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Author Topic: The Basis of Anxiety  (Read 18623 times)

honeybun

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The Basis of Anxiety
« on: March 23, 2015, 03:11:47 PM »

I've been thinking about this for some time, wondering why to be honest.

So....is your anxiety purely meno related or have there been events in your life past or present that you can link to it.

Is it something that would have happened anyway, meno or not.

Are some people pre disposed to this kind of thing and does the menopause just rob us of our ability to cope.

I wonder if there will be a recurrent theme, or if anxiety is just random.


Honeybun
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CLKD

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Re: The Basis of Anxiety
« Reply #1 on: March 23, 2015, 03:31:45 PM »

Anxiety is good for the body.  It is a release and warning which goes back to our cave days - the fight - flight response.  Something to do with the autonomic system ………. so the whole anxiety 'kick' has a set pattern i.e. the gut stops digesting (believe it or not), enabling the blood to go to the limbs which are required to react.

If you watch a bird/animal which is frightened, it will drop a pooh as it flees.  Lightens the load  ::)

So whilst anxiety is good as a warning system, if we are subject to the same or similar events during our Life then our body becomes over-sensitive and for me, anxiety is a bad warning.  So having been raised in a dysfunctional, noisy, rowdy household my anxiety was triggered very early on.  Nothing that I have done has altered my responses to similar situations.

It becomes a learned pattern of behaviour and response rather than a necessary warning system.

So when I owned animals and the responsibility took over and caused anxiety, the only way to relieve symptoms was to rehome the cats  :'( ……….
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Kathleen

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Re: The Basis of Anxiety
« Reply #2 on: March 23, 2015, 03:42:58 PM »

Hello honeybun.

I have always been an anxious type of character but for me the menopausal anxiety is in a class of its own. The whole experience feels different, more chemical, with strange surges of fear that arrive out of nowhere. Being nervous about an event is one thing but fretting about things that haven't happened and are never likely to is frankly bizarre. I also think that although thoughts and feelings are experienced together the surge of anxiety comes first, jeez there have even been times when I am calm and find I can't worry about stuff! Strange to say that I am comforted to read the posts of other women who say they were very laid back types before the meno hit so this has to be hormonal.

I agree that meno does rob us of our confidence which makes coping with all the changes extra hard.

I wish I had answers for us all but for now it's just a case of onward and upward but hey, at least we have each other!

Take care.

K.
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dazned

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Re: The Basis of Anxiety
« Reply #3 on: March 23, 2015, 03:50:55 PM »

I for one have never ever been an anxious type,quite the opposite! Now I can't cope with anything out of the ordinary,sometimes not even that. Think that is why I find anxieties so bad it's not me and I m not good with what I can't control !  :-\
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CLKD

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Re: The Basis of Anxiety
« Reply #4 on: March 23, 2015, 03:55:23 PM »

Good thread Honeybun


Exams - when I was 11-16 - music, ballet, swimming tests; eventually 'O' Levels, driving test, singing on stage or in the choir - however, once I got 'going' that anxiety would dissipate
Meeting new people
Eating out
Holidays …….. all have the ability to cause anxiety responses which I can no longer control
« Last Edit: March 23, 2015, 06:43:46 PM by CLKD »
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Limpy

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Re: The Basis of Anxiety
« Reply #5 on: March 23, 2015, 04:03:22 PM »


Anxiety is good for the body.


 :o - If it's so good for us why does it feel so £$%$£% awful?
It may have been useful when we were hunter gatherers, not entirely sure that is still the case.........
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CLKD

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Re: The Basis of Anxiety
« Reply #6 on: March 23, 2015, 04:06:59 PM »

But we are still hunter gatherers and are still fleeing from modern day 'sabre tooth' tigers  ;) - different circumstances but same responses.  We no longer get up with the dawn and go to bed at dusk, we now chase the alarm clock to get to the station on time to get to the office to get the work done to please the Bosses = fight response.

We go to the supermarket - hunter gathering against long queues, too much choice, too many packages to read so that we know if we are eating/not too much salt, sugar, roughage ……..


It's when the anxiety is controlling that it loses it's usefulness ………….
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honeybun

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Re: The Basis of Anxiety
« Reply #7 on: March 23, 2015, 04:15:35 PM »

I think I was always a bit anxious....nervy child.

I also think that over the years like most people I have had to cope with some traumatic stuff....the difference being then I coped. I dug deep and got on....where did that woman go.

Now the simplest stuff can knock me for six. Waking every morning with the tummy churning feeling is frankly tiring.

What puzzles me is I started HRT a couple of years before anxiety struck.

If I was getting a pretty constant dose of hormones with relatively few fluctuations why did I become anxious.

Perhaps it would have happened anyway....meno or not.


