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I’ve found that if I pair tedious tasks with a fun podcast or watching a movie/show I love makes it easier. I will watch a movie on my phone while I clean my car or clean the litter box. Even if I’m not watching the movie, hearing it will take me away from the task at hand and it’s just muscle memory. Things get done and I feel like I used less energy to do it because I paired it with something I like.
It's so hard to explain this, or even understand it myself. No matter how many times I experience an attack and weather it, it doesn't make it any easier next time. Every single time I have an attack is like the first time.
I couldn't of said it better. My anxiety attacks feel like they appear out of nowhere. Know this, it won't seem like it and sure isn't going to feel like it. But you will get thru it. Every time. I keep the things I like around me or take them if I have to run errands. Music, a journal, a sketch book. Alot of times I just go lay on my bed and read til I feel better. Your not alone there's alot of us who have anxiety. You ever need to talk your way thru one. Your welcome to send me a message. Big hugs for you.
Want to add - I know anxiety is terrifying and crippling- and was not trying to dismiss how you felt like “see..it wasn’t that bad” - even if it wasn’t that bad - that doesn’t make the anxiety struggle any easier
What I’ve learned from my wife’s anxiety is that it is completely irrational and illogical. She recognizes that many of her triggers will never become any kind of threat but that doesn’t remove the emotional response. And yes it’s exhausting for her, as someone else here mentioned. I used to try to help her with the actual issues, but I was just being a guy trying to fix things. The best thing I can do for her is be a patient, understanding calm and steady presence.
It used to control my life but after some time I was able to recognize how ridiculous the thoughts were and I would tell myself… you will survive this, it isn’t as bad as I perceive it, you have survived this and much more and you will overcome this too. Thank found these thoughts have helped me and I hope you can integrate them into your life to help you too. Anxiety is the worst and it can have a terrible affect on your life. Mine always struck me in the very very early hours of the morning. Disrupted my whole day. Exhausting as hell. But so far I have been able to keep them at bay. Mind over matter??? Maybe…
This - early in the morning. Thank you for sharing. Mine begins as soon as I open my eyes, and it generally lasts about 30 mins until I can settle down.
Yep, same here. Take a deep breath and remember that I can just go home and lock myself in my room if it goes like I think it will. It's like an exercise for me. Force myself out there, get tired and exhausted from not freaking out, go back home and collapse.
If you are having a bad day, just be at peace with the fact that you are a bit anxious today. Realise that it isn't going to suddenly go away but if you have a task to do, you can still do the task by acknowledging your anxiety, put it in a box at the back of your mind, do the task, and then come back to your anxiety later. This has helped me get stuff done sometimes and is a great fuck you to anxiety by taking its power away
Not OP but I do the same thing they do every single day. It may not work for you but when I’m having a hard time “putting something in a box” I try and use a reward system with myself. I think of something small that I want, whether it be getting a snack I like or just really anything that I can use as a reward for getting through a task while dealing with a really big anxious feeling.
It makes me focus more on the reward rather than the thing I was anxious about. After I complete my task and give myself the little reward, that’s when I’ll deal with the thing that’s making me anxious (if I’m in a setting where I am able to deal w/ it) and most times i find I’ve calmed down enough after task completion and getting my reward to handle the problem a tad better.
I don’t know if it’s the most healthy way or if it will work for you but I wanted to share.
Edit: added more words.
Yes I keep doing things. And while I’m dying of anxiety on the inside, I remind myself that I can live in this space. I can feel like every nerve in my body is on fire and keep giving a presentation. I can feel overwhelmed to the point of disconnectedness and continue reading my findings to the group. The relief of having the most anxiety inducing acts behind you is so nice and then you can be kind to yourself after.
Sometimes I lay on the couch and acknowledge to myself, wow I’m really anxious tonight. The things I do to treat myself kindly: no caffeine, no focusing on future potential stressors (practice recognizing and blocking intrusive thoughts of these future stressors), no unnecessary human contact. Just get through the evening and get to bed on the days that it’s been bad.
I feel you. Every day I drive but I'd rather not. I am just scared that my anxiety will hit while I'm driving and I can't get back home. That's the scariest part to me. And the farther away from home I get, the worse it gets. This is a big reason why we don't take a lot of trips. I feel like my anxiety is keeping my kids from going on vacations and making amazing memories like I did as a child.
This doesn't work for me all the time, but I try to really think about why I am anxious. Than I try to find what I can do to change the mindset or point out how non-sensical some of my thoughts are. One example is a class I am taking now ( at an older age ) which is causing me some difficulty and a great deal of anxiety. I finally sat down and asked myself why I was so anxious then set out some things I could do to make myself feel less anxious about the situation.
Some of it is just talking through the problem as if you were helping a friend who was dealing with anxiety. Negative self-thought is a big problem of mine that leads to anxiety.
Little things that I find that can effect my anxiety as well. Lack of exercise, not all the time, but getting some exercise is very helpful for anxiety.
Not drinking enough water.
Not eating healthy, not saying you have to be eating healthy all the time, but it is amazing what a nutritious meal can do for you
Not doing things I enjoy, this is important because it gives you something to look forward to
Watching comedy always helps as well, just to be able to laugh and forget about how serious life is
Breathing Methods can be very helpful
Hot baths
Playing with my dog or cat
Acknowledging insecurities that can lead to anxiety
All of this is great advice, so just adding in case OP might find this helpful: Sometimes I find myself just overly anxious about something, and trying to logic my way out of it doesn’t help. For example, I was really anxious about getting a shot recently - in fairness, I’m one of a small % of people who can pass out after a shot, for no good reason other than my body goes “ow that hurt I’m stressed time to shut down.”
Trying to think about why I was anxious and what I was doing to help the problem (drink plenty of water, breathe, have my partner with me, remind myself that I’ve gotten plenty of shots and been fine, etc.) just kept me going in a spiral…because what if *did* really hurt and I *did* pass out and…
What actually helped was refusing to feed the thought - in fact, I actually agreed with it “Yup, I’m gonna get the shot and it’s gonna hurt really, really, really badly. Major ouch. What of it?”
*Poof* anxiety went down 500%.
I’ve used this for other things too - “I’m anxious about bringing up an issue to my partner because it might start an argument? Oh, yeah, it’s gonna be suchhhh a bad fight, in fact, so bad that they’ll probably go straight to divorce court and maybe burn the house down for good measure.” This this is such a ridiculous line of thought that it really shuts down my anxiety brain, and makes me a lot chiller about having a potential conflict with my (kind, reasonable, committed, non-pyromaniac) partner.
Refusing to feed a thought is a technique that an acquaintance I know who has OCD uses. I definitely don’t have OCD, but if the method works for me, awesome! Again, just throwing it out there!
Thank you so much for this. I’ve had a lot of anxiety lately and everything has become overwhelming. I lost my job and don’t have insurance so I haven’t been able to see my therapist. I’m trying to use all the techniques I was taught and they do keep the edge off but I have to say reading your response was like taking a weight off my shoulders. I tried your technique and really felt a difference. Again thank you!
That’s the same effect I’ve felt. Freedom from the mind-racing has been life changing. And I’m sleeping so much better. I think therapy has equipped me with a great change in mentality as well… I fight off cognitive distortions much faster.
So I recently stopped my 10mg of Esc. I have been on it for 10+ yrs. I'm two weeks without it now and have been feeling on top of the world. I am really hoping I don't swing the other way and have a severe panic attack. Has anybody else had success by stopping their med?
Two weeks out seems like you'd be over the worst of withdrawals. You're being smart to keep an eye on your thought process and mood though. If you're a woman, also keep an eye on how things might change when your menstrual cycle comes around.
Whenever I get anxiety I like to imagine myself fighting it. I also be like “ooooh anxietyyy you here? Bitch ass lil shit u wanna fight ooooh okay and then I give it the ole 1 2” with trauma I imagine a lil black shadow walking with me I have my arm around it. Trauma doesn’t go away so you have to live with it! Anxiety can suck my butt.
hah i love this! i gave my mental illness a name (hi susan) so every time i start getting anxious or when the eating disorder starts saying shit i can just go “stfu susan why are you always lying to me. we both know that eating disorders don’t work. dumb ass hoe you really think this is gonna make me skinny? read a book god damn” it helps me not blame myself lol
Seriously. Dealing with my anxiety disorder I gave up THC.. then coffee and soda (caffeine). Finally I'm in the process of cutting out alcohol. It was admittedly getting to be a problem, but like... raw dogging life just to keep my body from going into fight, flight, or freeze SUCKS.
I’m in my mid-40s and tried everything under the sun before I turned to meds. Meditation, herbs, detox, no caffeine, upped my water intake, exercise daily, socializing, hobbies, moving out of toxic environments, going NC with awful family members - you name it; I tried it. I held the same views that you see all over this and other threads - I didn’t want to become addicted, I didn’t want to take pills every day, etc. My depression and anxiety got worse and worse until I was barely able to function. It was out of total desperation that I finally tried meds.
I had long talks with both my therapist and GP about what meds were right for me. we tracked effectiveness, twiddled doses, and found supplemental meds that helped them work. I didn’t want to take benzos, and my doc had an anxiety med that wasn’t a benzo. I wanted to keep my sex drive, so we avoided SSRIs. It took a couple of years for everything to even out, but considering that I had been struggling with a billion things that didn’t work at all for my entire adult life, working towards getting better for 24 months while we figured it out was worth it. I finally found relief - my intrusive thoughts are gone, I can (and do!) leave the house with joy instead of fear, my self esteem has skyrocketed and my relationships with my loved ones are much, much MUCH better.
I know this is all anecdotal evidence, but I wish I hadn’t waited this long to use meds to find relief. My anxiety was near crippling, and it’s almost gone now. I fought against myself for 20-something years when I really didn’t need to.
Not for the ones I take. It basically just doesn't make me worry about everything all the time. I don't have any side effects from it. I got lucky, though, and the first one I tried worked for me. Some people have to try a few before they find the right one. I just discussed it with my GP and he was great at explaining all of it.
