Relaxation techniques?

[skinnypuppy]

What are your relaxation techniques when you are feeling anxious/nervous/on the verge of a panic attack? How do you cope with n* caused by anxiety?

[rebelle]

I have a couple of things that I try to do, and they can often help me cope with the panic, it may not remove the anxiety but it makes it easier to handle and often stops it from getting stronger.

I try sigh breathing. I often find it uncomfortable to inhale deeply down the belly when I feel nauseous, so I simply inhale however feels comfortable through my nose and then I let the breath out slowly with a sigh through my mouth a couple of times while letting go of tension in my body, especially in the jaws and shoulders.

if that doesn't help or if I want to instruct my body further to release the fight or flight response I try the half smile. I know, it feels weird to smile while having anxiety, but you can think of it as yoga for the mouth. Smiling tells our nervous system that everything is okay, no need to keep the fight or flight response going. I try to imagine smiling from the inside of the mouth, creating a very slight smile.

If that doesn't help I try to just accept whatever is going on. I try not to resist what I'm feeling, and I try to focus on what I actually know in this situation, what I can observe right now, and I try to not believe my thoughts about the future. I try to stay in the now.

And if I simply can't accept then I distract myself, often by playing sudoku, four in a row or something like that. I might even "window shop" on the internet. By keeping my mind occupied on something else, I don't feel the sensations in my body as much, and my thoughts don't have as much room to come up with scary statements and images.

[x...RaChE...x]

close your eyes and think of a calm, open place, maybe go outside for a bit? think back to a time when you felt like this but you were okay in the end, breath slowly, drink some water, have a mint and try and get into a calm frame of mind where all your troubles can't hurt you (:

[summerdazies]

My Dad is a gastroenterologist who (obviously) has a lot of experience with v* and n* - he taught me that v* requires a certain breathing pattern to physically happen. In addition to having a relaxing effect, forcing yourself to breath evenly, deeply and calmly can actually *prevent* you from v*! (This has worked for me, no joke - and usually, when I'm n* it's because of some natural stimulus (stomach ache, waking up with n*, etc) augmented by anxiety, not just pure anxiety.)

This also sounds really silly, and childish (I'm 19...) but when I'm really upset I'll call my mom and ask her to make up a story to tell me. It is comforting.

[rebelle]

My Dad is a gastroenterologist who (obviously) has a lot of experience with v* and n* - he taught me that v* requires a certain breathing pattern to physically happen. In addition to having a relaxing effect, forcing yourself to breath evenly, deeply and calmly can actually *prevent* you from v*! (This has worked for me, no joke - and usually, when I'm n* it's because of some natural stimulus (stomach ache, waking up with n*, etc) augmented by anxiety, not just pure anxiety.).

Wow, I have actually never heard this before. Do you mean that it's really possible to breathe deeply and evenly while you body for some reason needs to v* and thereby prevent it from happening? Can you have that much control over your breathing in that situation? I find this really interesting and I did a quick search and found that diaphragmatic breathing is used to treat a disorder called rumination syndrome or merycism and in the wikipedia article it says that a similar breathing pattern can be used to prevent normal v*. I wonder what is meant by a similar breathing pattern...It would be interesting to know a little bit more about this.

[asianeko]

Wow, I have actually never heard this before. Do you mean that it's really possible to breathe deeply and evenly while you body for some reason needs to v* and thereby prevent it from happening? Can you have that much control over your breathing in that situation? I find this really interesting and I did a quick search and found that diaphragmatic breathing is used to treat a disorder called rumination syndrome or merycism and in the wikipedia article it says that a similar breathing pattern can be used to prevent normal v*. I wonder what is meant by a similar breathing pattern...It would be interesting to know a little bit more about this.

It's definitely true. I remember one of our members posting about this before. He had done extensive research, and had a whole page devoted to what is required by your body to actually be ill. The page itself had lots of graphic information, but was very interesting.

As far as how I relax, I actually have two lists of how I cope in my sig

[rebelle]

It's definitely true. I remember one of our members posting about this before. He had done extensive research, and had a whole page devoted to what is required by your body to actually be ill. The page itself had lots of graphic information, but was very interesting.

Do you or anyone else know where I could find this?

[asianeko]

Do you or anyone else know where I could find this?

I think it may have been Doug who posted it, but I'm not sure. I can look around.

Edit: Found it! The link to Doug's site is in his sig.

Note: There are some images that may make you uncomfortable (including a medical diagram of a man putting his finger down his throat) but none of any vomit.
http://emetophobia.byethost15.com/vomiting.html

[rebelle]

I think it may have been Doug who posted it, but I'm not sure. I can look around.

I would really appreciate that. Thank you so much!

[asianeko]

Found it! Peek above