anxiety

[Ehsan_Karam]

I had similar issues for a while, especially when it came time to compete....at anything.
What I did was take all that excess nervous energy and put it into training. At first I was too nervous to go out in public or to a gym to train so I did what I could at home. After a while I reached the point where I couldn't get any better (physically or technically) on my own and the desire to train dragged me out to find a gym. I've been busting my butt full time for almost three years now and the better I get the less the anxiety bothers me. I think anxiety stems from insecurity about who you are as a person so anything you do to improve yourself or how you feel about who you are is going to lessen that to some degree. I've gotten to a point where I genuinely like me (for the most part, I can still be kind of a dick at times.) and as a result I only have pretty minor anxiety now and mostly when I'm baked AND in public. Also I would have to agree with the guys that said the GF would just be a band aid. the problem is inside of you looking for someone else to fix this sounds pretty fool hardy to me.
You might even notice yourself being more confident when she's there and a totally different person when she's not around, Is that what you want? A security blanket with a vagina? (I kid but.....seriously)

[Nabil Salameh]

I have a few people that are really close to me that get really bad anxiety, its not easy to deal with from what I have experienced. The best advice I can give you is stay busy, go to the gym, do more jits, go for runs. I know its hard to focus when you do have it, but you just have to fight what your going through and come to relize that nothing is going to happen to you, and no your throat is not going to just close on you. Whenever you start feeling it, take deep breaths and try to think in a positive manner. Stay strong and dont get tapped by anxiety homie!

[Corky]

Thx man

[miketubbs]

Dealing with it as well. It hit me a few years ago, went away by sheer will. It's back now and I can't seem to shake it. It's so bad now it's even messing with my ability to workout, which compounds things. I find eating a good clean diet...nothing processed, low sugar etc..has really helped. Deepak Chopra's website just launched a free 21 day meditation challenge with guided meditations, today was the first day, hoping that helps.

Find things that are fun, mindless fun...music, archie comics, 3 stooges, playing guitar etc..

[Brian Beaumont AKA Thor]

Depending on what your beliefs are dude.
http://btsword.org/fearlessliving.aspx
Been there once or twice.

[JRRhoden]

I'm truly sorry Brent that your feeling that way. As you can appreciate it's hard for any of us to tell you anything constructive as we don't know you personally. Trust me though Anxiety seems to be increasing like mad in people of all ages this past decade.

What I can say is that food and sleep are two very important factors for many peoples anxiety. As well as a lack of relaxation during the day.

1.) Get at least 8 hours+ sleep each night.
2.) Avoid as much processed food as you can and especially avoid too much caffine which is a stimulant.
3.) You might not like this one but I would really tone down your use of technology. Drastically cut down on using the computer, video games, Tv and your cell phone. especially in the hours leading up to going to bed.

There was a study I read years ago about some people who were extremly anxious and stressed all the time. They had to avoid all forms of technology for two weeks. Including the use of their cellphones. By the end of it they all reported feeling calmer, more grounded, less stressed and able to think much more clearly.

As much as I agree with James, you really need to get to the root of why you get so anxious; it could be some little hiccup in your childhood that resurfaces or it could be something serious. I've dealt with getting molested as a child; and what I can say with certainty is
!. You need to recognize that there is a problem( you seem to have gotten that part down)
2. You need to find the root of the problem
3.(this is a cheater answer) You need to come to terms with the reason and simply move on

[Isaiah Mendoza]

everyone has an inner demon they fight. Some are bigger than others. You either have 2 choices in life. You can let it control you and your life or you can use the adversity you have as fuel in a fire to make you a stronger person. Remember, the first step to accomplishing anything in life is believing you can.

[chronic_jiujitsu]

Just smoke a LOT of weed and then go to a police station.. that should clear up any anxiety pretty quick.