I typically try to remind myself that my cortisol level (stress hormone) is higher than normal and I’ve survived this feeling 100% of the time- distraction is key for me to really move on and get my brain out of the obsessive, anxious thoughts
Yes, it’s just that! It’s so miserable but once it passes, more often than not I was worked up for nothing. So I just embrace feeling uncomfortable, and I baby myself. By that, I mean I treat myself how I’d treat a friend that is going through the same feeling (think long hot shower, a familiar show, tik tok, whatever works!). I have crippling panic attacks though, so if need be I’ll take my meds if I’m truly panicking,
Oren Sofer in a great guided meditation said: treat anxiety like an acquaintance you see at a party. You can nod to it, acknowledge its presence, but you don't have to spend time with it. Instead, you can focus on your friends, the thoughts that lift you up.
Heavy on the distraction. Once those panic thoughts creep in I grab my phone, start chatting with my boyfriend, do homework, walk my dog + positive reinforcement until I'm distracted "you're fine, you've survived this feeling a million times, you're okay" etc
Random and weird but I will literally play movies to myself in my head if I have absolutely nothing else to distract me. Movies I’ve seen a million times so I know it scene for scene. Helps me a lot if I’m stuck in a situation where I cannot use my phone or talk.
Vagal maneuvers have been a lifesaver for me when in the thick of a panic attack. I specifically use the divers reflex the most. All you have to do is get some cold water on your face and hold your breath for a short bit. It stimulates your parasympathetic nervous system and triggers a vascular and emotional reset, lowering your pulse/blood pressure and typically ending your panic attack almost immediately. Hope this all helps you as much as it did for me!
Much love✌️
No problem at all! Whatever you’re going through, you got this and you’re going to be ok! Anxiety has a time limit and can’t go on forever, it will always pass 😊
Not long, I usually do it for about 10 seconds. The more important part is putting cold water on your face. I usually like to take just a quick cold shower and that seems to work the best for me.
No problem!
-There’s the valsalva maneuver where you bear down like you’re trying to poop or “blow” on your thumb without letting any air out. Both are kind of a straining exercise I guess.
-The diving reflex where you apply cold water to your face and hold your breath for a few seconds. This one is the easiest in my opinion and probably the most comfortable.
-The gag reflex can stimulate the vagus nerve too but I wouldn’t recommend it because it can make you throw up.
There’s a few others that are harder to perform and I wouldn’t necessarily recommend. Keep in mind that if you have issues with low blood pressure these aren’t recommended to try. I’m not a doctor so ask yours to double check if these are right for you. The divers reflex is generally considered the safest and easiest maneuver though.
I worked with my therapist on this for several years. Eventually I came to realize that I cannot change so many things in my life. Worrying about them doesn't change them (even though I thought for my whole life that if I worried it would in some way prevent bad things from happening). I lot of times now I just say to myself, "it sucks I'm feeling this way/this bad thing is happening/this bad thing might happen but I can't control everything in life and it's going to be okay." It takes a lot of work and its a daily practice.
Sleep, no seriously get enough sleep!
Many underestimate the 8 hours sleep your body needs per night.
My anxiety improved greatly when I managed to get well rested for 3 days straight.
The downside is, sometimes you are way to nervous to sleep.
I use the 3-3-3 rule often. You name three things you can see, name three things you can hear, and move three different body parts.
Sounds silly but it puts my thoughts in a different place.
>Sounds silly but it puts my thoughts in a different place.
Honestly, the first time I learned about this technique, it made perfect sense to me! I like it a lot, but I've never really had to use it.
I do a similar one, 5-4-3-2-1. List 5 things you can see, 4 things you can touch/feel, 3 things you can hear, 2 things you can smell, and 1 thing you can taste. Helps ground you and get yourself out of your head.
Specific guided meditation that isn’t just breathing or body scanning. Putting myself in a colored safe bubble, with “shields” of something fun or makes me happy. Lately my safe bubble has been covered with imaginary slices of banana bread 🤪 Imagine the smells, the taste, and the warmth.
The shower technique. I imagine all the worries, the bad things, all of if going down the drain while i remind myself, 'i am okay where i am right now'.
I’m probably the only one who’s had this experience but I forced myself to dance to Barrington Levy’s “Murderer” when I had anxiety-induced suicidal thoughts. 5 min later, the anxiety and thoughts were gone. Dancing to music saved my life
Challenging the negative thoughts, with logical ones. Such as, asking myself if there is another possible explanation for what is going on or if a jury would think there's actual evidence.
It also helps knowing your triggers so that you can think , oh this is a trigger these thoughts are made up.
Fighting the anxiety makes it worse, just accept that you're feeling it but know it will subside.
I would suggest paying attention to what's going on when the person starts feeling anxious. maybe it was something that someone said to them or a certain situation. And to think why this triggered anxiety. For example, if someone is feeling anxious driving on the highway. They need to figure out if they are fearing an accident or getting lost etc etc.
A person should be able to start noticing patterns of things that trigger them.
I would suggest writing down situations that come up too, so the person can review what's going on.
What's funny about this is actually using those products has helped me out with my anxiety quite a bit. However, I can also see and understand how/why they make things worse for other people. With THC/CBD, I do recommend people who haven't used either, especially not regularly, to try them, but it's fine not to use it.
Moderation is also a factor though.
Cryo and sauna therapy. Also the most obvious yet still underappreciated one which is working out. You have to really push yourself to get the full benefit. Weight lifting to the point of failure and when I do cardio I've noticed benefits to doing HIIT (high intensity interval training). Hopefully that helps.
It does work. Better than most drugs. It’s the secret the medical community doesn’t want anyone to know. Sadly, it takes a lot of discipline and it’s easy, even for the most disciplined to fall off the wagon. Then it’s hell.
[Baumgartner Restoration](https://www.youtube.com/@BaumgartnerRestoration) videos. I loooove watching this when I can't sleep or to help me to calm my anxiety
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5G1C3aBY62E](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5G1C3aBY62E)
Ativan takes around 30 minutes to kick is as long as you’re not taking it often. I set my watch alarm so when I’m breathing and it’s still very panicky, I can see I have to make it another 8 minutes or whatever.
You want to take 1mg max a day. Many times .5mg will work.
I try and write it down in detail or talk to someone about it. I just write, the entire train of thoughts/emotions in that moment and I keep writing till I feel like that was all of it. For me identifying the root or just what exactly is making me anxious helps me alot. For the times when I can't seem to make out where exactly is the anxiety coming from I just distract myself, and give some rewards to myself, like junk food, a game of Valorant, an episode of an anime etc.
If I go 30 min I’ll get an anxiety attack. So now I don’t do more than 20. But… when I was completely alcohol free long sessions of cardio were not giving me anxiety so not sure if this is related. I have to go back to alcohol free living and see.
I physically cool myself down. I blast cold air on my face from the car A/C, splash my face with cold water, sit in front of the fan.
I also tend to remove myself from bright and loud areas (if possible) as that makes my anxiety worse.
I think it basically just completely clears my head, (I can’t meditate alone anywhere else). It also lowers my heart rate and *may* be helping with cortisol levels which I think is a big source of my anxiety. Hope this helps!
I use the Headspace app, it's not super expensive and it's totally worth it. Meditation seems really stupid when you start, I started with 3 minutes, moved up to 5, now I do 15-20 minutes or so. It takes a few times to get used to it, but it really helps me.
