what is "anxiety"

[Elena Delle Donne]

everyone says they have anxiety now. what is it?

 

this is mostly a sincere question. i am dead inside and approach my life by guessing about possible outcomes and their likelihood, then preparing accordingly. it's all on the level whether it's a date or a long hill on my bike or meeting new people. i feel anxious in the understandable situations, like being on trial or asking for a raise. but what's it like to just be anxious all the time? who can elaborate? 

Edited June 6, 2021 by Elena Delle Donne

[One Man Banned]

Briefly/simplisticly, anxiety can be good or bad, it's your mental interpretation of it that makes it such.  If you're anxious all the time in a negative direction it fucking sucks, it's a physical and mental drain that can lead to irritability, depression, sleep disturbance, etc.  In the extreme, it can be debilitating.  Hope that helps.  If not, elaborate, and I'll respond in kind.  

[morton]

Kind of a funny question, I am sure there is are many attempts in medical and philosophical fields that address it more completely than everyday oontzers.

 

I imagine that your approach may be less calculating than you perceive and that emotion and intuition are helping guide your analysis of outcomes and probability.

 

It can be hard to draw the line between reason and neurosis; if I wake up in the middle of the night and roll over some issue at work am I experiencing a reasonable or unreasonable reaction to the stresses and conditions that exist?

 

The anxiety I experience is ruminating on the past or future, I never really get it in the present tense. It may well be that for people that do typical situations become difficult to manage because they are overloaded emotionally and cognitively.

 

Crippling is the adjective used to emphasize the condition, the extent to which I experience it may cripple or halt my train of thought for some moment while I replay some potential misstep but it never seems to slow me down in the moment, I am generally ready to make the next mistake!

 

Looking back on  life I must admit that I had pretty bad anxiety about the fairer gender when I was young, and that was a bummer. The manifestation of it was that I rejected positive relationships in favor or casual or toxic arrangements.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Mercer]

A specific type of chemically induced fear that creates a subconscious feeling of "uneasiness". Unlike most fear, this is rooted in internal stimulation, and thoughts, as opposed to a reaction to external inputs.

 

In the past someone suffering from anxiety benefitted by being productive in ways that weren't immediately obvious. Say preparing for winter to save off starvation, preparing for roaming bands of thieves by securing the communities defenses, things that were not immediately apparent at the time this impulse was felt.

 

In the modern world, this impulse is in many cases cases completely unnecessary, and can be debilitating to some with no outlet for this feeling os uneasiness.    

[where]

Whatever queers. Anxiety isnt a monolith, like @Mercersaid a lot of those experiences are the result of displaced survival instincts, anxiety also has origins from our hierarchical structures. The idea of being othered  and not benefiting from the collective can cause trauma. IMO a decent amount of anxiety is good because modern life is based on the illusion of constantly preparing for a future that will never be fulfilled, so if you do get worked up about something ask yourself if it is something you can change right then and if its not then move your thought process to bring yourself into the present and do something non destructive  that makes you feel less bad. 

[Mercer]

Modern problems require modern solutions:

 

[where]

gross 

[Dark_Knight]

40 minutes ago, Mercer said:

Modern problems require modern solutions:

 

fixed*

[Mercer]

Traded the xanax in for roids, filling my deep inadequacy voids.

[ndv]

I think Mercer explained dit best.  I get bad anxiety because it's self-inflicted.  For example:  if I am running late for a meeting or delivery, I'll start thinking the worst scenarios that may happen.  Like letting someone down, which I'll start to think I am going lose the customer amd they'll find someone else.  But not only do I allow anxiety to flood my thoughts in my professional life but I over think things as well in my personal life.   I don't take any medication for it, no need really because it's all self induced which is basically self controll.

[Mercer]

In all seriousness, what works for the majority of people, isn't adequate for everyone. Like we all feel anxiety, but some people are debilitated by it, this debilitation hampers quality of life to the point where it becomes a negative feedback loop that no amount of exercise, and fresh air can fix. Sort of like there are some people where telling them "go outside" is good advise if they're a little depressed, that same advice doesn't work for an individual who is clinically depressed. Often times these individuals can't benefit even slightly by just going outside, or going hit the gym. Same goes for people experiencing debilitating anxiety, for them, xanax might be the best method of getting on the path to recovery. If you think there's a one size fits all solution that applies to every individual, you're wrong.

[Mercer]

9 minutes ago, ndv said:

I think Mercer explained dit best.  I get bad anxiety because it's self-inflicted.  For example:  if I am running late for a meeting or delivery, I'll start thinking the worst scenarios that may happen.  Like letting someone down, which I'll start to think I am going lose the customer amd they'll find someone else.  But not only do I allow anxiety to flood my thoughts in my professional life but I over think things as well in my personal life.   I don't take any medication for it, no need really because it's all self induced which is basically self controll.

 

 

This reminds me, I need to get back on my meditation grind. Sometimes I recognize myself drifting into negative/unproductive thought patterns and need to nudge my mind in the right direction. Meditation flexes those mind nudging muscles for me making it much easier to get back into my "positive vibes only" thought patterns during my daily grind.  

[where]

Alan Watts. 

[Elena Delle Donne]

4 hours ago, where said:

IMO a decent amount of anxiety is good because modern life is based on the illusion of constantly preparing for a future that will never be fulfilled

 

i think about this a lot, we're living in a time when most of what millennials and gen z grew up with and/or expected to have when we got old will be unattainable. kids born today will know, like, the water wars when they get old. i'd have anxiety too 

[Elena Delle Donne]

shoutout to this sincere and positive thread? 12oz has changed 

[Elena Delle Donne]

3 hours ago, Dark_Knight said:

fixed*

 

gym bros smell and wear kirkland shirts. but the masculinity they perform is way safer/better than being like an illegal street racer or a youtuber or beating their baby moms. Men Today is a whole different thread tho 

 

 

 

Edited June 6, 2021 by Elena Delle Donne

[Dark_Knight]

Being a dude is pretty gay. You literally touch a dick every single day and probably jerk it off too.

[Elena Delle Donne]

and you have to see your dads dick, too 

[where]

26 minutes ago, Elena Delle Donne said:

and you have to see your dads dick, too 

If you haven’t seen your dads dick everyone can tell and they talk about you when you’re not in the room.

[Dark_Knight]

@Elena Delle Donneit’s kind of gay you haven’t seen your dads dick

[where]

Seeing your dads dick is like a vaccine for gayness. 

[NightmareOnElmStreet]

Anxiety for me came around super late in the game. It’s literally altered my entire social structure and it just straight up sucks. Physically, it’s terrible and confusing. Feels like you have a body full of bugs moving around with no where to go and you’re not sure why or wtf is going on. Sometimes it gets so bad you gotta sit down and drink a beer. 

[mr.yuck]

@NightmareOnElmStreetDo you remember what set it off? Was it gradual or a sudden change?

[NightmareOnElmStreet]

Definitely kind of gradual. Not really sure when it came about.