Guest guest Posted August 27, 2001 Report Share Posted August 27, 2001 How did I overcome this? Well . . . I'm not entirely sure. I'm sorry! I know how horrible it can be: It was my freshman year of high school. I had been diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder just the past summer. I had no interests. Nothing at all I was curious about or wanted to do. I had no friends and did not want anything to do with anyone -- anyone. Over Christmas break my stepfather came home drunk in the middle of the night and started smooching me where I had fallen asleep on the couch. My mother told me it was "cultural differences" and that was normal in his country (Columbia). I started rocking and crying for no reason at a New Year's party my father took me to. I'd stay awake for 40 hours before finally conking out, involuntarily, from sheer exhaustion. I never went back to school again after that Christmas break. Basically I was in hell. My anxiety surfaced as severe stomach pain -- so bad I could not move, talk, nothing. My family called an ambulance several times. No one could find any physical cause. I still get the stomach pain but not so much and it's not paralyzing anymore. Turns out it was partly attached to a physical thing. But the physical pain was turned on by my anxiety. Without the anxiety, when I get the physical thing now, it's a hundred times easier to handle. And anxiety doesn't turn on the stomachache anymore. If it ever did, I'd know how to calm myself down. What follows is what works for me, and soem advice for you, but please think for yourself. I can't really tell you what will work for you. These things helped me. Take it one problem at a time and take your problem areas seriously. Assume they are real. For example, what does childhood abuse have to do with driving in the rain? Driving in the rain is a scary scenario whether you were abused or not. Tackle driving in the rain and don't generalize too much. That's easy for psycholgists but it makes it harder to solve the problem for us crazy folks in the field. For example: My husband was always told that nothing would ever work out for him by his parents. So he has a general fear of success and inability to acknowledge it, which leads to depression. But that doesn't matter to us on a day to day basis. Daily, we tackle one area at a time: When he says the music business isn't going anywhere, "Michael," I say, "Look at the calendar and how many bookings you have. Does that look like un-success?" And gradually, as we deal with each area his problem affects, and tak! e those inidvidual areas seriously for their own sake, he gets better. And he also learns how to deal with his problems. Have courage. I have to be brave enough to demand to feel safe and content. For the past year I have gotten cranky -- to put it lightly -- every time I went to our cabin getaway. I knew something was wrong but at first I didn't care. No one else cared why. They just wanted me to lighten up. And I suppose I could have told myself, "I have control of this I should just stop." But instead I had the courage to demand to know the reason why. And that got me started on step two. Which is self-knowledge. First assume your problem is real, then use the scientific method to solve it. The scientific method is in the first chapter of your kids science textbooks. Create a hypothesis: an educated guess. Maybe it's -------------. In my case, maybe it's the weather. But I didnt get happy when I compensated for the weather. Okay, maybe it's the furniture arrangement. Next, test your hypothesis by applying a solution: Rearranging the furniture cheered me up temporarily, so I knew I was getting closer. Okay... last week we went and bought some storage units. Aha! I felt much better after being able to put things away and keep the room neat and organized. So far the bitchiness is gone but who knows if this will be the final solution. We have also tried vitamins of all kinds, comfort food, talking about past houses I lived in, and a host of other things. Keep trying. Some! thing will work. The last was control/choice: realizing that I had control of my emotions. I was sitting on my bed crying out of the usual emotional pain. I wondered, "why am i crying?" I asked myself that even though I knew that I was scared about something specific, and knew the specific thing. I asked myself, yeah, that thing exists, but still why am I crying? Why am I sad about this? I could be happy. I could pretend I live in a backwards world and be crazy and happy. So somewhere inside myself I realized that it was a choice. Not just to cry but to feel that way. Or maybe it was God letting me know that it was a choice. I had recently asked Christ to come into my heart and take over, because I sure wasn't doing a good job of it. So now, when I can find no solution, I pretend to be okay. And I pray. Just like Mom taught me to go to bed at night: you say your prayers, pretend to be asleep, and eventually you are as! leep. Now I say my prayers, pretend to be okay, and eventually I am. This may not work for you at all. I have attempted to answer your question of what worked for me, Rose. But maybe it will encourage you to find your own solutions. Now I must run because my one-year-old is pulling items out of the trash and offering them to the dog. EMail me privately if you need any encouragement or have any questions, and don't worry if I take awhile to answer. I do have a one year old who takes up weeks and weeks of my time. You wrote: Thank you so much for your words of encouragement. My anxiety stems from something. Since I am not God and am not all knowing...I just pretty much make guesses. I know that i get nervous and anxious very easily. Driving in the rain...asking a question in midst of a big classroom...my heart races...hands shake...stomach shakes... I guess in todays society...we just all want a quick fix and look for some kind of pill to give it to us. How did you overcome this...THis question is for ROSE. If you don't mind sharing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 28, 2001 Report Share Posted August 28, 2001 Praise God! I Pray a lot about most things because I know I only have control over certain things in my life and the rest I let go to God. Without Christ I would have never made it this far! God Bless, Jamie - Michael Riversong herbal remedies Monday, August 27, 2001 2:17 PM [herbal remedies] RE: for ROSE How did I overcome this? Well . . . I'm not entirely sure. I'm sorry! I know how horrible it can be: It was my freshman year of high school. I had been diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder just the past summer. I had no interests. Nothing at all I was curious about or wanted to do. I had no friends and did not want anything to do with anyone -- anyone. Over Christmas break my stepfather came home drunk in the middle of the night and started smooching me where I had fallen asleep on the couch. My mother told me it was "cultural differences" and that was normal in his country (Columbia). I started rocking and crying for no reason at a New Year's party my father took me to. I'd stay awake for 40 hours before finally conking out, involuntarily, from sheer exhaustion. I never went back to school again after that Christmas break. Basically I was in hell. My anxiety surfaced as severe stomach pain -- so bad I could not move, talk, nothing. My family called an ambulance several times. No one could find any physical cause. I still get the stomach pain but not so much and it's not paralyzing anymore. Turns out it was partly attached to a physical thing. But the physical pain was turned on by my anxiety. Without the anxiety, when I get the physical thing now, it's a hundred times easier to handle. And anxiety doesn't turn on the stomachache anymore. If it ever did, I'd know how to calm myself down. What follows is what works for me, and soem advice for you, but please think for yourself. I can't really tell you what will work for you. These things helped me. Take it one problem at a time and take your problem areas seriously. Assume they are real. For example, what does childhood abuse have to do with driving in the rain? Driving in the rain is a scary scenario whether you were abused or not. Tackle driving in the rain and don't generalize too much. That's easy for psycholgists but it makes it harder to solve the problem for us crazy folks in the field. For example: My husband was always told that nothing would ever work out for him by his parents. So he has a general fear of success and inability to acknowledge it, which leads to depression. But that doesn't matter to us on a day to day basis. Daily, we tackle one area at a time: When he says the music business isn't going anywhere, "Michael," I say, "Look at the calendar and how many bookings you have. Does that look like un-success?" And gradually, as we deal with each area his problem affects, and tak! e those inidvidual areas seriously for their own sake, he gets better. And he also learns how to deal with his problems. Have courage. I have to be brave enough to demand to feel safe and content. For the past year I have gotten cranky -- to put it lightly -- every time I went to our cabin getaway. I knew something was wrong but at first I didn't care. No one else cared why. They just wanted me to lighten up. And I suppose I could have told myself, "I have control of this I should just stop." But instead I had the courage to demand to know the reason why. And that got me started on step two. Which is self-knowledge. First assume your problem is real, then use the scientific method to solve it. The scientific method is in the first chapter of your kids science textbooks. Create a hypothesis: an educated guess. Maybe it's -------------. In my case, maybe it's the weather. But I didnt get happy when I compensated for the weather. Okay, maybe it's the furniture arrangement. Next, test your hypothesis by applying a solution: Rearranging the furniture cheered me up temporarily, so I knew I was getting closer. Okay... last week we went and bought some storage units. Aha! I felt much better after being able to put things away and keep the room neat and organized. So far the bitchiness is gone but who knows if this will be the final solution. We have also tried vitamins of all kinds, comfort food, talking about past houses I lived in, and a host of other things. Keep trying. Some! thing will work. The last was control/choice: realizing that I had control of my emotions. I was sitting on my bed crying out of the usual emotional pain. I wondered, "why am i crying?" I asked myself that even though I knew that I was scared about something specific, and knew the specific thing. I asked myself, yeah, that thing exists, but still why am I crying? Why am I sad about this? I could be happy. I could pretend I live in a backwards world and be crazy and happy. So somewhere inside myself I realized that it was a choice. Not just to cry but to feel that way. Or maybe it was God letting me know that it was a choice. I had recently asked Christ to come into my heart and take over, because I sure wasn't doing a good job of it. So now, when I can find no solution, I pretend to be okay. And I pray. Just like Mom taught me to go to bed at night: you say your prayers, pretend to be asleep, and eventually you are as! leep. Now I say my prayers, pretend to be okay, and eventually I am. This may not work for you at all. I have attempted to answer your question of what worked for me, Rose. But maybe it will encourage you to find your own solutions. Now I must run because my one-year-old is pulling items out of the trash and offering them to the dog. EMail me privately if you need any encouragement or have any questions, and don't worry if I take awhile to answer. I do have a one year old who takes up weeks and weeks of my time. You wrote: Thank you so much for your words of encouragement. My anxiety stems from something. Since I am not God and am not all knowing...I just pretty much make guesses. I know that i get nervous and anxious very easily. Driving in the rain...asking a question in midst of a big classroom...my heart races...hands shake...stomach shakes... I guess in todays society...we just all want a quick fix and look for some kind of pill to give it to us. How did you overcome this...THis question is for ROSE. If you don't mind sharing. Federal Law requires that we warn you of the following: 1. Natural methods can sometimes backfire. 2. If you are pregnant, consult your physician before using any natural remedy. 3. The Constitution guarantees you the right to be your own physician and toprescribe for your own health. We are not medical doctors although MDs are welcome to post here as long as they behave themselves. Any opinions put forth by the list members are exactly that, and any person following the advice of anyone posting here does so at their own risk. It is up to you to educate yourself. By accepting advice or products from list members, you are agreeing to be fully responsible for your own health, and hold the List Owner and members free of any liability. Dr. Ian ShillingtonDoctor of NaturopathyDr.IanShillington Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.