Lived Experience Forum

[VinylRichie]

Hi gang, it's been a while since I've posted and there's been some up's and downs along the way.  One of the support apps that I've used for years is called DARE.  Their philosophy is that anxiety is not the problem - the FEAR of anxiety is the problem.  So their focus is aimed at training yourself to be comfortable with feeling anxious (defuse the anxiety by acknowledging that there is no danger).  I hope that makes sense.

I'm listening to one of the DARE podcasts at the moment, and the person they are talking to said that he had to continually push himself to experience anxious situations to teach his brain that even though the fear was real, the danger was not real.  I'm trying to work out how to apply that to my own life.

Some of my major issues are health anxiety and being an empath.  So basically, I catastrophise about my health... and as an empath I am acutely aware of other people's health/emotions and I take them on and into myself.

Applying the DARE strategy of exposing myself to uncomfortable situations, I feel like I should be pushing myself to engage with people but NOT running away and freaking out if they start talking about their health issues.  It sounds simple, but also very F**KING SCARY!

In light of recent events, I'm trying to be gentle and kind to myself, but I also want to keep moving forward.  Recently I heard someone say that "Being scared means that you're about to grow".  I'm hoping that's the case for me.

[hanami]

Hi @VinylRichie (love the name by the way lol)

I follow the DARE strategy and think it's awesome. It's helped sooo much. The 'so what' thing works really well for me. 

I'm glad you found something that worked!

hanami

[VinylRichie]

Hi @hanami I've tried SO MANY apps and strategies over the years.  Dare and Smiling Mind seem to be the ones that are the most helpful to me.  It can be such a juggling act of trying to confront/address the issue of anxiety, but also not letting the anxiety be the center of my universe.  Know what I mean?

[Krishna]

Hi @VinylRichie  Thanks for sharing this info regarding the DARE app. I’ll certainly check it out. I can certainly relate to health anxiety issues and am also an empath. I’ve learnt over the years to come to terms somewhat with my health anxiety by looking after myself as best as I am able and accepting that one day we will all succumb to ill health but in the meantime staying as healthy as possible. 

[VinylRichie]

Hi @Krishna it can be exhausting, not only worrying about myself but trying to protect myself from others.  It doesn't help that I'm a youth worker, so I get a lot of young people unloading on me.  It's ironic, as I enjoy my job an I know that I'm good at it.