Constant internal anxiety and excitement about what to do. Feeling of constant anxiety and fear: causes and treatment

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Anxiety Disorders and Panic: Causes, Signs and Symptoms, Diagnosis and Therapy

Under anxiety disorders imply conditions accompanied by excessive excitability of the nervous system, as well as a strong unreasonable feeling of anxiety and signs observed in the presence of certain pathologies of the internal organs. This kind of disorder can occur against the background of chronic overwork, stress, or a severe illness. Such conditions are often referred to as panic attacks.
The obvious signs of this condition include both dizziness and an unreasonable feeling of anxiety, as well as pain in the abdomen and chest, fear of death or an imminent catastrophe, shortness of breath, a feeling of "coma in the throat".
Both the diagnosis and the treatment of this condition are handled by a neurologist.
Therapy for anxiety disorders includes the use of sedatives, psychotherapy, and numerous stress relief and relaxation techniques.

Anxiety disorders - what is it?

Anxiety disorders are a number of pathologies of the central nervous system, which are characterized by a constant feeling of anxiety that occurs for unknown or insignificant reasons. With the development of this condition, the patient may also complain about signs of some other ailments of the internal organs. So, for example, he may experience shortness of breath, pain in the abdomen or chest, cough, feeling of a lump in the throat, and so on.

What are the causes of anxiety disorders?

Unfortunately, until now, scientists have not been able to establish the true cause of the development of anxiety disorders, but its search continues to this day. Some scientists argue that this disease is a consequence of a malfunction of certain parts of the brain. Psychologists have come to the conclusion that this kind of disorder makes itself felt due to psychological trauma, against the background of excessive overwork or severe stress. It is psychologists who are sure that this condition can also arise if a person has a very erroneous idea about certain things that causes him a constant feeling of anxiety.

If we take into account the fact that the modern population is simply forced to lead an active lifestyle, it turns out that this condition can develop in each of us. Among the factors that can provoke the development of this type of disorder, one can also include psychological trauma resulting from a severe illness.

How can we distinguish between “normal” anxiety, which enables us to survive in a dangerous situation, and pathological anxiety, which is the result of an anxiety disorder?

1. First of all, it is worth noting that senseless anxiety has nothing to do with a specific dangerous situation. It is always invented, because the patient simply imagines in his mind a situation that does not really exist. The feeling of anxiety in this case exhausts the patient, both physically and emotionally. A person begins to experience a feeling of helplessness, as well as excessive fatigue.

2. "Normal" anxiety is always related to the real situation. It does not tend to disrupt human performance. As soon as the threat disappears, the person’s anxiety immediately disappears.

Anxiety disorders - what are their signs and symptoms?

In addition to a constant feeling of anxiety, which is considered to be the main symptom of this type of disorder, a person may also experience:

Fear of situations that do not actually exist, but the person himself believes that this can happen to him
Frequent mood swings, irritability, tearfulness
Fussiness, shyness
Wet palms, hot flashes, sweating
Excessive fatigue
impatience
Feeling short of oxygen, inability to take a deep breath, or a sudden need to take a deep breath
Insomnia, sleep disturbances, nightmares
Memory impairment, impaired concentration, decreased mental abilities
Feeling of a lump in the throat, difficulty swallowing
A feeling of constant tension that makes it impossible to relax
Dizziness, blurred vision, palpitations
Pain in the back, waist and neck, a feeling of muscle tension
Pain in the chest, around the navel, in the epigastric region, nausea, diarrhea

It is important to note the fact that all the symptoms that were presented to the attention of readers a little higher very often resemble signs of other pathologies. As a result, patients turn for help to a huge number of specialists, but not to a neurologist.

Quite often, such patients also have phobias - fear of certain objects or situations. The most common phobias are considered to be:

1. Nosophobia- fear of a certain illness or fear of getting sick in general ( for example, carcinophobia - the fear of getting cancer).

2. Agoraphobia- fear of finding yourself in a crowd of people or in an excessively large open space, fear of being unable to get out of this space or crowd.

3. social phobia- fear of eating in public places, fear of being in the company of strangers, fear of speaking in front of an audience, and so on.

4. Claustrophobia- Fear of being in confined spaces. In this case, a person may be afraid to remain both in a locked room, and in transport, in an elevator, and so on.

5. Fear in front of insects, heights, snakes and the like.

It is worth noting that normal fear differs from pathological fear, first of all, by its paralyzing effect. It occurs for no reason, while completely changing human behavior.
Another sign of anxiety disorder is considered to be obsessive-compulsive syndrome, which is constantly emerging ideas and thoughts that provoke a person to some of the same actions. So, for example, people who constantly think about germs are forced to wash their hands thoroughly with soap almost every five minutes.
Psychiatric disorder is one of the anxiety disorders characterized by sudden, recurring panic attacks that occur without any reason. During such an attack, a person has a rapid heartbeat, shortness of breath, as well as a fear of death.

Features of anxiety disorders in children

The feeling of panic and anxiety in a child in most cases is explained by his phobias. As a rule, all children who have this condition try not to communicate with their peers. For communication, they choose grandmothers or parents, because among them they feel out of danger. Quite often, such children have low self-esteem: the child considers himself worse than everyone else, and is also afraid that his parents will stop loving him.

Diagnosis of anxiety disorders and panic attacks

A little higher, we have already said that in the presence of anxiety disorders, the patient has numerous symptoms similar to signs of diseases of the nervous system, digestive tract, goiter, asthma, and so on. As a rule, the diagnosis of this pathology can be established only after all pathologies accompanied by the same symptoms are excluded. Both diagnosis and therapy of this disease are within the competence of a neuropathologist.

Anxiety Therapy

Therapy for this kind of conditions involves psychotherapy, as well as taking medications that tend to reduce anxiety. These medicines are anxiolytics.
As for psychotherapy, this method of treatment is based on numerous techniques that allow the patient to really look at everything that happens, and also help his body relax at the time of an anxiety attack. Psychotherapeutic techniques include both breathing exercises and breathing into a bag, auto-training, as well as the development of a calm attitude to obsessive thoughts in the case of obsessive-compulsive syndrome.
This method of therapy can be used both individually and for the treatment of a small number of people at the same time. Patients are taught how to behave in certain life situations. Such training makes it possible to acquire self-confidence, and, consequently, to overcome all threatening situations.
Therapy of this pathology through drugs involves the use of medications that help restore normal metabolism in the brain. As a rule, in such cases, patients are prescribed anxiolytics, that is, sedatives. There are several groups of such medicines, namely:

Antipsychotics (Tiapride, Sonapax and others) is often prescribed to patients in order to relieve them of excessive feelings of anxiety. Against the background of the use of these medications, such side effects as: obesity, lowering blood pressure, lack of sexual desire can let you know about yourself.
Benzodiazepines (Clonazepam, Diazepam, Alprazolam ) make it possible to forget about the feeling of anxiety in a fairly short period of time. With all this, they can also cause the development of some side effects such as impaired coordination of movement, decreased attention, addiction, drowsiness. The course of therapy with these medications should not exceed four weeks.

Anxiety in the soul is one of the most insidious conditions, which over time can turn into a complex neurosis. Anxiety, even in its lightest expression, overshadows life and can "program" a person's behavior for a certain pathological scenario.

"Something will happen" - and "something" is bound to happen. And if "famously" suddenly passed by - anxiety in the soul will curl up into a peaceful dormant bundle of nerves for a short time and stir again at the slightest threat to a prosperous and measured existence.

It is good when there are obvious prerequisites for the emergence of anxiety. But a neurotic disorder most often has causes that are not obvious, deeply rooted in the subconscious. Everyday and widespread anxiety can develop not only into an obsessive, haunting state, but also become part of a mental disorder. So a small unsolved problem gives rise to big ones.

Constant anxiety in the soul - is it a disease or a feature of "temperament"? How to organize life so that an unpleasant symptom disturbs as little as possible? The good news is that there really is nothing to worry about. The neurotic problem is being solved, but the treatment is not at all in the plane of medicines, as pharmacy windows and advertising slogans assure about this.

