With either anxiety, or depression, or what have you.
How do you fight it? Deal with it? What strategies have loved ones and/or therapists taught you, or what have you figured out yourself?
A therapist once taught me one thing that I find particularly helpful with my anxiety, and helps decrease panic attacks because it doesn't allow me to build up to them. It is very hard though... only allow yourself to worry about something for ten minutes. Like, say, "okay, I'm going to worry about it for this period of time, and then I can't think of it at all for the rest of the day". After I've worried about it, I push it out of my mind, say "STOP!" and distract myself with anything when I feel the thoughts coming back into my head.
I'm getting better at it.
So, what does everyone else do?
Coping Strategies
6 posts in this topic.
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If I start having a panic attack I do "1,2,3 breathing"
Where for every breath you intake, you count to three slowly (in your head or out loud it doesn't matter) same with everytime you exhale.
Sometimes it works sometimes it doesn't. It depends on how bad the attack is that's coming on. -
I have good ones that I've just started using and I have bad ones that I've developed over the years.
Good ones:
That breathing thing helps, although only in certain cases for me.
Talking to myself. I may look crazy when I'm walking through the halls saying "You're okay. Everything's going to be fine. Just get through this." but it works.
Bad ones:
Avoiding a place or area of the school completly.
Dragging my friends with me everywhere.
Stratigizing when to get up in class to attract the least attention to myself.
If forced to go to a public bathroom, I stay in the stall until the other people leave,
Running to the Guidance conselor in the middle of class. I have permission to do so and it's really not good for me to take off when I'm freaking out but I can't exactly sit in my classes and start crying, can I?
That's all I can think of at the moment but I may add more later.
-Al/Kat -
I've developed one strategy recently to deal with plaguing anxiety. I have a journal book, and I sit down somewhere quiet and I just write out everything that's troubling me/making me panic, even non-sensically, nonstop until my hand is aching and I can't think of anything anymore. You feel exhausted after doing it, and I managed to get some panicky thoughts out of my head.
I read about this in this one book I have to read about the healing powers of journal writing. I thought it was silly at first, but it really is helpful... -
I do the writing thing. But not in coherent sentences because I'm paranoid about someone finding it, I just write down singular words. Like today I've got "Giggle. Camp. Shoes. Fire. Dress. Barry. Paul. Scratch. Daughter." Which would be a whole five page thing if I wrote it out. *shrugs*
I suppose self-harm is a kind of coping method, but it causes more problems that it solves. However, like my friend says to me "If it stops you from doing something worse, then it's serving a purpose." But we're kind of both as bad as each other and have very similar issues for vastly different reasons. We kind of justify each others bad behaviour in that way. :/
And I coping strategy for my coping strategy (SH)? If I'm at home I sit on my hands or run them under cold water. If I recite songs form the Buffy the Vampire Slayer musical episode either in my head or under my breath depending on how bad the urge is. >.>
When I get anxious I rock and scratch at my arms, which is why I have to keep my nails short at all times. Anxiety is the thing I'm worst at dealing with. -
I rock a lot too. It's supposedly a soothing technique or something.
A few more of my habits:
I hide behind my hair
Dodge behind my friends if I get scared
Argue -and win- anyone begging me to go somewhere with them. My friends have given up by now.
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