Anxiety, going crazy, losing your mind and ending up insane
“No great mind has ever existed without a touch of madness”
Aristotle
I’ve only ever experienced madness twice.
Once when I was 21 and at University, and once last week.
On both occasions this ‘madness’ lasted for less than 24 hours and each time it was caused by a fever.
The fever was so severe that my brain functioning was affected to the point where my thoughts became distorted beyond reason.
At the time they felt true and very real, but looking back afterwards it was clear they were not at all logical.
They were not the thoughts of a sound mind.
I’ve only ever thought I was going mad once.
However, this lasted for many months and was not caused by any fever or illness.
This was caused by my anxiety and it made me feel like I was slowly losing my mind and going insane.
I started to worry everyday that something was wrong and that eventually I’d end up in a mental institution.
Thankfully I didn’t, and now I no longer have those thoughts or worry that I ever will.
Yet this experience felt much worse than the temporary feelings of madness when I was ill and it’s something many anxiety sufferers go through, especially in the beginning.
So today we are going to be looking at why this happens, what it means and why you have absolutely nothing to worry about.
My recent brush with madness
Last Wednesday I went to bed feeling pretty rough.
I’d had a cold for a couple of days but now I’d started to feel really under the weather.
I awoke in the middle of the night and felt terrible.
I was hot and sweating one moment and then cold and shaking the next.
Just getting out of bed to get some water took and almighty effort and then as I tried to get back to sleep again the strange thoughts began.
I don’t remember much of them, but I do remember they were not just weird, but they made no logical sense at all.
The only part I do vaguely remember was thinking that if I was part of the mast of an old pirate ship which was going to be attacked by Russian soldiers the best thing I could do to help was to bite off as much of the rigging and sails as possible.
I have no idea why I thought this or what it would do to help, but I did.
I know it sounds like some crazy dream, but it definitely wasn’t, I was awake.
These thoughts went on for many hours as I drifted in and out of consciousness, but it took the rest of the next day until my mind started to feel like it was slowly returning back to normal again.
The fact was that the whole time I was in this state I didn’t worry or care about my sanity, my brain was in not fit state to do so.
A few days later this got me thinking.
Why had I, 9 years ago, when my anxiety was at its height, feared for my sanity when my thoughts had never been as crazy as they had a few nights before?
Why anxiety can make you feel like your losing your mind
Anxiety is a master of trickery and adept at deception.
It is not only able to make you believe things which are not true, but the thoughts and sensations it causes only magnifies your belief in these lies, which only fuels your anxiety further.
It’s a self perpetuating system and it thrives off your new found ability to catastrophize.
When you first become anxious you have very little idea what is happening to you.
Why would you?
It’s not something you’ve ever gone through before.
As the anxiety continues it doesn’t take long for you to come to a very scary conclusion, ‘something is wrong with my brain’.
Once you believe something is wrong you begin to fear the worst, then deep inside you utter that terrible thought:
I’m going mad, I’m losing my mind and will end up insane.
The first time you think those thoughts are a gut wrenching, mind numbing experience.
Anxiety has just pulled off one of it’s biggest tricks, now all it need is a little more deception to make sure you swallow it. Hook, line and sinker.
So what does it do?
It uses the number one tactic for controlling human beings, it uses fear against you.
This fear only raises your anxiety further which in turn only helps provide you with even more evidence to support your new theory of madness, and the more you look for it, the more you believe it.
It’s a truly frightening experience, no one wants to end up going insane.
You’d rather lose your legs than your mind, because without it there is no hope of having a life.
It’s as if in one swift motion your whole world has been turned upside down.
So if you’re currently feeling this way, I’m here with one very clear message:
You’re going to be ok.
Let me explain why.
Why anxiety cannot cause madness
People who go mad do so because they lose contact with reality and the world around them.
Their thoughts become completely irrational and of no logical sense because they are no longer within the realms of their conscience.
Anxiety works in a completely different way.
Those who are anxious are too in contact with reality and the world around them.
They are constantly checking themselves, the world around them, how they are feeling and what they are thinking.
When you are in this state you will not go crazy because by having thoughts about madness it means you are hyper connected to reality, not stepping away from it.
These thoughts can only be made by a sane person, no mad person fears for their sanity.
Just because you can have these thoughts doesn’t make it true, in fact it makes it’s the opposite.
This doesn’t just work with thoughts of insanity, but with any of the disturbing and irrational thoughts you may have.
The rule is simple, even if your thoughts are not rational, as long as they are logical then you are completely sane.
For Example.
It may be completely irrational to spend hours each day worrying about your sanity, but it is logically possible to go mad, some people do.
But that doesn’t mean you will, again, it actually means you are still very much sane, it’s just you no longer want to have these thoughts.
Here’s a disturbing thought I used to have.
When driving along in my car along I’d start to think about what would happen if I let go of the steering wheel, or if I purposely drove the car off the road and into a wall or tree.
Now I didn’t like these thoughts, I didn’t want to have them and to keep having them was irrational. However, as much as I would never do it, they were logical, I could crash my car if I wanted to.
Of course I never did and that’s because I knew what would happen. I wasn’t crazy, despite worrying that I was.
Now lets compare that with the possible thoughts of a crazy person.
A crazy person may believe that they must tell everyone they meet that not all sparrows are the same size, that they believe it is very important that everyone knows this.
A crazy person may believe that if they don’t break at least 3 plates a day they will be visited by a goblin called Jim who will steal all their underwear.
These thoughts are not only irrational, but they are completely illogical too.
They either make no sense, or they cannot happen.
This clear distinction is one you must understand to realise that just because anxiety has warped your thinking and made you worry about things you know you shouldn’t worry about, you will not end up going mad.
You are only concerned for your sanity because you have noticed that anxiety has changed they way you think.
You feel different and you want an answer.
You then catastrophize this to it being the onset of madness, when you couldn’t be further from the truth.
What can you do to help?
For me, more than anything, it was time which helped.
After many months of thinking this way I began to see that I was not getting worse, I was not going mad.
No one ever commented about my sanity or my behaviour, nothing I said or did was that of a mad person.
Eventually I just gave up caring, because I knew that if it hadn’t happened by now it never would.
I was fine and my logical mind was able to see and believe that I was only feeling this way because of my fear of it.
9 years later and I am just as sane as I’ve ever been and now those thoughts do not even cross my mind.
I still know there is a very very small chance I could go mad at some point, but it doesn’t bother me.
Why rid today of it’s joy to worry about something which is so unlikely to ever happen?
Even if it did, so what, there’s very little chance you could do anything about it and if you did go mad you certainly wouldn’t be worrying about it.
