Anxious Behavior

Recently I was visiting with a friend who told me about a family member of hers who was trying to kick the habit of "hoarding" The individual admitted that she was a "hoarder," buying things to quell her anxiety.


I believe that anxiety can influence a lot of different behaviors, particuarly those that we engage in during full-on anxiety. The behavior serves to distract from the anxiety-if you deny a problem, there is none! Or just simply engaging in behavior that is not overly constructive, but you do it to try and make the anxiety go away.


I found this conversation rather fascinating because it got me thinking about what I do in my bouts of anxiety. It made me want to know what behavior I engage in to deny the anxiety or try to make it go away.


I discovered that in my high moments of anxiety, I engage in technology/entertainment. I watch more consecutive tv shows, check my e-mail more often, spend more time on facebook, etc. There are other, perhaps more constructive behaviors I could engage in such as reading a book, exercising, cooking, etc. but I tend to choose the "technology/entertainment" because for me, it seems to require less "brain power" and more "distraction"


Email, tv, facebook, etc are great in moderation. The problem is that when my anxiety hits I tend to spend too much time engaged in those activities, just waiting for the anxiety to pass. One 1/2 hr tv turns into 2 hours, I'm rechecking facebook to see if any of my friends have updated their status.


And really, all those behaviors do is overstimulate my brain. Next time, I feel anxious, my goal is to pick up a book, cook something at the stove, put on running shoes, find a more constructive outlet for dealing wtih my anxiety, one that will leave me feeling less overstimulated in the end.

Questions??? Comments????
Thanks for reading!!!

Less Anxiety==More Time

In the past couple months or so I recognized I had a harder time "staying the course" Not staying SO down so much of the time, sticking to working/completing my goals. I would go along fine but when a bump in the road would, I would tend to just want to quit. Completely. Lately I have been working to reduce my anxiety through medication, Neurofeedback, and lifestyle changes. It is a work in progress, but the more my anxiety is reduced the more I learn about life and myself. Namely that less anxiety means more time. Time to do something for myself and more productive time. Anxiety can be a silent and stealthy robber. Without being fully aware of it, it caused to waste a lot of time watching tv, laying around, facebooking, etc. All of these things have their place, I'm not suggesting that every moment of the day needs be scheduled and structured. For me, the bigger picture was WHY I was wasting some much time not wanting to really engage in much. It was the anxiety was so potent that it made much harder to focus on things and I didn't want to focus so much on things that took time, energy and effort. Instead, I wanted to just "pass the time," and "entertain"myself. And watching tv can go by very quickly!!!! As I continue with treatment and lifestyle changes it is amazing to me how much more motivation and time I have now! To engage in activities that I not only want to do but that are constructive/productive. A lot more opportunities/goals have opened up to me now that I had forgotten about before. It's very much a work in progress but for now...... it's all good!