Info extracted & compiled from
The Linden Method with minor edit for readability.
Are These Experiences Familiar to You?» Have you sought medical attention when you have felt unwell and discovered that it was all because of high anxiety?
» Do you worry that you might 'lose your mind' or 'lose control'?
» Do you fear going out, away from people or places of safety?
» Do you ever get anxious when you feel confined or trapped somewhere like the dentist, cinemas, hairdressers or in a traffic queue?
» Do you have constant anxious thoughts?
» Do you worry about your heart and breathing because of feelings and pains you experience?
» Do driving or flying, or fear of being trapped without an immediate means of escaping, worry you?
Do you experience any Physical anxiety symptoms like these?» panic/anxiety attacks
» racing heart
» breathlessness
» dizziness
» difficulty swallowing
» chest pains
» upset stomach/nausea
» indigestion
» lump in throat
» neck or shoulder pain
» palpitations
» fatigue
» sweating
» insomnia
» depression
Or any Psychological and Emotional anxiety symptoms such as these?» fear of impending doom
» feeling of going mad
» anxiety about being ill
» aggressive or sexual thoughts
» agoraphobia
» derealization
» depersonalization
» fear of medical procedures
» dread of dying
» disturbing or obsessive thoughts
» feeling alone
» obsessions about food
» confusion
» depression
» disturbing dreams
» irritability
» dreaminess
» fear of leaving home
» stress
» bad moods
» frightening thoughts
» anxiety about being with others
Depression and AnxietyHistorically, anxiety and depression have been strongly linked. But are they related? That depends on the answer to one question!
The question is: What came first, the anxiety or the depression symptoms?
If your answer is that depression came before the anxiety, then chances are that you are suffering from true clinical depression. If you answer that your anxiety came before the depression, chances are you have anxiety-related depression and that's a completely different and very treatable condition. Anxiety causes mood changes which mimic true depression!
There is a big difference between anxiety caused by depression and depression caused by anxiety.
Clinical depression is a chemical mood disorder caused by changes in the chemicals in your body and brain that regulate 'mood'. This chemical imbalance causes a wide range of disturbing thoughts and anxiety symptoms and is generally treated using drugs, psychology, psychiatry and some more invasive procedures.
Anxiety is a behavioral condition caused by the habit of 'Fear Cycle' or repetitive anxious thoughts. We feel frightened, we experience symptoms, these frighten us, our anxiety goes up... and the cycle continues. Stress, phobias and anxiety can cause 'depression like' symptoms but rarely true clinical depression. Anxiety is also generally treated using drugs, psychology and psychiatry which are good for treating and managing it, but not for curing it.
Anxiety Disorder - Is it a physical or mental illness?In short, no, anxiety disorder is neither a physical nor mental illness!
The word disorder suggests illness, please be assured that you are not ill. Anxiety is a behavioral condition regardless of how it makes you feel. Anxiety is a natural response to fear and, like other bodily systems that can falter, causing things like indigestion, palpitations or sensitive eyes for example, the anxiety response can become disrupted too. But, this isn't mental or physical illness... it's a temporary disruption which can be 'reset' very quickly indeed.
Anxiety disorder is the condition caused when stress or constant anxiety provoking situations cause the mind to become reset at a higher than normal benchmark anxiety level. Anxiety disorder is most noticeable by the vast range of unpleasant sensations and thoughts it creates... unpleasant but harmless!
Creation of an anxiety disorder can happen quickly and is usually the result of an event such as work stress, bereavement, divorce or other anxiety-provoking situations. When anxiety levels become raised due to such stressors, the mind can make a decision to re-set at this new level of anxiety; when this happens an anxiety disorder is formed. Anxiety causes a wide range of both physical and psychological symptoms, all directly caused by the anxiety reaction, all harmless, BUT all also feeling much worse than they actually are! They are the sensation of FEAR... BUT, they are NOT true fear!
Anxiety Conditions (Disorder) - what are they?There are five main 'anxiety disorders', these are:
1.
Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD)» Click to show Spoiler - click again to hide... «
GAD is much more intense than normal anxiety levels which make be experienced day to day. GAD is overwhelming and can dominate one's day with inappropriate and exaggerated worries and tension, even even when there is nothing present to worry about.
Having GAD means that the sufferer is always anticipating a negative outcome to everything they confront, sufferers often worry inappropriately about health, finances, relationships or their career.
The normal reaction to anxiety is to retreat or withdraw from 'normal' activities, this reinforces to the anxious mind that it is OK for our anxiety to dictate to us and for us to modify our enjoyment of life to accommodate it... this is not acceptable.
GAD is an anxiety disorder because, as already stated, without an underlying anxiety disorder, GAD cannot be present.
GAD sufferers have inappropriate and sometimes scary disturbing thoughts, sometimes violent or sexual in nature - these may sometimes involve people with whom they would never partake in such acts, even members of their own family. On occasion, simply the thought of getting through the day provokes anxiety as soon as the sufferer wakes.
Because adrenaline levels are artificially raised through stressors, which ultimately leads to a resetting of our baseline anxiety level, we can experience general or generalized anxiety.
This means that the body is functioning at a much higher level of anxiety, causing a whole list of anxious feelings, emotions and sensations.
What are the symptoms of GAD?
GAD sufferers seem unable to eliminate or ignore their concerns, even though they usually realize that their anxiety is more intense than the situation warrants.
The anxiety they experience is usually accompanied by physical anxiety symptoms such as headaches, tension, tiredness, aching muscles, difficulty swallowing, shaking, twitches, mood swings, sweats, and hot and cold flushes.
GAD sufferers may often feel light-headed or out of breath. They may also feel nauseated or have to go to the bathroom frequently. Generalized anxiety is constant and can cause anxiety / panic attacks during the day and night. Night time anxiety and panic attacks are especially disturbing and can often wake the sufferer from deep sleep feeling particularly frightened. Night time anxiety can be minimized with some practical steps which minimize the impact of such things as blood sugar level fluctuations during sleep.
Individuals with GAD seem unable to relax, and they may startle more easily than other people. They tend to have difficulty concentrating and often, they have trouble falling or staying asleep.
The sort of symptoms you can experience in generalized anxiety are generally milder than those experienced during an anxiety / panic attack. Although distressing, they are usually much less extreme.
Your stomach may churn, your heart races or beats slower or you may get palpitations you may also feel sweaty or clammy, dizzy or shaky and general unrest.
You may just feel as if you have the Flu with shaky or weak legs and clamminess. You might get disturbing thoughts or feel depressed, this is perfectly normal and will pass, it is purely a response to anxiety and must not be mistaken for depression. Remember, these thoughts and feelings are harmless but unpleasant none the less.
This doesn't mean you should rush to your doctor to get anxiety medication - in fact, quite the contrary!
Anxiety is often misdiagnosed as depression by physicians, who's 'knee jerk' reaction is to reach for the prescription pad, not only is this premature but wholly inappropriate treatment for an anxiety condition. Anxiety isn't caused by a mental or physical illness and certainly not by a chemical imbalance which requires medicinal 'correction'... anxiety disorder is a behavioral condition and can not be eliminated by adding chemicals to the blood stream.
GAD affects about 4 million adult Americans and about twice as many women as men. Anxiety disorder comes on gradually and can begin across the life-cycle, though the risk is highest between childhood and middle age. It is typically diagnosed when someone spends at least 6 months worrying excessively about a number of everyday problems.
2.
Panic disorder» Click to show Spoiler - click again to hide... «
Panic disorder is one of the so-called anxiety disorders and is the result of an increased level of anxiety which is caused by a change in the way a small organ called the Amygdala, in the brain, responds to anxiety-provoking thoughts or situations.
When this process becomes disrupted, the sufferer develops feelings of anxiety which may escalate into panic attacks or Panic disorder.
