Health Anxiety And The Rebound Effect Part 2

Not the best choice for you at the library…

Gaining Progress Over Your Health Anxiety Starts Today

So through part 1 you have now pinpointed whether or not you truly have hypochondriasis (health anxiety), and you’ve also learned more about what I like to call the rebound effect (if you haven’t read part 1 I suggest you go back and read it before carrying on). So the question now is what do we do about it? How do we break the neverending cycle that the rebound effect and our health anxiety is causing you? To answer that question I should share with you a quote I heard once that has stuck with me for a while and that quote is:

“Only those who have patience to do the simple things perfectly, ever acquire the skills to do difficult things easily.”

So today after reading this post our goal is to start simple, master those simple things, take control of what is adding to our health anxiety and hypochondriac state, and overcome your health anxiety one small step at a time. So are you ready? Let’s go!

True Progress

The first thing I want you to do is grab a piece of paper and put a line right through the middle. On the top of the left side of the paper I want you to write down True Progress, and on the other side of the line I want you to write down A Cycle Of Coping. I want you to think back to some of the times when you’ve felt free from your health anxiety worries, some of these times could be when you were hanging around a certain friend, a certain job you were involved in, a certain activity that you did, a sport that you were commit to. This will take some effort from you to go back in time slightly, and remember what caused you to feel like you were in a different state through your body and your thoughts.

A Cycle Of Coping

There Is No Medication For Fear… So Don’t Do It!

On the right side of the paper you have the title A Cycle Of Coping, and on this side it’s time to think about and rid yourself of the things that keep you moving in circles around your health anxiety condition. this list could contain things you do unconsciously that you are just now starting to realize is adding to the rebound effect and your health anxiety cycle. But we need to bring them out into the open if we’re going to stop your health anxiety once and for all. You could add things like turning to my ‘safety net’ (other anxiety sufferers online) for reassurance every time a new symptom of anxiety appears, calling my family doctor to set up an appointment, taking an anti anxiety medication every time I feel like I’m spiralling out of control, researching my new symptoms of anxiety online through search engines like google or other anxiety groups.

This list is a huge step forward, but I’m warning you now some of the things you add to this list you won’t like. But deep down you will know they should belong to the cycle of coping list simply because this has been your comfort net for so long, and yet you are still in the same hypochondriac state as you were in weeks, months or even years ago. The realization of what feeds your health anxiety, and what prevents you from falling into the cycle of coping is going to be a powerful exercise and you deserve a life better then this… don’t you?

This could be the most important 10 minutes of your life

I don’t want you to rush this exercise, I want you to think it through and fully realize what’s helping you and what’s hurting you. Letting go of some of those daily comforts such as turning to ‘DR Google’ for answers for example, could be difficult at first but in time you’ll see just how much stress and anxiety you’ve let go of simply by following through with your list.

Don’t forget to hang the list on your fridge door, or a place where you’ll run into it in your home

Start small, and watch your confidence grow.

You have to be reminded of this list consistently, so make sure that it’s visible. Each time you are tempted into doing something from the cycle of coping list don’t punish yourself, but just realize and understand that this was the old you. To begin the changes you truly want deep down it’s time to completely rid yourself of the list on the right and fully commit to the list on the left, only then will freedom from your anxious thoughts and your health anxiety condition begin to manifest.

The End The Anxiety Program is quickly becoming the #1 alternative to harmful medications and lomg hours of anxiety theerapy. To learn more about how you can begin your natural recovery from Panic Disorder, GAD, or certain phobias in your life visit www.theanxietyguy.com.

Health Anxiety And The Rebound Effect Part 1

What is The Rebound Effect?

You are the one suffering from health anxiety. and you are also the one who suffers from what I like to call the ‘rebound effect.’ What is the rebound effect? The best way to explain the rebound effect is through a scenario that you might have already gone through:

You’re on your couch watching TV, half of your attention is focused on what you’re watching and the other half is focused on what you’re feeling inside. You carefully notice any sensations of anxiety in your body that pop up as you turn the channels on the TV. All of a sudden you run into the DR OZ Show, and his topic of the day could be related to a particular physical illness. He mentions the symptoms that might connect a person to that particular illness, and BOOM.

You begin to think those two dreaded words that every health anxiety sufferer constantly goes through… What If!

What if my symptoms of anxiety aren’t what I think they are, but are connected to the illness that DR OZ is talking about in his show! What if I’ve waited too long to get these symptoms checked, could I be doomed? Finally, what if it gets worse and these symptoms I thought were related to anxiety manifest to other parts of my body!?

You are now experiencing the rebound effect…

Most people deal with the rebound effect in the wrong way, which only fuels the health anxiety further.

Someone who suffers from health anxiety is always ‘checking in’ to see how strong their symptoms of anxiety are at any moment, they also constantly check to see if new symptoms of anxiety have appeared out of the blue. The cycle of panic begins, and the 6 step process that their imagination leads them to begins to take shape:

1) Either through what someone says, or though their own memory the questions of what this symptom of anxitey could be begin.