What does anxiety in the soul say?

The state of anxiety is characterized by an obsessive feeling that something bad will happen - now or very soon. The severity of this sensation can be so pronounced that a person loses the ability to adequately live a moment in time and is ready to flee in a panic from the “imminent danger”.

A painful experience brings not only mental pain, but also specific physical disorders - migraine, nausea or even vomiting, eating disorders (bulimia, loss of appetite). Shades of excitement can be very different, but they are all united by a common destructive effect on the psyche and human life. After all, it is difficult to develop and embody intentions when the future and the past have united, rising with frightening unpredictability. What's around that corner? Cliff? Trap? How to pull myself together and continue on the path? Where, in the end, to go, when everywhere - uncertainty and instability.

The disease becomes rampant when everyday life turns into a series of trials. A little excitement about a final exam or session, before a wedding or other significant event is a normal reaction to a "milestone" in life. Another thing is when your mouth dries up, your hands shake and gloomy thoughts come into your head long before the X hour or for no apparent reason at all. In such cases, a psychiatrist can even make a diagnosis: "generalized anxiety disorder".

There can be no causeless anxiety. There are always reasons for mental and physical stress, but how to find them? After all, it is more convenient to take an anti-anxiety pill, to fall asleep in the hope that the morning is wiser than the evening. But is a bad tooth treated with an analgesic? A temporary measure of pain relief only allows you to more or less comfortably get to the dentist's office. In the case of a neurotic syndrome - to the office of a psychotherapist.

About the causes and symptoms of anxiety disorder

Every disease has roots. Violation always stems from a cause. It is one thing to make a diagnosis, another thing is to deal with the etiology. Psychotherapy studies the state of a person, clearly defining the mechanism of pathological development.

The anxiety that accompanies an anxiety disorder can be caused by a number of factors, including:

specific fears - before some event, fear of losing something / someone, fear of ignorance, fear of punishment, etc.;
“anxiety-premonition” is the problem of this esoteric fear, that it can begin to lead a person and in the end invariably lead to a bad ending;
anxiety in the soul can be caused by the past - misconduct or even crimes that force a person to suffer ("conscience gnaws");
the cause can be any “wrong” (and at the same time not expressed, hidden) emotion - anger, envy, hatred of the enemy, greed, greed;
physical and mental disorders - hypertension, endocrine disorders, alcoholism, schizophrenia and others.

fears with a pronounced focus - these are hard-hearted destroyers of your life. They do not spare any feelings and are able to poison any pleasant event. In moments when you need to have fun, you worry and “poison” the soul with possible “what ifs”.

The long-awaited vacation is overshadowed by the "anticipation" of injuries, accidents, accidents. Employment in a good and well-paid job, even with an excellent resume and brilliant talent, can fail - you could not pull yourself together, could not calm the anxiety that began to guide your every step. You may not have reached your destination yet.

Anxiety can keep you locked up for the rest of your life, robbing you of prospects and futures.

"Premonition" has a different nature, with which it is almost impossible for a non-professional to understand. An obsessive expectation of trouble often accompanies a general unfavorable background of life: ill health, an unfavorable financial situation, intrapersonal conflict, unfulfillment in a career or personal life. But situations are also typical when, on the contrary, a person is afraid of losing all the beauty that life has given. And anxiety, instead of joy and pleasure, becomes a companion of life. Thought, as you know, is capable of changing reality and directing the “thinking” onto a disastrous path.

Anxiety in the soul can be excited by any reason - events in the present, past or future. The following symptoms may indicate this condition:

depressed mood;
loss of interest in activities;
headache and other pains;
disturbances in appetite, sleep;
cardiopalmus;
trembling, muscle tension;
motor restlessness;
sweating, chills;
shortness of breath, PA.

Of course, the quality of life with constant anxiety worsens. A natural outcome of chronic anxiety is depression or any other illness, deterioration in appearance. It must be remembered that anxiety can be an integral part of the disease. It is necessary to exclude a serious psychosomatic disorder through a comprehensive examination.

The state of anxiety requires correction. But what soothing compress to apply to the disturbing callus of the soul? From drugs, faith and hope, psychotherapy (which has more than one possibility to cure an illness without drugs)? Everyone chooses their own path to peace and certainty.

Religion and anxiety

Religion can offer the believer effective methods for dealing with anxiety. The main condition for effectiveness is faith of a high standard. In fact, there is a self-healing of a person through auto-training.

Mental health in the religious aspect is the opposition to temptation and sin and the complete redemption of the latter. Prayer in this case helps to build a dialogue between the conscious and the subconscious, between the one who prays and God. Purification occurs only after full awareness of the sinfulness of the act and humility before the all-forgiving Almighty.

The “humility” aspect is of great psychotherapeutic value in the area of anxiety relief. To relax, to relieve oneself of the burden of responsibility for an unpredictable future, to let oneself go through the waters of life - a “devoutly” believing person is able to relieve stress and anxiety through communication with God. It is important to strike a balance of "drop the load" and "surrender to bail." A worldly person, fighting for his place in the world, must be able to overcome obstacles. A humble stance can play a cruel joke at a time when action is needed.

God's spirit can become a "cure" for peace and anxiety in the soul and illuminate the life of a believer with hope and light. Strong faith is always above doubts, anxieties, worries. But most often a person, overwhelmed and tormented by fears and painful experiences, is not able to “heal himself” through constant prayers. Lack of faith, trust in oneself and in such a hostile world is one of the unpleasant aspects of neurotic disorders.

The advantage of the modern approach to the treatment of mental disorders is its versatility. You should not unquestioningly believe in the psychotherapist, in the miracle of psychotherapeutic help. How not to believe that an injection with an analgesic solution relieves pain. These are scientific categories that do not need faith. They work under almost any conditions, do not argue with religion, and even help to gain faith.

Psychotherapy and anxiety

Psychotherapeutic techniques help to understand the cause of anxiety (or to make sure that it is absolutely absent and "far-fetched"), and also "teach" the patient to live in a friendly world.

When is it necessary to contact a specialist? In neurotic states that not only intend to firmly enter life (or have already become part of it), but are also expressed by a significant psychosomatic symptom complex. Dizziness, indigestion, motor agitation, panic - these and other companions of hypertrophied excitement can hardly be called a happy stay "here and now" on a planet that is meant for happiness and peace.

For mild anxiety, use the means of home psychotherapy. But it must be remembered: from anxiety to neurosis and more severe mental disorders are not far away. Over the years, the disease progresses and what worried you yesterday can knock you down today.

About medicines

Tranquilizers and antidepressants are symptomatic treatments that do not address the cause. Relapses of the disorder are not only possible, but usually they take on more menacing proportions. There is no safe pill, only bigger or smaller effects.

Alternative treatment will also not be able to correct the state of a restless person - a sedative infusion will dull the sensitivity of the receptors, enter into a state of drowsiness and oblivion. But a sick tooth will not become healthier, a “sick” soul will not become calmer. Peace is harmony within the individual, between the individual and the world. The balance of emotions and reason, instincts and beliefs cannot be organized with a pill or a cup of tea.

Simple exercises for home anxiety therapy

“Dialogue with yourself”: a heart-to-heart conversation can reduce anxiety levels somewhat. The meeting with oneself should take place in a pleasant atmosphere, questions are asked of the nature “What worries me the most? What is the reason for my fear? and others. Face your anxiety, challenge it to a dialogue.
Worst case scenario: assume the worst that could happen to you. Come to terms with this terrible future, accept it. And then develop a scenario of what to do if the worst happens. Are you afraid of losing your job or a loved one? “Lose” her/him mentally and take concrete action upon the fact of the event. Make sure you are the master of life. You can solve any problem.
"Distraction": A fairly common way to deal with anxiety. Based on distracted activities that bring peace and tranquility. Start cleaning, put things in order, watch a movie (photos), listen to music (Vivaldi's spring) or finally sort out the papers in your writing box.
"Without past and future": play the "present" game. Mentally cut off all the past - non-existent, not capable of harming you. Forget about the future that worries you - it does not yet exist and it is absolutely safe for you. There is only one today and it needs to be filled with actions that are creative and interesting.

