Managing My Anxiety or Lack there of

Aww thanks for putting together such a detailed response @LostAngel, it helps to know where you're at. Sounds like you've got some pretty hectic racing thoughts, which can send you spiralling even after you've taken the time to regulate. I'm glad you practice journalling, it can be super helpful for that. Are there certain thoughts or things that trigger certain thoughts that tend to be most impactful on your emotional state? You could try to track these in your journal, and then when in a more regulated state, take the time to try to challenge or reframe those thoughts. Then if the anxiety starts up again you can go back to those notes and remind yourself of the reasons why your anxiety may not be correct in this instance.

Anxiety is such a bizarre part of the human condition. It's our survival instinct, its goal is actually to protect us. But over time it can become overactive, warped, and end up acting more like a faulty smoke alarm - pinging us with feelings of danger even when no danger is present. Classic example is feeling like a failure. If we fail at something or make a mistake, we might feel pretty anxious. The protective part of us wants us to succeed, because success means survival (e.g. doing well in studies means getting better job means not having to work so hard just to fulfill basic needs) - so, the goal of the anxiety is motivation. But when anxiety gets too hectic, one failure doesn't feel like just one failure, i.e. a setback that we can rectify. It feels like we've failed the whole thing. If this sort of thing happens over and over we might believe it so deeply that we start to internalise it, feeling like we are the failure, instead of just having been unsuccessful this one time - and forgetting all the times we have been successful.

Having said all that, some reflective questions you could ask yourself next time you're journalling might be things like, "What is my anxiety trying to protect me from? What beliefs about myself have become my 'normal' state of being, so much so that I may not even realise they aren't true? What can I say to my anxiety to reassure it that I am not really in danger right now?"

Something that really helped me was reading about polyvagal theory - here's a beginner's guide pdf. Maybe it'll help you too 💜

Thanks @Jynx for understanding and kindness I may look into the link, so far today Ive still been feeling off my axis so to speak but am a little more regulated than days prior except for constantly speaking negativity outwardly apperntly to those around me, theres one thing that is helping me stay emotionally regulalated a little more and its simply drinking hot drinks for some reason this is comforting and helpful espesically hot chocolate for some reason ,also as childish as it may sound my inner child needed to listen to soothing lullabye type music last night to be able to settle to sleep rest assured its not something I do regualry as an adult but for some reason the inner child in me needed a soothing song to settle to sleep , today am able to sit still with a little less restlessness

@LostAngel oh I love that you are nourishing your inner child! I think it's one of the wisest things any adult can do 💜

think maybe Journaling is needed again, this week hasnt been easy but have gotten through ,do find Im less restless just overthinking still seems to be present ,but overall today was a good day , I just notice that when I overthink I may come across as negative or pessimistic to those around me which makes it hard to relate to others cause I may seem annoying well The overthinking does annoy me also,going out today was a good way to settle myself ,just driving a car,feeling the warm sunshine, I hope the upcoming week is better,will spend the rest of the night Journalling or listening to music or thinking about something optimistic I can plan for the upcoming week a small treat of some sort even if its just a tub of ice cream,take care friends

Well done @LostAngel . I recognise it hasn't been easy for you yet you have found a way to better yourself. That is a testament to your character - strength and resilience.

We're here for you.

Hi @LostAngel ,

Thank you for sharing your thoughts and I can relate to your post a lot. I find it hard to turn off my inner critic and stop over-analysing people's comments about me even when they are unintentional. I used to manage it by following guided meditation videos and watching tarot videos as a positive reinforcement/self-prediction sort of thing but lately, it has not been working well.

It is fair to say that my mind has been in overdrive and going out of control. It is scary that I don't know what to feel in many situations and my emotions send me mixed messages. I am on my clinical placement and often confused about responding to the customer/patient's requests and using my critical thinking skills. There are so many judgements from myself and it has been a real setback in my academic progress.

I hope eventually we'll be able to find peace somehow.

Take care