# Anxiety Question



## linda2001 (Apr 14, 2001)

I have noticed during the past few weeks on some nights when I am having problems sleeping I am feeling anxious, however there are no thoughts racing thru my mind and I am unsure what is making me anxious. Does your body get use to being anxious, is my body /mind playing tricks on me because it is accustomed to being in an anxious state or is this anxious feeling coming from the subconscious?Just curious as I am beginning to accept that anxiety is part of who I am and I want to start to understand it.Cheers


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## eric (Jul 8, 1999)

Hi Linda.







A couple things here.So your saying your mind is calm and you still "feel" anxious?One aspect of anxious and the mind body.The brain can be relaxed and the body itself anxious, or vice versa, or both."Does your body get use to being anxious, is my body /mind playing tricks on me because it is accustomed to being in an anxious state or is this anxious feeling coming from the subconscious?"Yes it be/stay in an anxious state and cause excess muscle tension in the body. Some of it can also be subconcious. It can also take quite a while for the body to calm down, when your working on getting it to calm down.But the body being anxious can keep you awake at night, sometimes excersising and breathing techniques can calm that part down and at the same time the mind, anxious or not, as its calming the whole central nervous system down. It can take a while to see effects also.Also read this again just for the info. http://www.mindbodymed.com/EducationCenter/fight.html And a good link on anxiety. http://www.nimh.nih.gov/publicat/index.cfm Hope this helps, without being you and in your mind its hard to answer your questions and how you felt.


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## eric (Jul 8, 1999)

By the way did you start the tapes?


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## BQ (May 22, 2000)

Linda, This happens to me from time to time too. I usually get back up out of bed and do some slow beathing with some slow stretching exercises that I like. Works real well getting my body to chill out already!







BQ


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## linda2001 (Apr 14, 2001)

Hi Eric







Yes sometimes my mind is calm and I still "feel" anxious. Thanks for the links, i don't have time yet to read but will tomorrow. I have found that exercise (i now walk into work and home - it's 30 minutes each way) and muscle relaxtion helps my anxiety, which in return helps me sleep. I have been doing this for two weeks and already noticed some positive results. After going from between 3 - 0 hours sleep each night i am now sleeping between 6-8 hours most nights."But the body being anxious can keep you awake at night, sometimes exersising and breathing techniques can calm that part down and at the same time the mind, anxious or not, as its calming the whole central nervous system down. It can take a while to see effects also."Thanks for the last point, "it can take a while to see effects also". I don't think i have realised before but guess i am expecting too much from myself, after being anxious all day, i think by doing some breathing techniques or the muscle relaxation for a few minutes i expect the anxiety to disappear. Then I get angry with myself for not calming down and then not sleeping and then the anxiety doubles! I have to remind myself that it does take time.I started Mike's tapes a few weeks ago but stopped as things were really stressful and I wasn't able to focus. After half way thru the tapes i was getting restless and anxious and turned it off, but things have started to calm down now and I want to start again on the weekend.BQ, I like the idea of actually getting out of bed as you do when you are anxious and start on your relaxation exercises. I will try that when next i am having problems sleeping. Thank you both so much







Take careLinda


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## eric (Jul 8, 1999)

Linda, let me know how its going.If you can't sleep sometimes, if you get up and just stand or sit in a dark room with no TV or reading or anything for about fifteen minutes it can sometimes help also. There is a reason for this Mike explained to me a while ago and it has something to do with no input, but can't remember all of it at the moment. You may have some thoughts when you do it at first, but for me, I seem to have some thoughts and then less and less and then I am tired. The progressive muscle relaxation should also help this with the body being anxious.Try not to get mad at yourself or dissappointed or be to hard on yourself as that can be self defeating, by the very chemicals in your body you want to "Chill" acting up.Again let me know and remember it takes time and you learn and progress, but in the end it gets easier and paysoff more each time. Mike mentions in the tapes that were were not born walking but had to learn how to walk and this applies here. Its a learning process and some of this is individual things we learn along the way for ourselves. Keep in mind however it will get easier.


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