Panic Disorder has such diverse and sometimes extreme symptoms. BUT, this is caused by the same internal mechanism in every single sufferer. The brain thinks it is behaving normally as it has become re-set at a higher than normal level of anxiety due to a catalyst of some sort; the catalyst is unimportant actually, what is important, however, is that an internal switch, which activates the anxiety response in the brain has been 'adjusted' to a higher level of anxiety and it is this that causes and perpetuates the Panic Disorder. The term disorder is a misnomer, it suggests illness and anxiety isn't an illness, it's a natural device that can become disturbed.
Panic Disorder affects about 5 million adults in the US and the UK and is twice as common in women as in men. It most often begins during late adolescence or early adulthood. Not everyone who experiences panic attacks will develop panic disorder - for example, many people have one attack but never have another. For those who do have Panic Disorder, though, it's important to seek treatment. Untreated, the disorder can become very disabling indeed.
Many people with Panic Disorder visit the hospital emergency room repeatedly or see a number of doctors before they obtain a correct diagnosis and may go for years without learning that they have a real, treatable condition.
Regardless of how the anxiety affects you mentally or physically, the very same internal mechanism is responsible, so the curative process is the same in every case regardless of age, race or gender. To eliminate Panic Disorder permanently, this mechanism must be addressed and corrected.
Panic Disorder Symptoms
People with panic disorder have feelings of terror that strike suddenly and repeatedly with no warning. They can't predict when an attack will occur, and many develop intense anxiety between episodes, worrying when and where the next one will strike.
If you are having a panic attack, you may have Panic Disorder. Most likely your heart will pound and you may feel sweaty, weak, faint, or dizzy. Your hands may tingle or feel numb, and you might feel flushed or chilled. You may have nausea, chest pain or smothering sensations, a sense of unreality, or fear of impending doom or loss of control. You may genuinely believe you're having a heart attack or losing your mind, or even on the verge of death.
Panic attacks can occur at any time, even during sleep. An attack generally peaks within 10 minutes, but some symptoms may last much longer.
Panic Disorder and Phobias
Panic Disorder may lead to a pattern of avoidance of places or situations where panic attacks have occurred. For example, if a panic attack strikes while you're riding in an elevator, you may develop a phobia (fear) of elevators. If you start avoiding them, that could affect your choice of a job or apartment and greatly restrict other areas of your life.
Some people's lives become so restricted that they avoid normal, everyday activities such as grocery shopping or driving. In some cases they become completely housebound. Or, they may be able to confront a feared situation only if accompanied by a spouse or other trusted person.
Sufferers avoid any situation in which they would feel helpless if a panic attack were to occur. When people's lives become so restricted, as happens in about one-third of people with panic disorder, the condition is called Agoraphobia. Early treatment can often prevent agoraphobia.
Panic Disorder Treatment
Panic Disorder is one of the most treatable of all the anxiety disorders, responding in most cases to carefully targeted anxiety management programs.
Panic Disorder Medication
Does a panic disorder medication exist?
In a nutshell, NO! There is no such thing as a therapeutic panic disorder medication which can offer a cure. Panic disorder is a behavioral condition and there exists no medication which can erase memory and behavior in a targeted way in order to eliminate panic disorder directly.
Many medications are prescribed for use with panic disorder, but these are sedatives and antidepressants and have not been developed for the targeted treatment of panic disorder.
3.
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)» Click to show Spoiler - click again to hide... «
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is an anxiety disorder symptom, NOT a stand-alone condition.
Why?
Because OCD never exists without an underlying anxiety disorder; take away your inappropriate anxiety and your obsessions will simply fade away. OCD is fueled by anxiety-driven 'what if' or 'catastrophic' thought processes which are stored like habit in the brain.
If you have Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), you may be plagued by persistent, unwelcome thoughts or images, or by the urgent need to engage in certain rituals in order to stave off anxiety. These Obsessive Compulsive Disorder rituals can be very fast to carry out, such as checking light switches or making sure you have turned off the stove, but many require large quantities of time and concentration.