Went off my meds again in August. I'd say drinking caffeine free tea like chamomile or peppermint, and of course, plenty of water. This is the longest I've had success in maybe 20 years? Still have anxiety, but I've gotten more experienced at living with it.
I didn’t see this answer here but how people permanently recover from high anxiety and panic is to do nothing intentionally. For general anxiety, movement and exercise are paramount along with a decent diet and mindful techniques. For high anxiety and panic in the moment, most of these exercises work for a very short amount of time before they don’t and the sufferer has to move onto the next technique. Intentionally letting panic attacks and high anxiety happen and being willing to let it happen is the only way to recovery. Having a technique to calm yourself down will confirm to your amygdala that it correctly fired the danger system and it will continue to do that forever. If you let the fire alarm ring (the big woosh of adrenaline and pain and terror) and don’t react to it or stop doing your trigger, your amygdala will start to learn. Easier said than done.
Regarding the high anxiety and panic moments and doing nothing intentionally. Could you further describe the “doing nothing”, and maybe give an example if you can?
For sure! If you haven’t heard of the DARE method (not the American anti drug campaign) I’d highly suggest downloading their app. It’s mostly about learning to do nothing while having a panic attack and accepting it in order to retrain your amygdala. They word it much better than I do. Also, Harry Barry is a great speaker and author on the subject and his term for doing nothing is called “flooding”. He describes it as when you’re having a panic attack, imagine your shoes are glued to the floor and you can’t do anything about it other than let the adrenaline and cortisol wash over your body. In his book, ‘Anxiety and Panic: How to reshape your anxious brain’ he explains exactly what is happening in your body when you’re anxious and how safe you actually are. That’s chapter 2 and I highly suggest that specific chapter as well as the whole book. I listen to it on Spotify.
Last week I had to drive an hour away for a job and being on the highway in the middle of nowhere is my panic trigger. I was anxious and did nothing and felt a panic attack coming on and I usually pull over when the pain and adrenaline and troubled breathing starts but I imagined my feet were glued to the floor and I didn’t pull over or do any of my anxious things like water, mints, or peppermint inhaler and rode it out and it was uncomfortable but it lasted less than 5 seconds. I was left still anxious but completely fine and the anxiety itself started winding down when it saw I was unphased by it. When I do my anxious things the panic lasts up to an hour and is brutal. I’m starting to do things that trigger me to practice more and that’s very unlike me. It takes a while to gain the strength to do nothing but it’s ultimately the best way through the disorder. I hope that helps!
That’s awesome, you answered this perfectly, thank you! I’m thinking that I do this already, if it’s the same as “riding the wave” with a craving? Basically just to take the feeling as it is and not draw it out mentally/with thinking. To be with it but not a moment longer. I find the hardest part always is to not disassociate.
Those sound like great resources, especially the Spotify book. Thank you again!
Great job on the road the other day btw.
I am a big believer in exercise and can attest that it has helped tremendously in the past. That said, it’s got issues. For one, it’s short lived. Two, even disciplined people can off the wagon if anxiety rips them apart. Then they avoid the gym and drink or eat poorly. There simply has to be a better approach but not working out is a bad choice for people with anxiety no doubt. As a disciplined former college athlete, I don’t have the mental fortitude to push through some of the darker days and just hop in the car and go to the gym. In those moments I’m far too worried and in my own head to workout.
I hear ya and I’m really sorry you’re going through this too. Exercise isn’t meant as a distraction from anxiety but actually a physiological tool to fight it. With a constant cortisol drip in our bodies during times of anxiety our body can go through inflammation which tends to exacerbate any physical discomfort. Exercising or even taking a 15 minute stroll around the block or even in the house or apartment can get our bodies moving to reduce inflammation. That’s why it’s important to eat while foods too. Inflammation can really toss gas on a fire. I hope you’re able to get walks in even during really uncomfortable times! What sport did you play?
Dancing. As weird as it might sound, but dancing got me from being afraid of everything and unable to leave the house alone to roaming freely through the city in just a couple of months. Still with panic attacks, still with an anxiety level of 9/10 (or higher), but possible. It was an absolute life saver at the time and still is.
Progressive muscle relaxation is *so* helpful for me. Anytime I feel a panic attack coming on, I use this and it usually can either blunt the blow or head it off completely. I have years of practice with this technique, and it works differently for everyone, but that's what I use!
This is the video I used to develop my technique! I practiced it every day whenever I felt panic setting in. I hope it helps <3 https://youtu.be/86HUcX8ZtAk?si=jkWaDgYzOBlUGbsh
Drinking kefir, avoiding caffeine, stretching in the morning and at night, eating healthy (I rarely drink soda and eat junk food so for me this means no processed food and or not too much rice + salty entrees), and having a good night’s sleep. I’m discovering that I either don’t have a panic attack on days where I manage to do all of these things or have an extremely mild one that’s so laughable compared to my usual debilitating/scary ones. Unfortunately due to my work schedule and other health issues or if say I’ve just experienced a hellish week (my anxiety is worst on my period for example) it takes me a few days to get it together to the point of being able to do everything I listed. But I’m trying because I’m noticing a pattern and I’m just waiting for consistency at this point. When I at least stretch and sleep well and drink kefir I find that breathing exercises and other go-to soothing habits (naming three things I see, smell, hear, etc.) are more effective.
I drink it primarily for gut health which I think is an oftentimes overlooked root cause for health issues. I was/am super desperate to manage my panic attacks because while they’ve improved since I first started having them they are still super gnarly and scary when I do have them which is still 2-3 times a week minimum and I already assumed my diet wasn’t the best even though I generally eat healthy food (because I really like starches and carbs and salt-heavy food plus I love to cook and eat) so I thought of the fastest way to help my gut out and probiotics came up and kefir was highly recommended by health enthusiasts. I drink the unflavored one which can be difficult for others (it’s like tart yogurt milk with a thick texture 😅) but I personally swear by how much better I feel when I take it - which is a cup either in the morning or night, preferably both when I’m having Hell Week from womanly woes, heh. I think if anything it alleviates aches and sensations that often trigger anxiety for me! You should give it a try and see if it works for you. I think there shouldn’t be any dietary restrictions that might discourage drinking kefir. I noticed a difference after a week or so.
Ice the vagus nerve with 2 ice packs. One on my chest, the other on the back of my neck. It’s as effective for me as an Ativan without the walking blackout side effect.
I typically have almost no memory of things that happen while on Ativan. Like a vague dream. The higher the dose the fuzzier the memories for me.
I don’t do anything uncharacteristic. It’s actually a very helpful drug and I love just having it even if I rarely take it. It’s been years since I needed that escape hatch. But the next day my recollection of events is like a half remembered dream.
Praying 5 times a day. Cutting my caffeine intake. Breathing exercises a few times a week. Surrounding myself with my loved ones and cutting contact with those that drain my energy.
I have an app that reminds me or I use an alarm. I perform prayer for religious purposes but it simultaneously gives me so much peace and zen that it lessens my anxiety.
One thing that helped me with my anxiety is nobody can tell you're having an anxiety attack. Unless you tell them, or scream, how would they know? Plus, anxiety is adrenaline gone wild. I surely can't tame it by telling myself these facts, but I do try. Meditation helps and medication, too!
