Are you ready to win a prize?
Hope so, because between December 20th and December 28th I’ll be hosting what I’m calling the Anti-Anxiety Competition Giveaway.
I came up with this idea about a month ago in hopes of helping anxiety sufferers learn the best way(s) to deal with their anxiety problem.
I also wanted to do something in honor of the increased participation by my awesome readers at Anxiety Guru Dot Net.
Your comments and emails have been tremendous. Not only that, Anxiety Guru now has over 600 subscribers!
That’s a big accomplishment and it’s all thanks to your continued support.
Now, let’s talk prizes. Here’s a quick list of what the top three competitors will win.
Third place:
The third place winner will win a copy of my Special Report How to Stop Anxious Thinking. This report is my anti-anxiety manifesto and will help any anxiety sufferer get a good idea about what’s behind abnormal anxiety, and how to get rid of it for good.
Second place:
The runner up will receive a new copy of Dr. Claire Weeke’s book called Hope and Help for Your Nerves
First place:
The winner of the Anti-Anxiety Competition Giveaway will receive a new copy of Dr. Claire Weeke’s Audio book Pass Through Panic
How to Enter
Entering the competition is easy. All you have to do is answer two questions in the comments section below AND be subscribed to Anxiety Guru Dot Net.
If you’re not already subscribed, then just go to the upper right corner of this website, enter your name and email, and hit the submit button. After that just follow the instructions on the screen and you’re all set.
The Questions
1. What’s the best and worst things you’ve done to lower your anxiety?
2. What’s the best advice you can give to someone who just found out that they have an anxiety disorder?
Wrap up
I think this competition is a great way to help all anxiety sufferers. Those that read the entries in the days ahead will gain some great insight into things they’ve never heard of that could help them make a positive change in their lives. It’s a win-win for everyone that participates.
So what are you waiting for? Take a few minutes and send in your entry right now.
Good luck!
P.S.
I’ve also included a podcast to explain the Anti-Anxiety Competition Giveaway a bit more.
Update:
Thank you all for participating in the Anti-Anxiety Competition Giveaway.
The competition is officially over, and I have selected the winners.
Before I announce the winners though, let me just say how impressed I was with all the entries. It seems to me that all of the participants “get it.”
And, it goes to show how hard it can still be to cope with anxiety, even after you understand what’s happening to you.
There were also some gems of advice in here that I hope will help others at least in some small measure.
So, without further ado, the winners are…
In third place: Megan
One of Megan’s best points was the importance of not symptom hunting on Google. That is a sure-fire way of increasing your anxiety and keeping yourself in a state of fear. So heed the warning!
In second place: Irena
Irena’s response was loaded with good tips. Chief among them was that you should live your life, despite having chronic anxiety. Sounds simple, but really how many times have you stopped doing what you love because of anxiety? Probably lots, I know I used to. Keep living. Keep doing.
In first place: Sunny
What can I say about Sunny’s entry except read it. In fact, read it twice. Among all the awesome tips Sunny sent our way the most importance was that you should try and educate yourself about your condition – anxiety disorder. I can’t begin to tell you how vital that is.
So Sunny gets the Claire Weekes CD, Irena Dr. Weeke’s book, and Megan gets a free copy of my Special Report.
But that’s not all, everyone that participated will also get a free copy of my special report!
I think all the entries have something to offer. Each one had something in it that I’m sure will help someone new to this anxiety business.
Thank you all for participating. Not sure when the next competition will be, but I can guarantee that the prizes will be something you wouldn’t re-gift.
P.S.
If you want to know the secret sauce to ultimate recovery, please read Bryan’s entry.
I would have to say that the worst thing I have ever done to lower my anxiety is go to the hospital.. I always think something will be different when I go and it never is. It’s always a panic attach and the attention of the drs, nurses, and machinery just makes my anxiety worse… The best thing I have ever done for my anxiety has been learning to sit with it. By that I mean, realizing its a panic attack, breathing and not letting my mind run away. I tell myself over and over, ” its just a panic attack, it has not killed you before, it will not kill you this time, yes it sucks but just breathe”…
I would suggest to anyone suffering from anxiety, find places like this to help you. Take matters into your own hands, read up and get informed on how to help yourself. If you need medications, don’t be afraid to use them. Last: ITS OKAY… YOU WILL GET THROUGH THIS, YOU ARE NOT ALONE, AND ITS NOT YOUR FAULT…..