Honeybun
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Limpy

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Re: The Basis of Anxiety
« Reply #8 on: March 23, 2015, 04:20:19 PM »

But we are still hunter gatherers and are still fleeing from modern day 'sabre tooth' tigers  ;) - different circumstances but same responses.  We no longer get up with the dawn and go to bed at dusk, we now chase the alarm clock to get to the station on time to get to the office to get the work done to please the Bosses = fight response.

We go to the supermarket - hunter gathering against long queues, too much choice, too many packages to read so that we know if we are eating/not too much salt, sugar, roughage ……..


It's when the anxiety is controlling that it loses it's usefulness ………….

I'me glad to hear that anxiety is not an issue for you CLKD, you can obviously control it.
Doesn't work like that for me, it worsens my MS and my legs and hands stop working.
« Last Edit: March 23, 2015, 07:47:17 PM by Limpy »
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CLKD

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Re: The Basis of Anxiety
« Reply #9 on: March 23, 2015, 04:25:06 PM »

I have NEVER said that I can control anxiety  :-\ it is a HUGE issue for me  :'(
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rosebud57

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Re: The Basis of Anxiety
« Reply #10 on: March 23, 2015, 04:43:57 PM »

I think anxiety can affect anyone at anytime.  I have had it more than once and it was especially bad in my teens and early twenties.  My husband had a spell in his forties and used to get panic attacks that resulted in him fainting.  This happened several times and not always at convenient times (once at work and once when driving).  He then had one in his sleep which was terrifying as I thought he was having a heart attack.  It was after this that he went to the doctors and was referred for talking therapy with a psychiatrist. He would not take meds as both his parent had taken them nearly all their lives.  He recovered but has to be reminded every now and then that the cause was being a perfectionist and not to slip back into his old ways.

My youngest son also suffered badly due to unemployment.  We actually paid for therapy privately, as none suitable was available on the NHS.  It cost £138 an hour and although it helped immensely it has taken several years to come out of it completely.   He was thrilled last week that he managed to go to the dentist, for the first time in years, and have 2 fillings.  He, like me uses meditation and mindfulness techniques.

The trick is not to give in but find the best solution for you and understand that the person who sits next to you at work or serves you in a shop, may well be suffering too.

It is such a common problem and a product of our complex world so don't give in, fight back as peace of mind is as important to health and a healthy body.
« Last Edit: March 23, 2015, 04:52:16 PM by rosebud57 »
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honeybun

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Re: The Basis of Anxiety
« Reply #11 on: March 23, 2015, 04:54:58 PM »

Oh I don't give in, it's not in my nature. I've stopped fighting though as that made it worse.

Is there anything in particular you would recommend for mindfullness as some of the books I've looked are not difficult but not explained particularly well.....or did you go to classes.


My mother suffered during her meno years but it did get better.....maybe it's genetic.


Honeybun
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thorntrees

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Re: The Basis of Anxiety
« Reply #12 on: March 23, 2015, 04:55:48 PM »

Like Honeybun I was I suppose quite nervous as a child. I was an only one and my Mother was I now realise not very stable mentally, thus she tended to stop me from doing things she considered dangerous like riding a bike, flying etc. Once I left home I was able to be more myself and got on with things, teaching for many years and following Hubby around the country as a service wife. Of course like everyone else we coped with traumas, eldest daughter having major heart surgery , youngest one going through a period of school refusal, deaths of parents etc . None of this was easy but I got on with it, even going through cancer treatment didn't phase me too much but then came 'meno'. I just find it hard to believe that the change in me is not related to hormone levels, the physical symptoms are hard to cope with but it is the anxiety and emotional upset that I find so difficult. The sensible side of me knows it is silly to worry over things, especially as Kathleen says ,things that haven't happened and probably never will! But it's like I no longer have control over my state of mind. I have never taken HRT so that is not a factor , I do take a low dose of Citalopram and try to practice mindfulness and that helps-dread to think what I would be like without it!. Can only hope the day will come when I wake up feeling at peace with myself and free of anxiety. Convinced the basis of my anxiety is all the upheaval caused by menopause, but open to the idea that there may be a predisposition to anxiety in some more than others.
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rosebud57

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Re: The Basis of Anxiety
« Reply #13 on: March 23, 2015, 05:01:17 PM »

Honeybun,

Both my son and I use books and CDs by JON KABAT-ZINN.  He was recommended by my sons therapist.

I have his book 'Wherever You, Go, There You Are'.  It's a strange title but the book is very helpful.  Also check out his meditation CDs.  My son has one and I have a download on my tablet. I bought the CD for my sister when her husbands illness started to get to her.

Hope that helps.
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rosebud57

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Re: The Basis of Anxiety
« Reply #14 on: March 23, 2015, 05:19:25 PM »

Just found this Youtube clip so you can see what you think. 

If waffles on at the beginning so be patient and it get better.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3nwwKbM_vJc
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