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Belongs to: Can you relate to zach s struggles with anxiety sh
I will say up until I was diagnosed with afib a couple of years ago I really didn’t believe in anxiety. Guys don’t get that we were taught stand up shake it off, but now I’ve been diagnosed with anxiety as well and it sucks. I really just want to go back to being the kid with no helmet or pads trying to be Evel Knievel and jump over my friends with my bike.
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Hey there. I read what you wrote and just wanted to say thank you for posting. I’m sorry to hear about your afib diagnosis. I know what you mean about having not really thinking about anxiety before the same way I think about it now. Like you said, it was just something to get over. Just being silly or weak or even the much maligned “sensitive”. As guys especially older guys growing in a different world we were taught not really to have feelings. Maybe anger was okay but certainly not anxiety. I’m not even sure had I not studied pysch in school if I would have even thought it was something adult males had. I would’ve been ashamed to feel it later in life. I grew up in the time of “walk it off” when you landed wrong after crashing your huffy bike having just launched it over some make shift plywood ramp and your finger is bent in some unnatural direction. Evel Knievel would’ve been proud. But in those days, it did seem like simpler times. Maybe it was just not being aware of as much. The internet does seem to provide a constant feed of new demands, new stressors. Just another thing to worry about. There’s so much going on these days. I too long for those nostalgic feels of riding without a seatbelt in the back of my parent’s el camino heading to the beach. Sadly it seems the older I get the MORE things I have to keep track of and have on my mind. Anxiety is a very real part of my life now. That’s for sure. The good thing is also thanks to the internet I have more at my disposal to try and deal with it. I found support groups with other guys that also find it near impossible if not unwanted to stuff down the feelings anymore. I’ve found communities of people who value talking about things and supporting each other so it’s not as much me taking on it all myself. I don’t have to do that old way of a guy just has to be an island of strength all the time. I’ve found tools that have helped me, thankfully, to identify and ease some of the feelings. To let go of things so my blood pressure isn’t through the roof. I think the more our brains become attuned to feeling anxious the more anxious we feel regularly. That adage about “neurons that fire together, wire together” really rings true. The more I felt tense it seemed like the more things I thought about that made me feel even more anxious. A few years ago I started trying meditation. I gotta say. It was totally alien at first and for sure I couldn’t stop my thoughts but I learned I wasn’t supposed to, My brain was going to do that. What I needed to do was refocus on my breath and keep telling myself to let go and release the tension. Now that I’ve been doing that practice daily I’ve found my mind is better equipped to turn off that noise of panic and settle down some. It has really saved my life. I’m so thankful you shared your pain and especially good to be reminded of the simpler days. I hope you find healthy ways to navigate your anxiety. You got this!
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