or father. Threats to leave the family have a strong impact on the child’s psyche and undermine his trust in people.
• Lack of a firm understanding of what is possible and what is not. A prohibition from the father, but permission from the mother, the phrases “you can’t do this, but now you can” deprive the child of guidelines.
• Fear of not being accepted by peers. Due to the awareness of one’s difference from others (external or social).
• Lack of independence. The mother’s desire to do everything quickly and efficiently (dress, wash, tie shoelaces) leads to the fact that the child will feel awkward compared to more independent peers.

Increased consumption of caffeinated drinks and foods high content Sugar has a detrimental effect on morale.

How to get rid of feelings of anxiety and restlessness on your own?

Being in an anxious state for no reason, a person quickly becomes exhausted and begins to look for ways to solve the problem. The following psychological practices will help you get out of a depressing state without outside help:

• Understand and accept that you cannot control everything.. There is always room for unpredictable events. As soon as you realize that everything is not going according to plan, build a new one. This way you will again feel the ground under your feet and understand where to move next.
• Don't worry about what happened in the past or is going to happen in the future. Be aware of yourself in the present moment. This is the only time where you can work on your own comfort.
• Take a break. Give yourself time to calm down and stabilize. Take a break for 1 hour, drink a cup of tea, meditate. Don't work to burn out. Let your emotions come out. Don’t withdraw into yourself - cry, beat a pillow, complain to someone, or write a list starting with the words: “I’m worried because...”.
• Change your surroundings. If you feel like everything environment puts pressure on you - change it. Take a new route home, eat a dish you've never tried before, try wearing clothes that aren't your style. This will give you the feeling that time does not stand still. Whenever possible, go on vacation and give yourself a break from the daily routine.

To develop a permanent habit, you need to do the same action for 21 days. Give yourself a break from overwhelming obligations for 21 days and do something you really enjoy. The psyche will have time to adapt to a different way.

How to get rid of fear quickly?

There are situations when you need to get rid of anxiety and fear immediately. It could be a matter of future reputation, self-respect, or even life and death. The following tips will help remove anxiety and fear in a few minutes:

• Talk to yourself by calling yourself by name. Ask yourself: (name), why are you so worried? Do you really think you can't handle this? Cheer yourself up the way you would cheer up someone close to you. Remember all the situations where you overcame yourself and praise each one. There is a good one on this topic.
• Meditate. Learn simple meditation techniques. Find a comfortable position, close your eyes and concentrate on your breathing without trying to control it. 3-5 minutes will be enough to relax. They will also help.
• Make yourself laugh. Remember funny story, watch a funny video or ask someone to tell you a joke. A couple of minutes of cheerful laughter - and the anxiety will disappear as suddenly as it appeared.

When should you seek help from a doctor?

Due to the fact that psychological illnesses are a taboo topic for the CIS countries, it is very difficult for most people to admit their own helplessness in the face of illness and turn to a specialist. This must be done if:

• constant anxiety is accompanied by attacks of panic horror;
• the desire to avoid discomfort leads to isolation and self-isolation;
• suffers from nagging pain in the chest, attacks of vomiting, dizziness, surges in blood pressure until loss of consciousness;
• a feeling of exhaustion and powerlessness from endless, intense anxiety.

Remember that mental disorder is also a disease. There is nothing wrong with it, just like there is nothing wrong with a cold. It is not your fault that you are sick and need help.

After talking with a specialist, you will know exactly what should be done in your situation, and what is better to postpone until later. You will not act by trial and error, which will also help to calm you down.

On mine I teach people how to get out of a state chronic anxiety and return to your wholeness and inner harmony using a holistic approach. If you have a need for internal healing, a desire and readiness for self-knowledge, if you are ready to find yours, I gladly invite you to my programs and courses.

With love, Maria Shakti

There are plenty of reasons for the emergence of a state of anxiety: these include imperfect relationships with children, work problems, and dissatisfaction in the personal sphere.

The body instantly reacts to negative thoughts:

• the heart rhythm is disturbed (as a rule, the heartbeat quickens, a tingling sensation may appear, the heart contracts);
• intermittent breathing (or, conversely, there are such long pauses between breaths that discomfort is felt, the person seems to forget to breathe);
• covers either fussiness or apathy - just thinking about the scale of the problem makes you want to do nothing;
• the brain refuses to work productively, even doing routine tasks requires a lot of effort.

When faced with such an unpleasant condition, the first thing you want to do is solve the problem with the help of medications. But, firstly, only a doctor can make such prescriptions; Secondly, similar drugs negatively affect other body systems.

Treatment at home will help you cope with increased anxiety. We have selected 18 effective recommendations for combating anxiety in adults.

1. Chamomile.

This is a kind of “first aid” - a cup of tea made from flowers and plant twigs immediately brings a feeling of peace. The effect is provided by substances contained in the plant. In terms of their effect on the body, they are identical to tranquilizers such as diazepam (they bind to the same dopamine receptors as the compounds in pharmaceutical drugs).

Chamomile flowers also contain the active ingredient apigenin. Thanks to its antispasmodic effect, this flavonoid soothes, relieves pain symptoms, and helps to relax.

Help chamomile (for long-term use, at least a month) can even during the treatment of generalized anxiety disorder.

2. Green tea.

Perhaps it is this drink that helps Buddhist monks maintain peace and concentration during long hours of meditation - green tea has been present in their diet for 13 centuries.

L-theanine has a calming effect on all body systems. The amino acid normalizes heart rate, blood pressure, and reduces anxiety. Those who consume 4-5 servings of the drink per day are calmer and more focused. In addition, green tea is part of a group of natural remedies that protect against the development of cancer.

3. Hops.

It is used not only in the preparation of a popular foamy drink, but also to relieve anxiety.

It is easy to prepare hop cones yourself (in mid-to-late August). Hops are harvested when the inside of the cones turn yellow-green with a pinkish tint. We need to pay attention to weather ripening can occur at the end of July - (if the summer is hot).

The sedative properties of the plant appear not only when brewed; hop essential oil, its tincture and extract are also useful for relieving anxiety. But the taste of the tea is not pleasant - it is very bitter, so it is better to combine hop cones with mint, chamomile, and honey. If the goal is to improve sleep, it is good to add valerian to the hops (for example, making an aromatic sachet).

When using other sedatives, combining them with taking hop cones is not recommended. It would also be a good idea to inform your doctor about your desire to use this natural remedy to combat anxiety.

4. Valerian.

Some of the remedies listed above reduce anxiety, but do not have a sedative effect (like green tea, for example). But valerian is from a different group: the plant causes drowsiness and contains sedative compounds that help fight insomnia.

Not everyone likes the taste and smell of the plant, so valerian tea is not as popular as tincture or capsule preparation. To improve the taste, the plant can be combined with mint or lemon balm, honey.

While taking this medication, plan your day so that after taking it you will no longer need to drive or perform tasks that require precision and concentration. Valerian greatly relaxes both the body and the brain.

5. Melissa.

Another plant that has been used since the Middle Ages to reduce stress levels and solve sleep problems.