You’d be too busy telling everyone about the sparrows.
So first understand that everyone at some point has worried for their sanity, but most people just brush it off as irrational thinking and carry on about their day.
Only those with anxiety keep worrying about it and by doing so increase their anxiety and the need to worry about it more.
Instead focus on the following:
- Sleeping well, eating well and get a good amount of exercise.
- Keeping busy and have a passion, a mission in life which you want to pursue – this helps focus your mind on something altogether more important.
- Stopping caring about your sanity, just let it go. Once you remove the stress of anxiety and your worries, your mind will take care of itself, give it that rest it needs to heal.
- Put a stop clock on it as I did. After almost 6 months of feeling this way I knew it was not getting any worse, so I just decided to forget it and move on. You can do the same.
You only fear for your sanity because you fear for your sanity.
It’s sounds ridiculous when you say that out loud, yet all across the world people feel this way.
It can take a little time to grasp, to truly believe it.
But you must, and take it from me, it’s the truth.
Stop giving it the power it needs to exist and use your energy to get on with your life.
The next time you’re feeling anxious and start to feel like your losing your mind come back and re-read this post.
Let it remind you that it is caused by nothing but your anxiety and that you have a choice.
Continue trusting your anxiety, or believe what I am saying.
The first option won’t lead to madness, but don’t expect much else to change.
The second option however, will mean you don’t have to continue feeling this way.
Hugo Rock
Like this article?
Sign up to receive new posts directly to your inbox for FREE. Just enter your email below and click SUBMIT. We will never share your email – EVER!
I couldn’t resist commenting. Very true and very well written!
Thanks a lot.. I pray this helps me
Brilliant read, I have never related to a post as much in my life. I’ve had terrible panics and anxiety for a month now and thought I was going mad and constantly in a daze/dream. Such an encouraging post and a relief to read. You’ve covered absolutely every aspect of how I feel and for the first time I feel a bit of hope
Thanks, glad you enjoyed the read.
It is such a relief reading this, and makes a lot of sense, but I can’t help but feel that the things that have made me feel as though I’m going to go crazy are because it’s the start of it all.
You say it is a relief, yet you still question it. If you can’t believe what I am saying then instead, accept you are going to go crazy, stop caring about it because there is nothing you can do, forget about it and get on with your day. You might just find this is what enables you to believe that you are fine, can cope and have nothing to fear…..
Also understand, the thoughts of going mad are just another one of the lies your anxiety tells you to keep you trapped within your fears. The anxiety this brings creates the ‘things’ you mention which make you feel like you are going crazy and the cycle continues.
The only answer is to stop caring about it. And you can either do that by using the logic I have written about to dispel the lies or if you are unable to allow your mind to do this and see the truth you have to submit to the fear, accept 100% it is going to happen and then decide to get on with life and stop caring about it because you know there is nothing you can do.
Think of it this way, do you sit up all night worrying because a woman in another country you don’t know just lost her job and can’t pay her bills? No, you don’t and the reason is because YOU DO NOT CARE. That’s not you being harsh, it’s just the truth, and when you don’t care you don’t worry and this is what removes the anxiety. It literally becomes, ‘meh, if I go mad so what, might as well enjoy my sanity while I can’.
You have to learn to let go.
I completely understand what you are saying. Is so hard to do but with time as you said I guess I will just get over it. Is so annoying to question your sanity everyday, like I hear something and if I can’t put a visual to it I sit there and think am I hearing things is so scary to not trust yourself. I’m sorry I just need reassurance I guess.
Hi Hugo Rock
I understand what you say about not caring then my anxiety will stop but it’s difficult not to care when the people we care about are family and they are the cause of all my anxiety, how on earth can you just stop caring. My family hate me and I go over and over in my mind what I could’ve done better, my fear of them is so enormous I don’t want to see them yet I want to sort it out. I’d love to be able to just ‘stop caring’ because I know that none of them care about me! They can sleep at nights!
this makes so much sense and your article is absolutely wonderful. for me personally it’s difficult to get to the TRULY accepting phase. like I can tell myself that I am accepting my anxiety but then instantly thoughts pop up that it will not work or whatever and then the storm in my mind continues. I often don’t have any thoughts and at the same time it feels that thoughts are racing through my mind.
there’s one thing to tell yourself you will accept anxiety but the ability to truly accept it is a different story for me!
People with anxiety are warriors! I would not wish this on my enemy! This message is positive. I will always comeback to it for a reminder! This anxiety hit me outta no where! Its been the biggest challenge in life. I WISH EVERYONE PEACE, 5 years of this remmember the first day! Keep pushing enjoy LIFE! Love an laughter!!!
Thank you so much for this and I hope everyone feeling this way finds relief. I’m so terrified of this feeling and my constant panic attacks and knowing other people feel the same way as me makes me feel both comfort and sadness. Stay strong xx
How do I start? Ive been feeling bad because ive had many anxiety problems including panic attacks. After I read this I feel that light of hope, I wish I was your friend or something lol but thanks a lot man! God bless you
Daze/dream i fell like that plz help me do u still fell like that
Omg me too, I thought I was definatly going insane
This has got to be one of the best, most intelligent and well written things on this subject I have ever read!! Makes so much sense and gives such relief when experiencing this! Thank you!!!
Thank you Becki. Explaining anxiety isn’t easy, especially as it differs so much from one person to the next, so it’s good to hear it helped.
Hi Hugo, its so comforting to read this post because I pray that will be me someday. I had a huge scare in April a friend of mine gave a brownie unbenounced to me it was pot brownie. He told me later after eating it what It was and I got nervous but he assured me it won’t be too hard of a trip it will be fine. I ended up in the Er that night passing out from the strength of the brownie atleast four or five times. I thought I was going to die or that possibly I would never be the same mentally ever again.
I didn’t die but the experience severely traumatized me. I got on with my life but other things started to happen in may I started to notice problems with my memory and concentration. Also I started to develop severe case of vertigo. I started to think through worse that possibly I was in the beginning stages of a serious health problem or that I was possibly losing my mind.
Fast forward to today August 2016 my thoughts have really got me very anxious that I have started avoiding places for fear of getting a panic attack. I can’t sleep at night I keep waking up at night but not hallucinating or delusional. Just so out of it everyday I found out my b12 levels are a little low, vitamin D is low, cholesterol is super low, testosterone is very low so my doctor wants me to see an endroconologist. Although I fear that I will never be the same again I keep having nightmares and very vivid dreams that I hate every day. I keep thinking that everyday is my last that im either going to die or end up going insane.
