“Anxiety Relapse Does Not Erase The Success And Progress You’ve Made Up To Now Over Anxiety.”
You may feel as if your anxiety is under control, but all of a sudden your symptoms of anxiety occur all over again! People who are not prepared for an anxiety relapse can experience guilt, helplessness, and shame. It is not that hard to recover from anxiety relapse. All you need to do is keep learning for the new experiences.
Dealing With Anxiety Relapse
Decrease the different stressors. Find out about what may have caused the anxiety relapse and think of ways on how to overcome it (Here is a great post on the connection between over-breathing and anxiety). You should also reduce all the external stressors as much as you can. The stress may be triggered by factors like starting college, moving to a new place, a breakup, relationship problems, or a new job. Stress can certainly increase your susceptibility to anxiety.
Think of varied ways in which you can predict the stress and create a method to respond to the stressor. When you wake up in the morning, if you know you’re going to be faced with some forms of stressful challenges from the day, make sure to bring your weapons with you for the day:
Weapon #1) Your Rational Mind – Get your conscious mind involved in every sticky situation to override your irrational/negative responses to a challenging situation.
Weapon #2) Your Belief In You – Make sure to focus on the great progress you’ve made, and how you’ve overcome many challenges in recent times. Wake up everyday with the words “I accept all challenges today, and wholeheartedly believe in my ability to deal with anything.”
Weapon #3) Your Ability To Control Your Speed – When you slow down throughout the day you give you conscious mind opportunities to step up and give your emotional mind a break. It’s a complete reconditioning process when your speed is slow and controlled that will lead neutralness during any practical problems that show up.
One of best therapies to treat anxiety is CBT or cognitive behavioral therapy which addresses both the behaviors and the thoughts that drive and feed anxiety. The practitioner/coach can help identify the irrational thoughts and beliefs which triggered anxiety relapse and assist you find different ways to challenge such thoughts.
Along with coaching or therapy, you can also commit to excellent tools such as meditation, yoga, and breathing techniques to deal with anxiety relapse.
Continue to get proper help from your educated support system. Reach out to your family, friends, etc. without any fear. Isolating or distancing yourself from others can also make you more vulnerable to suffering from anxiety. Share your stresses and worries with any loved one or someone that you find trustworthy (but make sure they have a good idea of your struggles, and understand the disorder well).
Take steps to regularly meet up with friends. Participate in different social events and activities even if they make you feel icky inside. The more you avoid the stronger your fear gets. Do not forget the fact that you can recover from the anxiety relapse. Never lose hope or feel that everything is lost. It is possible for all things to get back together.
Positive words of self-assurance like ‘All is not lost’ and ‘I will get through this anxiety relapse’ on a daily basis can be very helpful during moments of more calmness. Do not blame yourself for the anxiety relapse. Be kind to yourself and never forget that relapses are normal and can happen to anyone.
I had anxiety symptons 18 years ago,got over it with medication,Recently went on holiday with family ad a fall and damage my ribs,My symptoms have come back,Now I am struggling to be well again,Doctor Claire weekes books helped me last time,but having the internet calms me listening to other peoples experiences.
Great to be able to see through others that change is very possible Maureen I agree. keep me updated on your progress and if you have any questions I’ll be available.
Currently I’m struggling with an anxiety relapse, I’ve been on CBT for over a year but I’ve felt overwhelmed with my main source of stress and it’s some family issues that make diary life quite difficult. Now I’m experiencing some feelings of guilt, and hopeless. This relapse has been hard because the main source of stress is also important for me, and I can’t just leave my family behind and forget about them.
Best to look into an NLP strategy over CBT in this case since one goes deeper into subconscious change more rapidly than the other.
My brother is having an anxiety relapse. After reading this, he tried to believe in himself more to lessen his anxiety. My mom also suggested trying some counseling services to assist him with his anxiety.
Hopefully the counselling creates the change you’re looking for Kayla
I really like how you mentioned that slowing things down allows your conscious mind to take over and give your emotional mind a break. I deal with anxiety on a daily basis and often struggle. I’m going to make a conscious effort to slow things down and take my time and make sure I feel good about things.
Such a huge component to self control Oscar yes.
I didn’t know that it is not that hard to recover from anxiety relapse. My brother has anxiety issues because of his current job. My mom is worried and suggested going to counseling services. She also shared this article with him and it says that isolating or distancing yourself from others can also make you more vulnerable to suffering from anxiety.
Hope your own counselling services can help him 🙂
Thank you so much. I used a variety of methods-DNRS, Anxiety Guy videos, deep breathing, prayer and scripture meditation- to heal from anxiety and limbic system impairment. I was basically symptom free from January 2020 to June 2021. Then a combination of family members moving away, the busyness of a family wedding, and a month of late nights and treats, plus the current world situation caused me to have a panic attack out of the blue while driving, with my kids in the car. It was traumatic for all of us. I have been working on healing adrenal and hormone imbalance and gut issues and anxiety. I have had health issues since having my kids, and I had made so much progress…. I used to have so much motivation and hope and optimism. For some reason, this relapse has been very challenging in those areas. I still know and believe Gos will use it all for good, but I have just felt burnt out. Thank you for the reminder that a relapse does not undo all the progress and healing I made and that I can continue to move forward.
A true epiphany yes, a total shift in perception, keep up the progress Kayla.