Breaking the cycle

[cynic]

Has anyone else had a problem with anxiety where they worry about something happening and the anxiety just makes things worse leading to a cycle?

About a year ago I tried some new medication which caused excessive sweating, I stopped taking it pretty quickly but since then i've developed an anxiety over sweating and it's continued on and off everyday for a year. Self esteem wise it's completely ruined it and I'm always on edge when around people now which never used to be a problem.

I understand i've got to stop worrying about it but it's difficult when everyday this problem occurs despite trying not to think about it. It feels inevitable and I don't feel in control anymore, does anyone have any advice on trying to break the cycle? Having happened everyday for a year i'm not feeling overly optimistic and am quite down about it.

[stresspuppy]

Hi Cynic, have experienced that cycle of anxiety. My anxieties are specifically related to performance at work, I try so hard when I know I'm being observed or likely to be scrutinised and basically freak out and the fear factor just feeds the anxiety and actually affects performance negatively. So can empathise with the cycle and it becoming self-prophesising!

Would I be right in summing up that the

excessive sweating

stopped when you stopped taking the medication? so your anxious about it potentially happening again? if that's the case, the only advice from a purely practical sweat relief/prevention point of view would be to find a really effective anti-perspirant so you feel a little more confident about it not happening.

However, If you are still sweating excessively from either the anxiety, habituation, or any other reason, see your GP, they might be able to advise some appropriate treatments such as botox? needless to say I'm not a medic and I think sweating is quite a specialised area - perhaps a trawl of the internet for possible solutions - you might even find someone who has the same problem.

However, I guess if you know it's entirely anxiety related then you need to tackle the anxiety root cause and sounds like it may have begun to manifest as an added social anxiety. Apologies if it sounds like a crappy reply - it's such a specific difficulty it's difficult to advise about if you've not actually experienced it and think it might be one of those difficulties that needs to be talked about so written replies can be difficult. If you feel able to face the fear factor and attending one of the meets that might be a 'safe' way of giving yourself a positive social experience as you won't be judged even if you do get sweaty and the people at the meets are understanding of others anxieties.

Hope this gives you some ideas. Good luck 

[ghost of mr bob]

I understand i've got to stop worrying about it but it's difficult when everyday this problem occurs despite trying not to think about it. It feels inevitable and I don't feel in control anymore, does anyone have any advice on trying to break the cycle? Having happened everyday for a year i'm not feeling overly optimistic and am quite down about it.

Hi cynic. I've broken an anxiety-depression cycle I use to get in. I still get anxiety but I don't get depressed.

One of the things I would suggest is (and we all make this mistake) that we think if we try not to think about something it will go away. It is a bit like a child covering their eyes and thinking the object they see has actually disappeared. Of course it is still there.

What's more by trying not to think about something and inevitably failing, as you say you feel out of control and this in itself increases anxiety.

I suggest the solution is if you start worrying about sweating don't try to put it out of your mind, try to go with it. More so, make a joke of it. "Blimey I'm going to sweat buckets, are you ready for the flood everybody" that kind of thing. If your mind allows you to do that you will break the cycle. That should take the pressure off.

I suppose what I am suggesting is to use mindfulness techniques. Being aware of what you are thinking and how you are feeling but not judging.

Most people are not entirely in control of their thinking. Most of us, have unconscious drives that subtly change our conscious thinking. How many times have I walked in a bar to meet someone, intending to get a soft drink and sitting down finding I've ordered a pint of lager! 

The difference you are experiencing from others is not that you can't control your thoughts and everyone else can but we all can't control our thoughts and whereas others won't worry about that and go with it, us anxiety sufferers panic about not being in control.

That is kind of what I've picked up from therapy and meditation classes. Hope it helps in some way.

Ghost of Mr Bob

[cynic]

Hi both, thanks for taking the time out to reply.

The root of the problem isn't physical since it was kick started by medication, just when i stopped my anxiety didn't and the problem carried on. I've seen the doctors and they've prescribed various things which don't work so know i need to get a handle on my anxiety to make it stop.

I guess my particular problem is qutie specific but it's reassuring to know there are others out there who have been trapped in a cycle and managed to break it. I've been told that if i accept the problem and make a joke of it as you mention then i should relax about it, just finding it very difficult to accept since it never used to be a problem, and would now rather hide the problem rather than risk a negative reaction not so much from friends, but others on the street since i'm too concerned with what others think (which i know i shouldn't be).