Melissa is safe and beneficial only when used in moderation. Exceeding the dosage is fraught with increased anxiety. Therefore, you need to take infusions, tea, capsules, lemon balm, starting with small portions (for infusion - no more than 150 ml per day). It is not advisable for hypotensive patients to use this remedy, as lemon balm reduces blood pressure.

6. Passionflower.

Passion flower is the second name for passionflower, along with medicines relieves anxiety attacks, is used to treat insomnia.

May cause drowsiness, enhances the effect of other sedatives. Passion flower is best used as a one-time remedy to help relieve anxiety (in extreme cases, use no more than two weeks).

7. Lavender.

The intoxicating aroma of the plant calms and helps balance the emotional state. You can often smell lavender in the waiting room of dental clinics or other medical facilities. And this is not an accident: it has been experimentally proven that the aroma has a calming effect and helps those waiting for a doctor’s appointment to relax.

In another study, the smell lavender oil inhaled by students during exams. And although anxiety levels decreased, some students noted a decrease in concentration. Therefore, people whose work requires good coordination fast response, you should use lavender products carefully.

8. Omega-3 fats.

For those who have had to deal with the treatment of heart ailments, this group of fats is well known. Omega-3 (for example, fish oil) helps restore vascular permeability and restore their elasticity. They are useful when you need to calm your nerves and get rid of a depressive mood.

There are omega-3s in salmon, anchovies, sardines, mussels, vegetable oil(olive, flaxseed), nuts. But it is preferable to get omega-3 supplies from seafood, as they contain a higher concentration of these substances.

9. Exercises.

Exercise is good for your muscles and joints, as well as your brain. Moreover, they can be used and how urgent remedy, which helps relieve tension and has a long-term effect.

Physical activity improves self-esteem and makes you feel healthier. The result of efforts can be assessed objectively - and by appearance, and how you feel. Improving health removes the cause for concern even for people prone to reflection.

10. Holding your breath.

Short-term hypoxia and then filling the body with oxygen can reduce anxiety. You can use a technique borrowed from yoga, it is called “breathing on a count of 4-7-8.”

Before you let air into your lungs, you need to exhale powerfully (through your mouth). Inhale (through your nose) for four counts, hold your breath for 7 seconds, then exhale as powerfully as you did at the beginning (for 8 seconds). 2-3 repetitions a day are enough. This practice is also useful in the treatment of insomnia.

11. Adjustment of sugar levels.

Irritability and anxiety often increase as trivial reason- the person is hungry. At the same time, sugar levels drop, which affects mood and behavior.

It is necessary to keep foods with you for a quick snack: nuts (raw and unsalted), whole grain bread, fruit, dark chocolate, a sandwich with lean meat and herbs.

Snacking on processed foods (sausages, smoked meats) and sweets only aggravates the condition due to sudden jumps in glucose levels. Very soon the body will again require food and return to a state of irritation.

12. Effect of 21 minutes.

If the thought of systematic exercise scares you, it is enough to find just 21 minutes a day in your schedule - this time period is enough to relieve anxiety.

In this case, it is necessary to choose an aerobic exercise: running, jumping, walking on an elliptical (or regular) staircase; in extreme cases, a regular walk is also suitable (if you keep a high pace).

13. Mandatory breakfast.

Those who suffer from increased anxiety often ignore breakfast. An excuse can be too much workload (when every minute, especially in the morning, is precious), or lack of appetite, or fear of gaining weight.

Choice the right products will not only charge good mood for a long time, but it will also have a beneficial effect on the figure. One of the obligatory dishes during the morning meal should be scrambled eggs (also suitable boiled eggs, omelette). This product Fills the body with protein and healthy fats, which allows you to feel full longer. Eggs contain choline - low levels of this element in the body provoke anxiety attacks.

14. Refusal of negative thinking.

When anxiety attacks, there is no room left for positive thoughts; pictures, one more terrible than the other, scroll through your head again and again. Moreover, the likelihood of such a bad development of the situation may be negligible.

This flow of negativity needs to be stopped as early as possible by practicing deep breathing and looking at the problem from all sides. If you work through the situation soberly, without emotions, it will become clear that everything is fixable, and the order of necessary actions will immediately emerge.

15. Sauna or bathhouse.

When heated, the body relaxes, muscle tension subsides, anxiety decreases.

Even the neutron networks that control mood (including those responsible for the production of serotonin) change under the influence of heat. It’s not for nothing that after the procedure there is a feeling of peace, calm, and your head literally clears up.

16. Walk in the forest.

The Japanese know a lot about maintaining health – including emotional health. The popular practice of shinrin-yoku helps restore psychological balance.

The procedure is also available to residents of other countries – it’s an ordinary walk along forest paths. It is preferable to visit a coniferous forest, receiving a portion of phytoncides as a bonus.

The surrounding aromas, sounds, and the need to walk on uneven ground have a calming effect on the psyche. After just 20 minutes of walking, your stress levels are significantly reduced.

17. Mindfulness meditation.

This Buddhist practice effective in treating anxiety disorder. It helps to realize the importance of each moment, and to critically evaluate what is actually happening, and not scary pictures, drawn by a wild imagination under the influence of panic.

You can start by simply concentrating on what is happening, the most ordinary things, the main thing is not to allow your consciousness to slip into fantasy (especially with a negative connotation).

18. Statement of the problem.

Finding ways to deal with increased anxiety already indicates that the person has realized the problem. The ability to analyze one’s emotional state and draw the right conclusions – good sign and the first step towards improving the condition.

When you know the problem in person, it is easier to solve it. Further steps include working on positive thinking (such as reframing) and making lifestyle changes.

Constantly being in a state of anxiety over time destroys not only your emotional health, but also your physical health. Use these recommendations to combat stress, and if there is no improvement, seek help from a specialist.

Date:2011-11-14

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What is fear and how to overcome it?

Overcoming feelings of fear. What are the types of fears? Why does fear grow? Specific steps to overcome fear and anxiety.

Good time to you! In this article I want to consider the topic, how to conquer your fears.

Looking back, each of us can notice that fear accompanies our entire lives, starting from childhood. Take a closer look and you will see that in childhood you experienced fear in the same way as now, only then for some reason it did not stress you, you did not pay attention, it came along with some situation and also disappeared imperceptibly.

But then something in life starts to go wrong, fear becomes almost constant, acute and wraps around like a vine.

Until some time, I did not pay much attention to the feeling of fear, but then I had to face the truth and admit that I was cowardly and anxious, although sometimes I did certain things.

Any assumption, any unpleasant situation could make me angry for a long time.Even things that didn’t make much sense began to worry. My mind grabbed at any, even groundless, opportunity to worry.

At one time I had so many disorders, starting with and ending with obsessions and even PA (), that it began to seem to me that I was just naturally so restless, and this was with me forever.

I began to figure it out and slowly solve this problem, because whatever one may say, I don’t want to live in a nightmare. Now I have some experience and knowledge of how to overcome fear, and I am sure that this will be useful to you.

Don’t just think that I coped with all my fears, but I got rid of many, and I simply learned to live with some and overcome them. Besides to a normal person in principle, it is not possible to get rid of all fears; we will always worry in some way, if not for ourselves, then for our loved ones - and this is normal if it does not reach the point of absurdity and extremes.