It is very important to collect the correct information about anxiety (facts) and, based on it, develop an action plan that must be started to be implemented without thinking about the end result. Employment- the most important condition for freeing the head from disturbing thoughts. You are unable to think about two/more things at the same time. Keep yourself busy, switch the focus. Some emotions and thoughts will crowd out others. The therapeutic effect of occupational therapy was known even to ancient scientists and healers of souls. Do not neglect such simple and effective self-help.

Date:2011-11-14

What is fear and how to overcome it?

Overcoming feelings of fear. What are the fears? Why does fear grow? Concrete steps to overcome fear and anxiety.

Good time to you! In this article, I want to consider the topic, how to conquer your fears.

Looking back, each of us can notice that fear accompanies our whole life, starting from childhood. Take a closer look and you will see that in childhood you experienced fear in the same way as now, only then for some reason it didn’t strain you, you didn’t pay attention, it came along with some kind of situation and also quietly disappeared.

But then something in life starts to go wrong, fear becomes almost constant, sharp and wraps around like a vine.

Until some time, I did not pay much attention to the feeling of fear, but then I had to face the truth and admit that I was cowardly and anxious, although sometimes I did certain things.

Any suggestion, any unpleasant situation could piss me off for a long time.Even things that didn't make much sense began to worry. My mind seized on any, even baseless opportunity to worry.

At one time, I had so many disorders, starting with and ending with obsessions and even PA (), that it already began to seem to me that I was just naturally so restless, and this is with me forever.

I began to understand and slowly solve this problem, because whatever one may say, I don’t want to live in a nightmare. Now I have some experience and knowledge on how to overcome fear, and I am sure that this will be useful to you.

Do not just think that I coped with all my fears, but I got rid of many, and with some I just learned to live and overcome them. In addition, it’s not realistic for a normal person to get rid of all fears, we will always worry at least somehow, if not for ourselves, then for our loved ones - and this is normal if it does not reach the point of absurdity and extremes.

So, let's first understand what the feeling of fear actually is?When you know well what you are dealing with, it is always easier to deal with.

What is fear?

Here, for starters, it is important to understand that fear can be of various kinds.

In some cases thisnatural emotion that helps us and all living beings to survive in the event ofrealthreats. After all, fear literally mobilizes our body, physically makes us stronger and more attentive in order to effectively attack or escape from the threat.

Therefore, this emotion in psychology is called: "Flight or fight."

Fear is a basic emotion that all people have.installed by default; a signaling function that ensures our safety.

But in other cases, fear manifests itself unhealthy ( neurotic) form.

The topic is very extensive, so I decided to divide the article into two parts. In this, we will analyze what fears are, why they grow, and I will give the first recommendations that will help you learn to be more calm and sober about this feeling and approach situations correctly so that fear does not put you in a stupor.

The very feeling of fear, all this chills (heat) in the body, covering the "haze" in the head, internal constriction, embracing numbness, fading breathing, pounding heartbeat, etc., which we experience when we are scared, no matter how terrible everything seems, but is not more thanbiochemical reaction of the body to some irritant (situation, event), that is, it internal phenomenonbased on the release of adrenaline into the blood. Fear in its structure is moreadrenalin plus stress hormones.

Adrenaline is a mobilizing hormone secreted by the adrenal glands, it affects the body's metabolism, in particular, increases blood glucose, accelerates heart activity and blood pressure, all in order to mobilize the body. I wrote more about this in the article "".(I recommend, this will give you an understanding of the connection between the body and the psyche).

So, when we experience fear, we experience "adrenaline feeling", and so that right now you begin to relate a little softer to the feeling of fear, you can say to yourself: “the adrenaline started playing.”

What are the fears?

In psychology, there are two types of fear: natural (natural) fear and neurotic.

Natural fear always manifests itself whenreal danger, when there is a threatright now. If you see that a car will run over you or someone attacked you, then the instinct of self-preservation will instantly work, the vegetative system will turn on, which will start biochemical reactions in the body, and we will experience fear.

By the way, in life we very often experience natural fear (anxiety), evennot noticingthis, he is so intangible.

Examples of such fear:

you have a reasonable fear of inattention when driving (although there are exceptions), and therefore drive carefully;

someone more, someone less afraid of heights, and therefore, in the appropriate environment, carefully behaves so as not to fall;

you are afraid of getting sick in winter, and therefore dress warmly;

you are reasonably afraid of getting infected with something, and therefore wash your hands periodically;

you are logically afraid to pee in the middle of the street, so when you feel like it, you start looking for a secluded place, and you don’t run naked down the street, just becausehealthyfear of society helps to keep you from a "bad" reputation that can harm your career.

Natural fear here simply plays the role of common sense. And it's important to understand thatfear and anxiety are normal bodily functions , but the fact is that for many of you, anxiety has become irrational and redundant (not useful), but more on that below.

In addition, a healthy sense of fear (anxiety)alwaysaccompanies us in new conditions. It's fearbefore the new, fear of losing the current comfortable conditions associated with uncertainty, instability and novelty.

We can experience such fear when moving to a new place of residence, changing activities (jobs), getting married, before important negotiations, acquaintances, exams, or even going on a long journey.

Fear is like a scoutin an unfamiliar situation, scans everything around and tries to draw our attention to a possible threat, sometimes even where there is none at all. So the instinct for self-preservation simply reinsured, because for nature the main thing is survival, and for it it is better to be safe in something than to overlook something.

The instinct does not care how we live and feel: good or bad; the main thing for him is safety and survival, in fact, from here the roots of neurotic fear mainly grow, when a person begins to worry not because of real reasons, but for no reason or for nothing.

Neurotic (permanent) fear and anxiety.

First, let's look at how fear differs from anxiety.

If a fear always associated with realsituation and circumstancesanxiety always based onassumptions negative outcomethis or that situation, that is, it is always disturbing thoughts of worries about one's own or someone else's future.

If we take a vivid example with an attack of PA, then a person is terrified for his future, his thoughts are directed to the future, hesuggeststhat something could happen to him, he could die, lose control, etc.

Such fear usually arises against the backdrop of stress when we begingive excessive importance to everything that comes to mind, , go in cycles and catastrophize the situation.

For example:

normal fear for one's health can develop into an anxious obsession with one's condition and symptoms;
reasonable care of yourself or around the house can turn into a mania for germs;
concern for the safety of loved ones can develop into paranoia;
the fear of harming oneself and others can lead to chronic anxiety, and PA, and this, in turn, can result in a fear of going crazy or a constant fear of death, etc.

This is the neurotic fear when it is formed persistent (chronic), increased anxiety , some even leading to panic. And it is precisely because of such anxiety that the vast majority of our problems, when we regularly begin to feel severe anxiety for various and, most often, unfounded reasons, and become very sensitive to what is happening.

In addition, an anxious state can be aggravated by an incorrect or not entirely accurate understanding of some interpretations, such as: "thought is material," etc.

And almost all people have social fears. And if some of them have common sense, then many are completely vain and neurotic in nature. Such fears prevent us from living, taking away all our energy and distracting us with imaginary, sometimes unreasonable and absurd experiences, they interfere with development, because of them we miss a lot of opportunities.

For example, fear of disgrace, disappointment, loss of competence and authority.

Behind these fears lies not only the essence of the possible consequences, but also other feelings that people do not want and are afraid to experience, for example, feelings of shame, depression and guilt - very unpleasant feelings. And that's why so many people hesitate to act.

For a very long time I was extremely susceptible to such fears, but everything began to change gradually when I began to change my attitude and inner view for life.

