Today I would like to share a personal experience that has just happened this weekend in dealing with ANXIETY.
Years ago there was a woman who will we call “Marcia” (fake name) who was diagnosed with congestive heart failure and given only 2 years to live. Well it has been almost 10 years since that diagnosis and she is still alive.
This weekend however, she was taken to the emergency room in dealing with the congestive heart failure, which also prompted an anxiety attack. She is fine now and recovering. When I visited her we began talking and she mentioned her childhood... something that she has never mentioned to me before though I have known her all of my life. She informed me that she had anxiety panic attacks since she was a little girl and she never would tell anyone about them because they wouldn’t understand and they would think that she was crazy. She said that when the panic attacks occurred she felt as if she was dying or going crazy.
I personally have experience with anxiety disorder, so I told her my experience. I would have anxiety attacks so badly that I had to be taken to the emergency room, lips and nail beds blue due to hyperventilation. I couldn't breath and felt as though I was dying! These attacks that caused me to be taken to the emergency room didn't happen often, but they did happened. However, the regular anxiety attacks that weren’t as severe happened frequently. I was put on anti-anxiety meds as needed. I took them temporarily and then eventually refused to take them because I knew that there had to be a better way to conquer this problem.
I talked with Marcia who is now 81 years old and who has lived with this disorder all of her life. I told her how I was able to overcome and take control of those situations when they arose. I told her that I had received counseling and received helpful tools in dealing with the anxiety attacks from a Christian counselor; the tools which I thought might help her. One of the empowerment tools that this counselor gave me was the ability to refocus my mind. If I could just get my mind off of the attack and off of myself, then I might just be able to overcome it with out medication and emergency room help.
Marcia said that she has heard that kind of stuff before and it doesn't work for her. Well, I was curious, so I boldly asked her whether she ever tried what I shared with her or has she ever tried the relaxation techniques or ever tried doing ANYTHING that she heard people talk about that has helped them in dealing with anxiety... her answer... NO! So, I was even more curious as to what she meant by “It doesn’t work for me” if she has never tried anything to help herself with the anxiety. She was basically saying that she doesn’t think it will work for her; therefore, she is not willing to even try it.
Now viewers, the question is will you allow yourself to live all of your life in bondage to fear and anxiety or will you do something about it? That is the decision you must make. Even some of the simplest things may help you to overcome fear and anxiety. There is help out there and there is information out there. The question is, will you allow fear and anxiety to master over you or will you put the knowledge and tools to use that is literally at your fingertips to help yourself overcome and be victorious?
Below, I have listed one of the tools that have helped me to overcome the anxiety attacks that plagued me.
1. Take slow deep breaths, inhaling and exhaling as normal as possible.
2. Close your eyes and listen. Verbally, out loud, identify up to 10 things that you hear. i.e.: children playing.
3. Continue taking slow deep breaths, inhaling and exhaling as evenly as possible.
4. Repeat the steps identifying other things until calm.
By performing these steps, my fear and anxiety diminished, my thoughts cleared, my breathing leveled out normally, my heart rate slowed back down to normal and I was just exhausted from the whole experience and slept.
These steps were not anything magic; they were a way to cause me to take my mind off of "self" and the crisis. It caused me to focus on something outside of myself. I had to practice it frequently first beforehand so that I was prepared for when the attack came. It worked for me.
As a matter of fact, it worked so well that I eventually just started distracting myself by doing other things. I love to play scrabble and compete with my friend. So, knowing that I was having an anxiety attack, she would just grab the scrabble game and we would focus on spelling words for scrabble. It is about removing the thoughts from one place and focusing the mind on something that is more pleasant to you. The steps are easy to do when not under an attack; it is more difficult if you wait until an attack comes on before you try it. However, it still works.
Now, if 9 times out of 10 the worst never happens, then why are we so afraid of the worst happening and allow that to paralyze us as if we heard the lion's roar? It is time to stand up and face our fears. We must fight in order to overcome. Don't live in a life of dread, anxiety, and trepidation.
Live a life of high expectation, joy, and boldness. Try the steps mentioned above when you are afraid or anxious. It has worked for me; it might work for you also.
