How do you deal with anxiety?

[UnendingHope]

I've been struggling with this especially over this past week, and I'm trying a lot of different methods but not a lot is working. I just keep overthinking and that leads to bad thoughts and stuff, do you guys have any tips?

 

[Croconaw]

I’m sorry you’ve been struggling with anxiety. I’ve struggled a lot with it in the past and still sometimes to this day. It’s gotten much easier to cope with recently. I personally watch motivational and positive thinking videos. They help me a lot, but it likely has to do with the fact that I’ve been doing this for about four years.

Everyone is different though and will cope differently. You just have to find out methods that work for you. Try taking your mind off these things and doing what makes you happy. Sometimes talking about the situation does help, so this is a great place to vent if needed.

 

[UnendingHope]

I’m sorry you’ve been struggling with anxiety. I’ve struggled a lot with it in the past and still sometimes to this day. It’s gotten much easier to cope with recently. I personally watch motivational and positive thinking videos. They help me a lot, but it likely has to do with the fact that I’ve been doing this for about four years.

Everyone is different though and will cope differently. You just have to find out methods that work for you. Try taking your mind off these things and doing what makes you happy. Sometimes talking about the situation does help, so this is a great place to vent if needed.

thank you for your response, I will try to watch some of those videos

 

[Orius]

Seconding what Croconaw said about how different people cope using different methods. My methods probably aren't ideal for you since they involve just suppressing those anxieties through binge-watching of TV shows or just watching some funny videos on YouTube. It's a temporary fix, but this "moving on" method has helped me over the years, getting away from the bad thoughts and troubled times.

But ultimately, as Croconaw mentioned, talking about the situation helps much more, since everything else (including sleeping) is just a temporary bandage solution. When your anxiety clouds your mind, you won't be in the mood for any TV show or anything else except for those bad thoughts, so having a kind and patient listening ear that won't judge or criticize you helps immensely, just helping you clear out the thoughts and figure things out. To me, a head full of anxiety is like... a filthy pipe. It needs to be cleaned out every now and then.

I want to say meds help too... but man, I'd really recommend not relying on meds if you can help it. If your situation is bad enough, medication can be a life-saver, but it does become a habit, relying on meds to save the day. Plus, I hate how the meds cloud my mind even more sometimes.

 

[PrincessTaylor]

As Croconaw has said, everyone does things differently. I also tend to overthink quite a bit and it eventually leads to bad thoughts as well. What works for me is to really just take my mind off things by keeping myself busy and occupied. By always doing something, I won't have the time to be having bad thoughts, you know?

 

[UnendingHope]

Seconding what Croconaw said about how different people cope using different methods. My methods probably aren't ideal for you since they involve just suppressing those anxieties through binge-watching of TV shows or just watching some funny videos on YouTube. It's a temporary fix, but this "moving on" method has helped me over the years, getting away from the bad thoughts and troubled times.

But ultimately, as Croconaw mentioned, talking about the situation helps much more, since everything else (including sleeping) is just a temporary bandage solution. When your anxiety clouds your mind, you won't be in the mood for any TV show or anything else except for those bad thoughts, so having a kind and patient listening ear that won't judge or criticize you helps immensely, just helping you clear out the thoughts and figure things out. To me, a head full of anxiety is like... a filthy pipe. It needs to be cleaned out every now and then.

I want to say meds help too... but man, I'd really recommend not relying on meds if you can help it. If your situation is bad enough, medication can be a life-saver, but it does become a habit, relying on meds to save the day. Plus, I hate how the meds cloud my mind even more sometimes.

Yeah I've been going through the process of finding the right meds for the last almost 3 years and it's pretty difficult. But my meds now are better than they used to be so that's a plus at least.

Post automatically merged: Oct 23, 2021

As Croconaw has said, everyone does things differently. I also tend to overthink quite a bit and it eventually leads to bad thoughts as well. What works for me is to really just take my mind off things by keeping myself busy and occupied. By always doing something, I won't have the time to be having bad thoughts, you know?

Yeah I have to go into work today so I'm hoping that will keep me occupied. But at the same time I don't want to break down in front of guests so it's just scary to go in at all. I also don't want to look like a coward in front of my coworkers, one of which is my only friend. I feel like she might think I'm pathetic for getting upset and not dealing with it well, and then she'll think I'm incapable of anything and I'll be abandoned again and I'll fall back into my old depression habits.

