How do you cope with anxiety?

[Yatogami]

I've been having it really bad lately as the holiday season reaches its peak. I am looking for the different ways people cope. As most of the normal ways don't help me. 

 

What are some of the things you do to relax?

 

What are tips your therapist have given you, if you have had one?

[arekathevampyre]

I will either calm myself down by playing with a fidget toy , read an easy to read book (not too many words , something funny , has illustrations in it and not too thick) and listen to calming and familiar music . 

 

My anxiety can come any time of the day , either on its own or together with depression , which makes things horrible . I will then try to take a nap if I can fall asleep or maybe drink some cold drinks (to soothe myself) . 

 

No matter what you do , try non addictive and safe methods

Do NOT harm yourself okay ? 

*hugs*

[Titchwithpitch]

A lot of things are really hit and miss for me, and barely anything works if i am honest but here are a few things my therapist has got me to try.

 

-Breathing, either wetting the top of your lip or holding your hand on your stomach and concentrating on the feeling.

 

-Music - sometimes works for me

 

-the newest thing I am trying is when i start feeling like i am going to have an anxiety attack concentrating on the senses:

 

find

five things you can see

four you can touch

three you can smell

two you can hear

one you can taste

 

and go down the list - you can mix and match them depending on where you are.

 

Hope this helps

[arekathevampyre]

@TheTitchiestReindeer 

Good advice !!

 

[Guest]

Antidepressants helped calm me down and I feel more relaxed, although I'm not sure I really WANT to be on them.

 

For me I find that meditation, playing a game, listening to music, exercising and zoning out help. Zoning out may not be a good idea since I'm disconnected enough from my body as it is.  

[argar]

If I just need to distract myself until the feeling goes away, I play with a recently bought a snake puzzle.

 

The twisting and turning keeps my hands busy while I what a movie or something.

 

I find focusing on something physical while something plays int he background a good distraction.

 

Lately I have also been watching Youtube videos on Origami, and that can also be distracting.

 

To really just relax, I make foam weapons.

 

I hope all our different suggestions help a little.

[flagsforhippos]

21 minutes ago, arekathevampyre said:

read an easy to read book (not too many words , something funny , has illustrations in it and not too thick)

Any titles that you could recommend, please?

[arekathevampyre]

Let me see . Here are what I usually read . 

 

archie comics 

cyanide and happiness comics 

anything minion related

my neighbor Seki manga

grumpy cat books/comics 

spongebob books 

simon's cat books 

 

Or if it all fails , read horror/thriller books if you are into it . Because you will be too engrossed to feel anxious

 

You can also go to youtube and watch Simon's cat animations , cyanide and happiness animations and NigaHiga (Ryan Higa) skits and vlogs

[flagsforhippos]

Thank you @arekathevampyre 

[arekathevampyre]

2 minutes ago, flagsforhippos said:

Thank you @arekathevampyre 

Most welcome !!

[Member4445]

I have generalized anxiety disorder. The best thing I can do when I’m anxious is to curl up on my bed, keep the light on and play with the switch on my fidget cube. I do this during a meltdown too. I match my breathing to the clicking. It helps calm the “noise” in my head. 

 

If I’m out, I find the nearest cafe and grab a seat at the back. 

[Dj91]

I find any podcast or talk that makes me think helps with anxiety as it helps concentrate my mind on something else. 

 

Also a more bizarre one is to take a bath in pitch black to try and get into an almost meditative state and clear my head. 

[Guest]

I have these things:

 

*Stuffed Animals <--- surround myself with them or just hug them most of the time

*Perfume <----Spray some lovely perfume so i can enjoy the smell that usually calms me down

*Kpop <----- put it loud and squeal along to make thoughts go away

*Soothing tea (mostly chamonile honey flavoured tea* This really works most of the time

*Old movies <-- can watch these for hours so my  mind is distracted from the bad thoughts

 

 

 

 

[vmdraco]

Hmm, well I know one way I've managed my anxiety is acknowledging that it's something my brain does.  Any time I have really shitty intrusive/racing thoughts I tell myself that I'm doing the "thing" again, and take a step back, or pace back and forth to wear the thoughts down.  Therapists have told me that recognizing that you're having bad anxiety and intrusive thoughts makes it lose its power, because you're viewing them as a symptom and not as something real and logical.  You dehumanize it, and see it as an "other" so it won't affect you emotionally.  It's... easier said than done, I am by no means a master of it, but along with that technique I distract myself with something else while I'm doing it, like watching a Vine compilation video while I'm acknowledging the thoughts.  I know the thoughts need to be talked about when the methods don't work and I can't distance myself from the anxiety.  