As a sufferer of OCD:
» You may be obsessed with germs or dirt, washing your hands, clothes, home or furniture repeatedly
» You may be filled with doubt and feel the need to check things many times over
» You may have frequent thoughts of violence, and fear that you will harm people close to you
» You may spend long periods touching things or counting
» You may be pre-occupied by order or symmetry
» you may have persistent thoughts of performing sexual acts that are repugnant to you
» You may be troubled by thoughts that oppose your religious beliefs
The disturbing thoughts or images are called obsessions, and the rituals that are performed to try to prevent or get rid of them are called compulsions. If the Obsessive Compulsive Disorder sufferer does not carry out the ritual that their subconscious mind wishes them to, the anxiety level can become overwhelming. Panic attacks and all of the associated anxiety symptoms, thoughts and sensations can ensue - and it is this which forces the sufferer to become a slave to their compulsions and rituals in order to prevent an anxiety reaction.
Even non-anxious people recognize some of the symptoms of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. 'Checking' behavior is common in non-sufferers, but when this behavior becomes obsessive, the OCD sufferer can spend much of their day checking the gas, the light switches or the locks. Some OCD sufferers spend much of their day carrying out the rituals they have developed which can be very intrusive and destructive for both themselves and family members.
Most OCD sufferers realize that what they do makes no real sense, but the fear of the consequences of NOT doing it forces them to continue. There are many OCD sufferers who are so entrenched in their behaviors and routines that they seem oblivious to the fact that what they do is not what one would call 'normal' behavior.
Who suffers from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)?
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) affects over 4 million Americans and this figure is echoed across the world. OCD affects men and women equally and normally develops in younger people and children first. Approximately 1/3 of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder sufferers first experienced their symptoms as a child.
People with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder tend to avoid situations where there may be a chance of confronting their fears or obsessions. Avoidance techniques support the anxious behavior and often phobias accompany the OCD behavior, such as agoraphobia or social phobia.
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) sufferers find it very difficult to maintain healthy relationships or to hold down a job because of the intrusive and very visual nature of their conditions - often employers will find the visible symptoms difficult to work with and careers can be severely affected.
What is 'Pure O'?
Pure O is the obsessive thoughts experienced in obsessive compulsive disorder but without any resultant compulsion to carry out any specific actions such as hand washing, ordering or word repetition. Pure O can often center around obsessive thoughts of a sexual or aggressive nature.
Can Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) be cured?
In a word... yes! Most definitely and most permanently.
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is an Anxiety Disorder symptom, and can, therefore, be eliminated by addressing the subconscious reaction which causes and perpetuates the anxiety which fuels it. This sounds difficult, but it isn't.
There is an internal 'anxiety switch' which is activated by anxious stimuli and it is by controlling and altering this reaction that OCD and the anxiety that fuels it can be permanently eliminated, very quickly and very permanently. In other words if you remove the anxiety which fuels OCD, the obsessions and compulsions fade away quickly.
4.
Phobias» Click to show Spoiler - click again to hide... «
Phobias can be described as a constant, overwhelming and disabling fear of exposure to specific objects, activities or situations, which represent little or no actual danger to the sufferer. Avoidance of exposure to these things then causes the sufferer to limit their daily activities unnecessarily.
There are number of different types of phobias. In anxiety disorders specific phobias are experienced, however, more prevalently, agoraphobia, social phobia, medical and dental phobias and obsessive thoughts concerning health play a much more important role.
These phobic reactions are important because the are key to eliminating your anxiety disorder completely.
Phobias - what are they?
Phobias can be divided into two distinct types:
Specific Phobia
Specific phobias are usually to things such as dentists and doctors, heights, flying, dogs or snakes for example. Whilst specific phobias can cause anxiety and even panic to happen on exposure to them, they are not caused by generalized anxiety or an underlying anxiety disorder.