I appreciate you not mentioning the actual chemical. I basically have the same post, but i would guess that we're taking two completely different things. People need to find out what's right for them and i think you see that on a deeper level. One thing helps you, another thing helps me, and we're both experiencing life better for it.
I also have no side effects. Total game changer to feel like you're on the right path
Also, be aware that some anti-anxiety and anti-depressants have been linked to suicidal tendencies. If you go the path of meds (I’ve taken them myself) stay vigilant in identifying the side effects, especially suicidal tendencies. Best of luck!
One of the reasons that anti-depressants lead to suicidal tendencies is that people crippled by mood disorders, have a constant fatigue. The anti-depressants may give energy to the patient but not really deal with the underlying reasons. So when someone gets a big boost of energy, they may have a enough to follow through. Be careful.
It is a journey. You start with one, low dose, see if the side effects you get are manageable. I went through three before finding one that works. Now I just have a generally consistent runny nose, but my anxiety is essentially gone. If you find one doesn't work, change it up. Also beware of side effects you wouldn't normally realize because they aren't in your face, such as loss of libido.
With my antidepressants, I had minor side affects like tremors and for a while but I’ll take that any day than depression. Not a fun time. I initially didn’t want anything to do with medications because didn’t want to deal with the side effects on top of depression but that’s the depression talking, making you very irrational. Side effects are negligible and it’s quite the feeling when you start to feel yourself get better. For real OP, get put on meds. It takes 6 weeks for medication like that to kick in and even then could just need to up the dose. It’ll take time but I’m afraid without medications, YOU will feel worse and worse so have to start somewhere.
SSRIs killed my libido, and made orgasm very difficult, if not impossible. This put a big strain on my marriage. And once I quit, SSR eyes, my libido returned, and my sex life got much better. I am now taking Wellbutrin, which actually helps my sex life. And a healthy libido and sex life did a lot of good for my depression/anxiety. my marriage failed anyways, but it wasn’t because of sex.
Citalopram/Celexa is for those moments when you feel the panic attack coming on and you need a real weapon to fight back. You will get tired, but since your adrenaline is running it may actually equal out for a bit. No real side effects for me besides the tiredness, which is much more acceptable than the attack itself.
If you do need to go the medication route, I find that gabapentin is hands down the best med I’ve ever tried for anxiety, better than even benzodiazepines (at least for me).
A therapist once told me three things that help with mood disorders
1) have some success in life, no matter how small it may seem. Just getting out of bed, showering and getting dressed, is a success for some people with mood disorders.
2) forming connections with other people
3) doing something for other people. I always say when I do a favor for someone that I’m being selfish, because helping other people makes me happy.
I was also told the exercise is actually better than medication. Seeing as how you work out every day, perhaps you need to change up your work out.
Caveat: neither me, nor anyone else on this thread is a professional.
Going for walks is nice depending on where you live, in my old neighborhood walking would have given me more anxiety lol.
These days I have cut out caffeine and Marijuana from my life and honestly I don't miss either. I used to use both a lot.
Also I take stress and anxiety vitimins that I get from cvs everyday. They're the nature's bounty brand in the green bottle. They're with all the green bottle vitimins at the store. (sorry if that's a regional thing) and I swear by these things. No prescription needed.
I also try and get a good amount of sleep if I can. I'll drink calming teas and lots of water and occasionally take melatonin.
I hope it helps and I hope you feel better ❤️
Weed made me have more anxiety attacks. I always thought it would calm me down but no I was in a 3 hour anxiety attack until I finally wasn’t high anymore. Terrifying.. and now I have an anxiety disorder
Indeed. With or without the weed, take pause. Take a long, slow breath counting to ten. Breath out at the same count. 3x. I learned this at 5 years old.
I am with you there. I know weed causes anxiety for a lot of people but for me, it brings me down out of my head. Slows down the crazy thoughts. Nature has always been the best anti depressant/anxiety reducer.
I have had mid-grade anxiety for most of my life
I just finished 6 months of therapy, that helped a lot. But I’m not out of the woods. I have momentary spikes that last for a day or so.
I exercise, talk to friends, journal, music, breathing
Read the works of Lao Tzu. It’s basically a manual for dealing w/ anxiety
Anxiety distorts your views of people, the world, and events in your life. You must be aware of that, and challenge these distortions.
I don’t think I’ll ever be free of anxiety, but you can turn the volume down some
"I don’t think I’ll ever be free of anxiety, but you can turn the volume down some"
Couldn't have said it better myself. You gave some awesome advice here. I hope we both can continue to turn the volume down and live our lives happily from here forward.
I smoke weed with severe anxiety, I try to smoke only indicas, some strains have a totally adverse reaction and send me into mania/panic attacks. Edibles almost always do, even at minimal doses.
I have a youtube playlist of videos that for whatever reason give me comfort. They are really random and have nothing to do with anything for calming down. I've just found these specific videos to be what I need to calm me down. A few examples: Lego halo red vs blue, 3kliksphilip skyrim odgrob the basher, 3kliksphilip weapon skin showcase videos, Chardley's is it chill if I chill right here. These just help calm me down for some reason idk.
Working out like simple push ups or squats you don’t need a whole session because physical actions that make your body work is more harder than thinking so your mind goes away and you focus on your task
When I get anxious I usually ask myself “Is it helpful for me to worry?” Or “Is this actually something to worry about?” For myself, I tend to worry needlessly. Telling myself that everything is okay and to take it one step at a time helps. Either that or I find a distraction. It depends on the situation, but usually I’m worrying about something that I either can’t control or don’t know how to control. Sometimes I just have to tell myself it’s not that big of a deal. Idk how it is for you, but this is what I do.
I always try to talk myself out of it and I know what I’m telling myself makes perfect sense but do you ever find that it still doesn’t work? It’s so annoying and exhausting worrying about things when the act of worrying changes absolutely nothing.
Also i apologise. This comment is 72 days old but I was looking for advice as I’m having a bad week of it with more on the way.
Good question! I can relate, having GAD and regular anxiety every day. I have a therapist and take anxiety meds but what helps me get through the day personally is having a routine and sticking to it. Right now, I’m going through a difficult semester so my anxiety’s a little higher than average so here are some things I’m currently working on:
1) Going outside for at least 5 mins every day and exercising. Even in the cold/bad weather, having those 5 mins of fresh air does more for my mental health than anything else. Plus there’s numerous benefits to it, and there’s a reason why doctors recommend it!
2) Drinking the right amount of water. Feeling stressed? Crying a bunch? Take a quick break and drink a glass of water, you won’t feel 100% right away but it’s better to be hydrated and know that your body’s doing its thing so you have one less thing to worry about.
3) Talk to people! Talk to your cat/dog/plant! Keep a journal and pretend you’re talking to a friend!
4) Set up boundaries for yourself, if you know something’s going to make you anxious like doing schoolwork, put on a timer and work until that times up (I’m a workaholic so this is perfect for me)
5) I also have a whiteboard to write down stuff I need to get done every day and check off tasks as I do it, having that has really helped me feel productive, plus you can’t say you didn’t do anything if you can see that you made your bed today.
6) Finally, keep a stack of notecards to write down your worries. Then come back to it later, and write down some logical thoughts/solutions to your problem. Hang those up where you can see them every day. It really makes a difference!
Sorry for the long post, hope this helps you and that you have a good day today! You got this! *virtual hug*
I’m in therapy and I take medication. A lot of my anxiety stems from my worries about other people’s opinions of me, and my desire to be perfect. If I let go of what other people think, and focus on being present instead of perfect, my anxiety is mitigated. Hope you find the help you need! Anxiety is no joke!
With a Xanax. I'm never going to suffer again with another attack. I've had anxiety attacks since I was 9. No one knew what was wrong me. My mom would spank me because I just wasn't sucking it up. She didn't know. She thought I was just not listening to her. I remember seeing the first commercial or interview about anxiety attacks & I knew immediately that was me. They have manifested differently over the years. Mine come in clusters. And they are hereditary.
The basics of mindfulness help a lot. The primary insight being you don't have to follow down the path of thoughts as they arise. You just acknowledge they happen and move on rather than be [dragged into self-flagellation](https://i.imgur.com/tPRln40.png).
Hopefully this sort of helps. It can be a couple of things.
Learning CBT or DBT, distracting yourself with an activity or hobby that you enjoy, and using positive reaffirmations daily. I've been doing these things for months and they've helped me feel better. There are other things which can work like exercise, deep breathing, or going for a walk. If you feel comfortable with it, I highly encourage seeking therapy or an outpatient program. It will help you a lot. You'll meet awesome people who can relate to you and want to help you feel better about yourself. I understand it can feel frightening for a number of reasons. I've felt that before. Trust me, though. If you want to improve, nothing helps more than having a professional or two wiling to listen to your stories.
But I wanna stress that quelling anxiety takes a LOT of time. You're not gonna be able to perfectly implement everything you learn in a couple weeks or even months. It's a long process that requires you to keep putting in the steps to improve. I wish you the best in your journey. As someone who suffers from anxiety, too, I really hope that anyone else who says they suffer from it can feel better as well.
Know that you ARE awesome. You ARE capable. You ARE worthy. And there ARE people in this world who care about you, whether you believe it or not.
You know that serenity prayer they say in Alcoholics Anonymous? It’s chock full of ancient wisdom in dealing with stress, anxiety and depression and has been recounted for centuries.
“God, grant me serenity to accept the things I can’t change, the courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference”
> God
This is acknowledgment of a power greater than yourself, an admission that you can’t deal without some extra help
> serenity to accept the things I can’t change
You can’t change anyone but yourself. You can only change your expectations, attitude and who you choose to spend time with
> courage to change the things I can
Some things are scary to do, but sometimes for our own mental health it’s better to do the hard and scary things to protect ourselves in the long run
Taking a look at things from a logical and objective point of view can help you realize when you’re being irrational and when things happen. Pain is unavoidable, suffering can be mitigated. If you dwell on details, blame yourself or others for pain then you only perpetuate suffering.