[arekathevampyre]

1 minute ago, vmdraco said:

Therapists have told me that recognizing that you're having bad anxiety and intrusive thoughts makes it lose its power, because you're viewing them as a symptom and not as something real and logical.  You dehumanize it, and see it as an "other" so it won't affect you emotionally. 

Able to elaborate more on this ? I don't really get why they say this . 

[J. van Deijck]

I don't. shame to admit :×

 

I'm more anxious than I seem to be. when I have the possibility, I hide under a blanket and try to sleep. I find it particularly helpful.

[EmotionalAndroid]

I have diagnosed Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) and here are a few techniques that I use.

 

Distraction is a really good technique. I try and get myself involved in something where my subconscious won't be able to run in circles screaming. I'll play a video game that requires a lot of focus, have a conversation with someone, or get up and walk around and really try to focus on all the sensations I am feeling (what am I seeing? Can I feel the wind on my skin? etc).

 

Another good tool is breathing. Take deep breaths through your nose and focus on the feeling of the cold air entering your nostrils, then breathe out through your mouth and really push all the air out of your lungs. Take maybe 4-5 of these really deep breaths, then return your breath to normal, but still focus on the breathing. Focus on how natural and easy it is, and imagine the universe filling you with needed oxygen with each breath.

 

The most important tool is realizing that you cannot control everything. This is hard to do, but stopping yourself from worrying about things you cannot control really helps cut down on anxiety. After all, worry is rather wasteful, especially if there is absolutely nothing you can do to change the situation. There is a really useful flowchart on this page about how to deal with worrying thoughts. I use this technique and find it useful. https://www.getselfhelp.co.uk/worrytree.htm

[Gloomy]

I use deep breathing. Also something I’ve learned from therapy is looking at something and noticing factual details about it. For example looking at a plant and thinking, “That plant is green with many leaves” to keep my mind off the anxiety.

[arekathevampyre]

1 minute ago, Gloomy said:

I use deep breathing. Also something I’ve learned from therapy is looking at something and noticing factual details about it. For example looking at a plant and thinking, “That plant is green with many leaves” to keep my mind off the anxiety.

Good advice !!

[Always looking for answers]

I go to bed, put on an audiobook and just listen to the story. Sometimes I fall asleep, but that's fine. Audiobooks also help to relax in combination with creative things like painting or drawing (at least for me).
On other occassions I start cleaning my room, doing stuff with my hands helps me to distract me from thinking about the cause of the anxiety.

If I'm really feeling bad, I take a shower. Just feeling the warm water poor over my back helps to clear my mind  

 

Also: I've been told that I should try to enjoy more things so I can learn to be more relaxed overall. So when I'm enjoying my shower, just wait a few more minutes before stepping out of it. If I'm enjoying my food, chew longer before swallowing so I don't lose the taste so quickly. 

 

Hope any of this helps  

[Guest]

I don't 

[Fantastic Name]

I do deep breathing. My psychiatrist told me to start doing that a few years ago back when I was having panic attacks frequently, and since then, it's just become habit whenever I'm anxious.

 

Sometimes, that doesn't always work. In that case, I'll write it all down and spill it on paper. I won't think or anything while I do it; I just barf up the words as they run through my head. Getting the feelings into words helps me be able to work through the anxiety and look at it from a slightly different perspective.

 

However, if it's really, really bad, my brain will just freeze up and stop. I won't be able to think. In that case, I usually just have to wait it out until the anxiety passes before I can do anything about it.

[Ruru+Saphhy=Garnet]

What helps me relax is meditation.

That helps me the most.

I also like to read. I usually read manga or encyclopedias to help relax me.

Listening to  calming music helps,too!

[J. van Deijck]

deep breathing doesn't work for me. I have persistent problems with nasal cavities ._. and I barely breathe anyway.

