BlogHer - recovery - Comments

Healing from the inside out

Amy Gates — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 23:10:37 -0500

I am learning more and more that to really be well, I must heal myself from the inside out. It takes a lot of time (and I'm nowhere near that point yet), but I'm working on it.

Amy
Crunchy Domestic Goddess
BlogHers Act contributing editor

The power of the internet

Amy Gates — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 23:09:03 -0500

There are so many things that people are talking about now (thanks to the internet) that they weren't talking about 20 years ago. Or maybe they were talking then, it just wasn't as easy to find the discussions. Anyway, I can't imagine going through this without the support of others. I'm glad you were able to find a doctor who could help you back then.

Amy
Crunchy Domestic Goddess
BlogHers Act contributing editor

Not alone

Amy Gates — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 23:07:13 -0500

Thank you so much, Nordette. It is my hope that the more people talk about it, the more others will know they are not alone.

Amy
Crunchy Domestic Goddess
BlogHers Act contributing editor

It takes brave people

Nordette — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 17:32:21 -0500

It takes brave people like you, Amy, to help the rest of us face ourselves, our fears, and our anxieties. Fear of sharing our illnesses or vulnerabilites because we think we'll be rejected probably only adds to our anxiety. But it's a reasonable fear because some people do treat you differently once you share a vulnerability or illness. We know we've grown when whatever negative thing others may say rolls off our backs or we at least absorb, digest, and spit it out, and we share because sharing is the best thing for us. I think what you've done here will help free someone from a sense of isolation.

Nordette Adams is a BlogHer CE & you can find her other stuff through Her 411.

The first step is often the hardest

Amy Gates — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 16:17:03 -0500

Good for you for taking the first step. You will be so glad you did.

Amy
Crunchy Domestic Goddess
BlogHers Act contributing editor

I wish we could have talked about this 20 years ago

idatarbell — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 16:09:02 -0500

I, too, suffered severe GAD back in the mid 1980s, only no one was talking about it then except a few docs. I got on xanax, thank god, and it saved my life. I did the whole emergency room thing time and again thinking I was dying. I still, 20+ years later, will have an attack (intermitent and not very often) and wonder "what am I doing wrong?" But then I have to remind myself that it's a disorder, a medical, physical condition like any other medical condition. I didn't ask for it. I don't wish it upon myself. It just is. Thank you so much for sharing this post.

Not five minutes ago, I

KBestOliver — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 15:21:13 -0500

Not five minutes ago, I FINALLY made an appointment with my GP to address what I'm fairly sure is GAD. I log onto BlogHer and this post is front and center. Surely that's a sign I'm doing the right thing by admitting I need help with something. Thank you so much for this post.

The benefits of journaling

Amy Gates — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 14:49:39 -0500

I forgot to mention it in my post, but you mentioned writing down your fears and that reminded me that I also keep a journal. I'm starting to make connections slowly but surely that are helping me figure this all out. I think journaling can be very beneficial in dealing with GAD.

Thank you,

Amy
Crunchy Domestic Goddess
BlogHers Act contributing editor

The meds

Amy Gates — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 14:46:51 -0500

Thank you for sharing your experiences, Susan. I'm glad to hear you write about it on your blog too. The more we share, the less of a stigma there will be.

I feel that while my medication doesn't solve everything, it does allow me to think more clearly and keep myself from going straight into panic mode whenever something sets me off. I still have anxiety, but I'm able to (usually) talk myself through it and stay more level-headed. I know that feeling of being paralyzed by fear all too well and hope to never return to that place again. If medication can keep me afloat while I continue to work on healing myself from the inside out, then it's totally worth it.

Amy
Crunchy Domestic Goddess
BlogHers Act contributing editor

Worth a shot

Accidental Olympian — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 14:41:32 -0500

I really do think there is something to be said for talking to others who've experienced GAD. Someone who knows exactly what you mean when you talk about triggers. My mom taught me to really pay attention to where my attacks began. She called it an anxiety 'trigger.' The very first physical manifest in my body that alerts me that anxiety is building to unhealthy levels.

It took me some time, but making a conscious effort to search out where my body first felt anxiety build meant I could learn to get a jump on it. Without that "been-there-done-that" advice I probably wouldn't be able to control and stop an attack. Now I can actually feel it start in the pit of my stomach, and using breathing and calming reformations I am able to hold the anxiety there. Refusing to let it spread. Before I was powerless to my anxiety, spilling out of my stomach and taking control of my body before I even knew what was happening to me.

It was a life saving tip from someone who'd spent years trying to find one herself.

Accidental Olympian

So fortunate

Amy Gates — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 14:24:20 -0500

You are so fortunate to have someone (your mom) to help you through this. I can only imagine how helpful it is to have someone who's been there and done that to encourage you and help you as you work to make sense of it all. I envy you that.

I've thought about looking for a therapist who has real-life experience with GAD. He/she might be more useful to me than one who's only read about it.

Amy
Crunchy Domestic Goddess
BlogHers Act contributing editor

I loved it

dreamyworld — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 14:04:44 -0500

I liked your nice thoughts about getting rid of anxiety and I shall try my best to follow your given tips and I'm sure these would work but at the same time anxiety comes from inner side and it will go when my inner is well. any way thanks a lot for your knowledge sharing.

I am dealing with G.A.D.

lilmommythatcould — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 13:12:33 -0500

I am dealing with G.A.D. right now and do write about it from time to time. I think the idea that medicine is "the easy way out" is a horrible stigma. I went in knowing that the medicine was there to help me start coping and healing but it was and would never make me 100% without work.

My anxiety has always been there and I was able to cope with it, reason it and deal. Then it all changed and I had many of the same symptoms you had, then my tingling hands turned into pain and then they went stiff- compared to arthritic symptoms. I knew I couldn't reason or cope on my own. The racing heart and the fear won't go away-because my body wasn't working the way it should.

I can look now and see certain triggers. I notice things that cause my anxiety to turn from bad to worse. Before meds I would not know what to do- I was almost paralyzed with fear-if I did or changed something what would happen. Now with meds I see the things that hurt my recovery and I can deal with them.

Thanks for a great article Amy- I am sure more women and people will come out of the dark knowing others were there and made it back.

~Susan

http://lilmomthatcould.com/

bringing it to light

Accidental Olympian — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 10:54:59 -0500

Amy,

It's so nice to hear about someone openly talking about the pressures of trying to cope with anxiety. Anxiety disorder runs rampant throughout my family in varying degrees, and it's amazing how each of my family members has chosen to deal with their anxiety. Some choose to ignore it, some self medicate, some crash into it head on.

Thankfully for myself, my mother has always been open about anxiety and the struggle to live with something that can make even the simplest tasks unmanageable. If I didn't have her to remind me to breathe, encourage me to write down my fears in a diary, talk about where the anxiety is stemming from, I don't think I would understand my impulses the way I do today. And only would I not understand them, I know I would be completely unable to cope with them. Just having that one person who will listen to me and understand makes a world of difference.

So many people think anxiety is something so simple to cure, "stop worrying" people will say. Only others living daily with anxiety can ever truly understand that it’s so much more.

Thank you for sharing.

Accidental Olympian

h ttp://www.brendasblogfromp

brendaparaguay — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 18:41:38 -0500

h ttp://www.brendasblogfromparaguay.com/

I appreciate your transparency here. I liked the line "it really is all about fear". Knowing that can help us be more compassionate towards people with anxiety.