 

[Khaelis]

I'm suppose to be medicated for it, but I feel like garbage whenever I take it. And... Honestly, I just stopped taking the medication and eventually became numb to it and just let it run its coarse whenever I get an anxiety attack.

 

[TheSillyPuppy]

I will preface what works for me with, in a sense, I think I'm privileged that for 90% of the time, my anxiety isn't debilitating and has in fact been a big factor in my academic and professional success.

With that being said, here is what works for me:

- Journaling—writing out my feelings, thoughts, and worries helps me to get them all out so as to reduce the amount of rumination over them in my head.
- Having routines and systems—my work hours are 9–5:30 Mondays through Fridays. I've been getting up between 6–7am to work out, shower, study for a professional exam, read a book, and do any solo work before my work day officially starts. After work, I hang out with my S/O, have dinner, continue hanging out with my S/O until bedtime (between 11pm to midnight), and/or attend online networking events or catch up with one of my professional mentors. We're creatures of habit, so having daily routines is really beneficial.
- Having trusted confidantes—having folks (even just one or two!) that you completely trust with your vulnerabilities is so vital.

 

[VanitasFan26]

I try to play other games to like get rid of all the frustration and stress I have inside of me. I play games like GTA 5 since it can help me feel the need to destroy stuff and I know this something I would never do in real life, but it is calming to get it out my system. If that didn't work I can just write in a journal to describe how I'm feeling since I am more better at describing my problems rather than just talking about it in person.

Lastly, I can listen to calming music to help me straighten my mood. The song that I tend to play the most is "Another Day in Paradise by Phil Collins" its a smooth song that just makes me feel calm and happy most of the time.

 

[ellarella]

seroquel and citalopram

 

[Geoni]

I will preface what works for me with, in a sense, I think I'm privileged that for 90% of the time, my anxiety isn't debilitating and has in fact been a big factor in my academic and professional success.

With that being said, here is what works for me:

- Journaling—writing out my feelings, thoughts, and worries helps me to get them all out so as to reduce the amount of rumination over them in my head.
- Having routines and systems—my work hours are 9–5:30 Mondays through Fridays. I've been getting up between 6–7am to work out, shower, study for a professional exam, read a book, and do any solo work before my work day officially starts. After work, I hang out with my S/O, have dinner, continue hanging out with my S/O until bedtime (between 11pm to midnight), and/or attend online networking events or catch up with one of my professional mentors. We're creatures of habit, so having daily routines is really beneficial.
- Having trusted confidantes—having folks (even just one or two!) that you completely trust with your vulnerabilities is so vital.

This is the best answer in the thread so far and I'd just +1 it to be honest. I know having a routine/system might seem counter-intuitive when it comes to dealing with anxiety about things but it's to help you establish what you call 'life anchors' that you can fall back on when everything else seems chaotic and difficult to understand.

If it gets worse than just a short term thing, of course seek out a doctor.

Lastly though I can't stress enough that you should avoid getting less than 6 hours of sleep. Study after study has shown not getting enough sleep leads to the amplification of stress and paranoia. I have gotten through most of the paranoia I dealt with a year or two ago doing this alone.

 

[LadyDestani]

I started seeing a counselor for anxiety about a month ago and it has helped me tremendously. There are lots of little things that's she's suggested to help me deal with my issues. Of course, everyone is different, but here are some things that have been helping me.

- Mindfulness, breathing, and muscle relaxation techniques: These are simple things that I can do in the spur of the moment even if I'm in public or at work to help ease my tension. They work well enough if I use them early, just as I feel the anxiety starting to build. If I go into full-blown panic mode, then it's a bit too late and I just need to get away from the situation.

- Journaling: If I have a lot on my mind, I'll write it all down before bed to get the thoughts out of my head. Otherwise, I'll never get to sleep. You can journal anytime, though. I've just found before bedtime to work particularly well for me.

- Doing a simple activity to take your mind off things: I like puzzle games for this. It's repetitious and I don't have to think too much but my brain is focused just enough on the game that I'm not thinking about what's bothering me.

