The REAL Anxiety Disorder Recovery Blog

Anxiety, Hyper-Vigilance & Body Monitoring - The Facts

by Charles Linden - Linden Tree Education , Aug 01, 2019

Are you constantly aware of every feeling, symptom or sensation in your body?


Anxiety sufferers, nearly always, are.

I remember what it was like... a stomach gurgle, a leg going to sleep, a twinge or a shiver would activate FEAR... once activated, it would escalate fast.

I would sometimes 'google' the symptoms, run to the doctor's office, call an ambulance or just panic before I had time to consider a sensible response.

I was convinced that I was dying of some mystery illness, despite being told repeatedly that I was 'as fit as a butcher's dog'.
 
Do you do the same? Be honest with yourself.
 
Myself and my educational psychology team have helped a huge number of people to become anxiety free and, to a lesser or greater degree, this safety seeking behaviour is apparent in every single one of those clients before they recover.
 
This constant monitoring of the 'self' that anxious people do is called hyper-vigilance and it is an integral part of the flight or fight response.

It's what prepares us for dealing with threat and it's also why you feel like a 'coiled spring' - stressed and scared.
 
But without this hyper-vigilence, you might miss the 'tiger in the grass' or you might not respond when a rogue football hurtles towards your face (For example)!

You see, everything you experience is entirely 'normal' albeit inappropriate now.

You shouldn't EVER feel scared unless there is something present to be scared of.
I remember being at cub scout camp for the first time. As you can imagine, as an anxious child, I didn't want to go, but mum and dad were adamant that I'd spend the weekend in the tent with the other kids.

I didn't sleep Friday night, I didn't sleep Saturday night, I didn't eat, I didn't take part in the activities, I DID cry a lot and feel like I had lost everything that was dear to me.

On the Sunday afternoon, the somewhat unfriendly scout leader made the 300 metre walk to the nearest payphone and my parents were hailed.

They weren't happy, but in addition to severe anxiety, I had Scarlet Fever, activated, the doctor said, by the stress I had been put under. I was seven years old. I am now 49 and I remember it like it was yesterday.

The one thing I remember most about those days was the sense that my eyes were 'staring', even though they were, at some points, closed. This is a common anxiety symptom, but to a child of seven, it was terrifying.

I could hear every sound in the woods, I could see through the darkness, the heat of the camp fire was burning and the smell of the food, was nauseating... all because of the hyper-vigilance my anxiety disorder created. I was terrified.

The anxiety response is vital to you and your survival {!firstname_fix}. It is necessary and it keeps you safe, but an anxiety disorder robs you of sensible decision making, normal interactions with the world and the ability to make decisions based on fact... not fear. 

You wake each day with good intentions but the moment you are conscious, you are aware of the anxiety. Sometimes it breaks through your sleep and wakes you, you may even have 'night frights' waking you in panic... every moment you are awake, you are anxious, even when it's not visible or feels at a lower ebb, it's there... why? Because it's 'systemic'... your brain and body have adopted it as 'normal'.

Do you recognize that in yourself? Do you see how this inappropriate level of fear is your enemy and how it disarms you?

Imagine if that much mind power was redirected to positive life experiences! That's what will happen when you recover {!firstname_fix} and the results make you feel so well, so contented and so fulfilled.

Just believe me on this point!

The first 22 years of my life were lived in constant, ever changing fear and depression, phobias and obsessions punctuated by long periods of medication, psychotherapy, CBT, hospitalization, tests and scans, ambulances and desperation... all because of the emotion of fear.

I have now helped tens of thousands who have been down the exact same road to change all that fast!

Here are some of their comments about the speed and fulness of their recoveries: https://www.thelindenmethod.co.uk/testimonials3/linden-method-facebook-and-social-media-testimonials

Use the menu at the top of that page to browse around the site... then compare what you read to ANY other professional mental health organization in the world... you won't find it anywhere, that I assure you.

I now run an organization that provides an accademic qualification at a professional level to mental health practitioners and also provides health resources to corporations, government agencies and other organizations... because FINALLY what we do is the solution sufferers need!

IT'S THE SOLUTION YOU NEED.

If I had known back when I was anxious, what I know now, all of those years of loss could have been avoided, but then, I wouldn't be helping the people I have helped and I wouldn't be talking to you now {!firstname_fix}.
 
Trust me when I say this... You belong to a very elite group!

Anxiety sufferers and ex sufferers are an elite group, despite the fact that you might not feel very elite right now.

I can tell you that you are and that if I was starting a large organization, I would choose all of my team from the ex anxiety sufferers I have cured... why? Because they are better than great!

Here's a question for you... "What do anxiety disorders and laughter have in common?"

They are the same, just with different physical attributes!
 
When we perceive something threatening, the senses report back to the autonomic nervous system and it activates the emotion of fear... when the senses perceive something funny, the senses report back to the autonomic nervous system which activates the emotion of happiness... but why do we perceive the emotion of fear as illness?

Fear is an emotion not an illness.
 
So why are anxious people treated as mental health patients?
 
So why do people think medication is needed?
 
So why do you consider yourself 'unwell'?
 
In the cold light of day... you can see that anxiety isn't an illness at all.

Charles Linden
Linden Tree Education

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