Why it's Unhealthy to Compare Symptoms of Anxiety Attacks with Others

There are people who feel the need to discuss their problems and complaints with anyone who will listen and often others who are dealing with these same types of problems seem to form an immediate and instinctive bond.

It feels so therapeutic to have another person with whom to share your fears and worries. Finally you have someone who can truly understand how terrifying anxiety attacks can be and they can commiserate with you as you describe your symptoms of anxiety attacks in painstaking detail.

Each of you can talk about how horrible these panic attacks were and know that the other person really "gets it". When you discuss the panicked feelings that overwhelmed you during your most recent anxiety episode you have a sense of relief because your confidante has also "been there and done that". The joy that you feel as you unburden your heart and soul is actually deceptive because you may be doing more harm than good and slowing down your own path to recovery.

On the surface it can seem like a match that is perfect because what better person to understand your own symptoms of anxiety than another individual who has faced the same obstacles and hurdles in their own daily lives. In this case however it is more like finding a like minded soul with whom to share your own pain and misery.

What ends up happening is that you both will begin to focus more and more on the symptoms and unhappiness instead of visualizing a real recovery.

In order to triumph over your personal symptoms of anxiety you must move outside of your pain and discomfort. You have to give up the obsession with the symptoms of the very attacks you are trying so hard to overcome. Whenever you dwell on pain and heartache it makes these emotions much stronger and thus they can become harder to deal with.

When you unburden yourself and concentrate intensely on those damaging emotional symptoms of anxiety attacks you may fleetingly feel better. However you are setting the stage for your mind to manifest even stronger and more frequent symptoms by dwelling on them and the feelings that they engender.

Negative energy comes back to you threefold when you choose to focus on it.

What you must learn how to do is to discuss your recovery and personal growth instead of reviewing the hurtful fears and symptoms of anxiety that have controlled your life for such a long time. This is the only way for you to begin building a therapeutic connection that will enable you to face your own fears and learn to ignore them which is a major step in the recovery process.

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