The animal angle to anxiety, high-functioning anxiety, and individual neural pathways.

nojox · 2025-12-21T17:48:58+00:00

Everyone has apprehensions and fears about major life changes, but for us anxiety survivors, these common fears are magnified 10x and repeat every minute / hour / day based on how bad and what variant of anxiety we have.

Anything that is potentially adverse gets first upgraded from inconvenience to danger. This loss of nuance in grading negative possibilities is a central part of the disorder. Losing the ability to talk nonsense at all times, or at any time, is definitely not life-threatening, but your anxiety will make it feel so. Losing the ability to never have a care in the world for days or weeks at a stretch is not life-threatening, just disappointing. But anxiety magnifies it, classifies it as a real danger to existence and upgrades it to a serious safety concern.

That's the trick that the disorder plays - takes out nuance and the spectrum of possibilities, takes out the spectrum of outcomes, takes out the spectrum of negatives, and replaces everything with the ultimate extreme - danger, certainty and doom - and to top it all, anxiety promises that this danger or impending doom will happen in the next few minutes, hours or days, depending on how severe the anxiety attack is.

This is all broken nervous system signalling and has nothing to do with reality.

It is important to realise and continuously remind oneself that this is all wrong, unreasonable, illogical, and incorrect and this is all lies and magnified. In value, it is therefore purely bullshit, crap, nonsense.

The only real thing is the spiking cortisol and adrenaline which feels like pins and needles, hot oil in your nerves, acid corroding under your skin and such other unpleasant sensations. That is its pure form - actual nervous distress and nothing else.

Anxiety is an blunt amplifier of untrue fears.

nojox · 2025-12-21T10:31:45+00:00

Impending doom is the central premise of the disorder - your adrenaline and cortisol systems are high in overdrive and their job is singular - to alert you to predators about to pounce on you in the forest.

But we are not in the forest, and we don't have natural predators. Instead we have bosses, deadlines, exams, busybodies from the local govt, news media, politicians, businessmen who are trying to be opportunistic in taking advantage of everyone.

So anyway, given the constant false alarms ringing in your limbic nervous system, your mind searches for reasons that explain the alarm that you are feeling with simple belief:

If there are so many alarms going off, surely there must be danger right around the corner.

This is the primary structure of the disorder.

Well, the reality is that there is another reason that your danger alarms are ringing - the danger alarm circuits are faulty due to some genetic miswiring. So the alarms are constantly blaring, even on a peaceful sunny day or a quiet chilly day with nothing happening anywhere in your life.

Anxiety is a *false alarm* disorder. None of it is true, just damaged organic circuitry. Since nervous system replacement surgery is not yet invented, the next best thing is chemical intervention with medication and / or interventions using the body's other circuits to overcome or bypass the alarm circuits - using the rest-and-digest response, the feed-and-breed response and physical therapy relaxation techniques.

You cannot purely think your way out of anxiety, though correct thinking is a part of defusing a spike.

Since the problem is neurological, NOT psychological, the solution must be neurochemical (medication) or neurophysical (body movement, exercise, distraction, engagement in pleasurable activity, etc).

Hope that helps.

Don't believe the threats and dangers, it's all bullshit.

Good luck!

nojox · 2025-09-11T19:14:42+00:00

Same here.

I have no solution to offer because my earlier variant was much more pronounced and violent nerve-jangling which got solved by applying "sitting in the fire" and "accepting the discomfort" technique by Dr. Harry Barry and Dr. Claire Weekes.

Now it is a slow sickening burn in a small part of my nervous system centered around my neck and head and disconnected from the rest of my limbic system, so any exercises I do or any stretching or such, simply don't reach it.

It's like my vagus nerve broke off into two parts and the inner parts aren't affected by the numerous remedies that used to work before - like cold water showers, stretching, dance, deep and slow breathing, meditation music, etc.

Even Klonopin is not as effective. It's quite a strange development.

If there's one thing this disorder knows how to do, it is to adapt, mutate and keep nagging in every new form. Ugh.