[Yatogami]

My biggest problem, is that my anxiety is constant. I'm never not feeling it, even while sleeping. I'm always tense, and alert. Its impossible for me to relax. I may not be having panic attacks frequently, but I have constant minor symptoms. 

 

I've been trying the breathing method when not doing anything, but I'm not sure if it's helping. I already do meditative things, and listen to music. I'm also already an expert at distracting myself with games and anime. 

 

I guess at this point I just need meds before this ruins my health more.

[Yatogami]

Just now, OptimisticPessimist said:

@Yato Have you been to the doctor's about this?  

No, but I need to. I just never have time. I always put off seeing the doctor's, because I have anxiety about going lol.

[J. van Deijck]

19 minutes ago, Yato said:

No, but I need to. I just never have time. I always put off seeing the doctor's, because I have anxiety about going lol.

story of my life.

and yeah, I have GAD, too. I used to take SSRI meds for it.

[Yatogami]

45 minutes ago, OptimisticPessimist said:

@Yato Go when you can, this doesn't sound like regular anxiety and it sounds to me like GAD, of course only a doctor can diagnose anything. lol i get the anxiety about going, but if you go, then they can help. Maybe someone could go with you.

I can prob ask my mom in law. My SO isn't the best at dealing with this stuff. What kind of doctor am I suppose to see?

[Titchwithpitch]

1 hour ago, Yato said:

No, but I need to. I just never have time. I always put off seeing the doctor's, because I have anxiety about going lol.

I have GAD too, I think at some point you just have to bite the bullet so to speak.  It's really hard but I keep trying to remind myself it will be worth it.

[vmdraco]

4 hours ago, arekathevampyre said:

Able to elaborate more on this ? I don't really get why they say this . 

What I mean is that we tend to take anxiety to heart, and I think therapists teach you this method so that we can practice not making emotional judgements based on anxiety when we don't have all the facts.  When you have anxiety, it may be constant or it's related to a situation or past event, and the brain does this as a defense mechanism.  It's a response to trauma that our brain developed on its own to keep us safe, to remind us that we can't keep our guard down, when all it's doing is shielding us from certain situations that are really not that big of a deal.  Our emotions tell us THIS IS BAD THIS IS BAD I'M NOT OKAY WE'RE GOING TO DIE, when it's actually irrational and unrealistic.  I don't say this as a way to brush off people's problems as if they are not real or that they're ridiculous for feeling anxiety in the moment, because it is scary and awful.  However, 9 times out of 10, the anxiety is usually wrong.  Once a situation happens while we're anxious, you realize what you freaked yourself out over wasn't that bad after all.  I know everyone is different, but I do know this happens to me all the goddamn time and yet my brain still goes into freak-out mode.

 

I'll give an example: just yesterday one of my final art pieces was due; it was an accordion booklet, and I only did one side because I thought that was expected.  Walk into class and saw everyone open theirs, and BOTH sides of theirs were completed.  I take my art very seriously, and to see almost everyone in the class have both sides done whilst mine wasn't made my stomach drop.  My racing thoughts were: "oh my god, my work isn't finished, I'm turning in an incomplete final" (I wasn't, I went in knowing it was complete), "I'm going to fail the course", "I'm the ONLY ONE who didn't follow directions, did I miss something on the assignment sheet?" and, "I'm going to get destroyed during crit".

 

I recognized in the middle of this attack that what I was feeling was extreme anxiety about a situation before the critique even occurred.  It didn't make the anxiety go away, but I did recognize what was happening and knew that my emotional response was irrational and not based on reality because I assumed it would be negative.  I went back in after breaking down and fiddled with a sheet of paper to calm myself down.  And by the time they got to my piece, NONE OF THE FOLLOWING OCCURRED.  I psyched myself out for nothing!  No one mentioned it during critique, I got a lot of positive feedback on my book, and one or two other people had only one side done, too. 

 

That's what I mean.  I understood that my brain jumped to conclusions too soon, too fast, and I preconceived a response when I didn't rationalist it first hand.  Once I knew that was going on, I acknowledging this pattern, faced the situation despite that, and realized that my anxiety was being a total fuckwit as usual.  It doesn't make them go away permanently, but it helps manage them when you can't really control them.

 

Sorry for the essay, hope this helps somehow