General Discussion

Hello fellow anxious people. I have anxiety and have very little idea on how to help deal with it. Anybody have any methods to help? Or just a story about it? I just wanna feel less alone in my struggles XD

So you know, I have social anxiety, separation anxiety and the kind which is like "Oh, you're feeling good today? Everything ok? Well that's just grea-PANIC ATTACK"

And now I'm anxious of being to blunt and putting details about myself on the internet and like EVERYTHING AAAAAA

i struggle a lot with anxiety too! i have no idea how to deal with social anxiety, but i find that when i can’t stop thinking about something really bad or anxiety-inducing, i try to distract myself somehow. going for a walk or taking a nap probably won’t help very much since it gives you time to think more about whatever the bad thing is, but playing a video game or reading or watching a show will probably help a lot more since it takes your mind off whatever’s bothering you! i like to watch anime or vine compilations since it also improves my mood.

My biggest outlet is distractions. Sometimes it is immersing myself in a video game, a book or just writing (even if I'm just writing details for characters rather than an actual story). If I'm out and about, I just start mentally reciting the Sith Code. [quote][b][i]Peace is a lie, there is only passion. Through passion, I gain strength. Through strength, I gain power. Through power, I gain victory. Through victory, my chains are broken. The Force shall free me.[/i][/b][/quote] Ridiculous as it sounds, it helps me. I just focus on that until whatever is bothering me (if anything at all) is no longer my focus.

I suggest using a weighted blanket/vest
I’ve got one and the weights really help me to calm down when I get a panic attack

[quote name="wiinter" date="2018-09-06 15:05:14" ] I suggest using a weighted blanket/vest I’ve got one and the weights really help me to calm down when I get a panic attack [/quote] I am a very anxious person. My anxiety causes me to have difficulty breathing, to the point where it feels like I'm dying. And it happens when I'm just sitting there, minding my own business, completely out of the blue. I have noticed that having some sort of weight on me helps calm me down. Or, alternatively, the feeling of having something wrapped around me. Like a blanket. If I wrap it around me tightly, the feeling is soothing. I also recommend listening to music, if you're into that. Lie down on your back in a dimly lit or completely dark room and listen to music. Make up little stories about the song in your head. Like small movies. @Babysaxon

I struggle with anxiety a lot, so what I do is to distract myself. Books, friends, whatever. Any distraction. (I also should grab a box of tissues since I get upset when Into anxious and my nose gets runny. I REALLY need those tissues)

Breathing techniques and yoga : ) it sounds cliche but these two things have been improving my anxiety for four years.

https://www.yogajournal.com/practice/healing-breath

This site is the best at explaining and also showing you what to do, etc.

I used to have super, super bad anxiety. Now the only time you can tell is when I'm being confronted about something and I start leaking tears even though I don't look visibly upset, or when I'm up in front of people. Was so bad it used to paralyse me sometimes and people would have to help me walk to somewhere quieter or secluded or whatever.
Originally I had typed up this grand paragraph about how I managed to drastically improve my quality of life by beating a large amount of my anxiety. Then I realised you said dealing with it, not beating it, which are two completely different thing. I digress.
What I used to do when it was very severe was listen to upbeat or fast paced music. I always found calming music to make it worse, sense the calm mood was easy to upset and being in an energetic mood makes you less... susceptible to that I guess. I don't know. That's how my brain worked.
Podcasts and lectures are nice and calming too. Not really sure how they work their magic though. No specifics.
Also, try this. Focus on you breathing. Don't think about it, just feel it. Let your mind be at peace. You can do this by focusing on anything, really, but breathing is easy to focus on. Can be a sound, a sensation, anything. But don't think about it, just enjoy it. I find that very peaceful.

I struggle with anxiety and severe paranoia. I have several ways of dealing with mine. These include:

-Breathing. This sounds obvious, but when you're very anxious, sometimes you hyperventilate or breathe too fast. Focus on your breathing. Inhale, count to three, exhale. That's how I do it. Sometimes this forces you to relax a little bit, forces you to calm down. If you're in a safer place to do this, try breathing exercises to calm some of the anxiety.

-Getting out of the situation that causes you anxiety. If you're in a bad place and none of your coping mechanisms are working, try to get out of the situation for a few minutes. This is not always possible, if you have school or work for example, but sometimes it can help. If you can't get out of the situation, try other methods.

-Distractions. This is my primary coping mechanism. Whether it's music or something I can fidget with, sometimes having something to distract my mind a little helps. I usually have headphones in my ears to help ground me. I will reach up and fuss with the necklace I'm wearing, too, stroking the stone on it to help calm me down. If I can touch something, it helps to ground me. I remain aware of my surroundings, but sometimes, if I can't hear quite everything around me, my anxiety lowers a bit.