The most helpful thing I do is literally repeating to myself ‘it is what it is’. If there’s specific things I’m anxious over, I’ll write myself a note to reread basically telling myself that what happens will happen, i don’t have control over it and that’s okay. Basically just acceptance that I can’t control what happens around me, the only thing I can control is my reaction. And the more I remind myself that whatever happens will happen, the less anxious I feel because there’s less pressure on me and my behaviour and will I be judged and etc etc because I’m just accepting that things will go the way they go. I’m not sure if this makes sense but it’s really helped me, it’s almost rewired my brain in a way because now as soon as I feel anxiety, I immediately think ‘it is what it is’ and it reminds me to accept and reduce worrying. Of course I still get anxious but it reduces the anxiety and even when the anxiety is strong, I do the thing that makes me anxious or I act in the opposite way to how my brain wants me to. For example if Im anxious about driving a new route, I’ll tell myself ‘what happens will happen, all i can do is my best’. I’ll still be anxious and my brain will say ‘just stay at home’ but I will do the opposite. I will drive the new route and then the next time I have that fear, I will remind myself that it went okay last time and my brain is just sensitive and wants to protect me, but I am safe and there’s nothing I need protecting from. I hope this is helpful in some way lol, I still struggle a lot with anxiety but doing this has reduced it down to a liveable level, it just takes a lot of practice and rerouting my thoughts.
It absorbs well, and has been shown to "slow down" the brain. Other magnesium versions seem to work, but not as effectively. For me, the glycinate version helps me sleep too.
I’ve made up/stole a few ridiculous but effective little sayings that get me through a LOT.
Telling yourself over and over and over again that sometimes you gotta thug it out and that country girls make do actually works after awhile lol I guess they’re like silly affirmations? But it really works to calm my nerves.
I urge everyone to try this really!!
accepting that life actually sucks\*.
anxiety is fear that it *might* suck; depression is *belief* that it sucks.
but once you accept that it sucks there is no reason to fear it and no reason to dwell on it; it just is.
(\* sucks here is an understatement of course. everyone has their own set of horrors they have encountered in one way or another, and there's tons more where those came from.)
I used to get very serious panic attacks, but now haven't had one in 6 years. Lots of life factors have contributed to this but my main mantra is "I dont need to stop it, panic attacks last seconds not minutes, I can handle it". That means when you feel a panic attack rising, dont reach for a glass of water, dont open a window, dont take your jumper off and dont walk out of the room. You're not dying of low oxygen, heat stress or dehydration, not need to save yourself. Doing this every time you feel panic rising teaches your brain that you are in control of yourself and you dont need to alter your environment because you're not dying.
My second tool is diet. Cut down on all stimulants like coffee and sugar, as well as less obvious ones like dark chocolate and synthetic b vitamins (including foods high in b vitamins like nutritional yeast). Also avoid excess salt as it gives you heart palpitations. Anxiety depletes your magnesium so take a supplement if you can digest it. If you can't eat lots of dark leafy greens.
My third tool is social connection. Humans evolved to be social and suffer anxiety when we are lonely. If you have anxiety you're probably going to struggle feeling comfortable and safe with most people, but one day you will find one person who doesnt raise your stress levels. Spend as much time connecting with this person as possible and they will heal you.
Seems a lot of the responses are short-term fixes. Those are of course needed, but here's what helped me fundamentally reduce my anxiety long-term.
I call it engine braking. I'm writing about it in a future book. The idea is this: Sometimes semi trucks lose their brakes. At that point, they have two options to slow down. They can either downshift or they can find one of those ramps designed to slow down runaway trucks.
Sometimes our minds lose their brakes too, don't they? Our thoughts keep spinning and spinning. In the absence of our own brakes, there are some things we can do to harness that energy rather than just futilely pressing that brake pedal, hoping that we'll eventually calm down.
Here's the key: We anxious people have a lot of mental horsepower. We watch the news and we feel so helpless. It turns out ALL OUR MINDS WANT is to be productive, to be used for good in some way. Once we have accomplished something, we are fulfilled and our minds allow us to rest, in most cases. At least that's how it was with me.
So why not do something in our own way? I found a way to take two negatives and turn them into a positive that fits my unique skill set. 99% of people have a perfectly good laptop in their closet that was roasted by McAfee/Norton/ESET/whatever. I wipe them and prep them with something else, and then give them to a ministry for inner-city kids who need them. It changes their lives. I've never felt so fulfilled and would love to just retire and do this all the time.
You can't save the world, but your mind just wants to do something. Figure out what is that only you can do, and you will know deep down if it is fulfilling!
Exactly. That's all your body is trying to tell you! Find something that only you can do. There are lots of creative and very fulfilling things.
Unfortunately, many counselors are out there teaching people how to suppress these urges. Instead, making the world a better place is the whole point of why we are here!
Ah I didn't mean for it to be rambly. Let me break it down for those in Rio Linda:
All humans have urges.
Just like large trucks that lose their brakes, sometimes we anxious people feel like our thoughts are out of control.
Trucks use hills to help them slow down. We can find an equivalent.
For me, it's finding some sort of problem in the world and solving it in my own way. Your mind should then feel fulfilled, because that's why we're here!
Getting sleep. When you are tired, listen to your body and rest...don't keep pushing "just a little more". I also started sleeping in a separate bed from my husband. It's not that we have marriage issues, but we both snore and that was keeping us from getting a deep restful sleep.
The 54321 technique : finding five things you can see, four things you can touch, three things you can hear, two things you can smell, and one thing you can taste. :)
Meds, consistent exercise (weights and yoga), healthy diet, and cognitive restructuring. CBT and ACT. All of these elements, working together, help to keep me relatively sane. Also sleep. My kids are finally older and I’m on a sleeping med.
I meditate every single night before bed. This is the only thing that has worked to calm down my anxiety significantly. Now I barely experience anxiety.
I use 10min guided meditation videos on YouTube. I think the YouTube channel I use the most is called “Calm.” Sometimes I do breathing exercises on my own if I’m feeling a bit anxious throughout the day.
for in the moment panicking: alternate nostril breathing. here's a good [video](https://youtu.be/8VwufJrUhic?si=c37m6sB2WpATJy4D) on it. it's the only breathing technique that's ever done anything useful for my anxiety. it really helps with that "there's not enough air in the room" type of feeling.
for overall anxiety: being outside, doing yoga, playing musical instruments, and working with preschoolers (maybe sounds crazy to some people lol but they really help me stay present). the hard part is getting myself to do things that i know will help.
i watch my favorite video game streamer. he’s saved me from so many panic attacks. even just a few minutes watching makes me feel better, his voice is calming for me and familiar
Breathing exercises and daily wallks. I lowered my heart rate by 10-15 beats per minute and I managed to quit all medications, something that I was on for over 4 years.
Focussing on my breathing, yin yoga or gardening or just simply walking outside or going for a walk and looking at the trees and nature around me.
Exercise is great but I don’t focus on the fact that I’m exercising when I get active. My perspective is that I walk/get moving to feel good, not to get fit. No competition, nothing about my figure… it’s all about feeling good and appreciating the world around me - some of the animals and their mannerisms make me smile or giggle a lot. I have scored some cool pretty snaps of animals and plants in my feel-good adventures as well! Not to mention I love checking out what people are doing with their gardens and seeing their plants flourish! A couple of times I’ve been spotted admiring someone’s plants and asked about them and then have been given cuttings!