So, let's first figure out what the feeling of fear actually is?When you know well what you are dealing with, it is always easier to cope.

What is fear?

Here, to begin with, it is important to understand that there are different types of fear.

In some cases thisnatural an emotion that helps us and all living beings survive in the event of anrealthreats. After all, fear literally mobilizes our body, physically makes us stronger and more attentive in order to effectively attack or escape from the object of threat.

Therefore, this emotion in psychology is called: “Flight or fight.”

Fear is a basic emotion that all people haveinstalled by default; a signaling function that ensures our safety.

But in other cases, fear manifests itself in unhealthy ways ( neurotic) form.

The topic is very broad, so I decided to divide the article into two parts. In this article, we will analyze what fears exist, why they grow, and I will give the first recommendations that will help you learn to deal with this feeling more calmly and soberly and approach situations correctly so that fear does not throw you into a stupor.

The very feeling of fear, all this chill (heat) throughout the body, a clouding “haze” in the head, internal cringing, overwhelming numbness, fading breath, pounding heartbeat, etc., which we experience when we are scared, no matter how creepy everything may seem, but is not more thanbiochemical reaction of the body to some stimulus (situation, event), that is, it internal phenomenonbased on the release of adrenaline into the blood. Fear in its structure is to a greater extentadrenalin, plus more stress hormones.

Adrenaline is a mobilizing hormone secreted by the adrenal glands; it affects metabolism in the body, in particular, it increases blood glucose levels, accelerates cardiac activity and arterial pressure, - and all this in order to mobilize the body. I wrote more about this in the article “”.(I recommend, this will give you an understanding of the connection between the body and the psyche).

So, when we experience fear, we experience "adrenaline feeling", and so that right now you begin to treat the feeling of fear a little softer, you can tell yourself: “the adrenaline has started.”

What are the types of fears?

In psychology, there are two types of fear: natural (natural) fear and neurotic.

Natural fear always manifests itself whenreal dangers, when there is a threatright now. If you see that a car is about to run into you or someone is attacking you, then the instinct of self-preservation will instantly work and turn on vegetative system, which will trigger biochemical reactions in the body, and we will experience fear.

By the way, in life we ​​very often experience natural fear (anxiety), evennot noticingthis, it is so intangible.

Examples of such fear:

• you have a reasonable fear of inattention while driving (although there are exceptions), and therefore drive carefully;

• some are more, some are less afraid of heights, and therefore, in the appropriate environment, behave carefully so as not to fall;

• you are afraid of getting sick in winter, and therefore dress warmly;

• you are reasonably afraid of becoming infected with something, and therefore wash your hands periodically;

• You are logically afraid to pee yourself in the middle of the street, so when you feel like it, you start looking for a secluded place, and you don’t run down the street naked, just becausehealthySocial fear helps protect you from a “bad” reputation that can harm your career.

Natural fear simply plays the role of common sense here. And it is important to understand thatfear and anxiety - normal functions body , but the fact is that for many of you, anxiety has become irrational and excessive (not useful), but more on that below.

Besides, healthy feeling fear (anxiety)Alwaysaccompanies us in new conditions. It's fearbefore the new one, fear of losing current comfortable conditions associated with uncertainty, instability and novelty.

We can experience such fear when moving to a new place of residence, changing activities (jobs), getting married, before important negotiations, dating, taking an exam, or even going on a long journey.

Fear is like a scoutin an unfamiliar situation, scans everything around and tries to draw our attention to a possible threat, sometimes even where there is none at all. Thus, the instinct of self-preservation Just is reinsured, after all, the main thing for nature is survival and for it it is better to be on the safe side in something than to overlook something.

Instinct doesn’t care how we live and feel: good or bad; the main thing for him is safety and survival, in fact, this is where the roots of neurotic fear mainly grow, when a person begins to worry not because of real reasons, but for no reason or for nothing.

Neurotic (constant) fear and anxiety.

First, let's look at how fear differs from anxiety.

If fear always associated with realsituation and circumstances, thenanxiety always based onassumptions negative outcomeof one situation or another, that is, these are always anxious thoughts of worries about one’s own or someone else’s future.

If we take a vivid example with an attack of PA, then a person experiences horror for his future, his thoughts are directed to the future, heassumesthat something could happen to him, he could die, lose control, etc.

Such fear usually arises against a background of stress when we beginattach excessive importance to everything that comes to mind, , we become fixated and catastrophize the situation.

For example:

• normal fear for one’s health can develop into an anxious obsession with one’s condition and symptoms;
• reasonable self-care or housekeeping can turn into mania for germs;
• concern for the safety of loved ones can develop into paranoia;
• fear of harming oneself and others can lead to chronic anxiety and PA, and this, in turn, can result in fear of going crazy or constant fear death, etc.

This is neurotic fear when it forms constant (chronic), increased anxiety , some even leading to panic. And it is precisely because of this kind of anxiety that the vast majority of our problems arise, when we regularly begin to feel strong anxiety for all sorts of and, most often, unfounded reasons, and become very sensitive to what is happening.

In addition, an anxious state can be aggravated by an incorrect or not entirely accurate understanding of certain interpretations, such as: “thought is material,” etc.

And almost all people exhibit social fears. And if some of them have common sense, then many are completely in vain and wear neurotic character. Such fears interfere with our lives, taking all our energy and distracting us with imaginary, sometimes unreasonable and absurd experiences, they interfere with our development, and because of them we miss a lot of opportunities.

For example, fear of disgrace, disappointment, loss of competence and authority.

Behind these fears lies not only the essence possible consequences, but also other feelings that people do not want and are afraid to experience, for example, feelings of shame, depression and guilt - very unpleasant feelings. And that is the only reason why many do not dare to act.

I was extremely susceptible to such fears for a very long time, but everything gradually began to change when I began to change my attitude and inner view for life.

After all, if you think carefully, no matter what happens - even if they insult us, ridicule us, try to offend us in some way - all this, most often, does not pose a global threat to us and, by and large, does not matter, because life will go on anyway And,the main thing is that we will have every chance for happiness and success, everything will depend only on us.

I think it makes no difference who is there and what they think of you, it’s important,how do you feel about this? . If someone else’s opinion is most important to you, then you are too dependent on people, you don’t have - you have everything: dad-assessment, mom-assessment, friends-assessment, but notitself-evaluation, and because of this a lot of unnecessary anxieties flowing into a neurotic form, I understood this very well.

Only when we startrely on yourself , and not just count on someone, and we begin to decide for ourselves what influence others will have on us, only then do we become truly free.

I really like this quote I once read:

"No one can hurt you without your consent"

(Eleanor Roosevelt)

IN mostcases related to society, you are afraid of people only because of the likelihood of experiencing some unpleasant feelings, but there is no point in being afraid of either these feelings or people’s opinions, because everything feelings are temporary and natural by nature, and the thoughts of others will remain only their thoughts. Can their thoughts cause harm? Moreover, their opinion is only their opinion out of a billion others, just as many people have so many opinions.

