Anxiety’s GRIP: 3 Reasons Why You’re STUCK
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- Опубліковано 2 чер 2024
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Anxiety and phobia conditions like Agoraphobia, panic and health anxiety can be complex and snowball where recovery feels too overwhelming. If you can relate to this feeling, my message to you is simple. Recovery is possible with the right direction and support. You may need a blueprint that leads you through the recovery process.
Nothing is easy about exposure work. Go at your own pace. Remember that the purpose of an exposure is to learn that you can tolerate your symptoms when facing your fears. The purpose is not to eliminate your symptoms. That will take care of itself with practice.
I have resources and programs to help people to recover from agoraphobia, panic, and health anxiety. (Show courses I mentioned) They are evidenced-based programs and incorporate what I have learned in the past 20 years of treating people with these conditions. I not only walk you through the most effective strategies, but also address the complexities that come with each condition. If you would like to learn more about my programs, please go to paigepradko.com.
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Until next time...I will see you in session,
Paige
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(Although Paige Pradko is a licensed psychotherapist, the views expressed on this video and this UA-cam channel including comments or any related content should not be taken for medical, psychological or psychiatric advice. Always contact your physician and mental health provider before making any decisions related to your physical or mental health.)
👉🏼👉🏼👉🏼 Free PDF: Why Do I Feel That in my Body? Bodily Symptoms Due to Anxiety, Stress & Panic
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👉🏼👉🏼👉🏼 Helpful PDF: What to do when High Anxiety & Panic Strikes: FACE Fear
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👉🏼👉🏼👉🏼 Health Anxiety Self Assessment
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Dr. Pradko is the best! She's helping me with my health anxiety and has the best advice that had me feeling better in 48 hours. She knows what she's talking about. It's tough but it can be done! Follow her advice and it WILL fix your issues. Much love Paige keep up being awesome. from San Diego
Thank you for such a lovely comment. I truly appreciate it and am happy that I am helping you. ❤️
Thank you, Paige. This was very helpful. I struggle with fears of having a panic attack not so much with the symptoms themselves but with how other people may react. I’m terrified of being so panicky at the grocery store that someone will call an ambulance. And then too people would be looking at me wondering what’s wrong. While a panic attack will not cause me harm, I worry about the frenzied scene it could cause as others become involved and alarmed. Also, I have been doing exposure therapy but it seems like everyday I am starting right back at square one. I went to the grocery store two days ago and it was fine. I need to go back today and am not sure how I’ll do it. Anyway, thank you for your videos. They’re always helpful.
You are not alone in the fear of what others might think and do, and the fear of feeling embarrassed if I cause a scene. When I have a client with those fears, we have to target those fears in the exposures as well. We might do that by incorporating moments of learning to tolerate a feeling of embarrassment in a grocery store. A person might wait in line at a checkout and then tell the clerk that they changed their mind. The exposure is not about getting your shopping done, it is about learning to tolerate being in the store away from home and tolerating embarrassment and even embarrassment while panicking. The more you can fine tune some of your exposures to trigger the situations you fear, the more they will help you to recover. Keep up the good work. I know it is difficult and takes time and commitment. Keep going!
I’ve followed so many psychiatrists and psychologists and watch videos in last 35 years but never feel great and relief. After listening to you I’m feeling something positive . Very soothing voice with very helpful advice. Thank you. 🙏❤️🇳🇵
Thank you. That’s very affirming. I appreciate it.
I was diagnosed with GAD a while ago. What helped my General Anxiety Disorder a lot has been... therapy to learn boundaries, journaling a lot and learning to give voice to the inner thoughts on paper, increasing exercise a lot, mindfulness using books like 30 Days to Reduce Anxiety by author Harper Daniels and the Tao Te Ching, eliminating caffeine and alcohol, and spending more time in nature.
Those all sound like wonderful options. Thank you for sharing what helped you.❤️
I can't enough thank you how much your videos are helping, in fact you are saving lives. I have been experiencing exactly how you describe everytime. I can be so related every video what you describe. I wish I had a doctor like you.
Thank you so much. Reading comments like yours gives me the motivation to continue sharing. 🙏❤️
Aloha. Sometimes these conditions are hard to extinguish because people get a secondary gain effect, especially if they identify with the disease. When I was a case manager, my clients had almost an entire lifestyle based around their neurosis. They were really invested in their anxiety even if it was painful for them. When you're in social work, solutions need to be immediate and it often clashed with the needs of undeserved communities/ individuals who needed Long term care for change.