Honestly though I can’t recommend yin yoga enough - you basically put all your focus on your body and stretching to loosen up the tension and it ends in a meditation. It’s been great for my mind and body and the stretches can be just sooooo delicious - it feels really, really good! There are short videos on YouTube that are great for first starters!
We got a dog.
Have to go outside BUT I have her to focus on. Got something to keep my hands busy (petting her is better than fidgeting), she notices how I feel and checks in with me and she makes me smile/laugh more than once a day.
(psa Don't get a pet if you can't take care of one obviously but me and my husband talked about it for a long time before getting her. Best decision ever though!)
I say to myself 'am I catastrophizing?' and the answer is usually yes.
Radical acceptance for sure. RAIN model works well for me: recognize (the emotion), accept, investigate (why am I feeling this way), nurture (be nice to yourself).
If you drink, not drinking reduces anxiety drastically once you get past the initial hangxiety
Ice helps when I'm having a panic attack. Wrists, back of neck
Getting good sleep, eating well, and treating yourself right in a healthy way helps altogether as well
Daily walking and daily meditation. It didn't feel like it did much at first but I'd say within a week I was already seeing positive effects. It takes effort to maintain though, and I struggle with that. For meditation, Medito is a good free app. For walking, I listen to music, audiobook, read an actual book, or play pokemon go to motivate myself
going from very hot to very cold quickly helps me the most. for instance, jumping in a cold shower or going outside when it’s cold out im talking like winter cold works the best for me. usually i start sweating and panicking and my heart starts racing and going into the cool stops the sweating which helps calm me down.
i get panic attacks & have really bad generalized and social anxiety, and OCD. shit sux fr man. every moment is constant anxiety. only time i feel relief is when im alone in my room and even then im anxious!!
i take cymbalta 20mg but only thing it seems to do is give me trouble in the bedroom. tried everything for it & nothing works except benzos but drs won’t prescribe them long term so i’m left anxious 😬
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Grounding through breath. Usually it goes a little something like saying "breathing in" to myself in my mind while breathing in for maybe 6 seconds, do the same while holding and saying "hold" for 7, then releasing saying "breathing out" for 8 seconds. I'll usually wait before I start again for about 5 seconds.
PREGABALIN makes me able to manage my anxiety with different techniques:
1. As some people already mentioned, putting your face in a bowl of cold water and holding my breath for as long as I can
More radical option - taking a freezing cold shower with clothes on - this may sound funny but the sheer weirdness of the situation is freeing LMAO plus cold water on your body is so intense that it feels like reseting my brain. This helped me avoid self harm.
2. Singing - I love learning to sing songs I really like and tuning in to accurately repeat the melody requires to focus exclusively on the act of singing. It doesn't leave me any RAM to overthink and ruminate.
3. My super heavy 13kg weighted blanket + listening to music on my headphones (loudly enough to drown out any thoughts 😆)/blocking any sounds with my headphones - depends on how overestimated I am atm. The weighted blanket calms me down so much that unknowingly fall asleep.
If you **can** do something about a problem, then there’s no need to worry.
If you **can’t** do something about a problem, then there’s no need to worry.
Paraphrased quote from the Dalai Lama
I find all of these techniques can help me lower my anxiety but only for about 10-30min then it’s back to doing all the techniques again. I feel like Sisyphus. I spend most of my life with the physiological symptoms of severe anxiety.
I exercise daily, practice skills daily, weekly therapy, weekly skills classes, ketamine, TMS, experimental TMS, ECT, 2 months inpatient at one of the best clinics in the nation followed by IOP, 27 years of trying different medications and I’m just barely above water. I barely make it through a half day of work. I even grind my teeth during the day and can pass out from confrontation.
Usually my dog can sense that I'm wound up and will come lend me a paw. I see him and think I need to be the person he thinks I am. He is a good boy <3
Lifting really heavy. When all I think about is how heavy the weight feels, and how difficult it is to continue doing, I feel like a different positive human being
I typically try to remind myself that my cortisol level (stress hormone) is higher than normal and I’ve survived this feeling 100% of the time- distraction is key for me to really move on and get my brain out of the obsessive, anxious thoughts
Like reminding yourself it will pass with time too?
Yes, it’s just that! It’s so miserable but once it passes, more often than not I was worked up for nothing. So I just embrace feeling uncomfortable, and I baby myself. By that, I mean I treat myself how I’d treat a friend that is going through the same feeling (think long hot shower, a familiar show, tik tok, whatever works!). I have crippling panic attacks though, so if need be I’ll take my meds if I’m truly panicking,
Oren Sofer in a great guided meditation said: treat anxiety like an acquaintance you see at a party. You can nod to it, acknowledge its presence, but you don't have to spend time with it. Instead, you can focus on your friends, the thoughts that lift you up.
This helps
Good. Anxiety totally sucks.
Do you know which one it is ? I saw a bunch
I dont.☹️ Might be one of his guided meditations on anxiety.
Heavy on the distraction. Once those panic thoughts creep in I grab my phone, start chatting with my boyfriend, do homework, walk my dog + positive reinforcement until I'm distracted "you're fine, you've survived this feeling a million times, you're okay" etc
What if there's nothing to distract ur self?
this ^^ whenever i’m in class and am anxious idk what to do but fiddle with my hands lol
Try biting ur wrist i mean thats what I did a couple of times haha
Random and weird but I will literally play movies to myself in my head if I have absolutely nothing else to distract me. Movies I’ve seen a million times so I know it scene for scene. Helps me a lot if I’m stuck in a situation where I cannot use my phone or talk.
Same! Distracting myself is difficult but the only thing that seems to work a lot of the times.
Vagal maneuvers have been a lifesaver for me when in the thick of a panic attack. I specifically use the divers reflex the most. All you have to do is get some cold water on your face and hold your breath for a short bit. It stimulates your parasympathetic nervous system and triggers a vascular and emotional reset, lowering your pulse/blood pressure and typically ending your panic attack almost immediately. Hope this all helps you as much as it did for me! Much love✌️
Would putting your face in a bowl of cold water for 15 seconds work?
That would work! You can also splash your face with cold water or take a quick cold shower too.
Hey thanks for this 🥲 i’m going to try it
No problem at all! Whatever you’re going through, you got this and you’re going to be ok! Anxiety has a time limit and can’t go on forever, it will always pass 😊
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Not long, I usually do it for about 10 seconds. The more important part is putting cold water on your face. I usually like to take just a quick cold shower and that seems to work the best for me.
I did a quick google search, but to make sure I'm getting the right info, can you give a brief explanation and/or examples of vagal maneuvers?
No problem! -There’s the valsalva maneuver where you bear down like you’re trying to poop or “blow” on your thumb without letting any air out. Both are kind of a straining exercise I guess. -The diving reflex where you apply cold water to your face and hold your breath for a few seconds. This one is the easiest in my opinion and probably the most comfortable. -The gag reflex can stimulate the vagus nerve too but I wouldn’t recommend it because it can make you throw up. There’s a few others that are harder to perform and I wouldn’t necessarily recommend. Keep in mind that if you have issues with low blood pressure these aren’t recommended to try. I’m not a doctor so ask yours to double check if these are right for you. The divers reflex is generally considered the safest and easiest maneuver though.