And if you consider that those around you are, to a greater extent, concerned about what they think of them, then they don’t care as much about you as you might think. And is it really possible to equate your happiness with someone else’s thoughts?

Therefore, first of all, it is very important to learn how to manage by the emotions themselves so as not to be afraid to experience them, learn be with them for a while, after all, there is nothing bad in this, no one always feels good, besides, any emotions, even the most acute and unpleasant ones, will pass one way or another and, I assure you, they can be fully learned calmly be patient. What is important here is the correct approach, which will be discussed below.

And slowly change your inner attitude towards yourself and the world around you, which is what I wrote in the article "".

Why does fear intensify and grow?

There are three areas worth highlighting here:

1. The desire to get rid of fear completely;
2. Avoidance behavior;
3. Inability to deal with the feeling of fear, attempts to constantly avoid, get rid of and suppress fear in various ways, which leads to such a mental phenomenon as “ fear of fear”, when a person begins to be terribly afraid of the very feeling of fear (anxiety), beginning to mistakenly believe that these feelings are abnormal, and he should not experience them at all.

The desire to get rid of feelings of fear and anxiety

This instinctive, avoidant behavior stems from the natural desire of all living beings not to experience unpleasant experiences.

An animal, having once experienced fear in some situation, continues to instinctively run away from it, as, for example, the case with a dog.

There was construction going on, and suddenly the hose near the cylinder broke, and not far away there was a house where doghouse. The broken hose, with its whistle, frightened the dog who was nearby, and it subsequently began to get scared and run away not only from something similar to a hose, but even from a simple whistle.

This case demonstrates well not only how instinctive behavior towards certain things (events and phenomena) is formed, but also how fear is transformed, flowing from one phenomenon to another, something similar to it.

The same thing happens to a person experiencing fear and panic when he begins to avoid first one place, then another, third, etc., until he completely locks himself at home.

At the same time, a person is most often well aware that there is something wrong here, that the fear is far-fetched and it is only in his head, nevertheless, he continues to experience it physically, which means he continues to try to avoid it.

Now let's talk about avoidance behavior

If a person is afraid to fly on an airplane, afraid to go down the subway, afraid to communicate, afraid of the manifestation of any feelings, including fear, or even afraid of his own thoughts, which I myself used to be afraid of, he will try to avoid it, thereby committing one of gross mistakes.

By avoiding situations, people, places or certain phenomena, youhelp yourselffight fear, but at the same time,limit yourself , and many form some other rituals.

• The fear of infection forces a person to wash their hands extra often.
• Fear pushes people to avoid communication and crowded places.
• Fear of certain thoughts can form a “ritual action” in order to protect yourself and avoid something.

The feeling of fear prompts you to run,you give in and run, for a while you feel better, because the threat has passed, you calm down, but in an unconscious psychejust secure it this reaction(like that dog who is afraid of the whistle). It’s as if you are telling your subconscious: “You see, I’m running away, which means there is a danger, and it’s not far-fetched, but real,” and the unconscious psyche reinforces this reaction,developing a reflex.

Situations in life are very different. Some fears and corresponding avoidances seem more justified and logical, others - absurd; but in the end, constant fear does not allow you to live fully, rejoice and achieve your goals.

And thus, you can avoid everything, and from this fear grows in life in general.

• A young man, due to fear of failure, fear of experiencing a feeling of insecurity (shame), will not go to meet a girl with whom he could very likely be happy.
• Many people will not start a business or go to an interview because they may be intimidated by new prospects and difficulties, and many will be intimidated by the very possibility of experiencing internal discomfort during communication, etc., that is, fear of internal sensations.

And on top of that, many people make another mistake when they begin to resist the fear that has arisen, try to suppress the anxiety that has arisen with emotional effort, forcefully calm themselves down, or force them to believe the opposite.

For this purpose, many people drink sedatives, take alcohol, continue to smoke, or unconsciously eat emotions, since food promotes the production of serotonin and melatonin, which makes the experience easier. This, by the way, is one of the main reasons why many people gain weight. I myself used to often overeat, drink, and even more often light up the experience; for a while, of course, it helped.

I'll say right away emotions must be allowed to be, if an emotion has come, be it fear or something else, you don’t have to immediately resist and try to do something with this feeling, so you just strengthen it tension, just watch how this emotion manifests itself in your body, learn to worry and be patient.

All these actions on your part aimed at avoiding and suppressing feelings only make the situation worse.

How to overcome fear and anxiety?

Fear, as you already understood, not only plays a useful, protective role, but also encourages you to avoid even potential danger, wherever possible. Maybe.

It is not always justified and protects us from danger. Often it simply makes you suffer and prevents you from moving towards success and happiness, which means it is important for us to learn don't blindly believe and give in every impulse of instinct, anddeliberately interfere.

Unlike an animal that is unable to change the situation on its own (the dog will continue to be afraid of the useless “whistle”), a person has a mind that allowsconsciouslygo another way.

Are you ready to take a different path and conquer fear? Then:

1. When some fear arises,you don't need to believe him right away, many of our feelings simply lie to us. I became very convinced of this by observing how and where things come from.

Fear sits inside us and is only looking for hooks to catch on, it does not need special conditions, instinct is ready to sound the alarm for anything. As soon as we weaken internally, experience stress and a bad state, it’s right there and begins to come out.

Therefore, when you feel anxious, remember, this does not mean that there is danger.

2. The very desire to get rid of it contributes to the growth and intensification of fear.

But to completely get rid of fear, as many people dream of it, in principleimpossible. It's the same as wanting to get rid of skin. The skin is the same ashealthyfear performs a protective function - getting rid of fear is like trying to tear off your skin.

Exactly your goal is to get ridand not feeling fear at all makes this feeling even stronger and sharper. All you are thinking is: “How to get rid of it, how to get rid of it, and what am I feeling now, I’m scared, horrified, what to do when this is over, run, run...”, thereby mentally looping on this, the autonomic system turns on, and you yourself do not allow yourself to relax.

Our task is to bring fears and anxiety, which are justified in certain situations, to a normal (healthy) level, and not to get rid of them completely.

Fear has always been and will be. Realize andaccept this fact. First, stop being at enmity with him, becausehe is not your enemy, he just is, and there is nothing wrong with him. It is very important to start changing your attitude towards him from within and don't overemphasize that you are experiencing it.

This emotion is just now excessively acute works inside you because youafraid to experience it. As a child, you were not afraid of this, you did not attach importance to the feeling of fear and did not want to get rid of it, well, it was and was, it passed and passed.

Always remember that this is only internal, chemical reaction in the body (adrenaline plays). Yes - unpleasant, yes - painful, yes - scary and sometimes very, but tolerable and safe,don't resistmanifestation of this reaction, let it make some noise and go out on its own.

When fear starts to weigh in,suspend attention And watcheverything that happens inside you, realize thatin real you are not in danger (the fear is only in your mind), and continue to observe any sensations in your body. Take a closer look at your breathing and hold your attention on it, smoothly align it.