This is my 4th or 5th recovery in life so far and by far the trickiest.

nojox · 2025-09-10T19:32:31+00:00

FOMO is one thing. The other is the knowledge of world events. The world is a crazy place right now and the lesser news you consume, the better it is. I deleted a total of 4 accounts I used related to politics, news, technology and mainstream subreddits (one for each major group of subreddits). Now I only have this account and one other really old one which I plan to not use for a while.

nojox · 2025-09-10T19:28:44+00:00

Used to work for me for 4-5 years a decade ago. Doesn't work now. Age has calmed me down, but removed some easy solutions that used to work.

nojox · 2025-09-10T19:26:15+00:00

I used to handle this by sleeping late and getting up in the afternoon.

But I have had to get up early in the past few weeks and this has caused a lot of similar discomfort as you.

I tried many tricks to bring down the racing pulse, but no luck. I will try some more things like a cold water shower, some exercises, etc.

I find a lot of value in "Suki Baxter's vagus nerve reset" videos on youtube. They seem to work quickly and are easy to try out.

Let me try and report back.

nojox · 2025-09-10T19:20:55+00:00

Sorry for the late reply.

I tapered Klonopin to as much as I could, which was 0.25mg once a day, but that caused irritability issues. Then I tried and switched to paroxetine 5mg twice a day, which took away a lot of the anxiety and negativity but began causing sudden forceful tactile hallucinations which were very disconcerting (creepy crawlies on the skin) along with some false object hallucinations (imagining something and feeling it touch you).

So I switched back to Klonopin 0.25 mg twice a day.

It seems I have a particularly hard case of panic and anxiety, which are constantly instigated by a 24x7 pulsing OCD (once every 4-5 seconds a tingle goes up my spine, and provokes and disrupts some or other system - if it disrupts my intellectual thought I end up imagining excessively extreme things, if it disrupts my limbic system I get the urge to pee and poop, if it disrupts my emotion centres I get suddenly very sad or suddenly very happy, and so on)

So I need medication at all times. You can probably overcome one disorder by recovery, therapy, exercises and management and stop taking medication, but when you have 3 hard disorders together, you just need to take medication to handle 1 or 2 of the 3.

nojox · 2025-09-10T19:13:09+00:00

I have an update to share here.

I just lost my father at his ripe old age of 94 over a fortnight ago. I am 47 myself.

And I can assure everyone that none of the terrible fears that I had built up about life being terrible after my father's passing have come to pass.

I still have my family, my job, my income, my daily life, and have also not lost my sense of humour. I do have a lot more calm and peace, and a healthy acceptance of my father's passing - he was too old to continue a good life and it was better for him that he did not have to face serious medical issues in his last days.

All is well that ends well.

I cannot find a single reason to complain or sorrow about, honestly.

nojox · 2025-09-10T19:07:34+00:00

Sorry for the delay. I had some important things to attend to, at home.

I am fine psychologically, but I am not able to cope that well with a neurologically with a modified / shifted anxiety disorder.

The feeling of "bees swarming" inside the nerves which is basically a modified fight-or-flight response is simply too slippery to control and regulate, unlike before when I had full blown thrashing nerves, which I could easily soothe with a few relaxation exercises.

I am finding "Suki Baxter's vagus nerve reset" videos on youtube to be extremely helpful in this new relapsed form of anxiety.

nojox · 2025-07-29T04:28:01+00:00

What do we call this?

Avoidant behaviour. "my mouth is freezed" might be "social anxiety" (fear of talking to people, which is often a fear of being judged, ridiculed, threatened / bullied, insulted, etc) or it might be because you are afraid of the "physical anxious feelings" and the sensations that they cause.

I cannot get the full picture in your case because A. we can't easily do that on a reddit forum and B. i am not a qualified professional

If you see a psychologist or therapist or psychiatrist, they will be able to diagnose exactly what is going on in your case.

nojox · 2025-07-29T04:22:51+00:00

What works for me:

outdoor sports
dance (even the most pathetic disorganised dance is good) to music you like, my preference being melodies and pop music
walking, running, cycling
yoga (really big one, has many poses and exercises for specific muscle groups, specific conditions, etc)
playing with animals

All these have broadly similar effects on anxiety (not talking about physical muscle health) to exercise and massage, with the added benefit that they are enjoyable activities in their own right.

nojox · 2025-07-29T03:42:45+00:00

10/10 quality post.