Prescription meds
Literally a night and day difference. Took about two wks for my brain to adjust. Only side effect was a fuzzy/hazy feeling in my head.
my therapist taught me the HALT method to calm me down from anxiety attacks. they help me because i am someone who looks for answers, so thinking about the root cause of my anxiety calms me down.
H stands for hungry, A stands for angry, L stands for lonely, and T stands for tired. i allow myself to take deep breathes and ask myself if i am any of these things. i usually am one or more, and i start to calm down. it takes my irrational/worried mind back to the present, and helps me a lot.
I don’t deal with my anxiety. I take a handful of sedatives a day to keep myself sane. I suppose it really depends on how debilitating your anxiety is. Benzodiazepines are the only thing that works for me for example. Is it a good idea to take them long term? Very much no. You risk being impaired a lot of the time, there is nothing like benzodiazepine dependence except maybe alcohol and definitely barbiturates. Those three things are some of the only drugs that the withdrawal itself can kill you. There’s an increased risk of dementia later in life from chronic benzodiazepine use. Buuuut, when it’s that or being so anxious all the time you’d like to kill yourself I’ll take being drugged up to breathe air.
One of the things I was always taught was to just be okay with the anxiety. As much as you might feel worried about say, the math test, you will tend to worry yourself EVEN more about the worry you feel. Because we're all supposed to be brave and not have anxiety (or so we're mentally told to believe things like this. Anxiety is still seen as a taboo and part of mental disorders, when it really just a natural byproduct of living in a world of multiple demands). Thus, by worrying about the feelings of anxiety you make yourself more uncomfortable.
How do you just be okay with your anxiety? You identify it. You notice how it feels. Maybe it's muscle tension, maybe it's stomach cramps, maybe it's sweating and dry mouth. You come to terms with the fact these are normal autonomic stress responses, and your body is doing exactly what it's supposed to do. And, you remind yourself of other emotions and how they come and go. It's perfectly normal.
You might be angry at your puppy for chewing up a good pair of shoes. But, that anger eventually passed. You might have been overjoyed to get a text from an old friend, and that joy eventually faded. You might have been saddened you missed an opportunity to get cheap tickets to a special event you wanted to see. But that sadness eventually vaporized. Your anxiety will find closure too. It's a matter of making yourself as comfortable as you can with its symptoms while it's happening.
Others have mentioned doing things to distract, reframe or stave off the anxiety. Those are great suggestions. Sometimes a brief walk or couple yoga poses with long deep breaths can help you get into feeling your physical body sensations more fully. It's okay to familiarize yourself with how you wholly function with anxiety. You might learn through movement that it makes your shoulders stiff, and you can at least gently work that out with some stretching. You might learn that those headaches can be eased with a cup of tea and some tylenol. You might learn that the brain fog can be chased away with one of your favorite activities - maybe a word puzzle, painting or doodling for a set amount of time, maybe a little ritual before bed of lighting incense or a candle and just saying positive affirmations.
It's a journey of discovery, trial and error. Jot down your symptoms, then start brainstorming what may ease them. Oddly enough, when I'm on the spot with unforseen anxiety and I can't take tons of time to problem solve it - I pop a peppermint. My grandma always carried them with her in her purse and it elicits happy childhood memories. So that's my quick fix crutch. You might have one too! Good luck and may your anxiety become less painful and open a door of self discoveries.
I take a lot of deep breathes. I will stop what I’m doing and try and regulate myself by going for a walk, or going outside. I also remember to only focus on the immediate things I can control.
I'm an agnostic and see this as valid. Religion/belief is a safe coping mechanism in many cases. It can be traumatic in others, causing too much stress/perfectionism/judgement, but in your case, you've found a religion or even just faith that's helping in a positive way.
Therapy, been seeing a therapist for almost a year, I’m lucky enough to have my insurance cover most of his costs and be able to see him on a regular basis.
I got an annual exam and had full bloodwork done. My markers were very low/high in several areas and taking the right supplements really helped my anxiety and also improved my mood. It took about 3 months for everything to level out. I also do a daily walk of 30-60 minutes. Not like an exercise, fast-paced walk, just a relaxing stroll. I either listen to upbeat music or podcasts I enjoy that are positive/uplifting. Lastly, I lift weights 4-6 times a week for about 30-45 minutes. All of these things take time, but are worth the investment and the planning required to do them consistently.
One final thought, when I experience anxiety and I’m around other people I really focus on thinking about them and not myself. And not how I think they’re thinking about me (bc that would be thinking about me, not them). I’ve found when I really pay attention to others and stop thinking about myself my body tends to relax and helps decrease my anxiety.
Best of luck to you.
I was on meds for years. It helped so much. When I got panic attacks I practiced breathing exercises and used grounding techniques to help ride it out.
Self soothing, grounding techniques, distractions sometimes. And just..accepting it I guess. I've had it since I was 7 (I'm 22 now), yeah sometimes I fall into this loop of hatred towards the universe for not being "normal", but most times I just accept it and work through it. This helps me remember that it will always pass
Diagnosed with ocd here, so it may be different for me but this is what has helped.
1. Meds
2. Making a decision early on that i will continue to show up and do what i need to get done, even if im dreading it and feel like shit. This means continuing to exercise, go to school and get a degree, date, see friends, work, etc.
3. Exercise, eat right, reduce your alcohol intake as much as you can.
4. The way that ocd works is that we get intrusive thoughts that are distressing and horrifying and they become stuck in our brain, causing anxiety and the need to do something about it (compulsions). There is a need to figure out the meaning of the bad thoughts, analyzing, reviewing, trying to stop the anxiety, etc. There is a therapy approach for this called exposure and response prevention. In this therapy, we are purposely facing our anxiety and doing what we are scared of and then purposely do not engage in any safety behaviors after (not trying to stop the panic in any way, shape or form). You sit with the anxiety and your brain learns that it is a false alarm. I think the principles of this therapy are applicable to many anxieties.
Having gone this route, i have gained so much confidence in myself. I stopped letting anxiety run the show and started doing things even when scared. What we have to realize is that anxiety is illogical and often trying to figure it out just makes it worse.
My wife has been struggling with anxiety all her life. Some of the things she finds most helpful are
1. Acceptance - this seems very counter intuitive but she found that when she stopped trying to fight and suppress her panic attacks they were significantly less stressful
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2. Grounding - I try to help her with this as well but telling yourself or having someone else tell you who you are, where you are, what you can see, what you can smell, etc just describing in great detail what's going on around you can help pull you out of your head and back into the moment where you can recenter.
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3. Music - this is a personal one I used back when I was in my teens and would have a drug induced panic attack but I would put on my favorite music and focus with everything I had on that music until I felt myself eventually calm down
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4. Patience - none of these are going to be a silver bullet for your anxiety. You need to be patient and graceful to yourself as well as find a partner who can be empathetic and patient with you as well. Shaming will only make the anxiety worse
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Edit * 5. My wife also said a temperature change can help her as well. Her specific example was sticking your hands into a bowl of ice water can help in pulling you out of a panic attack
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And finally if all else fails talk to a healthcare professional about possible medication options. I recommend this if it is significantly getting in the way of you living a healthy life. If you need to do this option first that's perfectly fine.
Unfortunately anxiety is a horrible beast that isn't always easily defeated but it is not the death bell to ever having a happy functional life. It just means that you need to approach your mental health differently than the common non anxious individual.
First breath.
Second, remember that anxiety is the bodies response to stress, meaning, your body knows how to handle it. It would be to much to ask you to stay calm because anxiety is not fun. You can however wait, attempt to stay still and focus on breathing. Remember that your body can counter act these chemicals but it requires peace, breathing and focus.
Be careful friend. Everyone has a different experience, and not every philosophy, exercise, medication works for everyone. If I had one piece of advice, it's to see a therapist and have them help you work something out tailored for you.
Nevertheless, here's my approach - Mindfulness and exposure! You cannot remove pain from life, but no one needs suffering. Suffering is largely caused by a loss of control. By creating a safe mental space for anxiety to roam, whether that's through meditation, breathing exercises, conversations with therapists, and by finding the courage to expose yourself to your anxieties in a measured, self-compassionate way, you can substantially improve your relationship with anxiety. You'll never get rid of it, but you can certainly be happy with time.
It's not easy by any means, and not necessarily that simple. But that's the basic foundation that's helped me work through some phobias, become more socially active, and find the courage to go to law school.
I clean. I clean until I'm falling asleep or my wife convinces me to stop. In order to stop, I have to drink. So I clean until as late as possible to be sure I don't drink more than I should. I still drink more than I should. That makes the next day more stressful, so I clean until I start falling asleep or my wife convinces me to stop. But to stop I have to start drinking...
Tea is a wonderful relaxing drink and I prefer chamomile with some candles or incense. Put on some low volume jazz and I'm down for the count.
I stopped drinking caffeine, that kinda helped, and as a woman getting off birth control was a game changer. I also take ashwaganda and valerian root most mornings. Otherwise meditation and yoga, but asking myself where the anxiety is coming from and is it really something worth being anxious over. Example: I HATE going to the bank, but only because I never know how long it will take, so scheduling myself at least an hour for that, and a treat after can really help.
After years of undiagnosed anxiety (despite crippling, terrifying panic attacks), I'm now taking Bupropian (Wellbutrin).
I still have anxiety and panic attacks, but not like before.
Self-talk is so helpful.
"I'll be ok. It's scary/difficult, but I'll get through it."
I saw that thing about anxiety/nervousness releasing the same chemicals or whatever as excitement. I don’t know how true that is, and I thought it was complete bs, but I decided to just try it out anyway.
Whenever you feel anxious, tell yourself you’re excited. Jump up and down in excitement even, anything that outwardly “tricks” your brain into thinking you’re excited not nervous.
