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Ask HN: Anyone else in constant anxiety and how do you cope?

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Re: Ask HN: Anyone else in constant anxiety and how do you cope?

#121

Post by ozmaverick72 »

disturbed wrote: post #21
ozmaverick72 wrote: post #7

I feel exactly the same. Exercise helps. Psychologist helps a bit. Medication helps too. Talk to people. You might find that more people than you think feel similar.

Thank you. The thought of medication makes me sad, I don’t know why. I am seeing a therapist. Not sure if helps, I’ve only been in three or four sessions. For some reason I don’t like talking to people. Usually I don’t know what to say and I don’t find interesting the things others talk about. I know it sounds selfish but I don’t know how to pretend to be interested.

Yeah I know where you are coming from. I was reluctant to take medication and I'd prefer not to have to take it. But when things get bad it's good to know it is there as an option and it does help. It is hard to talk to other people - can you find people with similar interests or hobbies ?

Re: Ask HN: Anyone else in constant anxiety and how do you cope?

#122

Post by LeonB »

disturbed wrote: post #99
LeonB wrote: post #76

Sounds like you’re in a bad place. I have a checklist I use to try and keep my mental health strong. The idea isn’t that you get a perfect score on this checklist, but that you ask yourself “what’s the easiest way to improve my score in this checklist at the moment?” - Did you get a good night's sleep last night? - Do you see your friends often enough? - Do you have any enjoyable hobbies? - Do you exercise or get mov…

It’s “no” on all of them except hobbies - I do have one (but it’s fairly recent). Thanks for this. I guess the common thread in all of that is connecting with others. I’ve always been a loner. I don’t know anyone I like spending time with. I don’t know why is that.

Ok I’d say look to do the simplest thing you can that increases your score at all, asap. You don’t need to immediately make a friend somewhere. Work on maybe the meditation question, or exercising (by walking) each day. That’s MUCH easier to start on.

Good luck. Report back if you can.

Re: Ask HN: Anyone else in constant anxiety and how do you cope?

#123

Post by soul4krsna »

I cope by realizing this is just a place to learn and i keep calm. The answers you seek are beyond the mental temporary paradigm. When you see your Self with your purified mind and are satisfied within your self as eternal consciousness then all your anxiety falls like dead leaves. I recommend reading the Bhagavad-gita by Prabhupada 1972 edition.

Re: Ask HN: Anyone else in constant anxiety and how do you cope?

#124

Post by Protostome »

I suffer from OCD (which manifests itself as constant anxiety).

My OCD is mainly health related - every pain or swollen part of my body automatically leads me to fear I may have cancer (or other terminal illness).

The constant fear that I may die soon is highly debilitating - I have times where its hard for me to function at work and be a good parent and spouse.

I'm currently taking SSRI medications, which really improved my well-being, and recently started CBT treatment, but it is still a struggle.

I know it is not a popular advice, but if you find it difficult to be productive, try medications at least for a short while. It can help you "break the cycle" and jump start your life.

Re: Ask HN: Anyone else in constant anxiety and how do you cope?

#125

Post by emmanuel_1234 »

mapcars wrote: post #44

If you want a real change - search for something called Inner Engineering. For 2 years since I've done it, I never had a single bad day. Apart from it bliss and extasy became real experiences I now get once in a while.

Looking into it, it may seem wonky (it does to me). A friend of mine, very pragmatic and Cartesian enough gave it a shot and told me the same thing about how his life was transformed. Maybe I should look into it more closely.

Re: Ask HN: Anyone else in constant anxiety and how do you cope?

#126

Post by mapcars »

emmanuel_1234 wrote: post #125
mapcars wrote: post #44

If you want a real change - search for something called Inner Engineering. For 2 years since I've done it, I never had a single bad day. Apart from it bliss and extasy became real experiences I now get once in a while.

Looking into it, it may seem wonky (it does to me). A friend of mine, very pragmatic and Cartesian enough gave it a shot and told me the same thing about how his life was transformed. Maybe I should look into it more closely.

It's ok, you can look at it this way: the worst case is you will waste some money and a couple days. On the other hand the best case is your life can be transformed in ways you can not imagine. You can listen to as many opinions as you want, you will really know only if you try it.

Re: Ask HN: Anyone else in constant anxiety and how do you cope?

#127

Post by mapcars »

riffraff wrote: post #84
mapcars wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>- drop coffee and sigarettes, reduce alcool, eat more vegetables and fruit; it's weird Why is it weird? You know in medieval Europe taking a bath was weird, two centuries ago having tuberculosis was fashionable. What is more important - fashion of times or your unique life? You must make up your mind.

sorry, I was referring to the last part, as coffee, cigarettes and alcohol have clear effects on the mind, while zucchini do not. I only mentioned it may seems weird because generally one expects eating fruits and vegetables to help with some generic "physical well being" but doesn't think of them being useful for psychological health too.

I would like to say something about this "because generally one expects". See this is your life right here and now and soon it will be over. If your concern about fundamental aspects like food is only "general" - this means you still not realized how important they are.

In other words instead of marking things "weird", "general" etc one should try for themselves and see what works for real. It does require some courage and intelligence but hey, it's your life what is this about.

Re: Ask HN: Anyone else in constant anxiety and how do you cope?

#128

Post by t-h-e-chief »

Ah, while there is a lot of good advice here, but just reading your symptoms, it sounds like you may have adult ADHD. Forget what most people think ADHD is, it should technically be called Executive Function Disorder and can be associated with social anxiety, racing thoughts, motivation, etc. Go and see a psychiatrist who specialising in ADHD and anxiety.

Re: Ask HN: Anyone else in constant anxiety and how do you cope?

#129

Post by temo4ka »

disturbed wrote: post #114
temo4ka wrote: post #111

Several people in the thread have already recommended meditation. I’m going to join them. If you’re already doing therapy, consider complementing it with meditation. Meditation, if done right, can be equivalent to years of therapy. The benefits are great, and for your situation the most relevant are reduced/eliminated anxiety, more willpower, energy, clarity (to see through depression for example); but there many oth…

Thanks. I will look in to it - sounds interesting

Oh, and you if you need a little more persuading or motivation you might want to check up on books by Sam Harris [1] and Michael A. Singer [2]. The first one is also a neuroscientist and a famous sceptic, and the second is a former programmer and a successful businessman. Personally, when I was in a similar place as you are now, I found that simply reading Singer’s book was a form of therapy.

[1] https://www.amazon.com/Waking-Up-Spirituality-Without-Religi... [2] https://www.amazon.com/Untethered-Soul-Journey-Beyond-Yourse...

Re: Ask HN: Anyone else in constant anxiety and how do you cope?

#130

Post by nestorherre »

I used to worry a lot about everything and had severe anxiety most of the time. Not anymore.

Add meditation to your daily life, excercise at least 3 times x week. For both activities you want to start SMALL, as small as you can so you don't end up discarding them inmediately. With meditation I recommend starting with an app like headspace or calm, also going to a meditation center after you have the basics (or inmediately if you can). In my case I meditate for about 7-10 mins each day. With excercise it doesn't really matter what you do, just pick up any physical activity and get your work done each week. It is important that you pick something you enjoy, so you see it as a hobby and relaxing activity instead of a chore: in my case I practice martial arts.

Also read the book "Feeling good" by David Burns, this book touches mostly on depression but some stuff can also work for anxiety.

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