?? so what is it

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psisci said:
Good answers. Any thoughts on why people feel normal anxiety as opposed to disordered anxiety?

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Good question. I wish I knew for sure. My psychiatrist's theory is that I have abnormal anxiety and panic attacks because I rarely express any "negative" emotion... sadness, anger, frustration... I don't know how to change that, though. The reason I don't express those emotions is because I rarely feel those emotions. I don't feel like I'm repressing because I can't identify anything there to repress.

I don't show any anxiety or have emotional reactions when I'm in a situation that "normal" people would find stressful. I'm in a different zone. I'm calm, cool and collected when things are chaotic at work or when I'm in a situation where others' emotions are high. So, I think my emotions and anxiety lie in wait, way below the surface, build up to unhealthy levels and then BANG! they jump up on me when I'm not distracted by other things.

It has nothing to do with theory. Science has proven over and oover that experience wires the brain, and further experience can rewire it (so to speak).

I believe it can be genetic too. My grandmother had it as do my Mother and 3 of my siblings.
Mine is fight or flight and impending doom along with worry over nothing. Restless sleep, insomnia and a poor appitite.

Current meds are :

Zoloft 100mg and 4 mg of Diaazapam for sleep.

I fought it for over 15 years without meds then I finally had to do something for it in March after my Doctor nagged me for 10 years.

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psisci said:
It has nothing to do with theory. Science has proven over and oover that experience wires the brain, and further experience can rewire it (so to speak).

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I'm working on rewiring. There are just so many wires.

So then you can rewire the brain with new experiences. It isn't just a matter of replacing the unpleasant experience with new pleasant experiences so that the unconscious expect the next similar experience to be pleasant?

I'm curious. How would that work?

say I get anxious about real or perceived impending doom, for example? what experiences would be able to rewire the brain?

Could you tell us more? Thanks!

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psisci said:
It has nothing to do with theory. Science has proven over and oover that experience wires the brain, and further experience can rewire it (so to speak).

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So what is the answer to normal vs disordered anxiety?

I thought it was fairly straightforward (see my post previous page) but I am probably way off mark ...?

Curious.

I

Anxiety to me is when my muscles all over tense. im shaky and trembling. Cant sit still. Have absolutely no patience. Everyone around me talks, but i can barely make sense of what they are saying. I start sweating. My mind starts racing. If Im driving i cant go fast enough. I become dangerous in a vehicle. Like this morning, I wrecked my truck ,becuase i had no patience to wait to get around the fence. Now, i cant get what happened out of my mind and the anxiety or whatever it is just getting worse. Want to just go hide in a cornor and crawl into a ball, but cant cause i just wanna break something else.

Just noticed this title thread. Anxiety. Hm. I think it's a sense of loss of control over one's environment inner or outer, accompanied by physiological symptoms. Gotta think some more about this, as I don't have it down pat.

Anxiety is a fear response. It is normal to experience this in a situation that is dangerous etc.. It is a disorder to feel this all the time, for no reason, or in the presence of something that is not dangerous but produces a fear response. It is a learned reaction, and can be unlearned. Our brains are in a constant state of changing, weakening, strengthening connections between cells. Recent research has shown that REM sleep may actually serve to weaken the biological connections in the brain associated with bad memories, so nightmares or bad dreams may actually be good. This is why I tell people with psych problems to not take chronic sleep meds or benzos, because they interfere with sleep cycles.

Normal anxiety is when your in your house and someone breaks in and you get scared.anxiety disorder is your adrenal gets stuck in high gear and you have no control with those gears, scariest as hell I am currently mending myself but I need the meds to help while I'm healing and I believe reprograming your brain is right......staying positive and recognizing that I have a disorder helps big time I am not scared so much now that I know what it is.

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chichi said:
I am currently mending myself but I need the meds to help while I'm healing and I believe reprograming your brain is right......staying positive and recognizing that I have a disorder helps big time I am not scared so much now that I know what it is.

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Best wishes on the mending. It does get easier. I'm 2-1/2 years away from agoraphobia and debilitating panic attacks now. Meds and reprogramming my brain (through CBT) really paid off. Once you can get to the point where you recognize the anxiety attack and just let yourself ride it out... sail through it until it passes, it becomes much less terrifying... and once the terror goes, you're doing fine. Cheers to you!

It is like being in the constant
Fight or Flight mode. You are sure what is coming, so you aren't sure which to do. But you want to be ready. Than you second, third, fourth guess yourself.