1. The worst thing(s) i have done to lower my anxiety is A) Not go to a doctor sooner to be diagnosed. I was suffering with symptoms for about a year, thinking all the terrible things that HAD to be wrong with me before i was told i had panic/anxiety. If i’d gone sooner and got treatment quicker, i can be certain i wouldn’t still be unwell.
The best thing i have done is divorce my ex abusive husband who had NO clue about my illness, put me down all the time, told me i was a burden and that i was an all round failure.
2. The ONLY advice that i would give someone is DO NOT GIVE UP! The thing that i did and (at the time) didn’t realise how much it would work against me is just give in to it. Every time you have an anxiety/panic attack, you need to get out as soon as you can and not let it win. For example, now, if i panic, i will get out of the situation, but as soon as i feel up to it, usually the next day, i will go back to the same place and carry on where i left off the day before.
Thank you x
1. The best thing i did to help lower my anxiety was to see a therapist and take advice from paul because paul was the first person who i felt really understood what i was going through and was explaining my exact feelings in his podcast which shocked me that i wasn’t the only person going through this. The worst thing i did to lower my anxiety would probably be to stay home from school. At the time school was really hard to handle when my anxiety was at its boiling point. This was in my junior year of high school which made it even worse.
2. My best advice is to let the person know that everyone has trials and tribulations in life and that its not the end of the world.GO GET HELP ASAP, whether its your family,friends,therapist,or a website like anxiety guru.The reason why is because your hurting yourself with not getting help. In one of my situations i was having a.n.t’s of suicide which i couldn’t understand and that is nothing to play around with. Another thing i would say is one of the most important things is to BELIEVE IN YOURSELF. Think of yourself boxing with anxiety and when it hits you with a.n.t’s and panic,dodge and hit back and in the end you will be VICTORIOUS.
1. The worst thing I’ve done to lower my anxiety when it first appeared was going on the internet and start googling symptoms, and later–joining so called online “support” groups. Looking up symptoms just gave my already existing anxiety a leg to stand on,and gradually the topic just took over my day until I could think of nothing but how I felt. “Support” groups for me did the opposite of support: people there go over and over their symptoms, wallowing in self pity, and after reading posts after posts I would feel worse than I did in the beginning.
The best thing I did to lower my anxiety was to find 2-3 “safe” anxiety-help web sites like this one, packed with useful information about the condition, its symptoms and how to handle them. At times when I’d feel not so good, I’d go and read up on this or that particular symptom, ot listen to a podcast; by educating yourself in this manner, you gradually start taking fear out of your illness, and fear is what keeping this condition alive.
2. My advice to any anxiety sufferer,would be: LIVE YOUR LIFE. And by this I mean pack in as much as posiible normal living into your day; if you want to feel like yourself again, you want to feel “normal”, you would have to start living a “normal” life–no googling symptoms, no going over in your mind about how you feel,no dwelling on the topic unnecessarily, just take all of those symptoms with you and continue with your day respectively. But that can be done only AFTER you’ve educated yourself about the condition; knowledge takes away all the “what-ifs”. Good luck.
Ahhhhh Anxiety so complicated & simple all at the same time. The worst thing I did for my anxiety was not acknowledge that I was suffering from it to begin with it. I could not wrap my conscience mind around what was happening to my body. It was a really gradual process for me to admit to myself that I wasn’t going crazy, having a stroke or dying of a multitude of cancers. No I wasn’t going to be a 30 year old having a heart attack in a grocery store. Nor was I suffering a rare blood disorder,liver failure, or going deaf. I don’t remember a moment where it became clear that this was not my body talking to me…but my mind.
The best thing I have done for my anxiety is educate myself, (not google all symtoms although I am guilty as charged and for me it was part of the process for getting to where I am today). Research of the Flight or Fight response (AG planted the seed in my head) was a savior in many ways…it took more than once during a panic attack to believe the feelings my body was feeling were infact normal responses to an emergency…eventually I was able to convince my mind that I wasn’t in immediate danger. Just like my body trained itself to utlize a defense system without my permission(panic for no conscience/apparent reason) I chose (begrudingly)to accept the feelings and let them pass. Almost immediately the feelings disolve.
