Anxiety and avoidance

[the10thleper319]

Any thoughts why anxiety inspires avoidance of enjoyed things, similar to depression's anhedonia? Thanks.

 

[arfie]

my own anxiety loves doom and gloom. allowing myself to actually enjoy things gets it barking like a mad dog.

 

[the10thleper319]

my own anxiety loves doom and gloom. allowing myself to actually enjoy things gets it barking like a mad dog.

Thank you for the quick reply and input.

 

[Friday]

Avoidance as a coping mechanism? (As opposed to avoidance as a ptsd symptom)

Stress Cup >>> The ptsd cup explanation

 

[the10thleper319]

Avoidance as a coping mechanism? (As opposed to avoidance as a ptsd symptom)

Stress Cup >>> The ptsd cup explanation

Thanks you. Definitely avoidance as a ptsd symptom.

 

[Tinyflame]

The only thing that ever worked for me to overcome avoiding a ptsd symptom is to assign it a competing, opposite meaning. Not denying it has one meaning, but trying to overwrite it with a different positive one. I mean, in steps. Sometimes it wasn't out of choice but necessity.

Idk but I will say for myself, it occurred to me that much of my anxiety is not only doom and gloom as @arfie said, but overthinking. That is, not only assuming negatives but assuming lack of information or fortune telling or mind reading is negative and therefore like a flow chart If A then Do B. Instead of just not worrying about any of it and just living. Recognizing that stuff for what it is would probably help me, perhaps others too. Since it seems to me it's like 2 ends of a pole: people who don't care what effect they might have on people or what others want/ don't want, and others who worry too much.

Perhaps it's helpful to know you may be inclined to feel a certain way (because of your trauma history and knowing yourself), but those are just feelings coming from thoughts and in mostly your own mind rather than gauging the current situation accurately. The past is the past, and even things that bother me, well I'd probably be wiser to tell my own brain the opinion isn't really necessary now. No need to fear so much. and remember state dependent. X (eg fear) breeds Y (more fear memories), etc. It's not really accurate to a full picture. Like tunnel vision or hyper-focus/ hyper-aware, as fear usually is, especially considering our amygdala. Works in reverse remembering happy/ safe things.

 

[the10thleper319]

The only thing that ever worked for me to overcome avoiding a ptsd symptom is to assign it a competing, opposite meaning. Not denying it has one meaning, but trying to overwrite it with a different positive one. I mean, in steps. Sometimes it wasn't out of choice but necessity.

Idk but I will say for myself, it occurred to me that much of my anxiety is not only doom and gloom as @arfie said, but overthinking. That is, not only assuming negatives but assuming lack of information or fortune telling or mind reading is negative and therefore like a flow chart If A then Do B. Instead of just not worrying about any of it and just living. Recognizing that stuff for what it is would probably help me, perhaps others too. Since it seems to me it's like 2 ends of a pole: people who don't care what effect they might have on people or what others want/ don't want, and others who worry too much.

Perhaps it's helpful to know you may be inclined to feel a certain way (because of your trauma history and knowing yourself), but those are just feelings coming from thoughts and in mostly your own mind rather than gauging the current situation accurately. The past is the past, and even things that bother me, well I'd probably be wiser to tell my own brain the opinion isn't really necessary now. No need to fear so much. and remember state dependent. X (eg fear) breeds Y (more fear memories), etc. It's not really accurate to a full picture. Like tunnel vision or hyper-focus/ hyper-aware, as fear usually is, especially considering our amygdala. Works in reverse remembering happy/ safe things.

Thanks for your message and sharing your personal situation! Today I was actually able to do what I wanted to do without anxiety or depression. I want more days like this, lol. I also started trauma therapy.