Start to catch the thoughts that excite you, they are the ones that exacerbate your fear and lead to panic, but not drive them away by force of will,just try not to get drawn into the mental whirlpool: “what if, what if, why,” andwithout judging what is happening (bad, good),just watch everything , gradually you will begin to feel better.

Here you observe how your psyche and body as a whole react to some external stimulus (situation, person, phenomenon), you act as an outside observer behind what is happening inside and around you. And thus, gradually, through observation, you influence this reaction from the inside, and it further becomes weaker and weaker. You train your psyche be less and less susceptible to this feeling.

And all this can be achieved thanks to “awareness”, fear is very afraid of awareness, read this in the article “”.

Not everything will always work out, especially at first, but over time it will get easier and better.

Take this point into account and don’t throw yourself into despair if something doesn’t turn out the way you wanted, not all at once, friends, it simply requires regular practice and time.

3. Extremely important point:fear cannot be overcome by theory , avoidant behavior - even more so.

In order for it to begin to fade, you need to consciously meet it.

The difference between brave people who solve their problems and cowards is not that the former do not experience fear, but that they step over fear,fear and act .

Life is too short to be idle and if you want more from life, you need tointernally change: acquire new useful habits, learn to calmly experience emotions, control thinking and decide on some actions, take risks.

After all “opportunity” is always more important than risk, and the risk always will be, the main thing is that the “opportunity” is reasonable and promising.

to you now very wrongit seems that you first need to get rid of fear, gain confidence, and then act, although, in fact, in reality this is exactly how it isotherwise.

When you jump into the water for the first time, you need to jump, there is no point in constantly thinking about whether you are ready for it or not until you jump, find out and learn.

Step by step, drop by drop, sharp jumps, most will not succeed, try to win unceremoniouslystrongfear is ineffective, most likely it will crush you, you need preparation.

Start with less significantfears and move leisurely.

• If you are afraid of communication, if you feel uncomfortable among people, start going out to people and communicating, tell someone something good just like that.
• If you are afraid of rejection when meeting the opposite sex - first, just “stay nearby,” then start asking simple questions, like: “How to find such and such a place?” and so on.
• If you are afraid to travel, start traveling, not far at first.

And at such moments, focus your attention and consider what happens inside you, when you enter a situation, you will begin to know yourself through the reflection of what is happening, you act and consciously observe everything.

You will instinctively want to run, but there is no easy road here: you either do what you are afraid of and then the fear recedes; or you give in to spontaneous instinct and live as before. Fear always arises when we leave our comfort zone, when we begin to act and change something in life. His appearance shows promise, and he teaches us to overcome our weaknesses and become stronger. Therefore, do not be afraid of fear, be afraid of inaction!

4. And the last thing here: practice more mental and emotional rest, it is very important to restore the nervous system, and for most of you it is extremely weakened, without this you simply will not be able to function normally.

I also strongly recommend going in for sports, at least a little doing simple exercises: squats, push-ups, abs - this really helps to overcome fear and anxiety, as it improves not only the physics of the body, but also the mental state.

Homework for you.

1. Observe your fear, how it manifests itself in the body and where. This may include discomfort in the stomach, heaviness in the head or “haze,” shortness of breath, numbness in the limbs, trembling, chest pain, etc.
2. Take a closer look at what thoughts come to you at this moment and how they affect you.
3. Then analyze whether this fear is natural or neurotic.
4. Write in the comments about your observations, conclusions and ask if you have any questions.

In the next article "" we will talk about individual, important points, this will help you act better and overcome this condition.

Good luck in conquering fear!

Best regards, Andrey Russkikh.

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1. Tell me, during PA it’s hard to breathe, shortness of breath and, as a result, the fear of suffocating and dying. This is possible, I’m very afraid of such attacks and I’m afraid that my heart won’t withstand such stress.

   Answer

   • Inna, read articles about PA on the website

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     • How can you write, sit and watch fear, a person in severe panic cannot control himself, in order to understand this, antidepressants are needed, under them the brain receives artificial serotonin and then after acute condition attack, we can talk about something from your article

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       • You can observe fear during pa... you can learn everything!.. Andrey writes about this in detail and about methods, you just need to read carefully and really want to)

         Answer

2. Hello) but I have a question: if I go to a psychotherapist, how can I find out whether he can help me or not? I just know such cases, people have been going for years, but there’s no point (((

   Answer

   • Good afternoon Karina. And there’s no way to find out, until you contact us you won’t know. Well, in general, you should look at reviews about the psychotherapist you are going to contact (if any)

     Answer

3. Thanks for the articles Andrey! I read your book about mindfulness and how to overcome OCD, I understood, realized, lived a lot great amount fears, having passed them through myself, I have been using the practice of mindfulness for 2 months now, instincts still sometimes win, but awareness is a really powerful thing and during this time I really mean what it means to live. I have had OCD for more than 10 years, and I have several questions . I lived through fears that were very strong for myself, I trusted the innocence and as a result, on an unconscious level, I received life experience that this fear is irrational and I stopped being afraid of it. I began to feel an incredible surge of strength and confidence and independence from thoughts. After some time, out of the blue, another fear arises from the depths of memory and I live it again, consciously accept it and it also goes away and I am no longer afraid of it on a subconscious level! So I already have experience. But fears continue to surface, and very serious ones at that. Now the question is: am I doing the right thing by living through every fear? After all, the experience of previous fears has already been formed on an unconscious level, but it does not work with new fears and you have to live them all over again? And another question: do I understand correctly that when fear appears, having consciously accepted it, I agree that it can stay in me and manifest itself, but I did not agree with what this fear is trying to convey to me? And another question: you write that there shouldn’t be internal dialogue, it needs to be stopped, that’s what I do, although it’s hard, it’s much easier now than before. And if I conduct a rational dialogue: I tell myself that I lived through very strong fears and they passed, which means this one will pass, is this acceptable? AND last question: How long after you started practicing mindfulness, receiving an unconscious experience of the safety and absurdity of your fears, did your thinking change from anxious to calmer, not looking for constant threats and worries?
   I will be very glad if you can answer!

   Answer

   • Hello Oleg. It is not necessary to experience every manifestation of fear, in the sense that you can calmly ignore and look closely at each of its reactions and do something without paying attention (without attaching importance), the main thing here is not to fight if something has arisen in the sensations , but calmly let it pass through yourself.
     Acknowledging any feelings in yourself is very good. it’s important, it helps to accept them, and to ignore or not to ignore depends on the situation... because sometimes fear is quite justified (healthy fear warns about something real), you just need to learn to calmly see how justified (rational) the fear is or is it just your own speculation .
     Regarding the diet. dialogue., look at yourself, sometimes it’s important just not to analyze anything, and sometimes you can Support yourself by saying something useful, for example,” the thought comes “I won’t succeed or I’m somehow different” - you can answer these harmful thoughts by others - “I will succeed, even if it’s not something else,” or “I am who I am, this is my right and I deserve the best.”
     Your last question is good because you yourself noticed how important it is to accustom the mind to lightness and calmness, because in a calm and clear state the psyche itself helps us deal with emotions and thoughts, and they do not cause problems. And in terms of time - it’s different for everyone, I had to spend a lot of time because I didn’t know many of the nuances, and you, if you carefully read my book, are already much more prepared.