I’m reaching out to anybody in my family to talk to as much as I can and all of them keep assuring me your going to get through this. I pray to God that day will come soon because I fear that I will not make it. Thank you sooo much for your post its very encouraging, im seeing also a therapist for the very first time this week. But I’m a relapse undiagnosed ocd I didn’t receive treatment when I was 17 just family support and I got through it and I haven’t has very much irrational fears since then just normal anxiety. But I’m back to my high school fears again with sever panic attacks every morning. I dont know if its all physically or just all mentally, thank you I will use your words to get through this.
Hi Pash,
If you’d like you can read my comment. I’ve got something happened similar like you and maybe it can do some good by knowing your not alone.
Have a nice day and keep your head up!
Joffrey
Excellent and well written article that makes so much sense .
Hey Hugo and thank you for good post. :) I want to ask you if you really sometimes thought as mad people do and did it feel real? I’ve been doing some research how really insane people (ie. somebody is spying on them or putting toxic in their food) and now I have these same kinds of thoughts running in my head.. sometimes they feel so real even though I somehow know they’re not. Have you ever experienced the same or am I totally crazy?
I once watched a film where a woman’s brain exploded, for weeks afterwards I kept worrying it would happen to me. Of course it never did and I knew it was just my anxiety making me think something crazy. But it goes to show that when anxious, our thoughts can easily be disturbed by what we are doing or watching at the time. In your case, looking into madness has got you worried about it, this increases your anxiety and only makes the fear worse and seem more real.
But it’s not real, when you go mad you don’t worry about the crazy thoughts you have, least of all the thoughts about your sanity.
Thanks so much for the article and it definitely puts light on a lot of my anxiety. Currently it’s giving me intrusive violent thoughts about losing control and harming a loved one which really gets me down. I know they’re just thoughts and that I’d never even consider harming anybody but it really sucks all my energy and I’m constantly monitering how I feel physically and mentally. It just really puts into perspective how hard and tricky anxiety can be. I have come a long way with my anxiety but this part has been the hardest. These articles and therapy help me immensely so thanks for sharing and good luck to everybody going through it.
Hey brad,
Iv been having thoughts about harming a loved one and I know I wouldn’t ever but it’s been on my mind so long that I start questioning weather I actually would or not.
Did you get the same symptoms?
Thanks
Hey Brad, just reading through. I had a very bad experience in my teen and twenties. I’m 41 now! Just wondering how you are doing now if you you still need advice? Hugo really does nail it on the head here. The internet was not available when I had my first panic attack after smoking a joint at 15 shortly after my older brother had a psychotic breakdown. With my family history I convinced myself I might go insane. I started to imagine weird things as if I was tripping but not psychotic or hallucinogenic. This was because I WASN’T going mad. It took me many years to snap out as I was too embarrassed to seek help. The lowest point is when I started to think about what if I am going to hurt a loved one or friend. This was so so traumatic I basically became a walking zombie and contemplated suicide. I’m an intelligent individual and strong atheist so didn’t want to end it. It was very very bad and made me a nervous wreck and scared every minute of the day…unless I got drunk or did coke. Believe me things get worse doing that the next day once the effects go!
Everything Hugo says is totally true. Replace every I above with ‘Anxiety’. Imagine Anxiety with a face or name sitting on your shoulder which isn’t you. It basically uses your oxygen to trick you into thinking the worst thoughts imaginable in its extreme. It is, as Hugo says, tricking you into thinking you are going mad, become insane, do the worst things ever etc. It thrives of your fear and becomes a huge dark cloud permanently above you.
The way I controlled it was to think it’s anxiety trying to trick me and I will stay strong and ignore it. I had a urika moment and it just worked straight away. I had tried so many things over the years but they always failed. Positive thoughts, breathing, sleep exercise, beta blockers, illegal drugs (worse idea ever) etc. When I took the anxiety which I thought was ‘me’ and imagined it what it really is a condition outside you it worked a treat. Within hours I began to feel normal again albeit a little dazed.
More than happy to walk anybody through if they want the help. You won’t believe you can get out of it but I assure you can and will.
Reading the article freed up my mind of all the fears
Very well written article, you described exactly what I feel at times. At night I go into this state where I start thinking weird things. It is truly unsettling. Glad I found your article.
This is exactly how I feel, I haven’t been able to shake it and it’s been 6/7 months now.. This gives me hope! I worry constantly, work distracts me a little but I continue to worry about my sanity!! I’ve kind of learned to accept my anxiety.. Although I’m obsessed with death and constantly convinced something is wrong with me, it’s horrible, the worst and I’d never wish it upon anyone!
You are most certainly not alone with this feeling, I have had it for around 3 years its started just after I was 21, constantly fearing I was going to have a heart attack or just drop dead. I would check my pulse rate all through out the day and send myself into a total panic / anxiety attack . now 3 years on I still have these fears but its learning to cope with them and minimise them the best you can. diet, exercise, sleep everything plays a big factor. eat healthy and exercise regularly and I don’t mean like an athlete just a nice 20 minute walk or something and not too many takeaways you will start to notice a difference straight away. minimise alcohol as well definitely does not help it will when you are drunk its the next few days that are hellish after it.
Thank you so much! This helped me alot!!
I have been in a really bad way the last year due to an illness my child has that has morphed into daily anxiety for myself. I’ve been practicing mindfulness and having more good days than bad lately. Tonight was a bad night and your article really helped me. It actually made me laugh and calmed me down.
I’d like to pass along some wisdom I’ve come across as a thank you, did you know all sparrows are not same size? Ha
Thank you sharing your experience. I have been dealing with the same issues. It is comforting to know you are not alone.
What I would like to know is what part does boredom play in Generalized Anxiety or any anxiety? I wonder if that really hasn’t been the backbone or fuel that has fired my intense anxiety. Almost like my mind is so bored that it has caused stress over time and anxiety has resulted as a result of my mind wanting something to stay busy with. There is alot of downtime with my job sometimes. And as far as a personal life, its not exactly exciting. I’ve dealt with GAD for 4 months now and its been utter hell. Sometimes I could bang my head against the wall in frustration wanting to snap out of this darkness. The feelings of panic all day and when its bad, just a really dark feeling. I just haven’t really heard anyone talk about boredom and what role it plays.
I think boredom is a huge part of anxiety and depression. I have been on the battlefield of both for about 23 years. I have usually been able to sequester both by exercise or just staying busy, but a traumatic event happened in my life and it is the worst bout I have had. I think it may be because I am married with a child and have a child on the way, so I have something to lose besides myself at this point. I really think life is kind of boring though, it does become mundane. I think I may have to go skydiving soon and get some life shocked back into me.