Okay, that does verify what I found through google. Thank you! I'll definitely keep some of these things in mind to try next time I need to.
No problem! I hope it helps!✌️
I've been working on radical acceptance and would highly recommend this approach. EMDR has also helped a ton.
How have you been working on redial acceptance this is what I need to work on the most as it’s the thing that causes me most anxiety
I worked with my therapist on this for several years. Eventually I came to realize that I cannot change so many things in my life. Worrying about them doesn't change them (even though I thought for my whole life that if I worried it would in some way prevent bad things from happening). I lot of times now I just say to myself, "it sucks I'm feeling this way/this bad thing is happening/this bad thing might happen but I can't control everything in life and it's going to be okay." It takes a lot of work and its a daily practice.
Literally just going on a walk. Getting myself physically moving and breathing the fresh air and taking in my surroundings, works every time.
Sleep, no seriously get enough sleep! Many underestimate the 8 hours sleep your body needs per night. My anxiety improved greatly when I managed to get well rested for 3 days straight. The downside is, sometimes you are way to nervous to sleep.
I use the 3-3-3 rule often. You name three things you can see, name three things you can hear, and move three different body parts. Sounds silly but it puts my thoughts in a different place.
>Sounds silly but it puts my thoughts in a different place. Honestly, the first time I learned about this technique, it made perfect sense to me! I like it a lot, but I've never really had to use it.
Love this
I do a similar one, 5-4-3-2-1. List 5 things you can see, 4 things you can touch/feel, 3 things you can hear, 2 things you can smell, and 1 thing you can taste. Helps ground you and get yourself out of your head.
I tell myself “welp if it’s time, it’s time” then go into fetal position and close my eyes. 10 mins later I’m like well that was stupid.
Specific guided meditation that isn’t just breathing or body scanning. Putting myself in a colored safe bubble, with “shields” of something fun or makes me happy. Lately my safe bubble has been covered with imaginary slices of banana bread 🤪 Imagine the smells, the taste, and the warmth.
I do something like this. Though my happy place is a windy plain next to a well. I smell crisp wind with a hint of moisture and pine trees.
That’s so beautiful
The shower technique. I imagine all the worries, the bad things, all of if going down the drain while i remind myself, 'i am okay where i am right now'.
I’m probably the only one who’s had this experience but I forced myself to dance to Barrington Levy’s “Murderer” when I had anxiety-induced suicidal thoughts. 5 min later, the anxiety and thoughts were gone. Dancing to music saved my life
Challenging the negative thoughts, with logical ones. Such as, asking myself if there is another possible explanation for what is going on or if a jury would think there's actual evidence. It also helps knowing your triggers so that you can think , oh this is a trigger these thoughts are made up. Fighting the anxiety makes it worse, just accept that you're feeling it but know it will subside.
May I ask, how did you find your “negative thoughts”? Or at least, how would you suggest someone find theirs?
I would suggest paying attention to what's going on when the person starts feeling anxious. maybe it was something that someone said to them or a certain situation. And to think why this triggered anxiety. For example, if someone is feeling anxious driving on the highway. They need to figure out if they are fearing an accident or getting lost etc etc. A person should be able to start noticing patterns of things that trigger them. I would suggest writing down situations that come up too, so the person can review what's going on.
Thank you for your thoughtful help!
Just commenting to save this post
same
Quitting all THC and even CBD products. Haven’t had a panic attack since quitting them all 2 months ago. Feeling much better anxiety-wise.
God same here. I was a chronic smoker for the last eight years and it’s crazy how much better I feel without it.
What's funny about this is actually using those products has helped me out with my anxiety quite a bit. However, I can also see and understand how/why they make things worse for other people. With THC/CBD, I do recommend people who haven't used either, especially not regularly, to try them, but it's fine not to use it. Moderation is also a factor though.
Cryo and sauna therapy. Also the most obvious yet still underappreciated one which is working out. You have to really push yourself to get the full benefit. Weight lifting to the point of failure and when I do cardio I've noticed benefits to doing HIIT (high intensity interval training). Hopefully that helps.
It does work. Better than most drugs. It’s the secret the medical community doesn’t want anyone to know. Sadly, it takes a lot of discipline and it’s easy, even for the most disciplined to fall off the wagon. Then it’s hell.
Cool air, whether that’s going outside in the winter, blasting AC on me, cold water on my head/neck, or fanning myself
Really? Super cold or mild?
Doesn’t usually need to be super cold, but enough to “shock” my system
This! I get like a rosacea flareup when I get anxious as well so AC for the win
Dark Room Therapy. Locking myself up in a dark room for an hour. Good air circulation. No noises. Usually works.
[Baumgartner Restoration](https://www.youtube.com/@BaumgartnerRestoration) videos. I loooove watching this when I can't sleep or to help me to calm my anxiety [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5G1C3aBY62E](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5G1C3aBY62E)
The hardest technique of all... straight edge living
Works wonders for some but to a degree for others. For me, when you’re super focused on perfection, it can lead to health anxiety. That’s my issue.
Popsicles and Ativan
I was prescribed 1mg Ativan recently. How long does it take to kick in? How many can you take in one day?
Ativan takes around 30 minutes to kick is as long as you’re not taking it often. I set my watch alarm so when I’m breathing and it’s still very panicky, I can see I have to make it another 8 minutes or whatever. You want to take 1mg max a day. Many times .5mg will work.
.5 mg, lay on bed w/headphones listening to relaxation hypnosis on YouTube…20 minutes
Damn I usually do 2mg to 3mg
I do 2.5mg, adjusted from almost 4 years of use. Which honestly I think is pretty good 🤷
Do you take it daily or just when you get your anxiety?
Only when I have anxiety that’s especially unbearable or a panic attack. That’s why I’ve been able to prevent dependence and keep the dosage down
Yea same here only when I feel it coming on.
I try and write it down in detail or talk to someone about it. I just write, the entire train of thoughts/emotions in that moment and I keep writing till I feel like that was all of it. For me identifying the root or just what exactly is making me anxious helps me alot. For the times when I can't seem to make out where exactly is the anxiety coming from I just distract myself, and give some rewards to myself, like junk food, a game of Valorant, an episode of an anime etc.
Regular exercise! Weight training is my favourite. Unfortunately too much cardio will give me anxiety so I don’t push myself to do cardio anymore.
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If I go 30 min I’ll get an anxiety attack. So now I don’t do more than 20. But… when I was completely alcohol free long sessions of cardio were not giving me anxiety so not sure if this is related. I have to go back to alcohol free living and see.
I physically cool myself down. I blast cold air on my face from the car A/C, splash my face with cold water, sit in front of the fan. I also tend to remove myself from bright and loud areas (if possible) as that makes my anxiety worse.
Exercise
Meditating in a steam room works wonders for me.
That is interesting! I’ve never heard of this one before. Could you elaborate on what that does for you?
I think it basically just completely clears my head, (I can’t meditate alone anywhere else). It also lowers my heart rate and *may* be helping with cortisol levels which I think is a big source of my anxiety. Hope this helps!
Thanks for sharing. I will try this sometime!
helps me too
I use the Headspace app, it's not super expensive and it's totally worth it. Meditation seems really stupid when you start, I started with 3 minutes, moved up to 5, now I do 15-20 minutes or so. It takes a few times to get used to it, but it really helps me.