     Answer

4. How can you observe the fear that rolls in instantly from the outside?

   Answer

   • hello.. look at what leads to fear (what thoughts or images). and what to do in this case, read in other articles on the blog - “Awareness” or in the article “how to deal with panic attacks” wrote

     Answer

5. Andrey,ya tak blagodarna,za vashu statyu🌷.Ne davno ya bila v Adueto pravda,ya dumala chto dlya menya,net smisla zhit...dalshe tak kak moat doch bila v glubokom dipressii.No,k sozhaleniyu nasha emigraziya..dala o svete znat.

   Answer

6. Vasha statya pomogla mne Zambia posmotret na zhini drugimi glazami

   Answer

7. Thanks Andrey!
   I don't regret signing up. A lot about me. Tired of the dependence of others. I understand everything, I can’t do anything. That's how my parents raised me. They praised little, humiliated and beat a lot. It's scary to remember

   Answer

   • please.. Yes, this is enough, but you need to understand that parents could not behave differently, many behave this way not because they want to make the child unhappy, but because they themselves are unhappy, do not know how to love and live the way society taught them.

     Answer

8. Thank you very much, Andrey. I really like your articles, I will continue to study them

   Answer

   • Please)

     Answer

9. Andrey, your articles help me a lot. My fears are that I will die, something will happen to me right now, my chest is starting to hurt, cold sweat all over the body, this makes it even worse. I’m learning to accept this fear, convincing myself that nothing serious is happening. I’m probably already used to living with chest pain. Lately, I’ve been afraid that nothing hurts or bothers me. How is it that nothing hurts? I start to think about it and anxiety, fear, and panic appear again. I want to learn how to cope with fears, I’m scared, I have very bad thoughts (about suicide). I think about this a lot and it becomes even more scary, because thoughts, as they say, are material...

   Answer

   • Natalia, thoughts without emotions and actions are worth little. and they don’t just become material, otherwise all people on earth would live happily ever after, thinking about big money, etc.

     Answer

10. Hello Andrei.
    I have a terrible fear of loneliness, meaninglessness, and OCD, a very strong + crazy passion for fire. Sometimes I don't leave the apartment at all.
    What to do? Don't know...
    What city are you in? Thank you.

    Answer

    • Hello.. I'm from Belarus... what should I do - work with my fears. as I wrote in this and other articles, read and apply at least a little and you will see there

      Answer

11. Good afternoon, please tell me how to work with fears associated with medical interventions: I’m afraid of general anesthesia, fear of not waking up, fear of a doctor’s mistake, feelings of helplessness and lack of ability to influence the situation!
    Thank you in advance

    Answer

    • Hello Natalya.. think, is there really a 100% guarantee? This is what prevents you from gaining och. The most important thing in life is Trust. This does not mean blind trust, but reasonable trust. Learn information about general anesthesia based on scientific facts and evidence, and then you will probably see that you are in vain overly worried and do not trust... And anyone can make a mistake, no one is immune from this, and this can only be accepted, and not try to control everything, even what is in principle impossible

      Answer

12. Please help me. I went to a neurologist with PA, they prescribed tranquilizers, but they didn’t help me. Then I turned to a psychologist, everything seemed to be fine at first. But then it started again. I take everything very close to my heart. And I start to go through all this in my head. Until PA happens. I became afraid to be alone at home. While my husband is at work. It’s easier for me when visiting or at work, there’s no time to even think about it. But at home, everything is new. Now I have a fear of heights and that I can jump from the 7th floor, although I don’t want to. I'm tired of living like this since February. At home with my husband there is constant stress, swearing. He specially clots my blood. But I have a little daughter. Help me please.

    Answer

    • Hello.. read articles about panic attacks, what they are and how to act, as well as articles about VSD and obsessive thoughts. You increase your fear with some disturbing THOUGHTS, and this is what you need to work with first.

      Answer

13. What to do if, by getting rid of fears, you bypassed the fear of killing yourself? I entered this state of meaninglessness... the effect was plus on plus...

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14. Hello Andrey, every time I start observing my negative thoughts, they immediately disappear. Is this a normal reaction? Or am I just suppressing them this way? For some reason, it’s not possible to observe thoughts at all; as soon as I turn my attention towards the thoughts, they simply disappear and my attention instantly switches to other thoughts or objects. Thank you so much for your site and book!!!
    I'm trying to incorporate your experience into mine. daily practice, but I'm not sure if I'm doing it right.

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    • Hello Natasha.. if you’ve read my book, it’s a bit of a strange question.. there’s more about it there.. read the chapter “Working with Thinking.”. and then you’re doing everything right! Thank you for your feedback!

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15. Andrey, hello. I tried your method, but it immediately became much worse. All my life I have been using avoidant behavior in communicating with people, now when communicating I try to let go of control over the PA. I have a strong fear of losing face. That someone will see my nervousness or loss of control over myself. In life I learned to communicate in such a way that people think that I am very calm person and they are surprised to learn that I am an anxious person. And now it turns out that I am breaking my behavior system and this causes severe anxiety, I accept it. I try to accept the fear, but doubts creep in that I am doing something wrong.
    Before that, I used the method of willpower, that is, agorophobia was acceptable, I gradually forced myself to leave the house, further and further. Now I walk calmly, but very distant places still cause fear. If the PA came up with force, I suppressed it, I convinced myself that it was just my imagination and I tried to distract myself. But with your method I am constantly shaking, I use it on the street, for example, and it turns out that I plunge into my state, and do not come out of it. I don’t understand what I’m doing wrong, maybe the warrior’s path suits me better? That is, if the situation forces me to take certain actions; I walk with my eyes closed, nervous, but then I realize that there seems to be nothing wrong and I relax. And I can only practice mindfulness at home, when no one is watching me. It seems to me that if I let go of control in a public place, I will be overcome by a strong PA

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    • Hello Maria.. you know.. only fools don’t doubt anything, take doubts calmly, and experience in the future will show everything.. At first, of course, anxiety usually worsens, but this is such a turning point, then it will become easier and easier! I recommend practicing mindfulness more often; it helps you learn to deal with emotions and thoughts.

      As for training at home with awareness during PA, this is good for a start, but then you will need to decide and take at least a small step in a real situation, this is where it is important to let go of logical control and see that nothing bad is happening, everything depends on you, and awareness is the highest vigilance! How else can you find out that you can handle everything yourself?? nothing other than being in a real situation.

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16. Tell me, are neurosis and pain dangerous to life and health?

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    • Hello. .. Ira.. don’t be lazy for yourself... read the articles about panic attacks, VSD and neurosis on the site and you will understand everything.