2) The ‘what if’ questioning begins to run wild in the health anxiety sufferers mind.

3) Their bodies begin to feel the effects of this kind of thinking, and the symptoms of anxiety heighten. A full blown panic attack could be on the horizon.

4) They quickly look online for answers either through anxiety forums, groups or search engines

5) They are comforted by people in those anxiety forums and groups that they are fine, and they are reassured that they are not in a cycle of impending doom but rather a victim of their catastrophic thoughts

6) Anxiety lessens, or heightens and more research is done

At this point the rebound effect is firmly strapped into their unconscious, the next episode of this happening could be on the same day or very close by, but a deep feeling of sensitization has begun. This is the type of incredible imagination someone with an anxiety disorder can have, because of how alarming and real the symptoms of anxiety can be!

The other danger comes in the form of turning to your ‘comfort group’ for help

Are you shooting yourself in the foot by running to facebook every time fear strikes?

I’m a firm believer that anxiety forums and groups online do more harm then good. Why? Because it’s a cycle that becomes the norm for the person with health anxiety. They turn power over to others, yes they are temprarily comforted and helped out, but at the end of the day they are always left with unanswered questions.

A person with an anxiety disorder can do very little for another person, other then re-assure them that they are safe

As I mention through my Me Vs Myself On And Off The Court eBook I’ve went through years of the rebound effect in my own 6 year battle with an anxiety disorder. I made many mistakes, and I’ve also found true and lasting natural solutions for my health anxiety. Some of these answers I will reveal in the second part of this two part series on the rebound affect, and it’s affects on people with health anxiety.

So follow along and stay tuned!

Is Your 5 O’Clock Drive Your Most Stressful Hour?

One of the most overwhelming stressors in your day, besides work, is coming home from work.

It’s 5pm and everybody is heading to day care to pick up kids or they are heading home like maniacs. They switch lanes, cut you off, slam on your breaks and you are screaming at the top of your lungs trying to figure out why these people can’t just drive normally. You probably barely avoid about 10 accidents before you even make it to the day care to pick up your child who sitting alone playing by himself because you are late again. The look of your kid plus the stress of the drive just adds to your total stress for the day.

Driving is a huge cause of stress.

Most people, especially in crowded cities like New York City and Los Angeles, spend almost an hour trying to get to work or get home safely. In many cities, this traffic also causes several public safety issues as well. As your stress builds, so does the stress of those who are traveling around you as well. With this stressor you are not alone and everybody is feeding off of everybody else’s stress and anxiety.

Your 5 o’clock drive doesn’t have to look this.

Once you are able to get your kids picked up you may have another stressful situation. Perhaps they are separated in the car because you’re tired of playing referee while you drive, but they still seem to annoy each other one way or another. One way to deal with this is to keep them as occupied as possible.

To deal with this type of stress, you may first want to try out some relaxing music. Invest in classical music that will make it more soothing as you drive. You may also consider nature sounds that will lighten up rush hour.

Another option is to change your daily route.

Look for a way that is not as stressful, perhaps take residential streets instead of busy highways. You might find that this route is longer, but you will appreciate the reduced stress in your life by taking this route.

Another technique is to simply start your drive five or ten minutes early. This keeps you from having such a time crunch in the mornings. This can actually make a less stressful drive as well.

www.theanxietyguy.com

End The Anxiety Program Review

Sarah has understood that setbacks during recovery is inevitable. Now she no longer fears the sensations of panic and anxiety.

I want to thank Sarah for her review of the End The Anxiety Program, in a short period of time Sarah has been able to desensitize herself from her fears that have caused her continued panic and anxiety for some time. She’s an example of how change can happen naturally no matter how long you’ve been suffering from anxiety and panic, as well as how severe your condition may be. 

Sarah’s End The Anxiety Program Review…

“I wanted to write in to thank you for the help. I began getting anxiety attacks in my 30’s and they were very bad. My family doctor as usual just wanted to put me on meds but I have two small children at home obviously I didn’t want to be all doped up every day. When I discovered you my life took a turn for the best! The checking in system the End The Anxiety Program provides is something so unique and valuable, that I believe the combination of this and the tools provided in the program is simply invaluable to any anxiety sufferer.”

“I highly recommend it to everyone in need!”

Sarah Jones

www.theanxietyguy.com

Fun Fact Of The Day

I actually asked my fiancee about this fact, and she supports the idea that life is much less depressive and stressful when you have more guy friends than girls. She also mentioned that women are in the habit of being ‘nice’ all the time, and with guy friends their opinions on personal things like outfits, body weight etc can be much more truthful. Finally she mentioned how moving day can be a breeze because of your guy friends, and there would be no need to hire movers.

This one’s definitely a thinker, so what do you think?

www.theanxietyguy.com