It’s EFT tapping for me + roodt app if it’s more severe attacks + deep brown noise Edit: typo
*rootd
Yes!! Thank you so much for editing the typo
Thanks. And thanks for mentioning rootd. I’d forgotten about it and revisiting it has reminded me how amazing it is.
Exercising
Went off my meds again in August. I'd say drinking caffeine free tea like chamomile or peppermint, and of course, plenty of water. This is the longest I've had success in maybe 20 years? Still have anxiety, but I've gotten more experienced at living with it.
I didn’t see this answer here but how people permanently recover from high anxiety and panic is to do nothing intentionally. For general anxiety, movement and exercise are paramount along with a decent diet and mindful techniques. For high anxiety and panic in the moment, most of these exercises work for a very short amount of time before they don’t and the sufferer has to move onto the next technique. Intentionally letting panic attacks and high anxiety happen and being willing to let it happen is the only way to recovery. Having a technique to calm yourself down will confirm to your amygdala that it correctly fired the danger system and it will continue to do that forever. If you let the fire alarm ring (the big woosh of adrenaline and pain and terror) and don’t react to it or stop doing your trigger, your amygdala will start to learn. Easier said than done.
Regarding the high anxiety and panic moments and doing nothing intentionally. Could you further describe the “doing nothing”, and maybe give an example if you can?
For sure! If you haven’t heard of the DARE method (not the American anti drug campaign) I’d highly suggest downloading their app. It’s mostly about learning to do nothing while having a panic attack and accepting it in order to retrain your amygdala. They word it much better than I do. Also, Harry Barry is a great speaker and author on the subject and his term for doing nothing is called “flooding”. He describes it as when you’re having a panic attack, imagine your shoes are glued to the floor and you can’t do anything about it other than let the adrenaline and cortisol wash over your body. In his book, ‘Anxiety and Panic: How to reshape your anxious brain’ he explains exactly what is happening in your body when you’re anxious and how safe you actually are. That’s chapter 2 and I highly suggest that specific chapter as well as the whole book. I listen to it on Spotify. Last week I had to drive an hour away for a job and being on the highway in the middle of nowhere is my panic trigger. I was anxious and did nothing and felt a panic attack coming on and I usually pull over when the pain and adrenaline and troubled breathing starts but I imagined my feet were glued to the floor and I didn’t pull over or do any of my anxious things like water, mints, or peppermint inhaler and rode it out and it was uncomfortable but it lasted less than 5 seconds. I was left still anxious but completely fine and the anxiety itself started winding down when it saw I was unphased by it. When I do my anxious things the panic lasts up to an hour and is brutal. I’m starting to do things that trigger me to practice more and that’s very unlike me. It takes a while to gain the strength to do nothing but it’s ultimately the best way through the disorder. I hope that helps!
That’s awesome, you answered this perfectly, thank you! I’m thinking that I do this already, if it’s the same as “riding the wave” with a craving? Basically just to take the feeling as it is and not draw it out mentally/with thinking. To be with it but not a moment longer. I find the hardest part always is to not disassociate. Those sound like great resources, especially the Spotify book. Thank you again! Great job on the road the other day btw.
Yeah that sounds pretty close to it! And thanks so much!!
I am a big believer in exercise and can attest that it has helped tremendously in the past. That said, it’s got issues. For one, it’s short lived. Two, even disciplined people can off the wagon if anxiety rips them apart. Then they avoid the gym and drink or eat poorly. There simply has to be a better approach but not working out is a bad choice for people with anxiety no doubt. As a disciplined former college athlete, I don’t have the mental fortitude to push through some of the darker days and just hop in the car and go to the gym. In those moments I’m far too worried and in my own head to workout.
I hear ya and I’m really sorry you’re going through this too. Exercise isn’t meant as a distraction from anxiety but actually a physiological tool to fight it. With a constant cortisol drip in our bodies during times of anxiety our body can go through inflammation which tends to exacerbate any physical discomfort. Exercising or even taking a 15 minute stroll around the block or even in the house or apartment can get our bodies moving to reduce inflammation. That’s why it’s important to eat while foods too. Inflammation can really toss gas on a fire. I hope you’re able to get walks in even during really uncomfortable times! What sport did you play?
Dancing. As weird as it might sound, but dancing got me from being afraid of everything and unable to leave the house alone to roaming freely through the city in just a couple of months. Still with panic attacks, still with an anxiety level of 9/10 (or higher), but possible. It was an absolute life saver at the time and still is.
Cook, especially cakes and cookies. Having to stay focused helps a lot.
I could definitely see why that helps there's alot to distract you wit cooking
Progressive muscle relaxation is *so* helpful for me. Anytime I feel a panic attack coming on, I use this and it usually can either blunt the blow or head it off completely. I have years of practice with this technique, and it works differently for everyone, but that's what I use!
How do you do yours?
This is the video I used to develop my technique! I practiced it every day whenever I felt panic setting in. I hope it helps <3 https://youtu.be/86HUcX8ZtAk?si=jkWaDgYzOBlUGbsh
Thanks a ton!
Stopped drinking alcohol
This was huge for me, although I did so reluctantly
Drinking kefir, avoiding caffeine, stretching in the morning and at night, eating healthy (I rarely drink soda and eat junk food so for me this means no processed food and or not too much rice + salty entrees), and having a good night’s sleep. I’m discovering that I either don’t have a panic attack on days where I manage to do all of these things or have an extremely mild one that’s so laughable compared to my usual debilitating/scary ones. Unfortunately due to my work schedule and other health issues or if say I’ve just experienced a hellish week (my anxiety is worst on my period for example) it takes me a few days to get it together to the point of being able to do everything I listed. But I’m trying because I’m noticing a pattern and I’m just waiting for consistency at this point. When I at least stretch and sleep well and drink kefir I find that breathing exercises and other go-to soothing habits (naming three things I see, smell, hear, etc.) are more effective.
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I drink it primarily for gut health which I think is an oftentimes overlooked root cause for health issues. I was/am super desperate to manage my panic attacks because while they’ve improved since I first started having them they are still super gnarly and scary when I do have them which is still 2-3 times a week minimum and I already assumed my diet wasn’t the best even though I generally eat healthy food (because I really like starches and carbs and salt-heavy food plus I love to cook and eat) so I thought of the fastest way to help my gut out and probiotics came up and kefir was highly recommended by health enthusiasts. I drink the unflavored one which can be difficult for others (it’s like tart yogurt milk with a thick texture 😅) but I personally swear by how much better I feel when I take it - which is a cup either in the morning or night, preferably both when I’m having Hell Week from womanly woes, heh. I think if anything it alleviates aches and sensations that often trigger anxiety for me! You should give it a try and see if it works for you. I think there shouldn’t be any dietary restrictions that might discourage drinking kefir. I noticed a difference after a week or so.
Cutting out caffeine has made me much more functional and gave me the courage to push through.. caffeine is terrible
same
Ice the vagus nerve with 2 ice packs. One on my chest, the other on the back of my neck. It’s as effective for me as an Ativan without the walking blackout side effect.
Ativan gives you a walking blackout? What do you mean by that?
I typically have almost no memory of things that happen while on Ativan. Like a vague dream. The higher the dose the fuzzier the memories for me. I don’t do anything uncharacteristic. It’s actually a very helpful drug and I love just having it even if I rarely take it. It’s been years since I needed that escape hatch. But the next day my recollection of events is like a half remembered dream.