Social Phobia
Social Phobia is anxiety caused by exposure to social situations and interaction with other people. Includes fear of public speaking or performance, eating in public, writing in front of someone and other social interaction.
Social phobia sufferers experience an overwhelming and frightening fear of being scrutinized or of being embarrassed or humiliated. This can lead to avoiding situations where this could happen, which means missing out on many pleasurable aspects of life.
Agoraphobia - what is it and how can YOU overcome it?
Agoraphobia is officially defined as the fear of the marketplace and although not strictly a phobia, rather a symptom of anxiety, it can be categorized as such because of the specific reaction it causes. Agoraphobia often affects sufferers in far more diverse places than just crowded or open places. Agoraphobia is taken to mean a reaction to a geographic location - this could be far from home, where escape or retreat is restricted (e.g. theatre, cinema, train) or anywhere when you are alone and feel vulnerable.
Agoraphobia develops as a coping device in high anxiety. Sufferers develop symptoms and thoughts of which they become scared, they start to depend on a person or place of safety and this place becomes their sanctuary, where they feel calm or experience a reduction of their anxiety symptoms.
Agoraphobia, like all other phobias can be eliminated using a structured program. Agoraphobia, is, in fact, the easiest phobia to cure as its existence is directly linked to your anxiety disorder - without the underlying anxiety, agoraphobia simply can't exist.
Social Phobia (social anxiety) - what is it?
Social phobia (social anxiety) is an anxiety reaction to any situation which means that you must interact with other people. Social phobia (social anxiety) can cause mild anxiety to extreme panic attacks and the situation which creates anxiety could be interaction with just one or perhaps a crowd of people. Every social phobia (social anxiety) sufferer is different.
Some social phobia (social anxiety) can happen when you go on dates, talk to a person in authority or just interact with anyone with whom you are not fully comfortable as well as causing problems in larger groups or when confronted with having to perform or speak in public.
Many social phobics experience problems when they have to eat or write in front of another person also.
Social phobia (social anxiety) is a symptom of an anxiety disorder. Because the sufferer's general anxiety levels are artificially raised all of the time, just a slight increase can cause an anxiety reaction and even panic.
The good news is that social phobia (social anxiety), can be eliminated by addressing the underlying anxiety that causes it.
Phobia Elimination - is it possible?
Phobias are symptoms of an anxiety disorder and NOT stand-alone disorders. Anxiety disorders occur when the 'anxiety switch', the Amygdala, in the brain, becomes stuck in the ON position as a result of repeated anxiety provoking situations or, less commonly, a one-off trauma which has caused the sufferer to experience high anxiety.
The Amygdala is the organ in the brain that regulates and stores the anxiety response and it is this which MUST be addressed in order to return the anxious response back down to normal in order to eliminate your agoraphobia... in fact any phobia, completely.
There is an effective way of overcoming and conquering phobias permanently, by reducing and eliminating the anxiety which causes and drives phobias, you can become anxiety free, more confident and more effective in your lives.
5.
Post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)» Click to show Spoiler - click again to hide... «
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is the name given to anxiety disorder when it develops as a result of the sufferer experience an initial 'traumatic' catalyst.
Although popular psychological practice suggests that Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is a 'stand alone condition' it is not; PTSD is an anxiety disorder just like generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder and agoraphobia. Psychologists attempt to separate the anxiety disorders, treating them differently to each other by addressing the initial catalysts and the resultant physical manifestations of the symptoms rather than the root cause of the condition. This is so very wrong.
The only difference between PTSD and other anxiety conditions is that there is usually an identifiable anxiety provoking catalyst, but this doesn't require constant analysis. The resultant physical PTSD symptoms are irrelevant too, they can be distressing and frustrating but ultimately, they are the manifestation of inappropriate anxiety.
CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) asks you to keep anxiety diaries, to 'grade' the severity of your anxiety and do other counter productive exercises which have little, if any, curative affect on your anxiety PTSD.
