SupremeAC said:

aspro said:

How do you do it?

a combination of:

1. believing in my own capabilities to solve the problem
2. being aware that no matter how insurmountable the problem appears, it's just a minor thing on the scale of humanity at large
3. realizing that things always seem worse at night and that I'll be better equiped to tackle the challenge when I'm properly rested.

In the end very little is truely important and thus worth losing sleep to, regardless of how important it may seem.

In general sometimes it’ll take me a bit of time to fall asleep and other times I can fall asleep relatively quickly. Usually it’s just random inconsequential thoughts that’ll keep me awake.

I was going to ask what the source of your anxiety was, but you said medical problems.

I suffered from bad anxiety for probably as long as you have. What changed for me were 3 things, getting older helps, you just get more comfortable in your own skin. Travelling also helped, I know its an expensive option but getting out of your bubble and seeing the way different people around the world live, changes your perspective on life, and meeting and mixing with different people. And also the very act of travelling to distant locations around the world made me realise that the world is so huge and you tend to just focus and obsess over the very small bubble of your life. When you see people drying cow shit on a wicker roof in the Indian countryside, for fuel, it makes you reconsider if the things that bother you are so important.

But the biggest thing was that argument with my brother years ago, we are talking now but it was a pivotal moment for me. Because it flipped a switch, I just gave up caring. And I think that's something that a lot of people with anxiety need. Narciscistic people (spelling wrong?) are happier than most because they love themselves and don't care about other people as much. Yes they are douchebags but they are happier. When I gave up caring what other people think of me and adopted a fuck everything point of view - up to a point (i'm not some total douche) it just let me become a lot calmer and happier. So I don't know what kind of medical problems you have, I had a cancer scare a couple of years back which dominated my life for a few months. I just gave up caring. If you can just say to yourself, whatever happens, happens. You can go with the flow and just accept it. Its easier to say, than to actually do and its not something you can just decide, for me it was a gradual process that just led up to this point where I just thought, fuck it. Whatever.

My sister has horrible anxiety and is claustrophobic.  She will take the stairs instead of an elevator and someone has to hold the door open because she is worried that she will be stuck in the stairwell.  Her son wants to take a trip to Pennsylvania and to NYC next summer.  We would visit Hershey Park then spend a few days checking out New York. We are currently planning a trip for both of our families and intend to rent a van for all of us. The only problem is her anxiety is taking over. She wants to stay in a campground two hours away from NYC and drive there everyday.  That's kind of a no go for me since it adds unnecessary expenses on my part. She's afraid of heights but I see staying in NY as a way of overcoming some of these issues...slowly.  We are going to work with her without adding a lot of unnecessary expenses.  Im going to try to find a hotel in Manhattan with a room on the first floor to see if that helps. If she is inflexible and prices us out of a vacation, then I may need to plan an alternative one for just the four of us where we fly to NYC and stay a few days. Obviously, I'd prefer the original plan but can't afford to add about another thousand on our trip.

Yodariquo said:

Hey you're headed out my way. I'm 20 minutes from Hershey.

Nice!  How is Hershey Park?  That's where we will spend a day.

travo said:

My sister has horrible anxiety and is claustrophobic.  She will take the stairs instead of an elevator and someone has to hold the door open because she is worried that she will be stuck in the stairwell.  Her son wants to take a trip to Pennsylvania and to NYC next summer.  We would visit Hershey Park then spend a few days checking out New York. We are currently planning a trip for both of our families and intend to rent a van for all of us. The only problem is her anxiety is taking over. She wants to stay in a campground two hours away from NYC and drive there everyday.  That's kind of a no go for me since it adds unnecessary expenses on my part. She's afraid of heights but I see staying in NY as a way of overcoming some of these issues...slowly.  We are going to work with her without adding a lot of unnecessary expenses.  Im going to try to find a hotel in Manhattan with a room on the first floor to see if that helps. If she is inflexible and prices us out of a vacation, then I may need to plan an alternative one for just the four of us where we fly to NYC and stay a few days. Obviously, I'd prefer the original plan but can't afford to add about another thousand on our trip.

Oh man that sucks. You guys have my sympathy. Hopefully you’re plan works out.

travo said:

Nice!  How is Hershey Park?  That's where we will spend a day.

Not much help here as I haven't been Not really our thing. But it's something everyone else has been to around here so it seems popular enough (my work does some kind of yearly thing at the park that I have no interest in). Food is kinda rough in PA, but The Mill is a nice place near the park. When you schedule, make sure you don't overlap the RV show, as it makes it miserable to navigate through the area.

Yodariquo said:

The generalized anxiety is the worst. I fortunately don't have it constantly, but it hits sometimes. It's one thing to have anxiety over a specific thing, that's manageable. But just getting hit with the anxiety hammer for no reason? That's just dirty.

Yeah for sure. Very dirty indeed.

Dvader said:

Thanks for sharing Archie, just reading others experiences is helpful. I wouldn't say I have anxiety at the level of a medical condition cause I've never had a panic attack or felt sick, but I defeintly get really nervous whenever I get into social situations that are not normal for me. So I just don't go out and that's a problem for me. After I while I settle down but im always anxious just going to party or hanging out with people I don't know. Anyway there is no shame in this, take medication if it helps, mental health is HUGE.

On the topic of sleep, I get like 6 hours a night not because I can't sleep but because I want to do things. Either play a game, read a book, watch a show. I know the moment I sleep I am back on the hamster wheel for another 12 hours. But as the week goes on I get really tired and just pass out doing those activities. There are moments, a lot more lately, where I do think about problems. Clearly the state of the world and specifically my state is maddening. I have family members that sadly have complete opposite brainwashed views on the world and the vaccine and it drives me nuts that I can't get through to them. Any time I let that into my brain before sleep I have a bad night. So that's why I just do what I love, the stuff that keeps me sane in an insane world.

It definitely is very helpful talking and hearing other people’s experiences.

Yeah sometimes I have difficulty getting to sleep because I want to keep doing things sometimes as well. I try to keep a steady sleep schedule though.