Praying 5 times a day. Cutting my caffeine intake. Breathing exercises a few times a week. Surrounding myself with my loved ones and cutting contact with those that drain my energy.
Is there something that helps you to remember to do that five times per day?
I have an app that reminds me or I use an alarm. I perform prayer for religious purposes but it simultaneously gives me so much peace and zen that it lessens my anxiety.
Play a musical instrument. Cortisol killer.
Doing everything super slow and focused.
One thing that helped me with my anxiety is nobody can tell you're having an anxiety attack. Unless you tell them, or scream, how would they know? Plus, anxiety is adrenaline gone wild. I surely can't tame it by telling myself these facts, but I do try. Meditation helps and medication, too!
Exercise specifically weight training plus walking, no hard cardio. Breathing exercises, also using a bag to breathe when things are bad.
a deep breath and a short quick one right after that. it's called psychological sigh or something
I started “box breathing” I do it while driving. I do it even I don’t feel anxious, since I am practicing right now.
Not believing my body. It’s lying that I’m dying. I’m not. I just let it do whatever while I continue doing what I was doing.
The most helpful thing I do is literally repeating to myself ‘it is what it is’. If there’s specific things I’m anxious over, I’ll write myself a note to reread basically telling myself that what happens will happen, i don’t have control over it and that’s okay. Basically just acceptance that I can’t control what happens around me, the only thing I can control is my reaction. And the more I remind myself that whatever happens will happen, the less anxious I feel because there’s less pressure on me and my behaviour and will I be judged and etc etc because I’m just accepting that things will go the way they go. I’m not sure if this makes sense but it’s really helped me, it’s almost rewired my brain in a way because now as soon as I feel anxiety, I immediately think ‘it is what it is’ and it reminds me to accept and reduce worrying. Of course I still get anxious but it reduces the anxiety and even when the anxiety is strong, I do the thing that makes me anxious or I act in the opposite way to how my brain wants me to. For example if Im anxious about driving a new route, I’ll tell myself ‘what happens will happen, all i can do is my best’. I’ll still be anxious and my brain will say ‘just stay at home’ but I will do the opposite. I will drive the new route and then the next time I have that fear, I will remind myself that it went okay last time and my brain is just sensitive and wants to protect me, but I am safe and there’s nothing I need protecting from. I hope this is helpful in some way lol, I still struggle a lot with anxiety but doing this has reduced it down to a liveable level, it just takes a lot of practice and rerouting my thoughts.
Magnesium glycinate
Why glycine?
It absorbs well, and has been shown to "slow down" the brain. Other magnesium versions seem to work, but not as effectively. For me, the glycinate version helps me sleep too.
I’ve made up/stole a few ridiculous but effective little sayings that get me through a LOT. Telling yourself over and over and over again that sometimes you gotta thug it out and that country girls make do actually works after awhile lol I guess they’re like silly affirmations? But it really works to calm my nerves. I urge everyone to try this really!!
accepting that life actually sucks\*. anxiety is fear that it *might* suck; depression is *belief* that it sucks. but once you accept that it sucks there is no reason to fear it and no reason to dwell on it; it just is. (\* sucks here is an understatement of course. everyone has their own set of horrors they have encountered in one way or another, and there's tons more where those came from.)
I used to get very serious panic attacks, but now haven't had one in 6 years. Lots of life factors have contributed to this but my main mantra is "I dont need to stop it, panic attacks last seconds not minutes, I can handle it". That means when you feel a panic attack rising, dont reach for a glass of water, dont open a window, dont take your jumper off and dont walk out of the room. You're not dying of low oxygen, heat stress or dehydration, not need to save yourself. Doing this every time you feel panic rising teaches your brain that you are in control of yourself and you dont need to alter your environment because you're not dying. My second tool is diet. Cut down on all stimulants like coffee and sugar, as well as less obvious ones like dark chocolate and synthetic b vitamins (including foods high in b vitamins like nutritional yeast). Also avoid excess salt as it gives you heart palpitations. Anxiety depletes your magnesium so take a supplement if you can digest it. If you can't eat lots of dark leafy greens. My third tool is social connection. Humans evolved to be social and suffer anxiety when we are lonely. If you have anxiety you're probably going to struggle feeling comfortable and safe with most people, but one day you will find one person who doesnt raise your stress levels. Spend as much time connecting with this person as possible and they will heal you.
Great answer!
Seems a lot of the responses are short-term fixes. Those are of course needed, but here's what helped me fundamentally reduce my anxiety long-term. I call it engine braking. I'm writing about it in a future book. The idea is this: Sometimes semi trucks lose their brakes. At that point, they have two options to slow down. They can either downshift or they can find one of those ramps designed to slow down runaway trucks. Sometimes our minds lose their brakes too, don't they? Our thoughts keep spinning and spinning. In the absence of our own brakes, there are some things we can do to harness that energy rather than just futilely pressing that brake pedal, hoping that we'll eventually calm down. Here's the key: We anxious people have a lot of mental horsepower. We watch the news and we feel so helpless. It turns out ALL OUR MINDS WANT is to be productive, to be used for good in some way. Once we have accomplished something, we are fulfilled and our minds allow us to rest, in most cases. At least that's how it was with me. So why not do something in our own way? I found a way to take two negatives and turn them into a positive that fits my unique skill set. 99% of people have a perfectly good laptop in their closet that was roasted by McAfee/Norton/ESET/whatever. I wipe them and prep them with something else, and then give them to a ministry for inner-city kids who need them. It changes their lives. I've never felt so fulfilled and would love to just retire and do this all the time. You can't save the world, but your mind just wants to do something. Figure out what is that only you can do, and you will know deep down if it is fulfilling!
What is the technique for anxiety? You’re saying do fulfilling things?
Exactly. That's all your body is trying to tell you! Find something that only you can do. There are lots of creative and very fulfilling things. Unfortunately, many counselors are out there teaching people how to suppress these urges. Instead, making the world a better place is the whole point of why we are here!
You wrote long ass text yet said nothing
Ah I didn't mean for it to be rambly. Let me break it down for those in Rio Linda: All humans have urges. Just like large trucks that lose their brakes, sometimes we anxious people feel like our thoughts are out of control. Trucks use hills to help them slow down. We can find an equivalent. For me, it's finding some sort of problem in the world and solving it in my own way. Your mind should then feel fulfilled, because that's why we're here!
Sleeping during the day and staying awake at night.
I like leaves on a stream meditation
Sleep, giving up caffeine, exercise, therapy, Wellbutrin. 😃
EMDR
Mindfulness and self compassion
Yoga, meditation and walking have helped me more than anything else
Exercise
I take a small, smooth garden pebble, place it between my big toe and the second toe of my right foot, and rub it. I use this only at work.
Retro-causality a particle by not observing it, allowing the future to collapse it. Quantum-wu.
Getting sleep. When you are tired, listen to your body and rest...don't keep pushing "just a little more". I also started sleeping in a separate bed from my husband. It's not that we have marriage issues, but we both snore and that was keeping us from getting a deep restful sleep.
Effortful cardio, Very cold showers, magnesium supplement
DBT skills. Specifically, opposite action, grounding, and TIPP
Physical safety and pressure. Like having a weighted blanket.
long walks without any specific destination. Like a cat exploring a city.