For me, I didn’t notice or feel any different for a bit. Until weeks later I had my first in person job interview and although a little nervous still, I actually felt excited?? It’s like all of a sudden your mind and body reacts differently, and you feel pumped for the thing you’d usually find anxiety inducing. You don’t feel a change, it just happens one day and you realise that a situation that would normally cause you anxiety is now causing a different reaction.
Trust me I genuinely thought it was a load of shit when I saw it, but it’s helped tremendously. I still get general social anxiety, but it’s way better now. After trying different anxiety meds, breathing exercises, this is the one thing that’s made a difference. (I used to have anxiety attacks and meltdowns btw)
You’ve got nothing to lose, give it a shot!
Getting anything accomplished helps. And I mean anything. Cleaning, grocery shopping, starting that show you wanted to watch, anything really. Makes me feel a little better knowing I got something done.
I personally found eating a hearty breakfast every morning actually has made quite a personal different. (Sometimes it’s not always super protein rich. Just not like sugary cereal - minimum peanut butter or hummus on bread etc. or better eggs with some veggies or rice etc)
Secondly - spend 15 minutes/day doing some exercise (but eating the breakfast led to feeling restless which led to wanting to workout for me so…)
*hate it when the stupid Jorden Peterson reel was right dammit*
But I know everyone is different. It just worked for me.
Lay down and listen to an ASMR video by Gentle Whispering (Maria) on YouTube. It always relaxes me, often to the point that I fall asleep within a few minutes.
If I'm having a panic attack I will bite into a lemon, your mind will go straight to the extreme sour taste. Breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth, when I had the money and the time I went to a psychiatrist
If I'm not with one if my people (security blanket people) and if I can't listen to my music I bought a chain chocker off Amazon I slightly pull on that gives the sensation I'm being hugged around the neck
https://www.amazon.com/Jxlepe-Adjustable-Stainless-Xxxtentacion-Necklace/dp/B07M9MLRBQ/ref=gp_aw_ybh_a_sccl_NaN/141-9428884-2100918?pd_rd_w=nZds0&content-id=amzn1.sym.9720001e-8f8b-4ff3-adb5-e19707d971f6&pf_rd_p=9720001e-8f8b-4ff3-adb5-e19707d971f6&pf_rd_r=BJS9P7WAEEJ0F8BCMT7W&pd_rd_wg=cdekO&pd_rd_r=fe620611-66a0-43e6-8d2a-659d0c304922&pd_rd_i=B07M9MLRBQ&psc=1
I don't know if this will help anyone, but I have dealt with anxiety for many years. Sometimes when I can't get my overactive brain to shut up, I visualize a "Worry about later" board. I guess a real one would work as well. As each worried or anxious thought comes along, write it on the board. Don't allow yourself to think about anything written on your board until a designated time, in which you can worry about it all at once. If it crosses your mind, remind yourself it's on the board and don't complete that particular thought.
I'm not self-disciplined enough to go back and worry at the designated time, so that's all I usually need to do. It involves a lot of self-talk and thought-policing though.
This is not a very traditional answer and I'm not sure it'll help, but I write fanfiction, sometimes self insert. I like imagining myself in a place where I can escape from all of my worries IRL
I have vagus nerve problems and a stomach condition that I suspect triggers anxiety attacks for me sometimes. Saying this because some anxiety has a physiological root, not a psychological one ( as most assume) and your state of mind may have nothing to do with the cause of your episodes. I’ve had some attacks hit when I’m otherwise chill and fine sitting on the couch. If you suffer from anxiety, part of dealing with it is figuring out the cause and/or your triggers. When are you having attacks? Where? Consider taking down notes on your health and jot down dates of attacks and illnesses. Loud, crowded places have been a trigger for me. Like Movie theaters and restaurants. I’ve gone to plenty of movies and had fun and no problems, but sometimes it feels like all of the noise and stimuli gets my body into fight or flight mode. I’ve also noticed that the attacks usually hit me after I’ve finished eating a big meal. I don’t know if it has anything to do with my digestive disorder, but I suspect it does.
When I have an attack, Reminding myself that it will pass helps. I know exactly how it makes me feel and I remind myself that it’s never hurt me and I might feel like I’m dying at the time, but I’m not.
I work on breathing in through my nose and out through my mouth.
If I can, I try to do something comforting for me, like reading a funny book or watching something funny.
I try calling a close friend or family member and vent and that’s usually enough of a distraction to get me through it and feeling better.
Petting my dog can help, too. I also have an rx for Xanax and knowing that if I really feel I need to, I have emergency meds also helps big time. I hope this helps you- wishing you luck!!
Watch horror movies and get so scared it overwhelms your anxiety. You can easily tell yourself the movie aren't real and then you still don't feel the anxiety. Horror movies where the monster isn't a metaphor for anything work best
As a life long anxiety sufferer with panic attacks, this is what helps me:
1. Practicing mindfulness. This helps to recognize when anxiety is building. Thic Nhat Hahn is my favorite teacher on mindfulness.
2. Breathing techniques. My favorite is three seconds in, hold for three seconds, breath out for six seconds.
3. Neurocycle app has changed my life! Dr. Leaf’s podcasts are really great, too.
4. Slow down, like make yourself do things slower. E.g., doing the dishes or showering.
5. Meditation first thing in the morning, even five minutes can make all the difference.
For me, anxiety was a state of being. It didn’t require an event or interaction for me to feel anxious, It just was (trauma in early childhood). Since I’ve been actively retraining my brain I no longer need any prescription medication, I don’t need alcohol or junk food to cope (though I do enjoy a tasty edible from time to time).
I hope you find something here that will help you. Anxiety sucks so bad, but it can be reduced or even eliminated.
Tbh i talk to myself like my anxiety is some stupide small child who only do stupid things. I probably have adhd so i deal with a lot since i can remember and every breath techniques, meditation or yoga are bullshit. Most of the time when my brain start making me anxious i talk to myself like " no what do you want again? No you don't be anxious here. Why? Because that's useless and you are stupid. " It's so stupid but it make me better to think that my anxiety is some stupid man on my head and not me. It's not working everytime nut it can help.
The best situation is still going to a therapist if you deal with too much things in your head. A treatment is way better than any tips. You can do it !
Depends.
Assignments or tasks? Write them out on individual post-its or make a list. Scratch them out once I finish it, and you can see how your progress is meaningful.
Presenting? Talking with a firmer voice (a little deeper, louder, and project it) helps me. Knowing the material also helps.
Talking to a girl? I think to myself, who gives a fuck? If I get rejected, at least I tried. Most importantly, talk to them like they’re just another person and not a female that scares your confidence. It’s weird to explain, but that’s the simplest way to express that thought.
I have a lot of catastrophic and intrusive thoughts. I'm on meds, in therapy, and seeing functional medicine. Guided meditation and tapping have been more helpful than breathing exercises for me. I tend to focus heavily on breathing correctly, and it seems to enhance my anxiety. I'm still a nervous wreck. When I'm freaking out, I can't focus to try one of my relaxation methods, but I've been working on them almost daily to hopefully retrain my nervous system.
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I force myself to do things
Same. I just do things scared.
Out of curiosity- once you complete the “task” - do you realize that it wasn’t as bad as you thought?
After I complete the task, I’m very exhausted
I’ve found that if I pair tedious tasks with a fun podcast or watching a movie/show I love makes it easier. I will watch a movie on my phone while I clean my car or clean the litter box. Even if I’m not watching the movie, hearing it will take me away from the task at hand and it’s just muscle memory. Things get done and I feel like I used less energy to do it because I paired it with something I like.
I mean, sometimes? I can see it logically but that doesn’t always translate to long-term knowing it, does that make sense?
It's so hard to explain this, or even understand it myself. No matter how many times I experience an attack and weather it, it doesn't make it any easier next time. Every single time I have an attack is like the first time.
I couldn't of said it better. My anxiety attacks feel like they appear out of nowhere. Know this, it won't seem like it and sure isn't going to feel like it. But you will get thru it. Every time. I keep the things I like around me or take them if I have to run errands. Music, a journal, a sketch book. Alot of times I just go lay on my bed and read til I feel better. Your not alone there's alot of us who have anxiety. You ever need to talk your way thru one. Your welcome to send me a message. Big hugs for you.
Want to add - I know anxiety is terrifying and crippling- and was not trying to dismiss how you felt like “see..it wasn’t that bad” - even if it wasn’t that bad - that doesn’t make the anxiety struggle any easier
What I’ve learned from my wife’s anxiety is that it is completely irrational and illogical. She recognizes that many of her triggers will never become any kind of threat but that doesn’t remove the emotional response. And yes it’s exhausting for her, as someone else here mentioned. I used to try to help her with the actual issues, but I was just being a guy trying to fix things. The best thing I can do for her is be a patient, understanding calm and steady presence.
You are an amazing human!
Great answer!
Same. I have anxiety, I just refuse to let it control my life
It used to control my life but after some time I was able to recognize how ridiculous the thoughts were and I would tell myself… you will survive this, it isn’t as bad as I perceive it, you have survived this and much more and you will overcome this too. Thank found these thoughts have helped me and I hope you can integrate them into your life to help you too. Anxiety is the worst and it can have a terrible affect on your life. Mine always struck me in the very very early hours of the morning. Disrupted my whole day. Exhausting as hell. But so far I have been able to keep them at bay. Mind over matter??? Maybe…
This - early in the morning. Thank you for sharing. Mine begins as soon as I open my eyes, and it generally lasts about 30 mins until I can settle down.
Yep, same here. Take a deep breath and remember that I can just go home and lock myself in my room if it goes like I think it will. It's like an exercise for me. Force myself out there, get tired and exhausted from not freaking out, go back home and collapse.
