{"id":24254,"date":"2017-05-11T19:57:38","date_gmt":"2017-05-11T16:57:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lifeadvancer.com\/?p=24254"},"modified":"2017-05-11T19:57:38","modified_gmt":"2017-05-11T16:57:38","slug":"bad-habits-make-anxiety-worse","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lifeadvancer.com\/bad-habits-make-anxiety-worse\/","title":{"rendered":"Bad Habits You Thought Helped You Cope with Your Anxiety That Actually Make It Worse"},"content":{"rendered":"

Bad habits\u00a0grow from\u00a0good intentions. These things, which you thought were healthy,\u00a0do not help anxiety at all, so stop.<\/h2>\n

I guess I\u2019ve created a large number of bad habits considering my lifelong struggle<\/strong> with anxiety, and\u00a0these were not habits born from rebellion or laziness.<\/p>\n

I tried so hard to self-medicate and treat my anxiety \u2013 sometimes I tried sleeping it off and sometimes ignoring its existence altogether; but these habits always caught up with me<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

When you battle alone, you tend to pick up bad habits in an attempt to save yourself<\/strong>. Independence pushes you to get creative and stretch the limits of your imaginative therapy.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s more, you grow weary of the battle and get more and more desperate<\/strong> for an answer. Unfortunately, these things, fought with good intentions, wind up creating other obstacles in your war against mental illness.<\/p>\n

Want to know what bad habits I speak of?<\/h3>\n

Let\u2019s take a look at a few of these \u201cgood intentions<\/a>\u201d, so we know what we aren’t supposed to do<\/strong> during the battle with anxiety.<\/p>\n

Medicate<\/h4>\n

Now before I get started on my rant, let me make one thing clear, I am not against successful medications<\/strong>, nor am I taking a hit at physicians and clinical therapists. With that being said, I want to focus on over-medicating<\/strong> anxiety. This is definitely a bad habit, and I have fallen victim to this on many occasions.<\/p>\n

While I believe that therapists and psychiatrists are educated in understanding and treating mental illness, I also think it is almost impossible<\/strong> for these individuals to understand all aspects<\/strong> of mental diseases.<\/p>\n

I do think trying to over-medicate can lead to more than just over-dosing, it can cause symptoms of\u00a0anxiety<\/a> to worsen. All that I am saying is, know what you\u2019re getting yourself into when decided to go the pharmacy route.<\/p>\n

Denial<\/h4>\n

This bad habit comes in two distinct forms<\/strong>, as per my experience. One form of harmful denial is utilized by simply avoiding the subject and attempting to pretend that anxiety doesn\u2019t exist<\/strong>. Maybe, in some fantasy world, you feel that the anxious demon <\/a>will fade away into oblivion. Honey, this just will not happen.<\/p>\n

The other form of denial rests squarely in the church, the temple or where ever established religion takes place. This bad habit has a name even. It\u2019s called blind faith<\/strong>. Now wait a minute, don\u2019t let this offend you.<\/p>\n

Faith was supposed to be a good thing<\/strong>, a thing that helped us overcome our fears and have a positive expectancy for things in life, and they ruined it<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Too many people have turned faith<\/strong> into a form of denial<\/strong>, forcing those who suffer into this \u201czombie\u201d frame of mind. To follow blindly, they prepare us, trying to rid the world of all negatively while actively cultivating a time bomb<\/strong>, thus turning spirituality into religion for the masses. Let\u2019s move on, this hits too close to home for me.<\/p>\n

Pep talks<\/h4>\n

I talk to myself, probably much more than most. Thing is, I don\u2019t just have light hearted conversations about things, I actually give myself pep talks. I rehearse things<\/strong>, reprimand myself<\/strong> and even discuss what I\u2019m presently doing<\/strong>, with the other voices inside my head.<\/p>\n

You see, this is not as healthy as it may seem. Constant inner discussion keeps the wheels of anxiety turning<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

When persistent thoughts are racing round your head, it elevates your heart rate, it causes hyperventilation and other health issues that you might not notice <\/a>right away. When you think you\u2019re giving yourself a pep talk to boost bravery, or something of that nature, you are actually feeding the restlessness<\/strong> within. This is the opposite of any sort of soothing technique.<\/p>\n

Substance abuse<\/h4>\n

Never medicate your anxiety with drugs and alcohol<\/strong>. I know this is beyond tempting at times, especially when all you want to do is relax and enjoy life. You know the feeling of the high, and this feeling is void of all worries and inhibitions, but remember the old saying? \u201cAll your problems will still be there when you sober up.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

This is one of the hardest things to overcome for some people. Some substance abuse turns into literal diseases<\/strong> which seem to affect the victim as if they were possessed. It\u2019s dangerous and much worse than just a bad habit you once thought was a good escape route.<\/p>\n

Silence<\/h4>\n

The one bad habit that\u2019s worse than any of these aforementioned problems<\/strong>, is the \u201csanctuary\u201d of silence. I guess you can pair this one with being numb, both physically and mentally because they\u2019re all related or lead from one to the other.<\/p>\n

Taking on the world alone is one thing, but taking on anxiety in silence is something completely different. Folding in upon yourself is a pathway to suicide in many cases, and should always be broken when it\u2019s recognized.<\/p>\n

Do not, I repeat, do not be silent about your mental illness.<\/strong> I don\u2019t care how much stigma you endure, you just keep talking to someone about how you feel, someone other than your inner voice.<\/p>\n

Sleep<\/h4>\n

I struggled with this one because I love to sleep. When things hit harder than usual, I curl up in fetal position, grab my big brother\u2019s quilt and cover my head. I find solace in my dreams, far away from those who don\u2019t understand<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

But I am alienating those who may be trying. I am leaving the world of the aware in exchange for \u201cshut down<\/a>\u201d. It\u2019s easy, it\u2019s comfortable but it just doesn\u2019t solve any problems<\/strong>. Just like substance abuse and high, those things in life which upset you will just be waiting for you to wake up.<\/p>\n

I only wanted to get better and so I created a truckload of bad habits.<\/h3>\n

My intentions were to stay sane while things in life worked out the way they should. But nothing ever changed<\/strong>. While I was indulging in bad habits, my life remained the same<\/strong>. I stopped trying to talk about it when others judged me and made me feel like a freak.<\/p>\n

I turned to alcohol to numb the pain<\/strong> but instead denied the problem<\/strong>. I turned to the church and they just said, \u201cstop thinking that way and have faith! Where is your faith?\u201d<\/em> I went to sleep and things just waited for me.<\/p>\n

And then I took medications, one for depression, one for anxiety, one for mania and one for psychosis. I felt all forms of me slip away into a \u201cStepford Wives\u201d movie. Sigh\u2026<\/p>\n

The good news is\u2026<\/h3>\n

There are ways<\/strong> to treat<\/a>, cope, heal or cure mental illnesses, including anxiety, I promise you. The thing is, this doesn\u2019t happen overnight<\/strong> and your desperation will cause you to form bad habits in an attempt to save yourself. Take it slow, learn from experiences and choose only healthy options<\/strong> to combat your mental illness.<\/p>\n