Dealing With Anxiety

[B-cock #1 641]

Hey all,

 

As some of you may know I have an anxiety disorder, I've spent a lot of time (and money) learning to cope and handle my anxiety. Although I'm still dealing with it, I know a few other people have problems with anxiety as well in the community. Also, summer is coming up and that means finals so maybe some of these techniques that I've personally found helpful will help you out.

 

1. 4 - 7 - 8 Breathing: This consists of inhaling for 4 seconds, holding for 7 seconds, and exhaling for 8 seconds. This is my personal favorite as it is discrete and has a good calming effect for me.

 

2. Apply cold: This one requires a bit more prep or improv, but seems to work great if you are starting to have a panic-attack or in the middle of one. You find something cold and put it on the vein side of your wrist or on your temples, this takes away your mind from the anxiety and focuses it on the cold sensation

 

3. Speak out your surroundings: This one is a little tougher in a public environment, I will usually do this while driving. But you just start verbally speaking out what you see in detail, such as "There is a red car in front of me and there appears to be a ding on its fender" etc... This one is situational for me but may work better for some other people.

 

4. Body Scan Meditation: I can't imagine doing this while being mid-panic, but typically you're able to tell your signs of upcoming panic attack and this one could help. It essentially revolves around relaxing your body and self-scanning yourself from head-to-toe feeling for any signs of twisting or pressure and then relieving whatever you're feeling. This one is hard to explain and I think is easier when listening to someone guide you through it like this quick one. There are longer ones out there if you needed it. 

 

 

This is all the stuff I can think of off the top of my head that could apply to people w/ or w/o anxiety disorder. I am not a doctor/psychiatrist/psychologist/etc...these are just things that I have found helpful that may be a good base for others to explore. If you have bad anxiety, I really recommend seeing a psychiatrist, if not feel free to PM me and I can give you a few extra tips that were given to me or if you just want to talk more on the subject in a private setting.

 

Again, these are just tips and how I've interpreted them, by no means should this be taken as medical advice as I am not qualified in the field all I can do is share my experience.

 

[fps_trucka 1715]

Really good tips here. I highly recommend to anyone with anxiety to practice deep breathing techniques ASAP. 

[gemma 527]

fidget things like those spinners and fidget cubes have helped me with anxiety a lot, having something to keep your hands busy is really calming. also certain strains of weed are good for feeling less anxious but not really high. those are some of the things that work for me.

[B-cock #1 641]

High CBD weed is probably what you're referring to, but it's typically not a good idea to become dependent on weed to relieve your anxiety. It's better to develop your own tools to deal w/ anxiety, I personally would rather smoke some high CBD weed than take Xanax when possible, but that's just me.

 

I've found that fidget toys kinda made me more anxious as I usually need to slow down and not do as much and the cube always gives me something to do, that's just me though.

[Dr Pepper 1491]

i do deep breathing erryday 

[gemma 527]

7 minutes ago, B-cock #1 said:

High CBD weed is probably what you're referring to, but it's typically not a good idea to become dependent on weed to relieve your anxiety. It's better to develop your own tools to deal w/ anxiety, I personally would rather smoke some high CBD weed than take Xanax when possible, but that's just me.

 

I've found that fidget toys kinda made me more anxious as I usually need to slow down and not do as much and the cube always gives me something to do, that's just me though.

yeah thats what i was thinking of and thats valid, whatever works for you

[lemonade 1582]

Really good tips here, would also recommend to anyone else with an anxiety disorder. 

 

A few weeks I had a panic attack in the shower, and I was able to calm myself a little bit using the third method. It is still situational, but it does help. 

[Booch 257]

Like this really good for anyone who struggles with this

[B-cock #1 641]

Just now, Lindsay said:

Really good tips here, would also recommend to anyone else with an anxiety disorder. 

 

A few weeks I had a panic attack in the shower, and I was able to calm myself a little bit using the third method. It is still situational, but it does help. 

Yeah, it's usually good to practice this all the time so you're used to doing it and can do it if you start to get a panic attack. It's a bit of a pain but it's worth it.

[Hay0ger.Tonee 424]

I've found that listening to music can calm me or anyone else down as well. 

It helps to flush my mind of whatever I was thinking of before and fills it with good music

[Thelnternet 332]

Great tips!  the 4-7-8 breathing works wonders, sometimes if I am mid panic attack I find it difficult to hold for the full 7 seconds so i shorten it to a 4-4-8. I think the idea is that it a constant rhythm of breathing.

 

A couple other things that have worked for my anxiety that could be helpful to others are

1. I keep a bottle of lavender essential oil in my car and at my desk and put a few drops into my hands and then breath it in while doing the 4-7-8 breathing.

2. Going on a 20 minute run daily has honestly been a huge way of lowering anxiety

 

I suffer from Depersonalizeation and Derealization quite often with my anxiety, if anyone else does and wants to talk about it or wants tips dealing with it just PM me.

[Dr. NarwhalsNumbNuts IV 2291]

This is very interesting to me. I'm healthy mentally, but I help a lot of the people around me with their problems. I see a two main types of anxiety/depression sufferers; People that actually have a real disorder, and people who think they do. The latter's disorder can become such a crutch/excuse for the "sufferer's" problems or issues that it hinders them more than true sufferers. It's commendable that B cock is actively working to turn this hurdle into something he can control, rather than allowing it to control him. Keep in mind that everyone has a personal problem that they can either control or be controlled by. Using anxiety as a crutch should never become commonplace; it keeps you under it's thumb and won't allow you to grow into the person you're meant to be. You can do it, you just gotta find the best way to control it. 

 

I used to use the breathing method to lower my heartrate before a diving meet. It really does help