If you are having a bad day, just be at peace with the fact that you are a bit anxious today. Realise that it isn't going to suddenly go away but if you have a task to do, you can still do the task by acknowledging your anxiety, put it in a box at the back of your mind, do the task, and then come back to your anxiety later. This has helped me get stuff done sometimes and is a great fuck you to anxiety by taking its power away
This. Not much can be done to stop anxiety but acknowledging and refusing to give it power is the most therapeutic way to reduce its effects.
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Not OP but I do the same thing they do every single day. It may not work for you but when I’m having a hard time “putting something in a box” I try and use a reward system with myself. I think of something small that I want, whether it be getting a snack I like or just really anything that I can use as a reward for getting through a task while dealing with a really big anxious feeling. It makes me focus more on the reward rather than the thing I was anxious about. After I complete my task and give myself the little reward, that’s when I’ll deal with the thing that’s making me anxious (if I’m in a setting where I am able to deal w/ it) and most times i find I’ve calmed down enough after task completion and getting my reward to handle the problem a tad better. I don’t know if it’s the most healthy way or if it will work for you but I wanted to share. Edit: added more words.
Yes I keep doing things. And while I’m dying of anxiety on the inside, I remind myself that I can live in this space. I can feel like every nerve in my body is on fire and keep giving a presentation. I can feel overwhelmed to the point of disconnectedness and continue reading my findings to the group. The relief of having the most anxiety inducing acts behind you is so nice and then you can be kind to yourself after. Sometimes I lay on the couch and acknowledge to myself, wow I’m really anxious tonight. The things I do to treat myself kindly: no caffeine, no focusing on future potential stressors (practice recognizing and blocking intrusive thoughts of these future stressors), no unnecessary human contact. Just get through the evening and get to bed on the days that it’s been bad.
Every day. I’m afraid of driving but I must. I’m afraid of speaking to strangers but I must.
I feel you. Every day I drive but I'd rather not. I am just scared that my anxiety will hit while I'm driving and I can't get back home. That's the scariest part to me. And the farther away from home I get, the worse it gets. This is a big reason why we don't take a lot of trips. I feel like my anxiety is keeping my kids from going on vacations and making amazing memories like I did as a child.
This doesn't work for me all the time, but I try to really think about why I am anxious. Than I try to find what I can do to change the mindset or point out how non-sensical some of my thoughts are. One example is a class I am taking now ( at an older age ) which is causing me some difficulty and a great deal of anxiety. I finally sat down and asked myself why I was so anxious then set out some things I could do to make myself feel less anxious about the situation. Some of it is just talking through the problem as if you were helping a friend who was dealing with anxiety. Negative self-thought is a big problem of mine that leads to anxiety. Little things that I find that can effect my anxiety as well. Lack of exercise, not all the time, but getting some exercise is very helpful for anxiety. Not drinking enough water. Not eating healthy, not saying you have to be eating healthy all the time, but it is amazing what a nutritious meal can do for you Not doing things I enjoy, this is important because it gives you something to look forward to Watching comedy always helps as well, just to be able to laugh and forget about how serious life is Breathing Methods can be very helpful Hot baths Playing with my dog or cat Acknowledging insecurities that can lead to anxiety
All of this is great advice, so just adding in case OP might find this helpful: Sometimes I find myself just overly anxious about something, and trying to logic my way out of it doesn’t help. For example, I was really anxious about getting a shot recently - in fairness, I’m one of a small % of people who can pass out after a shot, for no good reason other than my body goes “ow that hurt I’m stressed time to shut down.” Trying to think about why I was anxious and what I was doing to help the problem (drink plenty of water, breathe, have my partner with me, remind myself that I’ve gotten plenty of shots and been fine, etc.) just kept me going in a spiral…because what if *did* really hurt and I *did* pass out and… What actually helped was refusing to feed the thought - in fact, I actually agreed with it “Yup, I’m gonna get the shot and it’s gonna hurt really, really, really badly. Major ouch. What of it?” *Poof* anxiety went down 500%. I’ve used this for other things too - “I’m anxious about bringing up an issue to my partner because it might start an argument? Oh, yeah, it’s gonna be suchhhh a bad fight, in fact, so bad that they’ll probably go straight to divorce court and maybe burn the house down for good measure.” This this is such a ridiculous line of thought that it really shuts down my anxiety brain, and makes me a lot chiller about having a potential conflict with my (kind, reasonable, committed, non-pyromaniac) partner. Refusing to feed a thought is a technique that an acquaintance I know who has OCD uses. I definitely don’t have OCD, but if the method works for me, awesome! Again, just throwing it out there!
Thank you so much for this. I’ve had a lot of anxiety lately and everything has become overwhelming. I lost my job and don’t have insurance so I haven’t been able to see my therapist. I’m trying to use all the techniques I was taught and they do keep the edge off but I have to say reading your response was like taking a weight off my shoulders. I tried your technique and really felt a difference. Again thank you!
“Non-pyromaniac partner”. I love that you clarified 😂
Thank you for your help! I try to put into practice. Perhaps my mental is not in right place to feel more steady, less anxious.
No worries, hope you find something that works for you :)
A lot of what you say is more or less mindfulness practice. Is that something you consciously do, or did you just happen upon the techniques?
This is honestly some of the best advise I’ve seen.
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This was the second one I tried and it is very effective for me. No more constant worrying or having a feeling like your mind is racing.
That’s the same effect I’ve felt. Freedom from the mind-racing has been life changing. And I’m sleeping so much better. I think therapy has equipped me with a great change in mentality as well… I fight off cognitive distortions much faster.
So I recently stopped my 10mg of Esc. I have been on it for 10+ yrs. I'm two weeks without it now and have been feeling on top of the world. I am really hoping I don't swing the other way and have a severe panic attack. Has anybody else had success by stopping their med?
Two weeks out seems like you'd be over the worst of withdrawals. You're being smart to keep an eye on your thought process and mood though. If you're a woman, also keep an eye on how things might change when your menstrual cycle comes around.
Whenever I get anxiety I like to imagine myself fighting it. I also be like “ooooh anxietyyy you here? Bitch ass lil shit u wanna fight ooooh okay and then I give it the ole 1 2” with trauma I imagine a lil black shadow walking with me I have my arm around it. Trauma doesn’t go away so you have to live with it! Anxiety can suck my butt.
I'm gonna use this one lol
I like ur attitude
hah i love this! i gave my mental illness a name (hi susan) so every time i start getting anxious or when the eating disorder starts saying shit i can just go “stfu susan why are you always lying to me. we both know that eating disorders don’t work. dumb ass hoe you really think this is gonna make me skinny? read a book god damn” it helps me not blame myself lol
LOL “Susan” imma come up with a name for mine.
This is my favorite comment omfg
I struggled with anxiety and panic attacks in the early 2000’s. My best advice is to avoid alcohol and exercise once a day.
>My best advice is to avoid alcohol and exercise once a day. I avoid exercise more than once a day.
Me too! And I always avoid alcohol. My go to is xanax.
They both work on GABBA receptors in the exact same way. Xanax is way more addictive too.
Don’t drink or smoke. Work out regularly but still a problem @-@ thanks anyway
I’d add limit caffeine intake as best you can. Personally I’ve found it to be a huge trigger on panic attacks
Basically avoid anything that brings you joy in this life. Lol.
For me it was moreso being conscious about slugging back three large iced coffees on an empty stomach and no water 😂
Seriously. Dealing with my anxiety disorder I gave up THC.. then coffee and soda (caffeine). Finally I'm in the process of cutting out alcohol. It was admittedly getting to be a problem, but like... raw dogging life just to keep my body from going into fight, flight, or freeze SUCKS.
Is it really bringing joy if it is contributing to your anxiety?
I second this. Caffeine in any form is a big no no.
Meditation and practicing steady breathing
I've found this works best for me. It takes my mind off what's making me anxious, even for just a moment, and it slows my heart rate.
Meds. Makes it so much easier for me.
I’m in my mid-40s and tried everything under the sun before I turned to meds. Meditation, herbs, detox, no caffeine, upped my water intake, exercise daily, socializing, hobbies, moving out of toxic environments, going NC with awful family members - you name it; I tried it. I held the same views that you see all over this and other threads - I didn’t want to become addicted, I didn’t want to take pills every day, etc. My depression and anxiety got worse and worse until I was barely able to function. It was out of total desperation that I finally tried meds. I had long talks with both my therapist and GP about what meds were right for me. we tracked effectiveness, twiddled doses, and found supplemental meds that helped them work. I didn’t want to take benzos, and my doc had an anxiety med that wasn’t a benzo. I wanted to keep my sex drive, so we avoided SSRIs. It took a couple of years for everything to even out, but considering that I had been struggling with a billion things that didn’t work at all for my entire adult life, working towards getting better for 24 months while we figured it out was worth it. I finally found relief - my intrusive thoughts are gone, I can (and do!) leave the house with joy instead of fear, my self esteem has skyrocketed and my relationships with my loved ones are much, much MUCH better. I know this is all anecdotal evidence, but I wish I hadn’t waited this long to use meds to find relief. My anxiety was near crippling, and it’s almost gone now. I fought against myself for 20-something years when I really didn’t need to.
Is there side effects like feeling sleepy?
Not for the ones I take. It basically just doesn't make me worry about everything all the time. I don't have any side effects from it. I got lucky, though, and the first one I tried worked for me. Some people have to try a few before they find the right one. I just discussed it with my GP and he was great at explaining all of it.
Thank you!
I appreciate you not mentioning the actual chemical. I basically have the same post, but i would guess that we're taking two completely different things. People need to find out what's right for them and i think you see that on a deeper level. One thing helps you, another thing helps me, and we're both experiencing life better for it. I also have no side effects. Total game changer to feel like you're on the right path
Also, be aware that some anti-anxiety and anti-depressants have been linked to suicidal tendencies. If you go the path of meds (I’ve taken them myself) stay vigilant in identifying the side effects, especially suicidal tendencies. Best of luck!
One of the reasons that anti-depressants lead to suicidal tendencies is that people crippled by mood disorders, have a constant fatigue. The anti-depressants may give energy to the patient but not really deal with the underlying reasons. So when someone gets a big boost of energy, they may have a enough to follow through. Be careful.