The advice I would give a newly diagnosed anxiety sufferer would without a doubt be 1st educating yourself about the disease/ailement whatever you want to call it. And 2nd communicating to people in your life about it and educating them. Give them tips on how they can help should they be present during an attack, when you’re having an attack tell someone because you are not alone. It takes a lot of courage to overcome the shame of anxiety but the reality is there is no shame in anxiety. It is very common and is very treatable!
Personally a combination of dumping toxic people out of my life, exercising, healthy eating, calming tea, quitting smoking, and admitting to myself that I was suffering, and realizing that I wasn’t alone. Which I will shower much credit to the Anxiety Guru website. Although my panic attacks are few and far between these days I use Anxiety Guru as a touchstone. I listen to the podcasts, I brush up on the facts, and read other peoples stories. Educate, communicate, and accept that the mind body connection is your allie not your enemy.
The best thing that I have done is subscribe to your site, the worst thing that I have done is believe my feelings that I’m really dying.
The best advice that I can give is don’t worry it won’t kill you, that’s what I keep telling my self. It will be over soon.
By the way thank you very much for your emails they keep me going. I don’t delete them I keep them on my black berry for when I have anxiety so I can reread them to remind myself it’s going to pass and it won’t kill me.
Thank you very much.
The best thing: Discovering acceptance.
Oh, how simple this all could have been if I knew that from the beginning. But, the myriad of doctors and therapists I saw seemed as mystified as I was, and only seemed to offer medicine as a way out. I finally read the work of Dr. Weekes, in addition to additional brilliance by Dr. Stuart Shipko (Surviving Panic Disorder) and various works of Jon Kabbot-Zin.
All thees doctors had to do from the beginning was truly explain that anxiety wasn’t dangerous, and that TRUE acceptance and time would head to healing.
The Worst Thing: Expecting a doctor to cure this for me.
Now, don’t get me wrong, you’ve got to find a physician you trust, and I’m sure many are truly versed in dealing with anxiety, but SO many are not. So many are as mystified as the average person on the street. So many reach for anti-depressants as a “cure.” While I do believe there is a place for benzos along with therapy, medication is not a solution. Most doctors simply seem to lack a solid foundation in CURING anxiety, not just mitigating it temporarily. YOU HAVE GOT TO DO YOUR OWN WORK. You’ve got to find something to believe in. For most, that winds up being themselves. Dr. Weekes’ books helped me find that belief, among others. (But none so much as hers.) You’ve got to find the strength to learn about this own your own, and build the confidence to rise above it. You just won’t believe how strong you are once you do.
I’m sad that I missed the contest; luckily, thanks to this website’s excellent advice, I have obtained all of the prizes except for Dr. Weekes’ CD.
But thanks to everyone’s comments. I went through a REALLY rough patch of anxiety from about April – September, and it was a combo of this website and Claire Weekes book (recommended here!) that really helped me. I still have my occasional bad days…like today which is why I’m here…but things are really looking up.
Thanks for the reminders to not Google symptoms. Dr. Google isn’t kind! I agree that that makes everything MUCH worse for me.
As far as best thing?? Come here! Read Dr. Weekes! Excercise, eat right, be kind to yourself. And…let time pass 🙂
Best of luck!
Oh…I forgot one of the most important things: SLEEP!! I’m horrible at making myself go to bed. Once I’m there, I’m out like a light…but there’s always one more thing to do, one more thing to be anxious about, one more room to be cleaned…before I go to bed. But 9 times out of 10, when things are at their “worst” and I look at my sleep schedule…I’ve been sleeping 6 hours a night or less. Bingo.
Another thing for me is being a mother of young children – half the time once I get to sleep, SOMEONE wakes up coughing, or crying, or climbs in bed with me and kicks me for the next 3 hours. So I’m (slowly) learning that to get 8 hours of sleep…I need to plan for 9. THAT is REALLY hard, but it makes a big difference!
Good thoughts, Emily… and please stick around even on your GOOD days. People here need all the help they can get from those who have had success. 🙂