Can someone explain something to me. I think my anxiety only attacks me when it’s in the form of an anxiety attack. I can be somewhat anxious for months, but then one day I’ll experience an accelerated heart rate, tight chest, can’t breathe, etc. I think that since it was my first anxiety attack, I was so worried about what I was feeling. I didn’t have an appetite for a week (lost 5 pounds), felt scared for absolutely no reason, and I couldn’t sleep (I also had a fear to go to bed because I already assumed I wasn’t gonna fall asleep), etc. It took me about a week to feel normal again. Also I have no idea what triggered it. I was studying for final exams, but I didn’t feel overwhelmed (maybe it was underlying). My question is did I experience an anxiety attack or worse? Also, I read that anxiety attacks can last between minutes to hours, but why did I experience a week of pure hell? I’d love to hear back from anyone! Thanks.
Sounds like an anxiety/panic attack to me. You’ll often then have low level anxiety for a while after, mainly due to being worried about it happening again. This is likely what made you feel bad for a week or so after. They can come out of nowhere and don’t always come from a specific trigger, just always remember no matter how bad they feel, they cannot hurt you. You mustn’t fear them as this is what can make them happen more frequently.
I’ve been going through this for 9 months now. I can’t seem to convince my mind that it’s just the anxiety speaking and creating fears that I never feared of before. It was weird mines started because I had a drink and I felt I saw the world differently and then it’ built from there… My mind kept spiraling into madness. Continuous thoughts wondering if I was going crazy, if I saw the world differently?! If I would hear something without seeing something or someone I would wonder if I was hearing things and I just don’t know where to begin because you can try to accept it but wo thing else comes along a drags you in the mud again making you believe other stupid things. I feel like I’m going crazy and I’m depressed because of it
Thank you for sharing it was good read
Thank you. I have been going thru very similar things. It’s so unsettling. I’ve had a zillion dr tests and nothing wrong but anxiety. I’m so off. I pray this gets better. I don’t feel stressed or worried. I just don’t understand…
Hi,
I’m a 23 year old male and I have suffered with panick attacks now for quite some time, so I will get the usual symptoms I.e pains in chest hot and cold feeling like I’m going to die. But today I got it so bad that i think I’m loosing my mind and I’m so worried now that I am, I get so anxious and then I will have an episode where I feel like something bad is going to happen and feel like someone is stood behind me and I know in my mind there isn’t but there’s still a part of me telling me there is. Is this me going crazy or not?
The simple fact you are worried about it means you are not, you know you should not be feeling this way and that makes you sane. It it simply anxiety making you have these unwanted thoughts, you even say yourself, ‘I know in my mind there isn’t’ (someone there). The insane person really believes someone is there and even when they turn round and look they are still there. Re-read the article again, and trust in what I am saying, I’ve been through exactly what you have about 10 years ago and I am fine and always will be. Hugo
Aww thank you so much! You are a great person and a massive help! This is such a difficult thing to deal with as you probably know and I am really struggling at the moment but you have made me feel a lot better so thank you so much! Can I keep in touch?
I hope you are feeling better now.
I am also dealing with my anxiety,but sometimes i get confused that it might be something else cos sometimes i feel good and another moment i got trapped in my mind.I am having so much confusions about my condition that it is making me totally insane,i dont know what is happening with me,i read somewhere that the best way to deal with anxiety is to not avoid it just let it be,let the thoughts come in,but by doing this way i am again thinking about my thoughts,and when start feeling good then a thought strikes again that this feeling is no longer…i dont know what to do when a positive or negative thought come my mind says again its just a thought,it seems like there is something else wrong with me something bad,not only this my anxiety symptoms,tightening in my head,dizziness,tiredness are making me worry i dont want to give them attention but they are limiting me,my fear is making me scared it seems like i will get insane or seeing upset news or seeing anyone in real life also seems unreal sometimes,i have also observed that sometimes i get so upset and hopeless that i start questioning about my identity like who i am, what is inside me all these are ruining me just letting in anxiety and thoughts is becoming very tough.sry for the long comment but this is not everything i have summed up because my mood and thoughts make me think very differently,sometimes i have a thought and problem and the very next moment a new problem and thought surrounds me,very fearful about this thought cycle,is there anything else other anxiety
I can strongly relate to this. you read about letting thoughts come and go. then when you do it, you think / tell yourself you are doing it, but in reality you are not truly letting them come and go, you are just telling yourself to do it.
I can best describe it as this:
it’s like I am constantly trying to balance a rope, I am telling myself that I don’t need to be afraid to fall of that rope but instead of making me less afraid it increases my focus and anxiety of not falling of that rope
Thank you so much for this. Last night I smoked weed, which is usual for me, but instead of the usual chill I get, my mind went crazy. I had so many what ifs and crazy scenarios. I thought I was going crazy, like I was an insane person. I thought I belonged in a psychiatric ward or some shit. I honestly thought i was having a psychotic breakdown. I cried and cried. I even called my mom to get me and I cried holding onto her saying I’m sorry. I didn’t want to put my mom through my craziness
Up late due to being woke up by an attack, recently I’ve had daily anxiety small attacks to large attacks, searching for answers, I was injured in a lot of pain recently, lost a career shady business owner, watched the closest person to me have a heart attack, I hate hospitals but trying and how most operate, I’m very active and haven’t been … Anyways I can relate to all of this expressed here all in the last 3 weeks I feel like I’m fighting myself some days seem to be ok getti better and others not so good like a roller coaster, but I keep pushing myself, I feel sometimes I’m going crazy then many hours later I feel much better .. I’ve had anxiety everywhere now when it never happened anywhere, I’m eating healthy exercising taking natural pills that help me seem to relax a bit, looking into finding a therapist to perhaps lend a hand threw this, I appreciate what you wrote here so thanks for taking the time I love seeing helpful souls willing to share strength.
I enjoyed this article, thank you Hugo and commenters.
I am curious if there are any recommendations as to stoping and/or controlling nervous habits that result from anxiety? I have GAD meaning I have all these nonsense thoughts, what ifs, and fears. I cope with these things through fidgeting, twirling my hair, etc. I know it distracts me from my fears/anxieties which is why I do it, but it is annoying and I feel it is unprofessional in work situations. (Which is the place I am anxious at the most) These habits are things I do only when I am anxious. Are there any suggestions?
Great article and I love the freedom you suggest in “letting go”. The mind is deep, intricate and mostly uncharted territory. Your article also helps to makes a little more clear to me Christ’s statement…”in this world you will have trouble; but be of good cheer, for I have overcome the world”… We live in a mixed-up matrix world, who knows, maybe the folks informing others of the sizes of sparrows are really the sane ones ;) The Bible says that God sees every one of them; maybe they are onto something ;) I’m up for letting go and flying with them :) Thank you again.