Yes, that is a good point. People that have anxiety conditions tend to avoid the situations that cause them anxiety, and create a lifestyle compensating for those avoidances. It can be so difficult to not only face their fear but also to change a lifestyle that has worked for them.
thanks for the great video Dr. Pradko. I'm currently in a similar situation dealing with panic disorder, OCD (Health anxiety), cardiophibia, and to some extent, agoraphobia. my biggest fears are palpitations and blood pressure numbers and the little one is fainting. whenever I panic or go somewhere without my safety persons or pills (benzos), I always think of getting a sudden heart attack and fainting. other activities and emotions like arousal, excitement and watching movies or playing video games are somehow triggering my anxiety as they are inherently coped with increased heart rate and blood pressure and natural mechanisms and hormone response happening during these activities or emotions. the odd thing is that all of them are positive emotions but share the symptoms that I experience during anxiety and panic episodes and when I have these positive emotions, they remain literally positive for only 4 to 5 seconds and suddenly lead to triggering my anxiety especially arousal (sometimes I avoid my partner) and video games.
I’m so sorry that you’re having to deal with that. If I can help you, please contact me at paigepradko.com.
Thank you so much, all of your tips are incredibly helpful. I catched a severe cold one week ago and tomorrow I have to kind of restart my exposing. But with your tips I feel prepared for everything, I even want to add some things that make the exposure more challenging instead of taking the reassureing stuff with me.😊
I am so glad to hear that you are going to begin again. Treatment is like that. Life happens and we have to be willing to keep working at it. 😊
Paige, I recently heard a tip to "flip" anxiety. The therapist said your body can't tell the difference between anxiety and excitement. She said it is often easier to switch from one extreme emotion to another. I had an anxiety flare up out of nowhere recently. By trying this technique, it has helped me with stopping to try to solve or figure out why I'm anxious. I know trying to figure out why I'm anxious and constantly thinking about it are mental compulsions to be avoided, but it is very difficult when you can't get out of the anxiety/OCD cycle. This tip has helped me to think of anxiety or excitement as simply sensations in the body that don't need to be figured out or interpreted. Is this a useful tip or something I should be avoiding? Thank you so much for all you do:)
Yes, the sensations in the body can be the same for anxiety and excitement. Great tip!
can you do tips in fear in sensation 😢
This video is about tolerating body sensations. I hope it helps you: ua-cam.com/video/kt5ZoeXkC7w/v-deo.htmlsi=mXZN7uyxvhnoZF8E
Hey Paige. Been watching lots of your content lately, you're doing a really nice job and honest work, i appreciate you. I would love to hear an answer from you on this question:
When i expose myself to situations that make me anxious (panic disorder and agoraphobia) like driving far from home/ plane etc my anxiety goes up, i let it be, it goes down, then it goes up again and this cycle repeats itself, it doesn't let up until i am no longer in that situation. Should i expose myself to these kind of things for shorter periods of time at first? Because after 4 hours of this cycle i feel really drained and exhausted, can't sleep well and very emotional. Also very sensitized after a big session of anxiety so more things make me anxious like responsabilities, mortality etc. Is it normal that the anxiety doesn't let up until i'm not in the situation anymore? Should i take it slower, or take a break while i'm highly sensitive like that? Thanks if you make time to answer! Wish u well.
Hi Mike. That’s a great question. People with conditions like panic and agoraphobia often do not experience a traditional decrease in anxiety like they expect. The anxiety levels can be all over the chart. Neuroscientists have researched this extensively and have found that the brain still learns, even when you are anxious the entire time during an exposure. The current research on inhibitory learning suggests that the goal should be to practice tolerating whatever level of anxiety shows up, versus waiting for it to diminish. If I were in your situation, I would want to set my exposure goals on tolerating what I had planned that day. You don’t want to back down due to feeling exhausted or stressed. Because that will cause more avoidance in the future. I understand how exposures can be so exhausting and cause anxiety symptoms for hours and days, yet waiting to be calm until you do another exposure is not the answer. I have witnessed people back all the way down due to exposures like you are describing and take multiple day breaks from exposures. It causes people to become more fearful and avoidant. Instead, do what you can do in your exposures. Try to have an attitude of welcoming the anxiety and welcoming the symptoms. Try to have the symptoms on purpose. You will have to experience the symptoms under your control in exposures for your brain to learn that those symptoms do not scare you and that you are safe. Remember that even though the symptoms are uncomfortable for hours, they are not dangerous. Trying to not have them by taking a break only gives your brain the message that you do think they are dangerous. That message to the brain has to change. I recommend doing what you can, and doing the exposures as often as you can, and welcoming all the sensations to be there.
Thank you so much for your answer. I got it. One more thing: the fact that after a big exposure/panic attack i feel overwhelmed and anxious over smaller things like responsabilities and what people may think, even the weather or time of day, in addition of the usual things, is that normal? Is that what people call a "setback"? Will it go away if i keep doing exposure every day? (it does go away if i stop the exposure for a week or so) Thank you@@PaigePradkoTherapy
Hello,
Your videos are helping me lot. I want your help in one of the things I am facing.
I am following the I.A.M. technique and it is really helping me and particular intrusive thought or feeling does not create anxiety like earlier. But what I observe is even many time same thought does not come automatically from brain but I try to remember about it again and then I start thinking about it again. It looks like a cycle.
So whenever I think that I am trying to bring that thought again, I again start enjoying the present moment, but I start thinking how will I get over it.
