tackling anxiety.

[party_boi3423]

Hey guys!

I am not much of a user here anymore (used to be!) and I just thought that I would post some methods of tackling anxiety that I have applied over the past few years and they have really helped. I have to admit, I am now 18 years old and, albeit still get quite stressed and tightly-wound due to this phobia, I feel less stressed than I did when I was 14 lol! Ironic, huh?

Anywho, here is what I recommend:

1. Make sure that you eat a healthy diet

As well as making you feel relaxed, this will actually help you to fight off a virus if (touch-wood) you were to get one. This includes making sure that you eat BREAKFAST - I never used to eat breakfast but I make sure that I never miss it now. Something like cereal and a cup of coffee. For lunch, a sandwich and a banana. For dinner, something quite filling like stir fry and noodles, a pizza (made from scratch - healthier than the packaged stuff!), fish etc.

2. Exercise

I go to the gym three times a week and go swimming two times a week. On the days where I don't do these, I do a cross country run! I do weight training in my spare time as well. Nothing helps counter stress and panic like physical exercise.

3. Being spontaneous

Try and shake up the old routine a bit! If you find yourself at home and having a bit of a panic, take a few deep breaths and find something to do - these are some suggestions that I have found helpful:
- call a friend and see if they are available for coffee or a drink
- go to the gym!
- go for a power walk round the block
- listen to music
- go to the cinema (this seriously works - i do it all the time!)
- call a relative. if you are talking to someone else, you begin to forget your problems.
- do your weekly food shop (I do this frequently!)
- wash your car
The list is endless but the main point that I want to get across is that you find any form of distraction!

4. Immerse yourself in different activities

call your local education centre and enrol on a course that you might enjoy. Try and take up a class where you be working actively or constructively - eg. salsa classes, aerobic classes, cookery classes etc.

5. Don't spend hours in front of the television or the computer

for some, television and the computer becomes routine hence, you can do it whilst thinking about other things which you shouldnt be thinking about, hence it will cause you to get stressed. Try and get some fresh air and get outside. If you don't like going outside, find a good book to read and go to somewhere in your house where you won't be disrupted - eg. conservatory, bedroom, lounge etc.

6. Make plans

Things never look as bleak if you have planned something in advance. For example, I have planned my trips to spain and italy this summer and the thought of this is give me a positive outlook on my life and things that I am looking forward to.

7. Pets

If you don't have a pet, i thoroughly recommend one. I have two cats at the moment (still living with my parents!) but I am absolutely dying to have a dog! If you have a pet, there would be more incentive to go out and take it for walks and things like that.

8. Check-list

If you feel incredibly stressed by things like work, make a tick box list (I hand-write mine but it is just as easy to do on the computer.) Make a list of the things you have to do and then a list of things that you want to do. Whenever you do something that you have to do, next do something that you want to do. Then go back to doing something you have to do and then on to doing something that you want to do and it keeps going!

I hope that these are useful and, overall, that they are helpful!

Best wishes to all

Chris

[centipede]

Hi Chris. Thanks for the advice. 6 of the 8 tips you gave I've been doing and it really does help.

I've taken up everything from tennis, kararte, writing classes, cake and cookie decorating, bead jewelry making, walking in the park, etc.

The only time I get panic attacks now are when my stomach is upset from normal digestion or if someone near me is/was sick.

[prncesspnk]

great list! i particularly agree with #6. i always feel like i don't have
anything to look forward to (which makes me depressed) if i don't have
something planned for the future.

[leia]

Thanks a lot Chris! These are all really good suggestions. And they can help w/ many other anxiety issues as well. I am sure that many of us suffer from more than one problem.

I especially like your point about pets. I have two cats also and I swear they can tell when I am upset or sick. If I am laying around they always come up and comfort me. It helps to have something to care for and depend on you.

I agree that distraction is key to dealing w/ anxiety.