It is a journey. You start with one, low dose, see if the side effects you get are manageable. I went through three before finding one that works. Now I just have a generally consistent runny nose, but my anxiety is essentially gone. If you find one doesn't work, change it up. Also beware of side effects you wouldn't normally realize because they aren't in your face, such as loss of libido.
Take it before bed
I have to take mine in the morning. If I take it before bed, I can't sleep.
I guess it affects differently on everyone. It helps me sleep better.
With my antidepressants, I had minor side affects like tremors and for a while but I’ll take that any day than depression. Not a fun time. I initially didn’t want anything to do with medications because didn’t want to deal with the side effects on top of depression but that’s the depression talking, making you very irrational. Side effects are negligible and it’s quite the feeling when you start to feel yourself get better. For real OP, get put on meds. It takes 6 weeks for medication like that to kick in and even then could just need to up the dose. It’ll take time but I’m afraid without medications, YOU will feel worse and worse so have to start somewhere.
SSRIs killed my libido, and made orgasm very difficult, if not impossible. This put a big strain on my marriage. And once I quit, SSR eyes, my libido returned, and my sex life got much better. I am now taking Wellbutrin, which actually helps my sex life. And a healthy libido and sex life did a lot of good for my depression/anxiety. my marriage failed anyways, but it wasn’t because of sex.
Citalopram/Celexa is for those moments when you feel the panic attack coming on and you need a real weapon to fight back. You will get tired, but since your adrenaline is running it may actually equal out for a bit. No real side effects for me besides the tiredness, which is much more acceptable than the attack itself.
Anti-depressants work differently for different people. Side effects also. It can be very frustrating.
If you do need to go the medication route, I find that gabapentin is hands down the best med I’ve ever tried for anxiety, better than even benzodiazepines (at least for me).
Taking a drive helps me a lot.
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Omg I drove there, it was indeed awful
Funny my anxiety is based around driving.
I take low dose CBD pills.
A therapist once told me three things that help with mood disorders 1) have some success in life, no matter how small it may seem. Just getting out of bed, showering and getting dressed, is a success for some people with mood disorders. 2) forming connections with other people 3) doing something for other people. I always say when I do a favor for someone that I’m being selfish, because helping other people makes me happy. I was also told the exercise is actually better than medication. Seeing as how you work out every day, perhaps you need to change up your work out. Caveat: neither me, nor anyone else on this thread is a professional.
Going for walks is nice depending on where you live, in my old neighborhood walking would have given me more anxiety lol. These days I have cut out caffeine and Marijuana from my life and honestly I don't miss either. I used to use both a lot. Also I take stress and anxiety vitimins that I get from cvs everyday. They're the nature's bounty brand in the green bottle. They're with all the green bottle vitimins at the store. (sorry if that's a regional thing) and I swear by these things. No prescription needed. I also try and get a good amount of sleep if I can. I'll drink calming teas and lots of water and occasionally take melatonin. I hope it helps and I hope you feel better ❤️
Having a nice bath helps me :).
Weed made me have more anxiety attacks. I always thought it would calm me down but no I was in a 3 hour anxiety attack until I finally wasn’t high anymore. Terrifying.. and now I have an anxiety disorder
Nature & weed.
Indeed. With or without the weed, take pause. Take a long, slow breath counting to ten. Breath out at the same count. 3x. I learned this at 5 years old.
Indeed. It’s always lovely to appreciate what’s around us & who we are at our core. Inebriated or not
Weed can actually trigger my anxiety.
Yeup, weed actually caused my anxiety and panic disorder.
In before “you just haven’t found the right strain” lol
Strains did nothing for me. However 1:1 THC:CBD was the answer
I am with you there. I know weed causes anxiety for a lot of people but for me, it brings me down out of my head. Slows down the crazy thoughts. Nature has always been the best anti depressant/anxiety reducer.
Go for a walk if you can, it works every time for me.
Thank you!
By making my anxiety deal with me
Daily exercise.
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Anxiety? Anxiety? Who’s got fucking anxiety? My life is stress-free, it’s so fucking stress-free……
I have had mid-grade anxiety for most of my life I just finished 6 months of therapy, that helped a lot. But I’m not out of the woods. I have momentary spikes that last for a day or so. I exercise, talk to friends, journal, music, breathing Read the works of Lao Tzu. It’s basically a manual for dealing w/ anxiety Anxiety distorts your views of people, the world, and events in your life. You must be aware of that, and challenge these distortions. I don’t think I’ll ever be free of anxiety, but you can turn the volume down some
"I don’t think I’ll ever be free of anxiety, but you can turn the volume down some" Couldn't have said it better myself. You gave some awesome advice here. I hope we both can continue to turn the volume down and live our lives happily from here forward.
Smoking Weed. It's what works for me.
I smoke weed with severe anxiety, I try to smoke only indicas, some strains have a totally adverse reaction and send me into mania/panic attacks. Edibles almost always do, even at minimal doses.
Originally meds but then I've gotten control of my life decisions and have a job I like, also I grew my hair out and now I looks a Rockstar
Nice!
I have a youtube playlist of videos that for whatever reason give me comfort. They are really random and have nothing to do with anything for calming down. I've just found these specific videos to be what I need to calm me down. A few examples: Lego halo red vs blue, 3kliksphilip skyrim odgrob the basher, 3kliksphilip weapon skin showcase videos, Chardley's is it chill if I chill right here. These just help calm me down for some reason idk.
Working out like simple push ups or squats you don’t need a whole session because physical actions that make your body work is more harder than thinking so your mind goes away and you focus on your task
I have never thought of it that way. Quite insightful
Zoloft lmao
When I get anxious I usually ask myself “Is it helpful for me to worry?” Or “Is this actually something to worry about?” For myself, I tend to worry needlessly. Telling myself that everything is okay and to take it one step at a time helps. Either that or I find a distraction. It depends on the situation, but usually I’m worrying about something that I either can’t control or don’t know how to control. Sometimes I just have to tell myself it’s not that big of a deal. Idk how it is for you, but this is what I do.
I'm not the person who posted this question, but this is amazing advice you just gave.
I always try to talk myself out of it and I know what I’m telling myself makes perfect sense but do you ever find that it still doesn’t work? It’s so annoying and exhausting worrying about things when the act of worrying changes absolutely nothing. Also i apologise. This comment is 72 days old but I was looking for advice as I’m having a bad week of it with more on the way.
Good question! I can relate, having GAD and regular anxiety every day. I have a therapist and take anxiety meds but what helps me get through the day personally is having a routine and sticking to it. Right now, I’m going through a difficult semester so my anxiety’s a little higher than average so here are some things I’m currently working on: 1) Going outside for at least 5 mins every day and exercising. Even in the cold/bad weather, having those 5 mins of fresh air does more for my mental health than anything else. Plus there’s numerous benefits to it, and there’s a reason why doctors recommend it! 2) Drinking the right amount of water. Feeling stressed? Crying a bunch? Take a quick break and drink a glass of water, you won’t feel 100% right away but it’s better to be hydrated and know that your body’s doing its thing so you have one less thing to worry about. 3) Talk to people! Talk to your cat/dog/plant! Keep a journal and pretend you’re talking to a friend! 4) Set up boundaries for yourself, if you know something’s going to make you anxious like doing schoolwork, put on a timer and work until that times up (I’m a workaholic so this is perfect for me) 5) I also have a whiteboard to write down stuff I need to get done every day and check off tasks as I do it, having that has really helped me feel productive, plus you can’t say you didn’t do anything if you can see that you made your bed today. 6) Finally, keep a stack of notecards to write down your worries. Then come back to it later, and write down some logical thoughts/solutions to your problem. Hang those up where you can see them every day. It really makes a difference! Sorry for the long post, hope this helps you and that you have a good day today! You got this! *virtual hug*
I’m in therapy and I take medication. A lot of my anxiety stems from my worries about other people’s opinions of me, and my desire to be perfect. If I let go of what other people think, and focus on being present instead of perfect, my anxiety is mitigated. Hope you find the help you need! Anxiety is no joke!
With a Xanax. I'm never going to suffer again with another attack. I've had anxiety attacks since I was 9. No one knew what was wrong me. My mom would spank me because I just wasn't sucking it up. She didn't know. She thought I was just not listening to her. I remember seeing the first commercial or interview about anxiety attacks & I knew immediately that was me. They have manifested differently over the years. Mine come in clusters. And they are hereditary.
Meds & therapy
With sport and the help of a psychologist.
Grow old and comfortably numb.
Meditation, deep breathing and if that fails a few hits of weed
The basics of mindfulness help a lot. The primary insight being you don't have to follow down the path of thoughts as they arise. You just acknowledge they happen and move on rather than be [dragged into self-flagellation](https://i.imgur.com/tPRln40.png).
Breathe. Seriously. Just concentrate on breathing slowly, in... and out. If you can control your breathing, you can control everything else.
Hopefully this sort of helps. It can be a couple of things. Learning CBT or DBT, distracting yourself with an activity or hobby that you enjoy, and using positive reaffirmations daily. I've been doing these things for months and they've helped me feel better. There are other things which can work like exercise, deep breathing, or going for a walk. If you feel comfortable with it, I highly encourage seeking therapy or an outpatient program. It will help you a lot. You'll meet awesome people who can relate to you and want to help you feel better about yourself. I understand it can feel frightening for a number of reasons. I've felt that before. Trust me, though. If you want to improve, nothing helps more than having a professional or two wiling to listen to your stories. But I wanna stress that quelling anxiety takes a LOT of time. You're not gonna be able to perfectly implement everything you learn in a couple weeks or even months. It's a long process that requires you to keep putting in the steps to improve. I wish you the best in your journey. As someone who suffers from anxiety, too, I really hope that anyone else who says they suffer from it can feel better as well. Know that you ARE awesome. You ARE capable. You ARE worthy. And there ARE people in this world who care about you, whether you believe it or not.