Yes, it is so difficult to stop ourselves from bringing forth a repetitive thought. You are doing what we call mental checking. You are checking to see if you are having the thought, and then bring on the thought be checking for it. It is a cycle. You will have to work on resisting mental checking. I deal with this myself with somatic awareness OCD and got better at not checking for it. Think of the mental checking as a mental behavior you are doing on purpose and that may help you to stop yourself in the act, and then learn to stop before you begin. 😊
I’ve been trying to overcome my fear of exercising at the gym, but every time I feel my heart get faster I can’t continue with my workout, and days I do better at trying not to focus on my heart, I start to feel other symptoms that throw me off and force me to quit my workout. What can I do in terms of this type of exposure?
Hi Robert. The problem is that you are still trying to “not” focus on your heart, and still trying to “not” feel anxious when your heart rate increases. You will have to flip this around. Try to purposely feel anxious. Ask your anxiety to come in stronger, ask it to give it its best shot. Then, purposely try to exercise hard at the gym while asking your anxiety to stay. This is how to turn this around. You welcome the anxiety, welcome the increased heart rate and try to experience it all without trying to keep yourself calm. This is how to cure cardiophobia. I have a new video with more information about cardiophobia coming out in the next week or two.
@@PaigePradkoTherapyThank you for your response, I shall take this approach during my next workout. A therapist previously told me to go light during exposure therapy in the gym, as it could possibly overstimulate my nervous system and cause me to become more fearful of exercise. I’m not sure how accurate that is, but I will take onboard your advice. I’ll stay tuned to your cardiophobia video:)
I am confused about the avoidance by keeping busy.
Currently what I do is, whenever unwanted thought (ocd or anxiety or related thoughts) comes to the mind, I just do not try to stop it I allow it but at same time I do not ruminate about it. For example, even though I am getting good sleep, I often get thought I may get sleep today as I got a unsolvable thought. So allow this thought in mind but I do not react to it (earlier I used to panic) and after some seconds I again start thinking or keep working what I was doing. So am I avoiding the thought? I am trying to follow your IAM technique but I am confused if I using any avoidance or safety behaviour by keeping me busy. Please help to clarify the same. Also give me tips to challenge my sleep anxiety so that I will not worry about sleep in tough days.
The normal example are
As this anxious thought come I will not get sleep. (Even I gets good sleep), I gets this thought next day.
It sounds like you are using the I. A.M. technique. When trying to get to sleep, it is more difficult of course. Just allow the thought to be there as you have been doing.
A different method might be to answer the thought. If you have the thought…I will not get to sleep…just allow it to be there floating in the background. You might even answer that thought with….oh well, if I don’t get to sleep, I guess my body will eventually catch up. Do not answer the thought with something anxiety provoking like, “Oh no, I will be so tired the next day.” Try to not alarm your brain in anyway, even if that thought comes and goes.
Hi how are you? can i have a question i have a thyroid and acid reflux, is it true that why i got a anxiety because of that? I also find it difficult to speak ,swallow and get tired easily. Can you please teach me or tell me what to do and is it normal for someone with anxiety? Im also always dizzy, i can't leave the house alone and it feel scared me always when im in the outside, i feel afraid always. I don't know what to do with that. When im in the outside i feel like im shaking. Please help me with that . Thank for answering and giving me some advice in advance. Hope you see my comment Take care.
Hi Mark. I am sorry that you are dealing with those symptoms. Those are all normal symptoms of anxiety. It is possible to have anxiety symptoms from a hyperthyroid condition, but if your thyroid is treated and you are still anxious, that would not be the case. I recommend that you watch my videos on treating anxiety and panic.
Here is a playlist: ua-cam.com/play/PL1lUhuKpYUYpAWCG-zlNQONAH8LN67CTJ.html&si=2Na-Ft2FVPRcQ0wd
If you need more help, I have a Panic course that will teach you what to do. Here are some resources:
PDF: What to do when Panic Strikes: FACE Fear
paigepradko.com/facefear
Panic Attacks Quiz
www.paigepradko.com/panic-quiz
Your Panic Attacks Are NOT the Boss OnLine Course
www.paigepradko.com/panic
Thank you for answering my question maam, it would help me a lot, i'll do watch the video you sent me. I hope one day my anxiety and worrying about the symptoms get lost and not feel it anymore. It so hard dealing with anxiety, i know i've been overcoming one day. Thank you again.
Hi paige when I go for a walk or walk up stairs I focus on my heart I can feel it beating and then my sensations get worse I don't do any exercise I am also going through dp and dr which is the worse thing I have ever had don't know what to do
What you are experiencing sounds very much like cardiophobia and dpdr likely triggered by high anxiety and panic. I want to encourage you to have a medical evaluation. And if it is attributed to anxiety, I have a wonderful panic program and soon a new program for people with agoraphobia that cover treatment for what you are describing. You can find out more at paigepradko.com
Here is a panic assessment: www.paigepradko.com/panic-quiz
Hi there
Hello. Thank you for watching!