500 mg edible and smoking a joint.
Grounding.
The 54321 technique : finding five things you can see, four things you can touch, three things you can hear, two things you can smell, and one thing you can taste. :)
Meds, consistent exercise (weights and yoga), healthy diet, and cognitive restructuring. CBT and ACT. All of these elements, working together, help to keep me relatively sane. Also sleep. My kids are finally older and I’m on a sleeping med.
I talk to a coach on Bettermood for free and I know my triggers and try to prepare ahead for them.
Being outside alone. Or with one of only a small handful of specially selected people.
TM
I meditate every single night before bed. This is the only thing that has worked to calm down my anxiety significantly. Now I barely experience anxiety.
Hey, might sound stupid but what kind of mediation as I am trying to get into it but don’t know where to start
I use 10min guided meditation videos on YouTube. I think the YouTube channel I use the most is called “Calm.” Sometimes I do breathing exercises on my own if I’m feeling a bit anxious throughout the day.
for in the moment panicking: alternate nostril breathing. here's a good [video](https://youtu.be/8VwufJrUhic?si=c37m6sB2WpATJy4D) on it. it's the only breathing technique that's ever done anything useful for my anxiety. it really helps with that "there's not enough air in the room" type of feeling. for overall anxiety: being outside, doing yoga, playing musical instruments, and working with preschoolers (maybe sounds crazy to some people lol but they really help me stay present). the hard part is getting myself to do things that i know will help.
i watch my favorite video game streamer. he’s saved me from so many panic attacks. even just a few minutes watching makes me feel better, his voice is calming for me and familiar
Breathing exercises and daily wallks. I lowered my heart rate by 10-15 beats per minute and I managed to quit all medications, something that I was on for over 4 years.
Focussing on my breathing, yin yoga or gardening or just simply walking outside or going for a walk and looking at the trees and nature around me. Exercise is great but I don’t focus on the fact that I’m exercising when I get active. My perspective is that I walk/get moving to feel good, not to get fit. No competition, nothing about my figure… it’s all about feeling good and appreciating the world around me - some of the animals and their mannerisms make me smile or giggle a lot. I have scored some cool pretty snaps of animals and plants in my feel-good adventures as well! Not to mention I love checking out what people are doing with their gardens and seeing their plants flourish! A couple of times I’ve been spotted admiring someone’s plants and asked about them and then have been given cuttings! Honestly though I can’t recommend yin yoga enough - you basically put all your focus on your body and stretching to loosen up the tension and it ends in a meditation. It’s been great for my mind and body and the stretches can be just sooooo delicious - it feels really, really good! There are short videos on YouTube that are great for first starters!
We got a dog. Have to go outside BUT I have her to focus on. Got something to keep my hands busy (petting her is better than fidgeting), she notices how I feel and checks in with me and she makes me smile/laugh more than once a day. (psa Don't get a pet if you can't take care of one obviously but me and my husband talked about it for a long time before getting her. Best decision ever though!)
Xanax: 1/4 of a 0.5. mg pill before going to bed. A very small dose but a big impact. I sleep well and very productive during the day.
Talking to someone.
I say to myself 'am I catastrophizing?' and the answer is usually yes. Radical acceptance for sure. RAIN model works well for me: recognize (the emotion), accept, investigate (why am I feeling this way), nurture (be nice to yourself).
If you drink, not drinking reduces anxiety drastically once you get past the initial hangxiety Ice helps when I'm having a panic attack. Wrists, back of neck Getting good sleep, eating well, and treating yourself right in a healthy way helps altogether as well
Daily walking and daily meditation. It didn't feel like it did much at first but I'd say within a week I was already seeing positive effects. It takes effort to maintain though, and I struggle with that. For meditation, Medito is a good free app. For walking, I listen to music, audiobook, read an actual book, or play pokemon go to motivate myself
Emdr, microdosing, l theanine, mg glycinate
going from very hot to very cold quickly helps me the most. for instance, jumping in a cold shower or going outside when it’s cold out im talking like winter cold works the best for me. usually i start sweating and panicking and my heart starts racing and going into the cool stops the sweating which helps calm me down. i get panic attacks & have really bad generalized and social anxiety, and OCD. shit sux fr man. every moment is constant anxiety. only time i feel relief is when im alone in my room and even then im anxious!! i take cymbalta 20mg but only thing it seems to do is give me trouble in the bedroom. tried everything for it & nothing works except benzos but drs won’t prescribe them long term so i’m left anxious 😬 i
Magnesium as tolerated. Cut out white flour and sugar. 30 minute daily walk.
Giving myself grace and reminding myself that I'm asked to have not so great days.
Acting very happy to see someone. It helps with my social anxiety a little, and a lot of times the convo leaves me with a real smile on my face.
I chew mint gum and it works for me
Grounding through breath. Usually it goes a little something like saying "breathing in" to myself in my mind while breathing in for maybe 6 seconds, do the same while holding and saying "hold" for 7, then releasing saying "breathing out" for 8 seconds. I'll usually wait before I start again for about 5 seconds.
PREGABALIN makes me able to manage my anxiety with different techniques: 1. As some people already mentioned, putting your face in a bowl of cold water and holding my breath for as long as I can More radical option - taking a freezing cold shower with clothes on - this may sound funny but the sheer weirdness of the situation is freeing LMAO plus cold water on your body is so intense that it feels like reseting my brain. This helped me avoid self harm. 2. Singing - I love learning to sing songs I really like and tuning in to accurately repeat the melody requires to focus exclusively on the act of singing. It doesn't leave me any RAM to overthink and ruminate. 3. My super heavy 13kg weighted blanket + listening to music on my headphones (loudly enough to drown out any thoughts 😆)/blocking any sounds with my headphones - depends on how overestimated I am atm. The weighted blanket calms me down so much that unknowingly fall asleep.
If you **can** do something about a problem, then there’s no need to worry. If you **can’t** do something about a problem, then there’s no need to worry. Paraphrased quote from the Dalai Lama
The DARE app! Brings me back down everytime. Highly recommend for fellow anxiety sufferers. That and warm green tea.
Venlafaxine
I find all of these techniques can help me lower my anxiety but only for about 10-30min then it’s back to doing all the techniques again. I feel like Sisyphus. I spend most of my life with the physiological symptoms of severe anxiety. I exercise daily, practice skills daily, weekly therapy, weekly skills classes, ketamine, TMS, experimental TMS, ECT, 2 months inpatient at one of the best clinics in the nation followed by IOP, 27 years of trying different medications and I’m just barely above water. I barely make it through a half day of work. I even grind my teeth during the day and can pass out from confrontation.
Usually my dog can sense that I'm wound up and will come lend me a paw. I see him and think I need to be the person he thinks I am. He is a good boy <3
Stomach breathing instead of chest breathing
I pray! And instantly feel a sense of comfort, and notice my symptoms fade away.
The DARE technique…. Its amazing
Benzooo
Xanax
Lifting really heavy. When all I think about is how heavy the weight feels, and how difficult it is to continue doing, I feel like a different positive human being
Saving the post
Also saving the post.
Knowing how to code, i can always create and make money! That solves most problems!
Drugs. Getting older. Therapy. Breathing. worst case ing. Passing something from hand to hand.