So, today I wanted to share a little bit more of my story
when it comes to anxiety ad help to try to remove the stigma that going to
therapy has. Not only am I’m going to share more of my story but I’m going to
share some of the tips and tricks my therapist gave to me. You can send a thank
you letter to Tricare, since this info comes at the low price one hundred
dollars an hour! Now, let’s begin.
A while back I shared my story of having GAD (generalized anxiety disorder). You can read all about that here. I have officially been in therapy for over a year, and let me tell you it has been the best decision for me. Therapy isn’t for everyone, but it worked wonders for my anxiety. At some points in my life, I honestly thought I was crazy. Even with medication I felt self-conscious because I thought that medicine made me seem weak. I mean, if I can’t even figure out how to get out of bed in the morning, how will I be able to make anything out of my life. It wasn’t until I went to my first visit with a psychologist that I thought any different.
I’m not sure if anyone out there is familiar with therapy but before you even get assigned a therapist, in most cases, you get sent to your friendly neighborhood psychologist! In my case, I went to see the amazing Dr. E. We did the typical “why are we here” type chat but my favorite part of the session was when we were walking out of his office. He gave me a hug and told me not to worry and that I wasn’t crazy. It was seriously the greatest thing I’ve heard in my life. After a series of tests, he set me up with my AMAZING therapist and a psychiatrist to figure out some sort of medication until I could get on my feet.
For over a year I was on a few different types of anti-depressant and anti-anxiety medication. This time frame was from February 2011 in Georgia to August of 2012 in North Carolina. I’m a firm believer that there is NO shame with needing help via medication, but in my case I decided to use it only as a tool and not a crutch. My medication along with therapy really helped me get to a “happy place”. Through therapy I was given tools that really made me need less and less of my medication. I am SO proud to say that as of August 2012, I haven’t been on any sort of medication. It was a personal goal for me to get off of my medication while Matthew was on deployment and really work through my issues.
A while back I shared my story of having GAD (generalized anxiety disorder). You can read all about that here. I have officially been in therapy for over a year, and let me tell you it has been the best decision for me. Therapy isn’t for everyone, but it worked wonders for my anxiety. At some points in my life, I honestly thought I was crazy. Even with medication I felt self-conscious because I thought that medicine made me seem weak. I mean, if I can’t even figure out how to get out of bed in the morning, how will I be able to make anything out of my life. It wasn’t until I went to my first visit with a psychologist that I thought any different.
I’m not sure if anyone out there is familiar with therapy but before you even get assigned a therapist, in most cases, you get sent to your friendly neighborhood psychologist! In my case, I went to see the amazing Dr. E. We did the typical “why are we here” type chat but my favorite part of the session was when we were walking out of his office. He gave me a hug and told me not to worry and that I wasn’t crazy. It was seriously the greatest thing I’ve heard in my life. After a series of tests, he set me up with my AMAZING therapist and a psychiatrist to figure out some sort of medication until I could get on my feet.
For over a year I was on a few different types of anti-depressant and anti-anxiety medication. This time frame was from February 2011 in Georgia to August of 2012 in North Carolina. I’m a firm believer that there is NO shame with needing help via medication, but in my case I decided to use it only as a tool and not a crutch. My medication along with therapy really helped me get to a “happy place”. Through therapy I was given tools that really made me need less and less of my medication. I am SO proud to say that as of August 2012, I haven’t been on any sort of medication. It was a personal goal for me to get off of my medication while Matthew was on deployment and really work through my issues.
I found some great visuals that I’m going to share with you
guys that are very close to what I learn in therapy week after week. So here we
go:
http://www.innerflowcounselling.com/
I was actually introduced to this as “Square Breathing”. I would complete the steps four times and by my last round I would be completely calm. When I get really overwhelmed or in the middle of a panic attack I would seriously just lay in the middle of the floor and do my breathing. I was once doing my “Kim Kardashian Cry” for a solid ten minutes because I just couldn’t stop. I sat on the floor, starting my breathing and by the time I got to my last round I had completely stopped crying. Not to mention, this technique is just super relaxing.
I was actually introduced to this as “Square Breathing”. I would complete the steps four times and by my last round I would be completely calm. When I get really overwhelmed or in the middle of a panic attack I would seriously just lay in the middle of the floor and do my breathing. I was once doing my “Kim Kardashian Cry” for a solid ten minutes because I just couldn’t stop. I sat on the floor, starting my breathing and by the time I got to my last round I had completely stopped crying. Not to mention, this technique is just super relaxing.
http://www.healthyplace.com/anxiety-panic/articles/coping-statements-for-anxiety/
A BIG issue for me was worrying. I’d have very irrational thoughts and “what ifs” that stem from my worrying
about simple things. An example, I narrowly missed face planting down the
stairs. In reality, I only fell down a single step but it doesn’t just end
there for me. For me, that one event made me have twenty minutes of irrational
thoughts. This is the best recreation of what went on in my head….what if I
fell all the way down the stairs…I could’ve broken my leg….we’re moving soon! I
can’t have a broken leg…I’m losing my insurance when we move…we’d have to pay
so much money…. my leg wouldn’t just be a broken leg…. it’d have to be surgical
because that’s just my leg. This would seriously go on until I either have
chest pains or end up in tears. It’s awful. This picture is very similar to
what I talk about in therapy. I try to address the irrational thoughts head on.
First I know that the situation is highly unlikely, and second it was only one
step and I’m fine. I try not to “push” the thought aside because they tend to
come back worse than ever before, so I talk myself through it. It’s a little
silly because if I’m alone I literally have to give myself a little pep talk
and point out that it’s an irrational thought. It goes something like “Okay
Karen, that is irrational....it is just a negative thought and in a few minutes
it’ll be completely gone”. Then I try to do something like read a chapter or
two of a book, text a friend, or just something to move on from the thought.
Once I’m more confident that other tips I have work, I’ll be posting them as well. But, for right now those are my anxiety tips for the week. One thing I’ve learned is that having anxiety isn’t the issue most people face, including myself. It is how to DEAL with the anxiety that determines your fate. It’s a scary thing, not to give into my urges or challenging my anxiety. But, I choose to fight it and face it head on. I hope you all will too.
Once I’m more confident that other tips I have work, I’ll be posting them as well. But, for right now those are my anxiety tips for the week. One thing I’ve learned is that having anxiety isn’t the issue most people face, including myself. It is how to DEAL with the anxiety that determines your fate. It’s a scary thing, not to give into my urges or challenging my anxiety. But, I choose to fight it and face it head on. I hope you all will too.
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