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17. Andrey, I really like the way you write, it’s easy and accessible! Your articles help me a lot, I realized a lot of what was written myself, because I was interested in psychology, but for some reason it still didn’t help me, there was some kind of distrust in my own knowledge, and reading you I understand that I was always on the right path , but due to lack of self-confidence, she created obstacles for herself on the path to creating a harmonious personality. It's great that now people with panic attacks and there is a way to help with neuroses, and more than once I myself extinguished my anxiety simply by reading your articles, and after that I began to work on myself with renewed vigor. Of course, there is still a lot, a lot of work, but now I don’t treat my fear and anxiety as something terrible, but even perceive it as a kind of plus, as an impetus for action and work on myself, I hope you will continue to help people, because that you are doing great)))

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18. Andrey, good day! Please tell me what to do in such a situation. I tried to commit suicide, cut veins on both arms and left large scars on my wrists. I’m very afraid that my friends or someone else will find out about my suicide attempt (friends know), so I hide them in every possible way (I avoid the situation): shirts, long-sleeve T-shirts, bracelets, I want to get tattoos, etc. On the one hand, I avoid the situation, but on the other hand, I don’t really want to plunge into the situation and tell everyone, because... This is going to be bravado. Thanks in advance!

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    • Good time, what was, was, this is the past that cannot be changed, start living in the present, paying less attention to the past, and depending less on the opinions of people, even loved ones. It’s pointless to spend your whole life hiding something that someone other than you already knows. Believe me, the main thing is not what you were before and what you did there, what’s more important is who you can become!

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19. Thank you for the article! Tell me in this situation: during driving lessons I do everything without mistakes, like an exam: I panic, everything immediately “flies out of my head” and my legs start to shake, I can’t even do anything with them. Help, what’s the reason?

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20. I read your book about fear, a very useful book, everything is very accessible. But if I may, I would like to ask a question about how to deal with the fear of causing harm, especially to children, mostly our own. It all started not so long ago, 2.5 months ago, after watching film, where a wife stabbed her husband with a knife, I abruptly transferred everything to myself, I was very scared, my daughter was nearby. After this, the fear of causing harm appeared. I work with a psychologist, I try to identify all the moments of avoidant behavior and do the opposite, I’m learning to accept these thoughts and live them. them... Please advise what else can be done specifically with this fear?

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    • Hello.. From your question, I understand that you are looking for knowledge that will instantly lead to a solution to the problem, but there is no magic words And magic pills, there are only CORRECT ACTIONS, that is, you need not just to know, but to regularly and HONESTLY APPLY knowledge. So, you write “to live through thoughts,” where in the book did you find this? You need to live HONESTLY your emotions (feelings) that some thought evokes in you.
      Regarding your specific problem:
      1 To understand that the wife stabbed her husband with a knife for a reason because suddenly, out of nowhere, she felt like it or her body itself went and did something, a whole series of events in her life led her to this , you see only the final result, and not this entire previous history. People never do anything for no reason, there are reasons for everything, so trying to imitate the actions of others is completely absurd. (you are not that person and you were not in that woman’s shoes, you don’t know all the reasons that brought her to this state).
      2. Identify and remove all defensive (avoidant) actions that only perpetuate the problem. Such actions may include in your case - hiding knives, avoiding being near your daughter, as well as constantly “thinking” about the problem in order to control everything with logic, but in the book I wrote that logic only creates the illusion of control, without actually changing anything , you were and continue to be afraid of losing control and logic is no help here!!! (it only harms) If you think that by trying to convince yourself, like I’m good, I was raised decent and I won’t do this, you will solve the problem, then you are deeply mistaken. Therefore, stop trying to think and persuade yourself all the time. THE RIGHT ACTIONS ARE NECESSARY, and I wrote about them in detail in the book. (so use them if you want results, but just reading is pointless)

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21. Thanks for your answer Andrey, I read the book Intrusive thoughts fears and VSD. Can you advise me what else to read on my topic?

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    • Robert Leahy "Freedom from Anxiety", but if you don't SUFFICIENTLY doing what is recommended will be of no use, knowledge is useless without its application. And you will again look for new and new ways to solve the problem in the race for a quick and easy result, and each time you will be disappointed, because magic words and pills do not exist!

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22. Andrey, Thanks a lot what are you responding to...I really didn’t read it carefully, now I’m trying to experience the emotions that come with these thoughts and not trying to predict events. The most difficult thing for me is to stop scanning myself for symptoms. Maybe you can advise?

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    • All you need to do here... is to catch when you start doing this and not to get involved in this process... but to smoothly transfer your attention to some of your own affairs. or just observing the world. By the way... it is very important to stop scanning yourself. to the symptoms.. this is just reinforcement. problem

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23. Andrey, your articles really helped me figure it out and opened my eyes to my own fears. Like you, I have a fear of my own thoughts) what methods were particularly effective in your struggle and do you conduct online consultations?

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    • Hello..the methods are described in the articles on the site..and there is a “consultations” section

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24. Hello! I have fear when communicating with people, not with everyone and not always. My hands begin to tremble, my face cramps. Moreover, fear increases with age.

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25. My anxiety lies in the fact that I think I won’t be able to protect my wife if someone offends her... although I can stand up for her! And I keep scrolling different situations! I’m pushing myself... and these thoughts are constantly spinning in my head!

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26. Hello Andrey, I really need your help. I don't know what's wrong with me. It all started with the fact that I fell ill with tonsillitis, the doctor prescribed me antibiotics and other medicine for the throat, on the 3rd day of taking antibiotics I had an attack of suffocation at night in the form of a spasm of the throat, this is not asthma. Such fear, heart palpitations, weak legs, my body is not mine at all. I immediately went to the doctors, but they couldn’t tell me anything, for some reason the gastrologist decided that it was reflux, I took a general blood test and tests for immunoglobulin. For some types of allergies, to the thyroid gland, I did a throat culture. In general, all the tests were good, but only the tank culture showed that there were 4+ streptococci. I went with these tests to the ENT specialist, she prescribed me an antibiotic, which was determined by culture, I started drinking it and immediately on the same day my nocturnal attacks of suffocation with a huge amount of mucus and discomfort in the throat stopped. But during the day there are micro spasms that are not clear from what. A month and a half has already passed, and a day ago I again had an attack of suffocation at night. I was very scared, and in general I didn’t tell you the main thing, that when I get sick and no one can make an accurate diagnosis, I panic and have a terrible fear about death, about the insidious incurable disease., and also these negative thoughts enslave my consciousness. help me please

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    • Hello.. panic due to UNCERTAINTY.. fear of the unknown is one of the most powerful. As for choking, I can’t give any advice, but I can assume that since the examinations didn’t reveal anything serious and the doctors didn’t tell you directly, then choking is probably due to a lump in the throat, this is a symptom of stress and fear.. Basically, you need just relax the muscles of the throat and neck when there is a feeling of suffocation... and see if this helps. You generally need more calm now, learn relaxation skills and have more mental rest.
      As for obsessive thoughts, read the articles on the website “How to get rid of obsessive thoughts” and “Causes of obsessive fears”, they will help you figure it out and understand what to do with your thoughts.