After all, if you think carefully, no matter what happens - even if we are offended, ridiculed, they try to offend somehow - all this, most often, does not pose a global threat to us and, by and large, does not matter, because life will continue anyway. and,most importantly, we will have all the chances for happiness and successeverything will depend only on us.

I think it doesn't matter who's there and what they think of you, it's importanthow do you feel about it . If someone else’s opinion is most important to you, then you are too dependent on people, you don’t have it - you have anything: dad-evaluation, mom-evaluation, friends-evaluation, but notself-evaluation, and because of this, a lot of unnecessary anxieties flowing into a neurotic form, I understood this very well.

Only when we startlean on yourself , and not only count on someone, and we begin to decide for ourselves what impact others will have on us, only then we become truly free.

I really like a quote I once read:

"No one can hurt you without your consent"

(Eleanor Roosevelt)

AT mostcases related to society, you are afraid of people only because of the likelihood of experiencing some unpleasant feelings, but there is no point in being afraid of either these feelings or people's opinions, because everything feelings are temporary and natural by nature, and the thoughts of others will remain only their thoughts. Can their thoughts be harmful? Moreover, their opinion is only their opinion out of a billion others, how many people - so many opinions.

And if you consider that others, to a greater extent, are themselves concerned about what they think of them, then they do not care much about you, as it may seem to you. And is it really possible to equate your happiness and someone else's thoughts?

Therefore, first of all, it is very important to learn how to manage emotions themselves not to be afraid to test them, to learn be with them for a while, because there is nothing wrong with this, it never happens to anyone that it is always good, besides, any emotions, even the most acute and unpleasant, will pass one way or another and, I assure you, you can learn them completely calmly endure. Here only the correct approach is important, which will be discussed below.

And slowly change your inner attitude towards yourself and the world around you, what I wrote about in the article "".

Why does fear intensify and grow?

There are three areas to highlight here:

The desire to get rid of fear completely;
Avoidance behavior;
The inability to handle the feeling of fear, attempts all the time to avoid, get rid of and suppress fear in various ways, which leads to such a mental phenomenon as “ fear of fear”, when a person begins to be terrified of the very feeling of fear (anxiety), starting to mistakenly believe that these feelings are abnormal, and he should not experience them at all.

The desire to get rid of feelings of fear and anxiety

This instinctive, avoidant behavior stems from the natural desire of all living beings not to experience unpleasant experiences.

An animal, once having experienced fear in some situation, continues to instinctively run away from it, as, for example, in the case of a dog.

There was a construction site, and suddenly the hose at the cylinder broke, and not far away was a house where there was a doghouse. The torn hose with its whistle frightened the dog that was nearby, and later it began to get scared and run away not only from something similar to a hose, but even from a simple whistle.

This case well demonstrates not only how instinctive behavior towards certain things (events and phenomena) is formed, but also how fear is transformed, flowing from one phenomenon to another, something similar to it.

The same thing happens in a person who experiences fear and panic when he begins to avoid first one place, then another, a third, etc., until he completely locks himself at home.

At the same time, a person is most often well aware that something is not here that the fear is far-fetched and it is only in his head, however, he continues to experience it bodily, which means he continues to try to avoid it.

Now let's talk about avoidance behavior

If a person is afraid to fly on an airplane, afraid to go down the subway, afraid to communicate, afraid of showing any feelings, including fear, or even afraid of his own thoughts, which I used to be afraid of, he will try to avoid this, thereby committing one of grossest mistakes.

By avoiding situations, people, places, or things, youhelp yourselffight fear, but at the same time,limit yourself , and many form some other rituals.

The fear of getting infected makes a person wash their hands too often.
Fear of people pushes to avoid communication and crowded places.
Fear of certain thoughts can form a "ritual act" to protect oneself and avoid something.

Fear makes you runyou give in and run, for a while it becomes easier for you, because the threat has passed, you calm down, but in the unconscious psychejust fix this reaction(like that dog that is afraid of whistles). It’s as if you are telling your subconscious: “You see, I’m running away, which means that there is a danger, and it’s not far-fetched, but real,” and the unconscious psyche reinforces this reaction,developing a reflex.

Life situations are very different. Some fears and corresponding avoidance seem more justified and logical, others seem absurd; but in the end, constant fear does not allow you to fully live, rejoice and achieve your goal.

And thus, everything can be avoided, from this fear grows in life as a whole.

A young man, because of the fear of failure, fear of experiencing a feeling of insecurity (shame), will not go to meet a girl with whom he could very likely be happy.
Many people will not start their own business or will not go to an interview, because they may be frightened by new prospects and difficulties, and many will be frightened by the very possibility of experiencing internal discomfort during communication, etc., that is, fear of internal sensations.

And on top of that, many people make another mistake when they begin to resist the fear that has arisen, try to suppress the anxiety that has arisen with an emotional effort, forcibly calm themselves or make them believe the opposite.

A lot of people drink sedatives for this purpose, take alcohol, continue to smoke, or unconsciously seize emotions, since food promotes the production of serotonin and melatonin, which facilitates the experience. This, by the way, is one of the main reasons why many people gain weight. I used to often eat, drink, and even more often smoke experiences, for a while, of course, it helped.

I'll tell you straight away emotions should be allowed to be, if an emotion has already come, whether it be fear or something else, you don’t have to immediately resist and try to do something with this feeling, so you just step up tension, just watch how this emotion manifests itself in your body, learn to endure and endure it.

All these actions on your part, aimed at avoiding and suppressing feelings, only make the situation worse.

How to overcome fear and anxiety?

Fear, as you yourself have already understood, not only plays a useful, protective role, but also encourages you to avoid even potential danger, wherever it is. Maybe.

It is far from always justified and protects us from danger. Often it just makes you suffer and prevents you from moving towards success and happiness, which means that it is important for us to learn do not blindly believe and succumb to every impulse of instinct, anddeliberately intervene.

Unlike an animal that is unable to change the situation on its own (a dog will continue to be afraid of a worthless “whistle”), a person has a mind that allowsconsciouslygo the other way.

Ready to take a different path and conquer fear? Then:

1. When some fear arisesyou don't have to trust him, many of our feelings simply lie to us. I was very well convinced of this, observing how and where it comes from.

Fear sits inside us and is only looking for hooks to catch on, it does not need special conditions, the instinct is ready to sound the alarm for anything. As soon as we internally weaken, experience stress and a bad state, he is right there and begins to climb out.

Therefore, when you experience anxiety, remember, this does not mean that there is danger.

2. The very desire to get rid of it contributes to the growth and intensification of fear.

But to completely get rid of fear, as many dream about it, in principleimpossible. It's the same as wanting to get rid of the skin. The skin is the same ashealthyfear, performs a protective function - getting rid of fear is like trying to tear off your skin.

Exactly your goal is to get rid ofand not feeling fear at all makes this feeling even stronger and sharper. You just think: "How to get rid of, how to get rid of, and what I feel now, I'm scared, terrified, what to do when it's over, run, run ...", thereby, mentally loop on this, the vegetative system turns on, and you don't let yourself relax.

Our task is to bring fears and anxiety, which are justified in certain situations, to a normal (healthy) level, and not to get rid of them altogether.

Fear has always been and always will be. Realize andaccept this fact. For starters, stop feuding with him, becausehe is not your enemy, it just is, and there is nothing wrong with it. It is very important to start changing the attitude towards him from the inside and overemphasize that you are experiencing it.

This emotion is just now excessively sharp works within you because youafraid to experience it. As a child, you were not afraid of this, did not attach importance to the feeling of fear and did not want to get rid of it, well, it was and was, passed and passed.

Always remember that this is only internal, chemical reaction in the body (adrenaline plays). Yes - unpleasant, yes - painful, yes - scary and sometimes very, but tolerable and safe,don't resistmanifestation of this reaction, let it make noise and go out by itself.