Thank you so much for posting this. It made me feel a little better. A lot of these thoughts and fears can also be linked to depersonalization/ derealization, which is a direct symptom of anxiety. Once I found that out it eased my mind a tad. My anxiety comes every 3-5 years and lasts a month or so. I’m currently having a horrible bout of it and praying it eases up soon like usual. Again thank you for posting!
Hugo, anyone, can u help…i have had anxiety for 17 years, health/dying relayed, now I am feeling delusional, like life isnt real or I am detached from reality. Is this anxiety, or have I finally lost my mind?,, PLEASE SOMEONE ADVISE/HELP
DESPERATE
Michelle, it sounds like your anxiety is causing depersonalisation. This is when the mind becomes so stressed out and over worked from the anxiety that it makes you feel like you are not there to try and protect yourself from what you are experiencing. You are not losing your mind, many people with severe anxiety experience it, you can read my article on it here.
If you are concerned enough to post this plea for help, then you are not going mad. But please seek medical help and support from a close friend, and if you believe then tell your God and ask for his help. And know that you are loved, by all of us.
Hi,
Just read this and I had to comment!! I have been feeling this way for the past month and honestly thought I was the only one and that I’ll never get over this and eventually go crazy! After reading this post it has given me hope and helped me feel a little less anxious. I am going to continue to re-read this post whenever I feel those horrible thoughts again.
I can’t thank you enough for this post it is so reassuring !!!
Thanks again – from little New Zealand!
I’m a girl from little NZ too battling the same terrifying thoughts, I’m happy I found this article (: I hope everything is getting better/is better for you! <3
Hi reading this brought tears to my eyes because its exactly how i feel right now. tks soo much for your honesty in how you felt
Thanks, this helped me calm my mind down. A lot of stress made me feel like I was losing it but I’m not. Everyone is stressed with bills and heartbreaks. I’m glad I’m not telling people about sparrows lol
Thank you so much for this, I’ve been in a constant state of fear over losing my mind for a while now. I’ve been having terrible anxiety too, it’s just a relief to read this.
I commend you. Your candor has been refreshing, providing some solace (i think). In spite of having spent most of my career as psychologist – I have not been able to wrap my mind around this. Your words have given me a glimmer of hope and that’s all it takes. I have no family, no support system. That is daunting and is contributing to the questioning of my own sanity. I feel old and tired. Know that your words saved one little life on this night and I shit you not (scientific term).
Thank you.
K, thank you. That is very good to hear.
Hi Hugo,
Thanks for the great article. Like the others said, it’s a relief to read.
I’ve had something happened, very much like Pash explained…
I’d like to write down my story, first of all hoping others recognize it and stop feeling alone. Secondly for my own recovery. I did talk about it with my fiancee, but still I feel she doesn’t completely understand it… which i don’t blame her for.
English is not my native language so excuse me for the faults.
Several years ago I had a habit of smoking pot, drinking a lot and just not caring bout it. Even if my mother was an alcoholic, I just had the feeling I had it under control, I was master of it. I didn’t saw pot as a bad drug… it was natural and I’m a very stressy person so it helped me calming down. Other drugs (factory made, where a no go for me).
One day, on my birthday, I decided there was 1 drug left I’d like to try out: Paddo’s/Truffles. It was natural and I didn’t really thought there was any risk taking it. I bought 3 packs of truffles, went home, smoked some pot, drinked a bit and took the truffles. I was safe at home with my fiancee and felt secure. Well it felt as a bummer… didn’t feel anything and was quite disappointed.
The next day I decided to try it again… so when I woke up I didn’t eat or drink anything and took the truffles. What happened then, felt at the moment like one of the best experiences in life. My mind opened, I got a superbe feeling and everything was clear to me. After several hours the effect went away bit by bit. I was disappointed.
After a little while, I was in bed with my fiancee and started to hear weirdly… Cars crossing the street sounded real bizarre. I asked her if she heard it to, she looked at me not knowing what I was saying. That moment the bad trip started. For hours I needed to take cold showers, sing stupid relaxing songs just to try and keep my head straight. It was awfull. I had the feeling I was going insane.
From that moment, everytime I smoked pot, I had kind of a flashback… I wanted to stop with it for a long time so I decided this was the moment. Tried it again after a few months but I was getting heart beatings etc. so no more pot for me. I’ve got a lot of will power and I know when I want to stop with something and really feel commited to it, I can do it (Like I stopped smoking cigarettes for like 1year know without any help).
Even if it has been several years now since the bad trip happened. I’ve still got issues with it. When I hear something that I can’t place, or if it’s to loud I kinda get the “bad trip flashback” again. When I’m in bed and I start thinking bout something I cant get it out of my mind. For example if I’m seeing circles when my eyes or closed and I’m thinking: “Stop it, let’s go to sleep”, I’m seeing more and more and more. Sometimes I really need to convince myself that I need to stop it.
After several years the intensity and frequency of the flashbacks diminished. Still aren’t completely over. Everything that happens to me; is automatically linked to the experience. For example; I’ve got a problem with some of my thyroid’s hormones. There are moments I’m getting really sleepy. The fact that it is immediatly linked; makes the feeling more intense.
Even lying in bed is tricky. the biggest problem is THINKING ABOUT IT. Everythime I think about it, is the moment I get anxious. I need to convince myself everytime I need to stop caring about it but it is hard. Sometimes I really do get the feeling I’m slowly going mad. I start to question everything I do. For example I’m someone who, from when I was little, talks to myself. Not in any weird way but just so I can analise situations or think about something. I’m someone who likes philosofy and without being bragging; is quite smart… Always loved my mind and how I can analyse.
There is so much more I can tell but i think the main picture has been given. I really hope that in time, I can put it beside me… All of you having similar problems; good luck and keep strong. Even if it does infuence my life; I’ve done everything I had to do and more… Got a good job as educator, got a nice home and a lovely fiancee.
Thanks for reading my story; feel free to comment.
From Belgium
Joffrey
If you are getting flashbacks to when you were on the drug and also visual disturbances it could be that you have HPPD. I’ve not heard of Paddo’s/Truffles before, but if they are hallucinogenic they can cause this. For more info see: https://erowid.org/psychoactives/health/hppd/hppd_faq.shtml
Smoking pot is linked with triggering flashbacks if you have HPPD, also stress can do the same, especially lack of sleep as this is a major stress on the body and mind.