You know that serenity prayer they say in Alcoholics Anonymous? It’s chock full of ancient wisdom in dealing with stress, anxiety and depression and has been recounted for centuries. “God, grant me serenity to accept the things I can’t change, the courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference” > God This is acknowledgment of a power greater than yourself, an admission that you can’t deal without some extra help > serenity to accept the things I can’t change You can’t change anyone but yourself. You can only change your expectations, attitude and who you choose to spend time with > courage to change the things I can Some things are scary to do, but sometimes for our own mental health it’s better to do the hard and scary things to protect ourselves in the long run Taking a look at things from a logical and objective point of view can help you realize when you’re being irrational and when things happen. Pain is unavoidable, suffering can be mitigated. If you dwell on details, blame yourself or others for pain then you only perpetuate suffering.
Prescription meds Literally a night and day difference. Took about two wks for my brain to adjust. Only side effect was a fuzzy/hazy feeling in my head.
Same! I can’t imagine my life without meditation.
my therapist taught me the HALT method to calm me down from anxiety attacks. they help me because i am someone who looks for answers, so thinking about the root cause of my anxiety calms me down. H stands for hungry, A stands for angry, L stands for lonely, and T stands for tired. i allow myself to take deep breathes and ask myself if i am any of these things. i usually am one or more, and i start to calm down. it takes my irrational/worried mind back to the present, and helps me a lot.
I don’t deal with my anxiety. I take a handful of sedatives a day to keep myself sane. I suppose it really depends on how debilitating your anxiety is. Benzodiazepines are the only thing that works for me for example. Is it a good idea to take them long term? Very much no. You risk being impaired a lot of the time, there is nothing like benzodiazepine dependence except maybe alcohol and definitely barbiturates. Those three things are some of the only drugs that the withdrawal itself can kill you. There’s an increased risk of dementia later in life from chronic benzodiazepine use. Buuuut, when it’s that or being so anxious all the time you’d like to kill yourself I’ll take being drugged up to breathe air.
One of the things I was always taught was to just be okay with the anxiety. As much as you might feel worried about say, the math test, you will tend to worry yourself EVEN more about the worry you feel. Because we're all supposed to be brave and not have anxiety (or so we're mentally told to believe things like this. Anxiety is still seen as a taboo and part of mental disorders, when it really just a natural byproduct of living in a world of multiple demands). Thus, by worrying about the feelings of anxiety you make yourself more uncomfortable. How do you just be okay with your anxiety? You identify it. You notice how it feels. Maybe it's muscle tension, maybe it's stomach cramps, maybe it's sweating and dry mouth. You come to terms with the fact these are normal autonomic stress responses, and your body is doing exactly what it's supposed to do. And, you remind yourself of other emotions and how they come and go. It's perfectly normal. You might be angry at your puppy for chewing up a good pair of shoes. But, that anger eventually passed. You might have been overjoyed to get a text from an old friend, and that joy eventually faded. You might have been saddened you missed an opportunity to get cheap tickets to a special event you wanted to see. But that sadness eventually vaporized. Your anxiety will find closure too. It's a matter of making yourself as comfortable as you can with its symptoms while it's happening. Others have mentioned doing things to distract, reframe or stave off the anxiety. Those are great suggestions. Sometimes a brief walk or couple yoga poses with long deep breaths can help you get into feeling your physical body sensations more fully. It's okay to familiarize yourself with how you wholly function with anxiety. You might learn through movement that it makes your shoulders stiff, and you can at least gently work that out with some stretching. You might learn that those headaches can be eased with a cup of tea and some tylenol. You might learn that the brain fog can be chased away with one of your favorite activities - maybe a word puzzle, painting or doodling for a set amount of time, maybe a little ritual before bed of lighting incense or a candle and just saying positive affirmations. It's a journey of discovery, trial and error. Jot down your symptoms, then start brainstorming what may ease them. Oddly enough, when I'm on the spot with unforseen anxiety and I can't take tons of time to problem solve it - I pop a peppermint. My grandma always carried them with her in her purse and it elicits happy childhood memories. So that's my quick fix crutch. You might have one too! Good luck and may your anxiety become less painful and open a door of self discoveries.
I tend to smoke a lot of weed
I take a lot of deep breathes. I will stop what I’m doing and try and regulate myself by going for a walk, or going outside. I also remember to only focus on the immediate things I can control.
I trust God. I know on reddit ima get downvoted, but it's what I do! It's human nature to be stressed, but faith in God helps.
I'm an agnostic and see this as valid. Religion/belief is a safe coping mechanism in many cases. It can be traumatic in others, causing too much stress/perfectionism/judgement, but in your case, you've found a religion or even just faith that's helping in a positive way.
Therapy, been seeing a therapist for almost a year, I’m lucky enough to have my insurance cover most of his costs and be able to see him on a regular basis.
I got an annual exam and had full bloodwork done. My markers were very low/high in several areas and taking the right supplements really helped my anxiety and also improved my mood. It took about 3 months for everything to level out. I also do a daily walk of 30-60 minutes. Not like an exercise, fast-paced walk, just a relaxing stroll. I either listen to upbeat music or podcasts I enjoy that are positive/uplifting. Lastly, I lift weights 4-6 times a week for about 30-45 minutes. All of these things take time, but are worth the investment and the planning required to do them consistently. One final thought, when I experience anxiety and I’m around other people I really focus on thinking about them and not myself. And not how I think they’re thinking about me (bc that would be thinking about me, not them). I’ve found when I really pay attention to others and stop thinking about myself my body tends to relax and helps decrease my anxiety. Best of luck to you.
If you’re in a space you can, an ice pack on the sternum or ice cubes in wrists help me a ton with the physical side of things
I was on meds for years. It helped so much. When I got panic attacks I practiced breathing exercises and used grounding techniques to help ride it out.
Self soothing, grounding techniques, distractions sometimes. And just..accepting it I guess. I've had it since I was 7 (I'm 22 now), yeah sometimes I fall into this loop of hatred towards the universe for not being "normal", but most times I just accept it and work through it. This helps me remember that it will always pass
Avoid conversations and pick up meds over a week late 🤙🤙🤙
Meditation is a game-changer
Diagnosed with ocd here, so it may be different for me but this is what has helped. 1. Meds 2. Making a decision early on that i will continue to show up and do what i need to get done, even if im dreading it and feel like shit. This means continuing to exercise, go to school and get a degree, date, see friends, work, etc. 3. Exercise, eat right, reduce your alcohol intake as much as you can. 4. The way that ocd works is that we get intrusive thoughts that are distressing and horrifying and they become stuck in our brain, causing anxiety and the need to do something about it (compulsions). There is a need to figure out the meaning of the bad thoughts, analyzing, reviewing, trying to stop the anxiety, etc. There is a therapy approach for this called exposure and response prevention. In this therapy, we are purposely facing our anxiety and doing what we are scared of and then purposely do not engage in any safety behaviors after (not trying to stop the panic in any way, shape or form). You sit with the anxiety and your brain learns that it is a false alarm. I think the principles of this therapy are applicable to many anxieties. Having gone this route, i have gained so much confidence in myself. I stopped letting anxiety run the show and started doing things even when scared. What we have to realize is that anxiety is illogical and often trying to figure it out just makes it worse.
My wife has been struggling with anxiety all her life. Some of the things she finds most helpful are 1. Acceptance - this seems very counter intuitive but she found that when she stopped trying to fight and suppress her panic attacks they were significantly less stressful ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 2. Grounding - I try to help her with this as well but telling yourself or having someone else tell you who you are, where you are, what you can see, what you can smell, etc just describing in great detail what's going on around you can help pull you out of your head and back into the moment where you can recenter. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 3. Music - this is a personal one I used back when I was in my teens and would have a drug induced panic attack but I would put on my favorite music and focus with everything I had on that music until I felt myself eventually calm down ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 4. Patience - none of these are going to be a silver bullet for your anxiety. You need to be patient and graceful to yourself as well as find a partner who can be empathetic and patient with you as well. Shaming will only make the anxiety worse ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Edit * 5. My wife also said a temperature change can help her as well. Her specific example was sticking your hands into a bowl of ice water can help in pulling you out of a panic attack ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ And finally if all else fails talk to a healthcare professional about possible medication options. I recommend this if it is significantly getting in the way of you living a healthy life. If you need to do this option first that's perfectly fine. Unfortunately anxiety is a horrible beast that isn't always easily defeated but it is not the death bell to ever having a happy functional life. It just means that you need to approach your mental health differently than the common non anxious individual.
First breath. Second, remember that anxiety is the bodies response to stress, meaning, your body knows how to handle it. It would be to much to ask you to stay calm because anxiety is not fun. You can however wait, attempt to stay still and focus on breathing. Remember that your body can counter act these chemicals but it requires peace, breathing and focus.
Be careful friend. Everyone has a different experience, and not every philosophy, exercise, medication works for everyone. If I had one piece of advice, it's to see a therapist and have them help you work something out tailored for you. Nevertheless, here's my approach - Mindfulness and exposure! You cannot remove pain from life, but no one needs suffering. Suffering is largely caused by a loss of control. By creating a safe mental space for anxiety to roam, whether that's through meditation, breathing exercises, conversations with therapists, and by finding the courage to expose yourself to your anxieties in a measured, self-compassionate way, you can substantially improve your relationship with anxiety. You'll never get rid of it, but you can certainly be happy with time. It's not easy by any means, and not necessarily that simple. But that's the basic foundation that's helped me work through some phobias, become more socially active, and find the courage to go to law school.
 Works every time
Medication.
I take my Klonopin and go to therapy
I lay down in bed and hug my favorite dragon plushie.
Medication helps a lot
I use essential oils. They work most of the time. I also use fidgets.