When fear starts to crushsuspend attention and watchwhatever is going on inside you, realize thatin real you are not in danger (fear is only in your mind), and continue to observe any sensations in the body. Take a closer look at your breath and hold your attention on it, smoothly align it.

Start to catch the thoughts that excite you, they exacerbate your fear and drive you to panic, but not drive them away by force of will,just try not to get drawn into the mental whirlpool: “what if, what if, what if, why”, andnot appreciating happening (bad, good),just watch everything gradually you will start to feel better.

Here you observe how your psyche and organism as a whole react to some external stimulus (situation, person, phenomenon), you act as an outside observer what is happening inside and around you. And thus, gradually, through observation, you influence this reaction from the inside, and it becomes weaker and weaker in the future. You train your mind be less susceptible to this feeling.

And all this is possible to achieve thanks to "awareness", fear is very afraid of awareness, which you can read in the article "".

Not everything will always work out, especially at first, but over time it will get easier and better.

Consider this moment and do not rush into despair, if something does not go as you would like, not all at once, friends, regular practice and time are simply needed here.

3. Extremely important point:fear cannot be conquered by theory , avoiding behavior - even more so.

In order for it to fade away, you need to consciously go to meet it.

The difference between brave, problem-solving people and cowards is not that the former do not experience fear, but that they step over fear,fear and act .

Life is too short to be inactive and if you want more from life, you mustinternally change: acquire new useful habits, learn to calmly experience emotions, control thinking and decide on some actions, take risks.

After all “opportunity” is always more important than risk, and the risk always will be, the main thing is that the "opportunity" is reasonable and perspective.

you now very wrongit seems that first you need to get rid of fear, gain confidence, and then act, although, in fact, in reality, everything is just the way it isotherwise.

When you jump into the water for the first time, you have to jump, there is no point in constantly thinking about whether you are ready for it or not, until you jump, you learn and learn.

Step by step, drop by drop, leaps and bounds, the majority will fail, try to win with impudencestrongfear is ineffective, most likely, it will doubt you, preparation is needed.

Start with less significantfear and move leisurely.

You are afraid of communication, you feel uncomfortable among people - start going out to people and chatting, say something good to someone just like that.
You are afraid of rejection when meeting the opposite sex - for starters, just “stay close”, then start asking simple questions, like: “How to find such and such a place?” etc.
If you are afraid to travel - start traveling, not far to begin with.

And at such moments, focus your attention and consider what going on inside you when you enter a situation, so you begin to know yourself through the reflection of what is happening, you act and consciously observe everything.

You will instinctively want to run, but there is no easy road here: you either do what you are afraid of and then the fear recedes; or yield to elemental instinct and live as before. Fear always arises when we leave the comfort zone, when we begin to act and change something in life. His appearance points to the future, and he teaches us to overcome our weaknesses and become stronger. Therefore, do not be afraid of fear, be afraid of inaction!

4. And the last thing here: practice and plenty of mental and emotional rest, it is very important to restore the nervous system, and for most of you it is extremely shattered, without this you simply cannot function normally.

I also strongly recommend that you go in for sports, at least a little to do simple exercises: squats, push-ups, abs - this helps a lot to overcome fear and anxiety, as it improves not only the physics of the body, but also the mental state.

Homework for you.

Observe your fear, how it manifests itself in the body and where. These can be discomfort in the stomach, heaviness in the head or "haze", choked breathing, numbness in the limbs, trembling, chest pain, etc.
Take a closer look at what thoughts come to you at this moment, and how they affect you.
Then analyze whether it is natural fear or neurotic.
Write in the comments about your observations, conclusions and ask if you have any questions.

In the next article "" we will talk about individual, important points, this will help you act better and overcome this condition.

Good luck in overcoming fear!

Sincerely, Andrey Russkikh.