- Stress B Complex vitamins: These are different from other anxiety meds because you can get them over-the-counter, but I've really noticed a difference since I've been taking them. I have a habit of getting overwhelmed by too many issues and things that come up. Since taking these vitamins, I've noticed I've been able to prioritize things better and focus on just one issue at a time instead of stressing over the multitude of other thoughts trying to intrude on my brain.

 

[Neb]

Physical activity is the most effective way to cope with anxiety personally. From intense aerobics to brisk walks all of it can help. If it’s been a while since you’ve done a lot of physical activity, I’d recommend starting slow. Don’t be afraid to work up!

Another coping mechanism that helps is playing a relaxing video game. Ideally this game is something that doesn’t require a lot of dexterity. Of course some people find action packed video games relaxing too! Feel free to experiment and see what works.

 

[maria110]

I went to therapy years ago during and after a difficult time and learned some CBT/mindfulness techniques that help. Having a routine and pets also help.

 

[EmmaFrost]

Ativan, seroquel, legal cannabis related stuff, and watching vlogs of Japanese housewives doing their grocery shopping, cooking and organizing. It could never be me, but I enjoy watching people do that stuff on Youtube.

 

[Autumn247]

I'm on medication but in addition to that some things that help me are:

• Exercise, even just taking a walk helps
• My weighted blanket
• Playing ukulele
• Baking, something about it always makes me feel really good, especially when what you bake comes out good and you can feel proud
• Listening to music
• Playing videogames, especially relaxing ones like ACNH, Littlewood, etc
• Drinking a cup of herbal tea or cocoa
• Reading, this one helps me a lot especially recently. There's some study that reports that reading for just like 6 minutes can reduce your stress levels by a lot.
• Journaling
• Browsing pinterest
• Watching a good show or movie
• Getting enough quality sleep, this is really important
• Talking to someone

 

[visibleghost]

honestly at the moment, i'm considering asking for an anxiety medication to take when needed on my next doctor's appointment, which is next week. all my healthy coping strategies are just not holding up when my anxiety gets bad and i get urges to sh (i'm almost 3 years clean for the most part so that would suck to get back into) and suicidal thoughts when it's really bad. i think my anxiety has gotten worse lately due to stress from school and moving as well as drinking caffeine.

i have taken anxiety meds before but they made me into a zombie (i would sleep 16 hours a day and cry because i was so tired) so now i'm only taking medication for depression. i used to think medication was no use and didn't work for me but since i got on neuroleptics almost 3 years ago everything changed so now i'm like... maybe anxiety meds could help?? perhaps?

anyway, usually when i get really anxious i try to remove myself from the situation to breathe a little and get my heart rate down. i used to think breathing exercises sucked and didn't help, but now that i'm way less mentally ill it actually does help with the type of anxiety i get these days.

other coping strategies i use are showering, hanging out with my cat, walking and playing video games. if i'm stressed just taking my mind off it by distracting myself can help.

 

[Cosmic_Crossfade]

It can be hard to deal with anxiety. I'm sorry you have to deal with such a very confusing and scary thing. As somebody who suffers from anxiety myself, I've learned over the course of my many years the different variations of things that work both for me personally and as well as do not work.

It took some time and while it may not be the "cure" it does help for the most part to try to catch it before it comes up or help me be prepared to act for those unexpected attacks. One thing I do is deep breathing exercises to calm myself.

 

[jabajava01]

I want to say. That I very often had anxiety. Because I work as a manager in a company. And it was very difficult for me to cope with all my responsibilities . And I also went to uni. And literally every little thing. I was very anxious. But the cbd oil uk helped me. Any oil is soothing. For example, I like the smell of peppermint. I also drank a lot of tea with mint. They say peppermint and mint can calm the body. I think that's true. I don't know what it's really like. And it took me literally three days to get over it. So take a couple of days off from everything. And don't think about anything.

 

[imorileo]

I’m so sorry to anyone who’s going through this! You aren’t alone.

I struggle with reaaaaaally bad anxiety, and the I honestly still have no clue how to healthily cope with it. I think its a huge trial and error thing for a lot of people- Sometimes overworking and keeping myself busy helps ease my anxiety, and sometimes it does the complete opposite!

I think lots of different things work for different kinds of people, and it all just boils down to finding what works for you, whether it works all the time or just sometimes.