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      • Hello .. I can’t say anything .. everything is vague in the question .. “certain thoughts”, you need to let fear pass through yourself and not try to avoid everything - this is the main thing

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    • I read your articles, I started to apply it a little, to observe my thoughts and feelings from the outside, sometimes it works out, sometimes it doesn’t, but in last week these feelings have intensified, before I tried to muffle them... but now I have released them, I feel that I am no longer muffling them... but again, you somehow answered me about slowing down, and when I supposedly have thoughts that there is not enough time I have enough time to talk... it helps me calm down, but in general it’s always and always been like this for 10 years: I used to have a lot of things to do, and I did each with pleasure, + I had rest, it didn’t bother me that I still had some other things to do things to do, and I did each one consciously, so to speak, now the situation is different, I say there is enough time, it still won’t let me go, it’s just one thing out of the ordinary, then I have to manage 2.3 more, even when there are few of them, I still have panic, anxiety , it’s so unpleasant when every time you take on something, and it immediately starts, this state is very annoying, because you can’t convince yourself, the phrase doesn’t really work, it just calms you down a little... It all started, it seems to me, from society: time flies , time flies, there are only 24 hours in a day, we don’t have time to do anything, we need to hurry, life flies by like 1 second, you won’t have time to look back, and in fact this is the unconscious deep psyche? What to do with it? I can’t rest normally, I can do something quickly in my head and then rest, but this is not always good for me... since the day can be packed... (I don’t strive for multitasking, on the contrary, I unload myself, but there are special load days). I can’t adequately remember what I’m doing, where I am, when I slow down, panic and anxiety again, because the following happens: I’m slowing down now (there’s enough time), but the thought is, damn, I’m slowing down, I won’t make it in time, time is passing... and again panic, anxiety, this is terrible, I never thought that I would drive myself into such a time frame.

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    • Andrey, thank you very much for your articles!

      I would like to write to Ksyusha, who wrote on 05/04/2018 00:28 about asthma attacks. It happens to me like it does to you when I sleep on my back. I stop breathing in my sleep, or so it seems to me that I stop breathing. In general, I wake up in a terrible panic because there is no air and screaming and gasping for air. I'm choking on one word. I noticed that this happens when I fall asleep on my back. But this doesn’t happen on the side. Maybe you have something similar and you might somehow find what I shared useful?

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27. Hello.
    Against the backdrop of constant stress, I developed neurosis and anxiety. Only if I can still cope with the anxiety about this, then what scares me most is the sleep disorder. At first it was like tremors in the chest that prevented me from falling asleep. Then I overcame it, but began to wake up every hour and a half. Then, with an effort, I managed to calm down, get distracted, and everything seemed to start to get better, like damn, the fear of suffocation came from somewhere, and now when I fall asleep I stop breathing... I just give up, I’m very tired. Such insidious disease, then one thing or another, it seems like you overcome this, something new appears... please help me, what should I do! I'm desperate.

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    • Hello. Such a global question cannot be answered with one comment.. read the articles on the site, they have a lot on this topic. about anxiety, VSD, neurosis.. as well as about practices.. and apply knowledge

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28. Good day, Andrey. Thank you very much for your site, the most important thing is that I read and understand that everything is to the point, very competent and to the point. I suffered from pain, it all started at university, it was aggravated by my hyper-responsibility, I didn’t even finish university when I got pregnant and everything got worse, as they say, thanks to hormones, everything you describe is very true, I especially like the one about mindfulness, but here’s mine The trouble is that my now pregnant neurosis does not give me any peace at all, I have developed a fear of death, associated specifically with pregnancy, with the pain of childbirth, with the fear that if I don’t pull myself together, there will be schizophrenia or psychosis. Now it has become difficult to fight and give up, because before pregnancy I managed without pills, it was sports - this is the number one medicine, meeting with friends, pleasant communication, watching movies, thoughts about traveling, and now it’s just horror. Tell me, have you had to consult expectant mothers in this condition, is it fixable, because I think that the condition before pregnancy was very bad and if I came across your site at that time, it would have been an additional pill to my “medicines” ", and now there are no films, no meetings, nothing makes me happy, sadness, melancholy, tears, pain, depression, I’m afraid to admit the thought of what’s inside new life, and as soon as I think about it, I immediately fear death, horror in general

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    • Hello Dasha. Yes, what is most important to you now is the support of loved ones and positive communication, and consultations on these issues would be very helpful. in place. If you want, let's try, I'm sure I can help.

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29. Thank you very much for the article, I will try, I wrote out the most important thing from it for myself: “Anxiety is the assumption of a negative outcome of the situation (its development) so, for example, today I was walking with a friend and met two acquaintances on the street and immediately started making assumptions about the development of the situation 1 they will see that I feel bad (wobbly, etc.) 2 will start teasing me and this will make me even worse (wobbly, anxiety, etc.) and I will be embarrassed and the next time they see me, this will most likely happen again since they will already know that I can’t answer anything (since my anxiety is shaking and etc.) I’m shocked that I wrote so much about the assumption of the development of one situation :) In general, out of all this, only the point from the teasing came true, although I suppressed the anxiety and tried to answer with mutual jokes) I've already read that you don't need to turn it off.
    Briefly about yourself:
    I have suffered from anxiety for 5 years
    I take Velaxin (antidepressant)
    I have been taking it for 5 years, there was a remission after 2 years of taking it. I was happy, I quit drinking and within 3-6 months everything returned to how it was: depression, anxiety, shakes, I can’t work, etc.
    Now I’m taking the pills again at the previous dosage, so far there is no remission for 2-3 years again I’m suffering very much.

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    • try less to hide your anxiety.. this takes all your energy.. And learn to depend less on the opinions of others! let them think what they want... and remember more often to yourself what is really important... that is, about your most important goals in life!

      Reply I felt empty, empty, as if a piece of me had been torn off... I walked lethargically, life was not nice. My sister started taking care of me and made an appointment with a doctor to get advice on how to calm my nerves. They gave me a prescription for Grandaxin, my sister also took it once and said it was good.
      The drug actually calmed me down. The topic is still not pleasant for me, but now it’s not so unbearable Reply

    • Hello Andrei

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    • I just finished taking a course of Grandaxin, I took it as prescribed by the psychotherapist. I had to cope with neurosis and anxiety after one situation in the family that I didn’t want to talk about. I took 2 tablets daily at breakfast for a month and a half) during the day I remained in a cheerful state and, for the most part, positive outlook on things. When you calm down, it’s easier to soberly assess the situation you’re struggling with. In general, I can say that psychotherapy is a great thing, it really helps you sort out your life and understand yourself.

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    • Hello. My fear, or rather anxiety, starts from the solar plexus and goes down to the lower abdomen.
      It arose recently - financial collapse and fear that things would get worse with my parents if they found out about it; they already saved me from such a situation once. I pushed this fear away for a long time, or rather tried to replace it with positive thoughts. And now it’s gone down like a boil, I’m panicking, to the point that I’ve counted all the insurance, what will be left for my daughter, if anything... I read your article, thank you, Andrey, you’re on time. I looked anxiety in the eyes and acknowledged it. I admitted that I was afraid and what I was afraid of. I wrote a letter to fear. Now we need to figure out what to do next

      Hello. . TRAIN your psyche to endure this feeling when you are near the balls.. You need to dare. Don't run away from these balls. .but vice versa. .stay with them until the feeling becomes easier to bear. And also remember. .where.. where did this fear begin?

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