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Tell me, during PA it is hard to breathe, shortness of breath and, as a result, the fear of suffocating and dying. This is possible, I am very afraid of such attacks and I am afraid that my heart will not withstand such tension.
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- Inna read articles about PA on the site
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  - How can you write, sit and watch fear, a person in severe panic cannot control himself, in order to understand this, antidepressants are needed, under them the brain receives artificial serotonin and then after an acute state of attack, you can talk about something from your article
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    - You can watch the fear during the pas ... you can learn everything! .. Andrey writes about this in detail and about the methods, you just need to carefully read and really want to)
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Hello) but I have such a question if I go to a psychotherapist how to find out if he can help me or not? It’s just that I know such cases, people have been walking for years, but there’s no point (((
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- Good afternoon Karina. And how to find out - no way, until you contact - you will not know. Well, in general, you should look at the reviews about the psychotherapist you are going to contact (if any)
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Andrey thanks for the articles! I read your book about mindfulness and how to defeat OCD, I understood a lot, I realized, I lived through a huge number of fears, passing them through myself, I have been practicing mindfulness for 2 months now, instincts still sometimes win, but mindfulness is really a strong thing and during this time I really what it means to live. I have had OCD for over 10 years and I have a few questions. I lived through very strong fears for myself, I trusted innocence, and as a result, on an unconscious level, I got the life experience that this is an irrational fear and I stopped being afraid of it. I began to feel an incredible surge of strength and confidence and independence from thoughts. After some time, out of the blue, another fear arises from the depths of memory and I live it again, consciously accept it, and it also goes away and I am no longer afraid of it on a subconscious level! So I already have experience. But fears continue to surface, and very serious ones. Now the question is: Am I doing the right thing by living each fear? After all, the experience of previous fears at the unconscious level has already been formed, but it does not work with new fears and you have to live them again? And another question: do I understand correctly that when fear appears, having consciously accepted it, I agree that it can stay in me and manifest itself, but I did not agree with what this fear is trying to convey to me? And another question: you write that there shouldn’t be an internal dialogue, it needs to be stopped, and I do it, although it’s hard, but now it’s much easier than before. And if I conduct a rational dialogue: I tell myself that I lived through very strong fears and they have passed, then this one will also pass, is this permissible? And the last question: after how long after you started practicing mindfulness, gaining an unconscious experience of the safety and absurdity of your fears, did your thinking change from anxious to more calm, not looking for constant threats and worries?
I would be very happy if you can answer!
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- Hello Oleg. It is not necessary to live through every manifestation of fear, in the sense that you can safely ignore and do something without paying attention (without attaching importance), the main thing here is not to fight if something has arisen in your feelings , and calmly pass through yourself.
  Recognizing any feelings in yourself is very good. important, it helps to accept them, and ignoring or not ignoring depends on the situation ..because sometimes fear is quite justified (healthy fear warning about something real) you just need to learn to calmly see how justified (rational) fear is or is it just your own speculation .
  About the diet. dialogue., look for yourself, sometimes it’s important just not to analyze anything, and sometimes you can Support yourself by saying something useful, for example, “the thought comes up: “I won’t succeed or I’m somehow not like that” - you can answer these harmful thoughts by others - "I will succeed, even if it's not something else, or" I am the way I am, this is my right and I deserve the best "
  Your last question is good because you yourself noticed how important it is to accustom the mind to ease and calmness, because in a calm and clear state, the psyche itself helps us deal with emotions and thoughts, and they do not cause problems. And in terms of time - everyone is different, I had to spend a lot of time because I did not know many of the nuances, and you, if you carefully read my book, are already much more prepared.
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how can you watch the fear that rolls instantly from the side?
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- hello .. see what leads to fear (what thoughts or images). and how to be in this case, read in other articles on the blog - "Awareness" or in the article "how to deal with panic attacks" wrote
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Andrey, ya tak blagodarna, za vashu statyu🌷. emigraziya..dala o svete znat.
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Vasha statya pomogla mne Zambia posmotret na zhini drugimi glazami
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Thanks Andrey!
I don't regret signing up. A lot about me. Tired of being dependent on others. I understand everything, I can not do anything. That's how my parents raised me. Little praised, much humiliated, beaten. It's scary to remember
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- please .. Yes, this is enough, but you need to understand that parents could not behave differently, many behave this way not because they want to make the child unhappy, but because they themselves are unhappy, do not know how to love and live the way society taught them.
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Thank you very much, Andrey. I really like your articles, I will continue to study them
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- please)
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Andrew, your articles help me a lot. My fears are that I will die, right now something will happen to me, it starts to hurt in my chest, cold sweat all over my body, this makes it even worse. I am learning to accept this fear, I convince myself that nothing serious is happening. I'm probably already used to living with chest pain. Recently, there has been a fear that nothing hurts or bothers me. How is it that nothing hurts - I start thinking about it and anxiety, fear, panic appear again. I want to learn how to cope with fears, I'm scared, I have very bad thoughts (about suicide). I think about it a lot and it becomes scary even more, because thoughts, as they say, are material...
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- Natalia Thoughts without emotions and actions are worth little. and just like that, they don’t become material, otherwise all people on earth would live in clover thinking about big money, etc.
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Hello Andrey.
I have a terrible fear of loneliness, meaninglessness, and OCD, very strong + insane passion for fire. Sometimes I don't even leave my apartment.
What to do? Don't know...
What city are you in? Thank you.
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- Hello.. I'm from Belarus... what to do - work with your fears. as I wrote in this and other articles, read and apply at least a little bit and you will see there
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Good afternoon, please tell me how to work with fears associated with medical interventions: I'm afraid of general anesthesia, fear of not waking up, fear of a doctor's mistake, feelings of helplessness and lack of opportunity to influence the situation!
Thanks in advance
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- Hello Natalia .. think, is there a 100% guarantee? this is what prevents you from gaining och. The most important thing in life is Trust. I mean not blind trust, but reasonable. Study the information about general anesthesia, based on scientific facts and evidence, and then you will probably see that you are overly worried and do not trust in vain .. And anyone can make a mistake, no one is safe from this, and this can only be accepted, and not try to control everything , even what is basically impossible
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Please help me. I went to a neurologist with PA, they prescribed tranquilizers, they did not help me. Then she turned to a psychologist, everything seemed to be normal at first. But then it started again. I take everything very close to my heart. And I start going over it all in my head. Until PA happens. I became afraid to be at home alone. While my husband is at work. It’s easier for me at a party or at work, there’s no time to even think about it. But at home, everything is new. Now I am afraid of heights and that I can jump from the 7th floor, although I do not want to. I've been tired of living like this since February. At home with my husband, constant stress, swearing. He specifically curtails all my blood. But I have a little daughter. Help me please.
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- Hello .. read articles about panic attacks, what they are and how to act, as well as articles about VSD and obsessive thoughts. You reinforce your fear with some disturbing THOUGHTS, this is what you need to work with first of all
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But what if getting rid of fears bypassed the fear of killing yourself? I entered this state of meaninglessness... the result was a plus-on-plus effect...
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Hello Andrei, every time I start to observe my negative thoughts, they immediately disappear. Is this a normal reaction? Or am I just suppressing them this way. For some reason, I can’t watch thoughts at all, as soon as I turn my attention towards thoughts, they simply disappear and my attention instantly switches to other thoughts or objects. Thank you so much for your site and book!
I'm trying to incorporate your experience into my daily practice, but I'm not sure if I'm doing it right.
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- Hello Natasha .. if you have read my book, it’s a bit of a strange question .. there are details about this there .. read in the chapter “Working with thinking” .. otherwise you are doing everything right! Thanks for your feedback!
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Andrey, hello. I’m trying your method, but it immediately became much worse. All my life I have been using avoidant behavior in communicating with people, now when communicating I try to let go of control over the PA. Strong fear, losing face,. That someone will see my nervousness or loss of control In life, I learned to communicate in such a way that people think that I am a very calm person and are surprised to learn that I am an anxious person. And now it turns out that I break my system of behavior and this causes great anxiety, I accept it. I am doing something wrong.
Before that, I used the willpower method, that is, agoraphobia was acceptable, gradually forced myself to leave the house, farther and farther. Now I walk calmly, but very distant places still cause fear. I tried to distract myself. And with your method, I am always in a shaking, I use it on the street, for example, and it turns out that I plunge into my state, and do not get out of it. I don’t understand what I’m doing wrong, maybe the path of a warrior suits me more? the situation forces me to take some action, I go squinting, get nervous, but then I understand that there seems to be nothing terrible and I relax. And I can only practice mindfulness at home, when no one is watching me. It seems to me that if I let go of control in a public place, a strong PA will cover me
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- Hello Maria. I recommend doing mindfulness practice more often, it helps to learn how to deal with emotions and thoughts.
  