Im really scared at the moment because i feel like I am insane but there are elements like you are qouteing like talking about sparrows all of that stuff. My mind has thought like, well you exsplain that and say thats a symptom but i cant quite grasp it as the feeling, Like alot of people say “well if your insane” then you don’t know your insane, but i keep thinking “Well what if we don’t feel like we are insane, then how would we know regardless” Exstitential thinking, I don’t know if this is related to insanity but it seems like they correlate and it is very scary when you think this way.
Zinzan, we can all have illogical and ‘madness’ type thoughts, but it is only if you truly believe them and start talking to people about ‘sparrows’ completely seriously that you are going mad. The fact you have strange thoughts but question why you have them (because you know they are not true) means you are not going mad. It is purely your fear of madness which makes you feel they way you do.
I don’t know if this is severe depression or just me overanalizing and anxiety causing this. It seems like everything has no purpose nor-has any kind of logical reasoning behind it, like everyone is just stating something and believing it based on what they are stating. I just want my life back.
The fact that I decided to google my problem seemed stupid but, my mind has never seemed so clear after reading this article. This gives me clarity.
I’m not going insane, it’s just a state of mind and as you said “you have a choice…” whether to continue feeding your anxiety or stop. It’s inconvenient living with an abnormal mind, but it doesn’t mean it’s impossible to renew your thoughts , it’s in your head and you have the capability to channel it where it has to be. It’s not going to be easy but, I have a strong feeling that i will come out strong on the other side. You have fed my mind with so much positivity in just a few minutes, I have seen 2 psychologist during this year and not one of them came this close to giving me hope , they forced me to do something that I wasn’t comfortable with, so I just completely gave up on them, they weren’t listening.
Commenting is not something I would do, in fact I’ve never commented on something online before but, i salute you Hugo.
you are amazing……
because you found it….
you described it very well…..
i am very grateful about this….
thank you…. thank you…. thank you….
Thank you sooo much for this amazing artiicle. I was reading this article while having an anxiety attack and I followed ur advice and it went away. I love this aricle so much because its so true :)
The best part of reading this is that not once did you mention the use of drugs to assist in overcoming anxiety. I feel like they only temporarily help and eventually for me mad things worse. My anxiety about the affects of the meds would consume me. I’m stopping and trying your suggestions. Thank you!
This was the only thing that has really helped me in the past 6 months or so, during which this sort of thing has started to prominently surface in a pretty damaging way.
Thank you.
That bit about the car……..this is probably the first time in my life that somebody related something to me that I thought was completely…I don’t know…just, out-of-nowhere-“crazy” and this whole post is so reassuring and real. After many health-articles describing anxiety, this is a breath of fresh air that gets to the point that really matters to the reader.
Thank you.
I’m 68 married male going through major Dipression, acute anxiety, panic and fear 24/7 since last two years traped in it due my failier to cope with my married addicted son’s personal and family issues. Now I’m taking Cymbalta 30mg plus clonazipam 0.75mg for sleep and 0.25 mg twice during day plus weekly CBT too. So far nothing help except Sleeping for about 7-8 Hrs. Morning anxiety and coming out of bed is the biggest daily problem. Besides, prolonged period of my sickness make my other son and family (with whom I and my life live,) very upset, annoyed and unsupportive. They feel now that I may be doing Drama or trying obtain their sympathies instead realizing my real inside sevre sickness.
Outside everything looks fine but you know inside how a sevrly dipressed with acute anxiety feral during panic and fear. Last month I was in Behavioural Hospital for 15days and gone through Four weekly session ECT too but no minor change noticed except continued headache and short term loss of memories
In addition to my addicted sons issues Trigger I’m now also facing unsupportive behavior Trigger of my elder son and his wife which made my sanxiety more miserable. Although they knows the original issu which affected entire family and initially they were very supportive but now due my prolonged sickness make them frustrated and I realized it too but now at this age when I’m not working and depending on them with my very little SSI income and Medicare (UHC advantage) plan,
I have no choice. I remain very productive and active whole my life establishing small family biz which is now run by him. I’m am worried from all four sides with unresolved problems making me crazy and 24/7 anxious/worried.
What coping tools I should use to overcome and relax from this situation. I tried ignore the anxiety as you suggested, it helped but for a short period of time then again I relapsed and
Came under same vicious cycle.. I really needs advice and suggestions to get some relaxation and cure.
Hi Hugo,
First of all, thank you for your article and your link to your “Are you hypersensitive to your anxiety”.
I haven’t had a problem with anxiety before as far as I can tell, so when it started a few days ago/Wednesday last week, I noticed I felt differently when I was driving home and when I arrived and was worried about myself. I googled instantly and found results about “Depersonalisation” which sounded like they could be correct but i noticed this was linked to anxiety in a way. I have been fine driving for 4 months beforehand but after that drive home I’ve started to feel scared – just as you mention in your writing – that I am going to crash, that I am causing inconvenience for other drivers around me, that if I let go of the wheel I will crash. I’m fine the rest of the day, but I feel like it’s all auto-pilot compared to before… It’s hard to describe, but I feel like I’m less connected to everything around me during the day and when I talk to anyone, I feel like I won’t know what to say, and then automatically reply somehow. It has become harder to start a conversation I’ve realised. The oddest thing about this sudden change is that in my head I feel scared and think “I don’t know what to do” and then I do something, as if by instinct or on auto-pilot as if I’d learned to do it intuitively.
I’m not sure what to do about this because the anxiety is at it’s worst when I’m driving and the rest of the day is affected because of this. If I don’t go to drive during the day however, I feel a lot less stress and the day feels like it goes a lot better. The worst part about this is that I have exams to study for, which are coming up in a week’s time, and I’m not sure whether this will affect my performance in them, whether I should speak to someone(I feel scared to speak to anyone about it), and whether I should stop driving in the meantime and take the bus to university for revision and exams. The problem with this would be however that I would need to travel 2 hours by bus to university one way, as opposed to 30 minutes by car with anxiety making me feel scared about it.
Would going by bus just make anxiety stop temporarily and make it come back whenever I went to drive again, or would it stop my anxiety so that when I got back in the car in 2 weeks time. I feel like the answer is the former – however I’m not sure of this.
Your answer would be greatly appreciated! I am very thankful for you having previously written this article and I’ll attempt to take your advice on-board today, though I still feel rather/very scared of what my anxiety will be like on the drive home.
Once again, I hope you reply, and thank you for this article.
It’s important to note that there is no connection between anxiety and going crazy. While it may feel like you could go crazy due to anxiety, you actually can’t. It’s a physical impossibility.
With anxiety, you’re simply reacting to a surge in adrenaline and the activation of your fight or flight system. Those that struggle with psychosis every day are powerless against these episodes that can last for days or even weeks, and during this time there is rarely a voice telling them that they’re losing control. It happens chemically, in a way that is usually only noticed when it’s over.