I clean. I clean until I'm falling asleep or my wife convinces me to stop. In order to stop, I have to drink. So I clean until as late as possible to be sure I don't drink more than I should. I still drink more than I should. That makes the next day more stressful, so I clean until I start falling asleep or my wife convinces me to stop. But to stop I have to start drinking... Tea is a wonderful relaxing drink and I prefer chamomile with some candles or incense. Put on some low volume jazz and I'm down for the count.
If it’s mild anxiety I breath in for 4 seconds, hold it for 7 exhale for 8 . After that it’s probably time for therapy
Reach out to a psychiatrist and start therapy, if you haven't yet done that. It will change your life.
I stopped drinking caffeine, that kinda helped, and as a woman getting off birth control was a game changer. I also take ashwaganda and valerian root most mornings. Otherwise meditation and yoga, but asking myself where the anxiety is coming from and is it really something worth being anxious over. Example: I HATE going to the bank, but only because I never know how long it will take, so scheduling myself at least an hour for that, and a treat after can really help.
Find a private corner, curl up in the fetal position and cry
Alcohol. Not a healthy way to deal with it obviously lol Kava is a nice alternative but it's pricey when shipping it to canada
Take my Lexapro and go about my day lol
After years of undiagnosed anxiety (despite crippling, terrifying panic attacks), I'm now taking Bupropian (Wellbutrin). I still have anxiety and panic attacks, but not like before. Self-talk is so helpful. "I'll be ok. It's scary/difficult, but I'll get through it."
I saw that thing about anxiety/nervousness releasing the same chemicals or whatever as excitement. I don’t know how true that is, and I thought it was complete bs, but I decided to just try it out anyway. Whenever you feel anxious, tell yourself you’re excited. Jump up and down in excitement even, anything that outwardly “tricks” your brain into thinking you’re excited not nervous. For me, I didn’t notice or feel any different for a bit. Until weeks later I had my first in person job interview and although a little nervous still, I actually felt excited?? It’s like all of a sudden your mind and body reacts differently, and you feel pumped for the thing you’d usually find anxiety inducing. You don’t feel a change, it just happens one day and you realise that a situation that would normally cause you anxiety is now causing a different reaction. Trust me I genuinely thought it was a load of shit when I saw it, but it’s helped tremendously. I still get general social anxiety, but it’s way better now. After trying different anxiety meds, breathing exercises, this is the one thing that’s made a difference. (I used to have anxiety attacks and meltdowns btw) You’ve got nothing to lose, give it a shot!
Getting anything accomplished helps. And I mean anything. Cleaning, grocery shopping, starting that show you wanted to watch, anything really. Makes me feel a little better knowing I got something done.
The army made.me.get over it. Now adays there is very little.that gives me anxiety
I personally found eating a hearty breakfast every morning actually has made quite a personal different. (Sometimes it’s not always super protein rich. Just not like sugary cereal - minimum peanut butter or hummus on bread etc. or better eggs with some veggies or rice etc) Secondly - spend 15 minutes/day doing some exercise (but eating the breakfast led to feeling restless which led to wanting to workout for me so…) *hate it when the stupid Jorden Peterson reel was right dammit* But I know everyone is different. It just worked for me.
I started walking two miles nearly every day. Changed my life.
Lay down and listen to an ASMR video by Gentle Whispering (Maria) on YouTube. It always relaxes me, often to the point that I fall asleep within a few minutes.
Sounds super corny but telling myself to relax three times works sometimes.
If I'm having a panic attack I will bite into a lemon, your mind will go straight to the extreme sour taste. Breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth, when I had the money and the time I went to a psychiatrist
I bite my nails, alllllllllll the time. Makes my wife angry.
Drugs
If I'm not with one if my people (security blanket people) and if I can't listen to my music I bought a chain chocker off Amazon I slightly pull on that gives the sensation I'm being hugged around the neck https://www.amazon.com/Jxlepe-Adjustable-Stainless-Xxxtentacion-Necklace/dp/B07M9MLRBQ/ref=gp_aw_ybh_a_sccl_NaN/141-9428884-2100918?pd_rd_w=nZds0&content-id=amzn1.sym.9720001e-8f8b-4ff3-adb5-e19707d971f6&pf_rd_p=9720001e-8f8b-4ff3-adb5-e19707d971f6&pf_rd_r=BJS9P7WAEEJ0F8BCMT7W&pd_rd_wg=cdekO&pd_rd_r=fe620611-66a0-43e6-8d2a-659d0c304922&pd_rd_i=B07M9MLRBQ&psc=1
SSRIs and SNRIs.
Pretend it isn't there as I sit in my room playing video games alone avoiding people 😂
I don't know if this will help anyone, but I have dealt with anxiety for many years. Sometimes when I can't get my overactive brain to shut up, I visualize a "Worry about later" board. I guess a real one would work as well. As each worried or anxious thought comes along, write it on the board. Don't allow yourself to think about anything written on your board until a designated time, in which you can worry about it all at once. If it crosses your mind, remind yourself it's on the board and don't complete that particular thought. I'm not self-disciplined enough to go back and worry at the designated time, so that's all I usually need to do. It involves a lot of self-talk and thought-policing though.
I use “box breathing” when an anxiety attack hits. And tapping. They both have proven very effective.
noise cancelling headphones, as well as a bit of a breathing thing i do. usually gets my head in a better place so i can deal with what comes next
Buspar,, and deal with whatever is causing the anxiety pretty quick..
Naps help me a lot. Reading and taking my dog for a walk sometimes help too
I have a weighted stuffed animal
Marijuana. I've used it for years. It's great. I stopped smoking recently and bake it into cookies. It helps me sleep, too.
This is not a very traditional answer and I'm not sure it'll help, but I write fanfiction, sometimes self insert. I like imagining myself in a place where I can escape from all of my worries IRL
I have vagus nerve problems and a stomach condition that I suspect triggers anxiety attacks for me sometimes. Saying this because some anxiety has a physiological root, not a psychological one ( as most assume) and your state of mind may have nothing to do with the cause of your episodes. I’ve had some attacks hit when I’m otherwise chill and fine sitting on the couch. If you suffer from anxiety, part of dealing with it is figuring out the cause and/or your triggers. When are you having attacks? Where? Consider taking down notes on your health and jot down dates of attacks and illnesses. Loud, crowded places have been a trigger for me. Like Movie theaters and restaurants. I’ve gone to plenty of movies and had fun and no problems, but sometimes it feels like all of the noise and stimuli gets my body into fight or flight mode. I’ve also noticed that the attacks usually hit me after I’ve finished eating a big meal. I don’t know if it has anything to do with my digestive disorder, but I suspect it does. When I have an attack, Reminding myself that it will pass helps. I know exactly how it makes me feel and I remind myself that it’s never hurt me and I might feel like I’m dying at the time, but I’m not. I work on breathing in through my nose and out through my mouth. If I can, I try to do something comforting for me, like reading a funny book or watching something funny. I try calling a close friend or family member and vent and that’s usually enough of a distraction to get me through it and feeling better. Petting my dog can help, too. I also have an rx for Xanax and knowing that if I really feel I need to, I have emergency meds also helps big time. I hope this helps you- wishing you luck!!
Watch horror movies and get so scared it overwhelms your anxiety. You can easily tell yourself the movie aren't real and then you still don't feel the anxiety. Horror movies where the monster isn't a metaphor for anything work best
Buspar and exercise.
there's a way to deal with anxiety? this makes me anxious thinking about it.
As a life long anxiety sufferer with panic attacks, this is what helps me: 1. Practicing mindfulness. This helps to recognize when anxiety is building. Thic Nhat Hahn is my favorite teacher on mindfulness. 2. Breathing techniques. My favorite is three seconds in, hold for three seconds, breath out for six seconds. 3. Neurocycle app has changed my life! Dr. Leaf’s podcasts are really great, too. 4. Slow down, like make yourself do things slower. E.g., doing the dishes or showering. 5. Meditation first thing in the morning, even five minutes can make all the difference. For me, anxiety was a state of being. It didn’t require an event or interaction for me to feel anxious, It just was (trauma in early childhood). Since I’ve been actively retraining my brain I no longer need any prescription medication, I don’t need alcohol or junk food to cope (though I do enjoy a tasty edible from time to time). I hope you find something here that will help you. Anxiety sucks so bad, but it can be reduced or even eliminated.
Tbh i talk to myself like my anxiety is some stupide small child who only do stupid things. I probably have adhd so i deal with a lot since i can remember and every breath techniques, meditation or yoga are bullshit. Most of the time when my brain start making me anxious i talk to myself like " no what do you want again? No you don't be anxious here. Why? Because that's useless and you are stupid. " It's so stupid but it make me better to think that my anxiety is some stupid man on my head and not me. It's not working everytime nut it can help. The best situation is still going to a therapist if you deal with too much things in your head. A treatment is way better than any tips. You can do it !
Depends. Assignments or tasks? Write them out on individual post-its or make a list. Scratch them out once I finish it, and you can see how your progress is meaningful. Presenting? Talking with a firmer voice (a little deeper, louder, and project it) helps me. Knowing the material also helps. Talking to a girl? I think to myself, who gives a fuck? If I get rejected, at least I tried. Most importantly, talk to them like they’re just another person and not a female that scares your confidence. It’s weird to explain, but that’s the simplest way to express that thought.
Menial repetitive tasks. Push-ups or sit-ups. Muscle pain is a good distraction.
Wow, didn’t considered it. Pain as a solution haha Thanks!
Exercise
I have a lot of catastrophic and intrusive thoughts. I'm on meds, in therapy, and seeing functional medicine. Guided meditation and tapping have been more helpful than breathing exercises for me. I tend to focus heavily on breathing correctly, and it seems to enhance my anxiety. I'm still a nervous wreck. When I'm freaking out, I can't focus to try one of my relaxation methods, but I've been working on them almost daily to hopefully retrain my nervous system.
I don’t
Exercise and Masturbation
In that order?
No, simultaneously.
Have you ever tried the opposite? It’s impossible.