  As for training at home with mindfulness in PA, for a start this is good, but then you will need to decide and take at least a small step in a real situation, this is where it is important to let go of logical control and see that nothing bad is happening, it all depends on you, and awareness is the highest vigilance! How else can you know that you can handle everything yourself? nothing but being in a real situation.
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Podskajite neurosis and PA dangerous to life and health?
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- Hello. .. Ira .. do not be lazy for yourself ... read articles about panic attacks, VVD and neurosis on the site and you will understand everything.
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Andrew, I really like the way you write, easy and accessible! Your articles help me a lot, much of what is written, I realized myself, because I was fond of psychology, but still it didn’t help me for some reason, some kind of distrust in my own knowledge, and reading you I understand that I have always been on the right track , but due to self-doubt, she created obstacles for herself on the way to creating a harmonious personality. It's great that now people with panic attacks and neurosis have a scythe to help, and more than once I myself extinguished my anxiety simply by reading your articles, and after that I began to work on myself with renewed vigor. Of course, there is still a lot of work, but now I don’t treat my fear and anxiety as something terrible, but I even perceive it as a kind of plus, as an impetus to action and work on myself, I hope you will continue to help people, because what do you do well)))
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Andrew, good day! Tell me, please, how to be in such a situation. I tried to commit suicide, cut the veins in both hands and left large scars on my wrists. I am very afraid that my acquaintances or someone else will find out about my suicide attempt (friends know), so I hide them in every possible way (avoid the situation): shirts, long-sleeved T-shirts, bracelets, I want to get tattoos, etc. On the one hand, I avoid the situation, and on the other hand, it’s not very desirable to plunge into the situation and tell everyone somehow, because this is going to be bravado. Thanks in advance!
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- Good time, what was, was, this is the past that can no longer be changed, start living in the present paying less attention to the past, and less dependent on the opinions of people, even loved ones. It is pointless to hide what someone else knows besides you all your life. Believe me, the main thing is not what you were before and what you did there, where you can become much more important!
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Thank you for the article! Tell me in a situation: in driving classes I do everything without mistakes, like an exam: panic seizes, everything immediately “flies” out of my head and my legs start to shake, I can’t even do anything with them. Help me what is the reason?
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I read your book about fear, a very useful book, everything is very accessible. But if possible, I would like to ask a question, how to deal with the fear of harm, especially children, mostly my own. It all started not so long ago, 2.5 months ago, after watching a film where the wife stabbed her husband with a knife, abruptly turned everything over to herself, was very frightened, her daughter was nearby. After that, the fear of harm appeared. them ... Please advise what else can be done with this particular fear?
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- Hello.. From your question, I understood that you are looking for knowledge that will instantly lead to a solution to the problem, but there are no magic words and magic pills, there are only RIGHT ACTIONS, that is, you need not just to know, but to regularly and HONESTLY APPLY knowledge. Here, you write "live thoughts" where in the book did you find it? you need to live HONESTLY your emotions (feelings) that some thought evokes in you.
  Regarding your specific issue:
  1 To understand that a wife stabbed her husband with a knife, not just because she suddenly, for no reason, wanted to or her body went on its own and did something there, a whole series of some events in her life led her to this , you see only the final result, and not all this previous history. People never do anything for nothing, everything has a reason, so trying on the actions of others is completely absurd. (you are not that person and you were not in the place of that woman, you do not know all the reasons that brought her to such a state).
  2. Identify and remove all defensive (avoidant) actions that only perpetuate the problem. Such actions may apply in your case - hiding knives, avoiding being near your daughter, as well as constant "thinking" about the problem in order to control everything with logic, but in the book I wrote that logic only creates the illusion of control, without actually changing anything , you were both afraid and continue to be afraid of losing control and logic is not an assistant here !!! (she only hurts) If you think that by trying to convince yourself, they say, I'm good, I was brought up decent and I won't do this, you will solve the problem, then you are deeply mistaken. Therefore, stop trying to think and persuade yourself all the time. RIGHT ACTIONS ARE NEEDED, and I wrote about them in detail in the book. (so use them if you want the result, but just reading is pointless)
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Thanks for the answer Andrei, I read the book Obsessive thoughts, fears and VSD. Can you advise what else to read on my topic?
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- Robert Leahy "Freedom from Anxiety", but if you do not do ENOUGH what is recommended, then there will be no sense. Knowledge is useless without their application. And you will again look for new and new ways to solve the problem in the race for a quick and easy result, and each time you will be disappointed, because magic words and pills do not exist!
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Andrey, thank you very much for responding ... I really read it inattentively, now I am trying to live the emotions that come with these thoughts and do not try to predict events. The most difficult thing for me is to stop scanning myself for symptoms. Can you advise?
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- All that is needed here is to catch when you start to do this and not get involved in this process .. but smoothly transfer your attention to some of your affairs. or just observing the world. By the way..it is very important to stop scanning yourself. on the symptoms .. this is only a reinforcement. problem
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Andrei, your articles directly helped me figure it out and opened my eyes to my own fear. I, like you, have a fear of my own thoughts) what methods were especially effective in your struggle and do you conduct online consultations?
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- Hello .. the methods are described in the articles on the site, ..and there is a section "consultations"
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Hello! I have a fear when communicating with people, not with everyone and not always. My hands begin to tremble, my face shrinks. Moreover, fear increases with age.
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My concern is that I think I won't be able to protect my wife if someone offends her... even though I can stand up for her! And I constantly scroll through different situations! I pump myself up .. and these thoughts are constantly spinning in my head!
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Hi Andrew, I really need your help. I don't know what's wrong with me. It all started with the fact that I fell ill with tonsillitis, the doctor prescribed me antibiotics and another medicine for the throat, on the 3rd day of taking antibiotics I have an asthma attack at night in the form of a spasm of the throat, this is not asthma. Such fear, palpitations, wadded legs, my body is not mine at all. I immediately went to the doctors, but they couldn’t tell me anything like that, for some reason the gastrologist decided that it was reflux, I passed a general blood test, immunoglobulin tests. for some types of allergies, for the thyroid gland, she made a tank of sowing from the throat. In general, all tests were good, but only the tank culture showed that there are 4+ streptococci. I went to Laura with these tests, she prescribed me an antibiotic that was determined by the seeding tank, I started drinking it and immediately on the same day my nightly attacks of suffocation with a huge amount of mucus and discomfort in my throat stopped. But during the day there are micro spasms that are not clear from what. A month and a half has already passed as a day ago I again had an asthma attack at night. I was very frightened, and in general I didn’t tell you the main thing, that when I get sick and no one can make an accurate diagnosis, I have a panic and a terrible fear of death, of an insidious incurable disease, and these negative thoughts enslave my mind. help me please
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- Hello .. panic due to UNCERTAINTY .. the fear of the unknown is one of the strongest. As for suffocation, I can’t advise anything, but I can assume that since the examinations didn’t reveal anything serious and the doctors didn’t tell you directly, then suffocation is probably associated with a lump in the throat, this is a symptom of stress and fear .. In fact, you need just relax your throat and neck muscles when there is a feeling of choking.. and see if that helps. You now generally need more calmness, learn the skills of relaxation and have more mental rest.
  As for obsessive thoughts, read the articles on the site "Obsessive thoughts how to get rid of" and "Causes of obsessive fears" they will help you understand and understand what to do with thoughts.
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  - Hello .. I can’t say anything .. everything is vague in the question .. "some thoughts", fear must be passed through oneself and not try to avoid everything - this is the main
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- I read your articles, I started to apply a little, to observe my thoughts, feelings from the outside, sometimes it comes out sometimes not, but in the last week these feelings have intensified, before I tried to muffle them ... but now I have released them to freedom, I feel that they are no longer I’m off the beaten track... but again, you somehow answered me about slowing down, and when I allegedly have thoughts that there’s not enough time to tell me enough time ... it helps to calm down, but in general, it’s always and always like this for 10 years: before I had a lot of things to do, and I did each one with pleasure, + I had a rest, it didn’t bother me that I still had some things to do, and I did everything consciously, so to speak, now the situation is different, I say there’s enough time, I still don’t lets go, this is from a number of things I do one thing, then do another 2.3, even when there are few of them, it’s still panic, anxiety, it’s so unpleasant when you take on something every time, and it starts right away, this state is very annoying, so how to convince yourself does not work, the phrase does not really work, it just calms a little... It all started, it seems to me, from society: time flies, time runs, there are only 24 hours in a day, we don’t have time for anything, we need to hurry, life will fly by like 1 second, you won’t have time to look back, and in fact this is an unconscious deep psyche? What to do with it? I can’t even rest normally, do things in my head faster, and then relax, but this is not always good for me ... since the day can be full ... (I don’t strive for multitasking, on the contrary, I unload myself, but there are special load days). I can’t adequately remember what I’m doing at all, where I am, when I slow down again panic, anxiety, because the following happens: here I’m slowing down now (there’s enough time), but the thought is, damn it, I’m slowing down, I won’t have time, time goes by ... and again panic, anxiety, this is horror, I never thought that I would drive myself into such a time frame.
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- Andrew, thank you very much for your articles!
  