PTSD sufferers often experience 'flash backs' and nightmares which remind the sufferer of the anxiety catalyst and cause ongoing distress but anxiety disorder sufferers all suffer inappropriate thoughts, some even, of a very aggressive or sexual nature.
PTSD sufferers may have experienced extreme trauma during military conflicts or accidents for example and the memory of those events may weigh heavily on a day to day basis, but this situation can be corrected very quickly indeed given the correct structure, understanding and support.
Like any other anxiety condition, PTSD can be eliminated using a structured anxiety elimination program.
Just because conventional medicine has decided to apply these names to specific features of anxiety conditions, doesn't mean that there aren't some 'fuzzy edges' during diagnosis. If you suffer from any of the above conditions, you have underlying high anxiety, without which none of these anxiety conditions would exist.
Often, anxiety will create a mixture of obsessions, high anxiety and panic, making it very difficult to categorize a sufferer's condition. But, it isn't important to categorize because all of these conditions are caused by elevated anxiety and require the exact same solution to remove them.
Often, anxiety disorder sufferers can be diagnosed as having 'depression' which is a common mistake made by medical practitioners world over; anxiety is a completely separate and very different condition to depression and confusing the two is akin to telling an Athlete's Foot sufferer that they have Eczema... they are both skin conditions but completely unrelated!
Anxiety Attacks - The pinnacle of high anxiety - Can they be stopped?Anxiety attacks or panic attacks are the most extreme experience of anxiety. Anxiety attacks happen when the hormone adrenalin, which prepares the body for fighting or fleeing from a threat, stays in the blood stream long after it is required. Of course, if the anxiety is inappropriate and has been caused by a disorder and not a true threat, it isn't used up at all; this is when an anxiety attack happens.
Anxiety attacks cause the heart to speed up and for digestion to slow, breathing to speed up and many other changes, which all have the unfortunate affect of causing some unpleasant sensations and thoughts.
Can anxiety attacks be stopped - of course they can.
How?
By reversing the process that caused them in the first place!
Using a structured and simple technique, you can completely reset your anxiety levels back down to normal, something that neither drug therapy nor psychotherapy can do in isolation.
Anxiety SymptomsAnxiety symptoms are caused by the anxiety response; they are either direct alterations of bodily systems in preparation for anxiety OR side effects of those changes. For example, during high anxiety, the digestive system is slowed down to divert resources to other parts of the body, the muscles for example.
The side effect of this can be stomach cramps or discomfort. The cramps are caused by the anxiety reaction but because the sufferer has high anxiety, they can be interpreted in other ways; fears grow and the anxiety worsens. This then causes more symptoms and so on. This cycle of high anxiety can produce many sensations and thoughts that are mostly misinterpreted by the sufferer as being sinister or threatening, but they are not.
Anxiety causes changes in the body that can cause symptoms just about anywhere and some can be pretty extreme; this doesn't mean they are threatening in any way and all of them will disappear when you eliminate the underlying anxiety that causes them. FACT!
Anxiety Help / SupportAnxiety support can be unstructured and unsupportive through conventional networks and resource shortages are usually to blame. Cost can also be an issue, with specialists such as psychologists and psychiatrists charging high hourly rates and often over long periods. The biggest problem with anxiety help and support though is accessibility. Anxiety sufferers are needy and require support, advice and reassurance during their high anxiety and not just when the specialists are available. Seamless access to answers is vital with anxiety disorders.
Finding such a resource is near impossible through conventional anxiety support provisions, such as a psychology practice, medical practice or hospital.
So, what is the solution to anxiety?The solution to anxiety is very simple indeed, because the subconscious mind has become 'reset' at a higher than normal level, the cure for anxiety is to reset your high anxiety back down to normal level using a structured anxiety elimination program.
Be Happy & No worry.
I still have night sweats, even after they treated you.
Please help yourself, go seek help at the hospital.
Jan 3 2012, 10:03 AM
Quote
STAY STRONG.
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