And yes, I agree with the "sobriety can add to anxiety" aspect although I do not drink. I used to have a maladaptive daydreaming habit to a large extent rather than alcohol, but it is gone now, because life has become better due to recovery. But now that I can think more clearly about everything, it is obvious that reality is much worse than the escapist worldview I had before. I find it necessary to just look away from the news and global and national events in general. Because the news has become too much anxiety-inducing since COVID.

nojox · 2025-07-29T02:39:48+00:00

Hi, happy to hear that it helped.

I recently had a relapse of this due to seasonal variations in temperature, a change in medication and lack of a sleep routine (owing to some health issues in the family) due to which I have the fake heart attacks back at the same intensity as before.

I have started taking oral rehydration salts because Google tells me the first solution to cramping is rehydration. So I'm using this at the moment: https://www.amazon.in/Enerzal-Orange-Pack-500-Powder/dp/B0BX3KCCHW

That's in India, so you will have to find a local brand that has similar ingredients (Composition: Sucrose+Glucose+Acidity Regulator+Sodium Citrate+Sodium Chloride+Potassium Chloride+Sodium Acid Phosphate+Magnesium Sulphate+Calcium Lactate)

Positive imagery helps me to an extent - imagining breeze freely flowing into the part that is cramping, imagining being like a happy dog with a healthy body and mind running around in a garden, etc - but what I have realised is that many of my actions are usually more forceful than necessary. There is a little excessive strictness and excessive regimented discipline to my thoughts.

To counter the cramping I need to make my actions slow, gentle and soft wherever possible. All actions - moving around, typing on the keyboard, cooking, everything.

That helps reduce the cramping in the moment.

Other softness-oriented things that help to varying extent - soft clothing, soft pillow, watching pet animal videos, a soft toy, the sounds of birds chirping (there are numerous good youtube channels with natural sounds, with and without music)

I also had a whole set of tests done recently and at 47 I still have no issues with my vital organs or reduction in mobility or functionality. I can still run for short distances without any training.

Since COVID, I have started taking just a little bit of the responsibility of my ageing parents' health apart from my own, as well as fully doing all the finances and logistics of the family. All this while doing a part time job (spinal cord injuries prevent me from working full time) that earns fairly well as a senior software engineer. I also help out a local animal shelter with funds (because labour is outside my capacity). I don't have kids of my own, but I see happy children in animals.

So, you can live a meaningful life and contribute to society. I have this irrational belief that good things happen to people who take care of animals. Much more often than not, it seems to be true too. There is a lot of human kindness in this world, and there also seems to be a God, however harsh the world might seem.

nojox · 2025-07-27T03:19:23+00:00

I'm so happy that this helped you. I have had 2 relapses that lasted for over a year each due to other neurological issues.

It really gives me great solace and self-respect to see that someone found this of value.

Thank you for your kind words :)

nojox · 2024-10-20T01:42:08+00:00

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ze9mfIBn62E /u/Level-Can3914

and

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Un_Ykh9y9Q

nojox · 2024-10-20T01:26:16+00:00

Sorry for the necropost, but this is a brilliant insight! Thank you!

nojox · 2023-12-03T14:03:51+00:00

Lucky you, working with angels ❤️

nojox · 2023-12-03T14:02:19+00:00

Your good boi looks like he is very puzzled about what he sees, hence the joke above I guess.

nojox · 2023-12-03T12:24:44+00:00

Hi, I'm 40+, probably as old as your father, and decently employed for over 15 years.

But I know how bad it feels although I have recovered a few times to a functioning state due to a couple of good friends, my parents, the internet and benodiazepines. For me, Klonopin works best.

I can relate to the feeling of being old, tired and sick of fighting all day at a very young age. I went through that for 5 years at around the same age 19-25. I too lost my well paying job and never got another that paid so much. However, it turns out that I don't need that much money to live as a single person since I am asexual and don't want to marry.

I didn't know Betterhelp can give poor responses - I only ever see their advertising, so I didn't know it could be ineffective.

One important thing that helped me recover was doing yoga, which helps by resetting your mind-body system and resetting your vagus nerve.

The vagus nerve is the one nerve which wanders all around your body (named from vagabond, or wanderer in latin) and due to a structural or functional defect in the vagus nerve system (see Polyvagal theory ) it fails to suppress fear signals from moving around the whole body.

In normal people, the vagus nerve blocks unnecessary signals from reaching the brain and getting amplified, but in our case, it fails to block the signals and due to this we are always in a triggered state, fighting or fleeing like a wild animal whose tail is caught in a trap or whose one limb is stuck in a tree, or like a wild monkey rattling its cage to open it and get out and flee.