So while anxiety may cause you to feel as though you’re “going crazy,” rest assured that while anxiety can genuinely cause that feeling or worry, it is not the same as a true psychotic episode.
This is brilliant and actually I’m looking for this kind of post. I don’t have doubts when reading it, it seems like we experienced exactly the same thing and related so much to me and that made me feel so much better because it made me feel like I actually can be better.
Repeat fo help/reply
Mahmu says:
NOVEMBER 25, 2016 AT 00:05
I’m 68 married male going through major Dipression, acute anxiety, panic and fear 24/7 since last two years traped in it due my failier to cope with my married addicted son’s personal and family issues. Now I’m taking Cymbalta 30mg plus clonazipam 0.75mg for sleep and 0.25 mg twice during day plus weekly CBT too. So far nothing help except Sleeping for about 7-8 Hrs. Morning anxiety and coming out of bed is the biggest daily problem. Besides, prolonged period of my sickness make my other son and family (with whom I and my life live,) very upset, annoyed and unsupportive. They feel now that I may be doing Drama or trying obtain their sympathies instead realizing my real inside sevre sickness.
Outside everything looks fine but you know inside how a sevrly dipressed with acute anxiety feral during panic and fear. Last month I was in Behavioural Hospital for 15days and gone through Four weekly session ECT too but no minor change noticed except continued headache and short term loss of memories
In addition to my addicted sons issues Trigger I’m now also facing unsupportive behavior Trigger of my elder son and his wife which made my sanxiety more miserable. Although they knows the original issu which affected entire family and initially they were very supportive but now due my prolonged sickness make them frustrated and I realized it too but now at this age when I’m not working and depending on them with my very little SSI income and Medicare (UHC advantage) plan,
I have no choice. I remain very productive and active whole my life establishing small family biz which is now run by him. I’m am worried from all four sides with unresolved problems making me crazy and 24/7 anxious/worried.
What coping tools I should use to overcome and relax from this situation. I tried ignore the anxiety as you suggested, it helped but for a short period of time then again I relapsed and
Came under same vicious cycle.. I really needs advice and suggestions to get some relaxation and cure.
I am very anxious when some thing happen to my body. Like if I hit by something I think my bone must be broken. I search in Google how can bone break or how much pressure need to break a bone. Today me and my friend sitting together, after talking with him I feel some relief. But when he stand up Whit the help of my shoulder after that I think collarbone may be broke for this. Some times I am fine then suddenly thought come back and I think all this things happen because of me. Why I did this if I don’t do this in past now my life will be OK. Continue blame myself and hurt me more. How cure this?
Hi,
I’ve lost everything in my life due to insane anxiety which was brought about by health concerns. I did not have anything at the time but had some bowel symptoms and believed I’v got cancer. I lost my sleep and could not sleep at all without several meds. For the last 3 years my life was hell – I live in constant fear. I tried some meds but was afraid of them as well. Two months ago my stomach symptoms returned and my anxiety has spiraled. For these 3 years I have had few days when I was at least not too bad. Otherwise I am in constant fear. I am taking ativan and trazodone for sleep and now was prescribed xanax during the day and lexapro. I used to run 7 miles, had my own practice, was travelling…. Now I don’t have any hope. Hugo, if you have any advice, please write me.
hey there everyone…you can see that i have commented before also in this thread i am 23 i got a email few days ago…and i visited the thread again…i am here now to tell everyone that evreything will be fine fisrt step is to stop googling just stop it…it is not difficult…you are falling in the same thing again and again is because you are reading and going through the same thing again and again and it becomes a habit of our mind to ruminiate over one thing surround yourself with new things…it is not diificult trust me…how hard your mind says to visit the forums and check symptoms because doing this you get assurance and you get relief but it is only temporary…in the long run it is totally like injuring yourself with hammer…you are perfectly allright nothing has happened to you…you are just over conscious…just let the time pass…dont ruminiate over your symptoms and thoughts and feelings…it is just anxiety that is making you think like this way…i was here in the exact same place and now also i get all those nonsense things again in my mind i am dp/dr’ed now also but i know one thing that it will be fine…however i dnt know that i m become habitual of this…i am not completely out of it i am not recovered but it is much better then it was before…and how is it possible because i gave time to myself…yes i done lot of mistakes and i do till now…but time is the best healer…my major concern is going insane and you will not believe that sometimes i think that what if i had become insane even i start feeling like this…but one thing i have learnt that let it be it is a time and it will pass…now i enjoy the little things also which were meaningless to me before this…this is only anxiety that is magnifying even the small things…this is only anxiety that is popping up the baseleass fears and catastrophising you…just be there and let the time pass…you yourself will know that how much you have recovered..no matter how bad and fearfull or dreadful you feel just divert yourself…it is difficult and also one thing that you will not going to believe anyone who assures you…you are going to believe your own thoughts…but again if you start noticing and question yourself that is it really true or is it really going to happen that you will see the difference……i know i will face same thing again…but hang on i have more stuffs to do more important then all this nonsense…i dnt care what will happen…if something really bad happened then what i will face it…i will solve it…even if get mad then what doctors are there to give us pills lol…jokes apart just focus on other important stuffs…your career your family your hangouts…if you dnt feel good or you are upset then what you were like this before…the only difference is that you are now over alert on your sensations symptoms which are not actually symptoms they are only bodily reactions…just relax and divert yourself…and the one thing and important stop googling dears…just make a commitment whenever you feel like you have any anxious feeling or fear and you have to google it what is it then stop there focus on something else it is difficult but try…and one thing i must tell you that you will get all thoughts symptoms again but just let them sit aside focus on other important stuffs…just see your strength and if you think that you dnt have strength then just wait you will come to know that how strengthfull you are cos that will be your only option lol…just live you life…it is hard but beautiful…you all are so
Hi there. I just want to ask if you still feel the sensation?
Which sensation? The fear of losing my mind? No, not at all.
Hi there hugo.. have u ever felt again the feeling of fear with no reason? If yes, what do u do?