  I want to write to Ksyusha, who wrote 2018-05-04 00:28 about asthma attacks. It happens to me like you do when I sleep on my back. I stop breathing in my sleep, or it seems to me that I stop breathing. In general, I wake up in a terrible panic from the fact that there is no air and with screams I grab air with my mouth. I choke on one word. I noticed for myself that this happens when I fall asleep on my back. But it doesn't happen on the side. Can at you something similar and to you kak-that to be useful what I have shared?
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Hello.
Against the backdrop of constant stress, I developed a neurosis and pa. Only if I can still cope with the excitement about this, then the sleep disorder scares me the most. At first it was like tremors in the chest, which did not allow to fall asleep. Then I overcame it, but began to wake up every hour and a half. Then I managed to calm down with an effort, get distracted, and everything seemed to get better, like a pancake, the fear of suffocating came from somewhere, and now when I fall asleep I stop breathing ... My hands just drop, I'm very tired. Such an insidious disease, one thing after another, like you will defeat it, something new appears ... please help me, what should I do! I'm desperate.
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- Hello. one comment on such a global question cannot be answered .. read the article on the site, they have a lot on this topic. about anxiety, VVD, neurosis .. as well as about practices .. and apply knowledge
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Good day, Andrey. Thank you very much for your site, the most important thing is that I read and understand that everything is to the point, very competently and to the point. I suffered pa, it all started at the university, it aggravated everything with my hyper-responsibility, I didn’t have time to finish the university, when the pregnancy happened and everything got worse, as they say thanks to hormones, everything that you describe has a place to be very much, I especially like about awareness, but here’s mine the trouble is that my now pregnant neurosis does not give me peace at all, I have a fear of death associated specifically with pregnancy, with the pain of childbirth, the fear that if I do not pull myself together, there will be schizophrenia or psychosis. Now it has become difficult to fight and hands down, because before pregnancy I coped without pills, there was sport - this is the number one medicine, meeting friends, pleasant communication, watching movies, thinking about traveling, and now it’s one horror. Tell me, have you ever consulted expectant mothers in this condition, is it fixable, because I think that the state before pregnancy was very good, and if I stumbled upon your site at that time, then this would be an additional pill to my "medicines" ", and now neither films, nor meetings, nothing pleases, unina, melancholy, tears, pa, depression, I'm afraid to admit the thought that there is a new life inside, but as soon as I think about it, I immediately fear death, horror in general
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- Hello Dasha. Yes, now the support of loved ones and positive communication are more important to you, and consultations on these issues would be very good. in place. If you want, let's try, I'm sure I can help.
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Thank you very much for the article, I will try, the most important thing I wrote out for myself is "Anxiety is an assumption of a negative outcome of the situation (its development), so for example, today I was walking with a friend and met two acquaintances on the street and immediately the assumptions of the development of the situation rushed 1 they will see that I feel bad (staggering, etc.) 2 will start to tease me and it will make me even worse (staggering anxiety, etc.) and I will be disgraced and the next time they see me, it will most likely happen again to know that I can’t answer anything (because my anxiety is shaking and etc.) I’m shocked that I wrote so much about the assumption of the development of one situation 🙂 In general, only the point from joking came true from all this, although I drowned out the alarm and tried to respond with mutual jokes) I've already read that you don't need to turn it off.
Briefly about myself:
I have suffered from anxiety for 5 years.
I'm taking Velaxin (an antidepressant)
I have been drinking it for 5 years, there was a remission after 2 years of taking it. I was glad I stopped drinking and in 3-6 months everything returned as it was: pa, anxiety, shatvet, I can’t work, etc.
Now I drink again in the previous dosage of the pill, so far there is no remission for 2-3 years, again I suffer very much.
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- try to hide your anxiety less.. it takes all your energy.. And learn to depend less on the opinions of others! let them think what they want .. and you often remember to yourself what is really important ... that is, about your most important goals in life!
  Reply I felt emptiness, emptiness, as if a piece of me had been torn off .. I walked sluggishly, life is not sweet. My sister began to take care of me, made an appointment with the doctor to advise how to calm my nerves. They gave me a prescription for grandaxin, my sister also took it once, she said it was good.
  The drug really calmed me down. The topic is still not pleasant for me, but now it’s not so unbearable
- Hello Andrey
  Reply
- I just finished taking a course of Grandaxin, I drank as prescribed by a psychotherapist. It was necessary to cope with neurosis and anxiety after one situation in the family, which I do not want to talk about. I drank for a month and a half daily, 2 tablets a day at breakfast) during the day, a cheerful state and a mostly positive outlook on things remained. When you calm down, it is easier to soberly assess the situation you are struggling with. In general, I can say that psychotherapy is a great thing, it helps a lot to sort out your life and understand yourself.
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- Hello. My fear, or rather anxiety, starts from the solar plexus and descends to the lower abdomen.
  It arose recently - financial collapse and fear that it would become bad with my parents if they found out about it, once they already saved me from such a situation. I drove this fear for a long time, or rather tried to replace it with positive thoughts. And now she has failed like a chiry, I have a panic, to the point that I counted all the insurance that my daughter will have, if anything ... I read your article, thank you, Andrey, you are on time. She looked her anxiety in the eyes and acknowledged it. I admitted that I was afraid and what I was afraid of. I wrote a letter to fear. Now I need to figure out what to do next.
  
  Hello. . TRAIN your psyche to endure this sensation when you are near the balls.. You need to dare. do not run away from these balls. .and vice versa. .be with them until the feeling becomes easier to bear. And also remember. .from where .. where did this fear begin?
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An anxiety syndrome is a mental disorder that is associated with stressful effects of varying duration and intensity, and is manifested by an unreasonable feeling of anxiety. It should be noted that in the presence of objective reasons, a feeling of anxiety can also be characteristic of a healthy person. However, when a feeling of fear and anxiety appears unreasonably, for no apparent reason, this may be a signal of the presence of a disease, which is called anxiety neurosis or fear neurosis.

Causes of the disease

Both psychological and physiological factors may be involved in the development of anxiety neurosis. Heredity also matters, so the search for the cause of anxiety disorders in children should begin with the parents.

Psychological factors:

emotional stress (for example, anxiety neurosis may develop due to the threat of change and anxiety about this);
deep emotional drives of various nature (aggressive, sexual and others), which under the influence of certain circumstances can be activated.

Physiological factors:

disruption of the endocrine system and the resulting hormonal shift - for example, organic changes in the adrenal cortex or certain brain structures, where hormones are produced that are responsible for the occurrence of fear, anxiety and regulate our mood;
severe disease.

Speaking about the causes of this condition, it is worth noting that all these factors are predisposing to an anxiety syndrome, and its immediate development occurs with additional mental stress.

Separately, it should be said about the development of anxiety disorders after drinking alcohol. In this case, the appearance of a feeling of anxiety is noted, as a rule, in the morning. At the same time, the main disease is alcoholism, and the observed feelings of anxiety are only one of the symptoms that appear with a hangover.

Symptoms of anxiety neurosis

Clinical manifestations of anxiety neurosis can be varied and include:

mental;
vegetative and somatic disorders.

Mental manifestations

The main thing here is an unreasonable, unexpected and inexplicable feeling of anxiety, which can manifest itself in the form of an attack. At this time, a person unreasonably begins to feel an indefinite impending catastrophe. There may be severe weakness and general trembling. Such an attack can appear suddenly and just as suddenly pass. Its duration is usually about 20 minutes.

There may also be some sense of unreality of what is happening around. Sometimes the attack in its strength is such that the patient ceases to correctly orient himself in the space surrounding him.

Anxiety neurosis is characterized by manifestations of hypochondria (excessive anxiety about one's own health), frequent mood swings, sleep disorders and fatigue.

At first, the patient feels only an occasional feeling of anxiety for no reason. As the disease progresses, it develops into a constant feeling of anxiety.

Vegetative and somatic disorders

The symptoms here can vary. There are dizziness and headache, which is not characterized by a clear localization. Also, pain can be felt in the region of the heart, while it is sometimes accompanied by a rapid heartbeat. The patient may feel short of breath, often also the occurrence of shortness of breath. With anxiety neurosis, the digestive system is also involved in a general malaise, this can manifest itself as a disorder of the stool and nausea.

Diagnostics

For a correct diagnosis, a simple conversation with a patient is often enough for a doctor. At the same time, the conclusions of other specialists can serve as confirmation when complaints (for example, of a headache or other disorders) do not reveal any specific organic pathology.

It is also important for the doctor to determine that this neurosis is not a manifestation of psychosis. Here, the assessment of this condition by the patients themselves will help. In neurotic patients, as a rule, they are able to correctly relate their problems to reality. In psychosis, this assessment is violated, and the patient is not aware of the fact of his illness.

How to get rid of feelings of fear and anxiety: treatment of anxiety neurosis

In order to get rid of the feeling of anxiety, you should contact a specialist in a timely manner. This problem is dealt with by psychotherapists or psychiatrists. Therapeutic measures will be largely determined by the degree and severity of the disorder. In this case, the doctor may prescribe the following types of treatment:

psychotherapy sessions;
medical treatment.

As a rule, the treatment of anxiety neurosis begins with psychotherapy sessions. First of all, the doctor seeks to ensure that the patient understands the causes of his somatic and autonomic disorders. Also, psychotherapeutic sessions are designed to teach you to relax and relieve stress properly. In addition to psychotherapy, some physiotherapy and relaxation massages may be recommended.

Not all patients who have been diagnosed with anxiety-phobic neurosis require drug treatment. Medicines are resorted to when it is required to quickly obtain an effect for that period until the result is achieved due to other methods of treatment. In this case, the doctor may prescribe antidepressants and tranquilizers.

Prevention

To prevent the development of anxiety states, it is important to follow the simplest rules:

lead a healthy lifestyle;
allocate sufficient time for sleep and rest;
find time for moderate physical activity;
eat well;
devote time to your hobby or favorite thing that gives you emotional pleasure;
maintain relationships with pleasant people;
be able to independently deal with stress and relieve tension with the help of auto-training.