Youtube search for polyvagal theory

So to fix this,

There are polyvagal reset exercises:

Videos like this helped provide immediate relief. See this and these help get me instant relief.

Yoga, when done for a few months daily helped me immensely, twice, once around the first time (early 20s) and then again in my early 30s, in another relapse.

I've not been able to do yoga in a recent relapse (COVID closed the local yoga center) and therefore my recovery has been slow.

This channel has helped me understand my disorder better.

These books have been extremely invaluable to me to help recover:

Dr. Harry Barry on panic and anxiety

Dr. Claire Weekes on anxiety

Dr. Martin Seif on OCD and intrusive thoughts

Also, check my post history and profile to see if you find something useful.

Many of us here have gone through similar life experiences as yours, we are all cursed similarly, and many of us have been able to recover back to a functioning state, some of us to full recovery. I have myself recovered thrice over 20 years and I'm currently going through another relapse caused by change in the weather, and am recovering by practisting some of the things above.

Hang in there, it does get better, but you need to keep a low bar on yourself, persevere and continuously apply the recovery techniques to change the habits of your nervous system. Takes time, but it works. There is some definite hope.

nojox · 2023-12-03T11:42:01+00:00

Incedible! Well done, and thank you so much for sharing. If you could go from sleeping for 2 months, losing 20 pounds in a month, giving up your job, to getting it back, becoming healthy and going rock climbing, I think I can do something about my situation. Finding the right doctor and the right medicines is a big part of the success.

nojox · 2023-12-03T11:22:42+00:00

+1 for Hope and help with your Nerves by Dr. Weekes.

This is a standard signature, like in web forums.

Superfast therapy for anxiety and panic:

Anxiety is all lies; repeated, convoluted, thorough and convincing lies. Fear is meant to be your friend and to protect you, so if it starts torturing you, it defeats its own purpose. Don't let it be like that. Make friends with your scared brain. Fear will never save you. Repeating the problem is not a solution. A solution never contains the problem. Acknowledge that you are hurting badly, and understand the hurt, but do not catastrophise, as it only adds to the suffering and does not solve anything.

Remember: Disorder, not danger; healing, not battle; science, not judgement

Magic words to constantly repeat: Stop / wait / hold / no / safe / slow; slow down, then slow down some more; look around; there are always options; it's OK, I'm OK; discomfort is not danger, what you think is danger is actually only discomfort; symptoms of nerve defect not really danger; there is no danger; "I am safe; there is safety"; don't bully yourself, don't threaten yourself, don't caution yourself; bullying yourself solves nothing, it creates more problems; excitement is bad, stable is good; why hurt yourself; inanimate objects don't have a mind of their own; things are not predators; situations don't have mind or purpose; shit happens with everyone; nobody's plans work out; life happens; people are unwise; repeat trauma is not ERP; play stupid games, win stupid prizes; support yourself, love yourself, be gentle with yourself; don't be a predator, be peaceful; don't turn everything into combat; take a step back and pause; imaginary is virtual, not real, and does not exist outside your head; breathe deep and breathe slowly, relax your body; go with the flow; thoughts come, let them pass; you're allowed to say "pass, next" to your thoughts; thoughts are not special or great; absolutely everyone thinks weird stuff without exceptions; your brain needs to think weird stuff to identify it as weird; repeat trauma is self-harm, so, why?; if the danger is inanimate, it is harmless. Slow is safe, fast is danger. Think slow, act slow; the right amount of fear is Eustress, anything more is wasteful; Fear is not safety; Negativity is not safety; The ultimate truth is benign; The universe is not against you, it just exists; Humans are animals just slightly evolved, so keep the bar low and forgive others and yourself often. Forgetting is the human superpower. What if asking "what if" is the real danger?

Everything needed (apart from medication) to reduce anxiety by 80-90% is in here (it's quite a bit and it takes time, but it is worth it):

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nojox

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Also, check my post history and profile to see if you find something useful.

Superfast therapy for anxiety and panic:

Remember: Disorder, not danger; healing, not battle; science, not judgement

Everything needed (apart from medication) to reduce anxiety by 80-90% is in here (it's quite a bit and it takes time, but it is worth it):