How To Stop Anxiety and Panic From Clouding Your Judgement

January 26, 2009 by Alex
Filed under: Anxiety Disorders, Panic Attack Help, Personal

The last couple of days I haven’t felt so great. For some reason, I’ve not had much sleep the last couple of nights, and what sleep I’ve had hasn’t been restful, peaceful sleep. That used to be very normal for me, but I’ve been doing very well the last year or two, so it’s all a bit unfamiliar to me again.

I also have a nagging headache that won’t shift.

So, why am I moaning about how I feel?

Well, I guess it’s because I’m okay with it. I’ve had two bad nights of sleep, I’ve got a horrible headache, I feel generally unwell, and I’m okay with it. And that’s what I thought was worth sharing with you.

If I’d felt like this a couple of years ago, I’d have been terrified the headache was a symptom of a terrible illness, I’d have been sure that I’d never have another good night’s sleep again, and I’d have been sure I was in for a severe and long-lasting bout of anxiety and depression.

But not now.

Now I’m fine with how I feel. I accept how I feel right now for what it is: just a couple of bad days where I don’t feel so great. We all have periods like this, even people who’ve never had any problems with anxiety or panic or depression.

The trouble is, when you’ve got a history of anxiety and panic, it’s easy to let periods like this overwhelm you and turn into much more than they ever needed to be.

Now that I’ve been anxiety-free for long enough to clear my system of all its toxins and mind-altering effects, I ‘m lucky enough to be able to look at myself with much more clarity. So I can look back and see how days when I felt like this would spiral out of control into a nightmare that would last weeks or months. And I can look at myself now and see how I’m able to shrug these “low” periods off as just that - just low periods that’ll pass.

I’m writing this in case you’re where I was for so many years until 2 years ago. If, like me, your anxiety and panic stop you from seeing clearly how things really are, then take it from someone who’s been there: you’ll have bad days, and maybe even bad weeks. But they will pass, if you let them.

Focus on how you’ll feel when they pass, not how they make you feel today.

This might sound simple, but a couple of years ago I’d have been very grateful if someone had given me a shake and told me this. Sometimes the most obvious things can be so hard to see when your mind is tangled in a web of panic.

So do your best to just accept those bad periods. Don’t fight them, or linger on them. Let them pass, and they will.

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