Hi Hugo, you have rocked with this article. Very well written. But I am experiencing some very extreme stress. I get immensely stressful when I talk for a minute. I can’t talk or read something for 5 minutes. I dont know what is this. And I really feel I am going crazy
This article helps me so much. I’m a 24 year old single mum to a 5 year old. I struggle every single day with the fears that I am going crazy.. my thoughts can get very distorted when I’m in an anxious state and even though I know they are not real sometimes I get myself so worked up that I start to think I am believing the delusional things my mind makes up. My anxiety kills me day in and day out. I just pray one day that I get my life back and can live normally for my son. Like other comments I struggle with accepting my anxiety, I can accept it for a while then a thought will pop into my head and I go off on the merry go round again. I’m currently waiting for cbt and have been put on a very low dose of an anti psychotic to hopefully get my thoughts straight after trying many anti depressants/anti anxiety medication with no positive outcome. I truly believe that the Internet is the worst thing out there if you are suffering with anxiety, I google everything and I get myself so worked up. From today I am stopping. I am going to come back to this article when I need too and from today I must accept my anxiety.
Omg this is amazing! I have never felt so scared in my life …. I have good days and bad days. But I am really scared of losing my mind. There’s some reason because my dad had bipolar and my mum had bad nerves! I am scared I will be like them :(
Angela, what ever happens in the future, there is one thing which will make you feel much worse – and that is to worry about it. The stress of anxiety is much worse than what you are actually fearing, it is affecting you here and now. Live healthy, look after yourself, keep busy and sociable and forget about ‘what may be’.
I might still go mad one day, I just don’t care. And I really mean, I don’t care! Other than looking after myself, there’s not much else I can do, so why ruin today to worry about something which will probably never happen. Even if it does, so what. It’s more likely I’ll get struck by lightening and I certainly don’t worry about that.
Thank you for sharing, I hope everyone feeling this way finds relief.
Stay strong,
God Bless You All!
This helped a bit, Hugo, thank you.
I used to have panic attacks when I was an adolescent, but overcame them in my twenties, but a few months ago I started taking marijuana in various forms, and had an episode of psychosis which triggered it all again, and now it’s come back.
Even when you know (and at least desperately hope) that it ends, it helps to read that you’re not alone.
Hi Hugo.
I’m feeling this way for quite some time.I never get weird thoughts or something like that,but I feel like I’m really losing my mind.There are some lapses that I feel like I’m out of mind(not in control,but still I don’t get weird thoughts or dreams).but I had thoughts that weren’t pleasurable(talk on that later).This began like 5 days ago while I was getting into bed,I had difficulties to find sleep.I was sweaty and I couldn’t quite figure out why,I felt terrible.I tried to get out of my bed,and sit down on it but it wasn’t getting any better.It was like my mind was the cause of all this.I only find peace when I woke up my parents in the middle of the night,about 3:00AM,and asked the keys of our house because I felt that I just wanted to get out and just sit down for some minutes.I never told my parents what was wrong with me.I just told them that I was somewhat stressed out and I needed to spend some time out.I stayed for almost an hour and half and went back to sleep but this thing kept on making me feel anxious,so I took my iPad and played some games just to see if I get better.It did get better but for only about 30minutes,because I got again these thoughts while playing,I couldn’t get how they found me again.but I eventually decided to get on my bed again and try to sleep it off.I’m a believer,so I kept saying “God please help me find sleep, God please help me.”I repeated many times and slept deeply for an hour.but then I woke up again about 6:15AM,I hesitated to wake up my parents again to avoid suspicions on my mental health condition.I just waited till 7:30AM when everybody,except my mom,was gone(my father at work,my siblings at school).I shared some facts about this matter with my mom.
In hindsight(while I was talking to my mom),I tried to figure out what triggered this.I said above that I was having unpleasant thoughts,these were about a program that I applied for and I wasn’t selected in the end.I spent months preparing for this thing but what I got was rejection.What hurt me the most is that some people less qualified were selected.At first,I was just angry,but afterwards this was then playing with my mind.When I think of the fact that some people less qualified than me have been selected, I feel angry and this thing comes back. Now I can sleep easily,but I always fear that I might wake up being an other person,maybe someone who has lost his mind.Even though I’m not anymore experiencing hardships to find sleep,these thoughts can catch me in the middle of the day and I always try to get out of home and get some air outside,and clear these thoughts.I really don’t know what to do.Should I see a psychiatric?
I agree with the article, however it is not as straight forward as this. Having been in this exact situation things didnt get better till I had sorted out my overall lifestyle and once I got this in order then I naturally got better by doing what the article suggests.
You have to factor that these problems are not just caused by one thing but a mixture of mental and physical causes and you have to get both right to heal. Firstly you must detox your body of all toxins it is holding, cut out all Stimulants and Alcohol and then cut out Pasteurised Diary, Gluten, GMO’s, Additives and Refined Carbs (eg added Sugar, Flour etc), basically anything processed or not in its natural form. I believe a lot of it can be down to a hormone imbalance and inflammation which are both cause by eating things you were not designed to eat and stress. The Paleo/Keto style of eating worked best for me and I believe this is because it is such a clean way of eating. Your body reacts well to it and it doesn’t cause the inflammation and stress to the body that the modern diet and lifestyle cause. Try as best as you can to eat organic, raw, grass fed, non GMO and if you try this yourself you will feel the difference once you are eating clean. By eating this way you will have much more energy and and focus and will feel the difference when you eat something you have cut out as it takes away the energy you have regained.
Be careful though not to cut out Gluten Free Starches all together though (Rice, Sweet Potatoes, Oats) as I went to a Meat and Vegetables only keto type diet and because I had Adrenal Fatique it gave my hypoglycemia which literally gave me intense anxiety and depression due to low sugar levels in my blood. Some people can do the keto who have balanced Adrenals/Hormones and it will work well for them, however if you haven’t then it can make you even worse and if you are one of those people a carb refeed (every 3 to 7days) or 100-150g of quality gluten free carbs a day instead of low carb (50g a day) will help.
Once you have the diet in order you should feel the difference straight away and then by combining this with Exercise, Meditation, Being Present, Not Overthinking, Supplementation and Sleeping well, you should get on top of everything. Modern life is not how we were designed to live, so the closer you can get back to how we are meant to eat and live the better you will feel.
Hope this helps people recovery quicker then me, it took me 2 years of self experimentation and pain to figure all this out :)
Good advice Saxson. This article focuses purely on understanding how and why anxiety can make you fear for your sanity, and that you do not need to worry.
You need to understand this first, then you can begin to make the right decisions in other areas (diet, exercise, lifestyle etc) which will also help enable you to recover. These topics are covered in other articles on the site.
Just wow!
Hi, can some please reassure me I’m not going nuts. My thoughts keep on telling me that I won’t get better and I will always feel anxiety…even when I feel good a thought pops up and tells me to feel scared..its like I want to feel anxious, my mind is making me think and say that i want to feel scared and I will always be afraid….this scares the crap out of me. its like im punishing myself for feeling good with a fearful thought….does this make sense to anyone….please anyone please help me with this…