Reddit reviews Rewire Your Anxious Brain: How to Use the Neuroscience of Fear to End Anxiety, Panic, and Worry
We found 8 Reddit comments about Rewire Your Anxious Brain: How to Use the Neuroscience of Fear to End Anxiety, Panic, and Worry. Here are the top ones, ranked by their Reddit score.
Rewire Your Anxious Brain How to Use the Neuroscience of Fear to End Anxiety Panic and Worry
I used to take Lexapro for my anxiety/panic attacks (prescribed by my General Practitioner) and it worked wonders (with no / very mild side effects), but then I decided to try going off it (because we wanted to get pregnant and it’s not safe for pregnancy), and seeing a Clinical Psychologist instead, and after about 10 sessions I’m officially cured!
It’s been over a year since I’ve had a panic attack and I’m not afraid of having them anymore (or afraid of having anxiety symptoms) because I know what they are. I understand the body’s fight-or-flight response now and what adrenaline does to your body, and I just think “Oh yeah, this. I know what this is.” I probably spent $1,000 total on the sessions ($100 per session), but let me tell you a secret - what REALLY helped me was reading this cheap Amazon eBook and watching these free YouTube videos:
Dare: The New Way to End Anxiety and Stop Panic Attacks: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0956596258/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_U3d8Cb6SEKRNP
PanicFreeTV YouTube channel:
https://youtu.be/uXeGr-yYCB4
https://youtu.be/gnVdXN_iZsQ
They all told me the same thing - that you need to LEAN INTO your anxiety! Let it wash over you! Let it happen! INVITE it to happen! Use your imagination to try to make it even worse! Anxiety/panic is counterintuitive. It worsens the more you fight against it. So stop fighting against it and accept it. Once you TRULY accept it, it goes away and never comes back. I promise!!
It’s a simple concept, but it takes practice. Lots of practice. I started out by mentally willing my heart to beat faster (which is impossible). With each surge of trying, I would notice my heart was beating slower, not faster, and my anxiety was subsiding. Give it a try next time you are worried about your heart beating fast/hard and let me know if it works!
P.S. - If you are a neurobiology nerd (like myself), this book is also awesome:
Rewire Your Anxious Brain: How to Use the Neuroscience of Fear to End Anxiety, Panic, and Worry: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1626251134/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_gde8Cb4GGXG2N
The key to curing anxiety/panic is to research the HECK out of it! Understand it COMPLETELY! I promise you, many of the sentences in these books will make you cry because you will relate to them so dang much!
Good luck, my friend! You can do this!!
>Lately I have been working out regularly, I have lost weight and my strength has increased drastically. But aside from taking care of my body which will give me confidence, and help me with mental health.
>I should have graduated this year but I had to take off a year to help my father with our business (which is doing poorly and is contributing to our stress at home). I feel a bit useless but I should be graduating in Spring 2020.
You have your shit together. You helped your family in a time of need and you're graduating soon. That is having your shit together.
> My mental health is in an okay state, I don’t get panic attacks or anything anymore. I just have mild moments of my anxiety trying to trick me into believing something is wrong with me.
>I also don’t have a proper sleeping schedule, some days I go to bed at 2 AM or 3 AM and wake up whenever I want.
These two might be linked. If you don't get enough sleep then you'll get anxiety. If it's just going to bed late and you're getting enough sleep there is nothing wrong with that as long as you're productive; which seems to me that you are.
Okay when it comes to anxiety here is a copy and pasted comment from all of the stuff I've been doing/ trying to do:
Things I'm Doing Now
Things I Plan To Do
Resources
https://www.anxietycanada.com/adults/creating-a-map
https://my.headspace.com
I like the Buddhist Society
Books that I've read that have helped me
All of those books were written by academics and not just some asshole guru. Mostly phd psychologists, neuroscientists, and medical doctors.
When it comes to your negative thinking:
You're pretty fucking hard on yourself. Negative thoughts have purpose and ignore that power of positivity bullshit. Learn to be mindful and compassionate towards yourself because you're going to burnout if you beat the shit out of yourself. There is a mindful self compassion workbook by Kristin Neff Phd that you should pick up.
You don't have to do all of the things I do. I recommend that you engage in some hobbies, talk to some friends, find community, and think about the stuff you did for your dad as meaningful. You have a lot that you've done and to be absolutely honest I'm a bit envious.
Meditation will help with your sleep. Take breaks. Don't spend too much money, and just try to be understanding of yourself man. Talk to someone before mental health gets to be too much.
I finally found the book online! It is called rewire your anxious brain and there is information on it on the following websites:
https://www.amazon.ca/Rewire-Your-Anxious-Brain-Neuroscience/dp/1626251134
https://m.indigo.ca/product/books/product/9781626251137?mkwid=sKLCrs73h_dm&pcrid=44154474422&pkw&pmt&s_campaign=goo-Shopping_Books&gclid=Cj0KEQjw6-PJBRCO_br1qoOB4LABEiQAEkqcVdbdPD9dMAbGwW-juES5iOamGiSzvOUrz0So6ZuNoKwaAvXB8P8HAQ
I thought there was some evidence to suggest that things like mindfulness and meditation do actually physically change the brain and rewire it? Not sure if that's a medical fact or not but I googled rewire brain and found some books on Amazon, this one has good reviews. I think you need to search for terms like neuro or neural and plasticity.
Ugh, this happens to me a lot too. It's something ive been working on. I have found this book to be pretty helpful if you're interested: http://smile.amazon.com/Rewire-Your-Anxious-Brain-Neuroscience/dp/1626251134/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1451957153&sr=8-1&keywords=rewiring+your+anxious+brain
It details how anxiety works in the brain and why it reacts so strongly to situations like this.
I did not try strict CBT, no, but there were elements of it incorporated in my two years of therapy. A friend of mine also sent me her CBT workbook from when she went. I went to a therapist who specialized in art therapy before I knew what CBT was, though. I have also heard a lot of good things about it, and if I end up need to go again I'll look for a CBT specialist for sure.
Most of my coping strategies involve rationalization, exposure therapy and distraction (lots of crafty projects to get my hands on). One book I found very help was "How to Rewire the Anxious Brain."
I also tried a hypnotherapist for one session, though I'm not sure how much it helped. :)
ETA: I forgot! EXERCISE! I have not been keeping up with my 5-day a week exercise since it's gotten so hot out. I can feeeeel it. It's terrible. I've decided if I have to do it at 9 p.m. when it's cooler, then I just have to do it. It helps so much to burn off the sort of 'nervous energy.'
Self-help CBT books have been shown to be as effective as thousands of dollars of visits with a therapist. As long as a person commits and does the exercises, it can really change things around.
In addition to seconding your book rec, I'd recommend also "Cognitive Behavioral Therapy in 7 Weeks" by Seth Gillihan, and "Mind Over Mood" by Greenbereger and Padesky. Also "Rewire Your Anxious Brain."
Supposedly having more available serotonin encourages positive change in the brain. I read about it in this book (https://www.amazon.com/Rewire-Your-Anxious-Brain-Neuroscience/dp/1626251134) a while back, but I don't remember the specifics. Great book if you're looking for a detailed read.