Coping mechs for anxiety

[Trinity]

I am having a bad day with anxiety, have been for several days.

There are a lot of stressors, there is money trouble,  I have a couple shows to do and they are high visibility and its really the first time getting out there again.  

The other big one is the Florida business and the slow recovery from Irma.  That storm really did us in.

There is a bit of claustrphobia as well.  The peak of the ceiling in my room is 5 feet.  I'm kind of surprised I can handle this.  I can't stand up in here, have to get out of the room.  Theres reasons, its temporary.  I think I am going to keep the space though for my sleeping arangement and just use the bedroom for a studio- music yes, but mostly acting.

The choice to be here is because of family support, but it also is connected with the theater.  I want to refocus on theater work in FL though, and have some big auditions down there scheduled for the end of the month.

And our rentors are moving out, so we can get market rate instead of being taken advantage of and being in the hole.  That gets intense as well, new people, potential evictions.  And the money coming in is barely enough to keep it all going.

Much of the conditions and causes are based in issues that are long term.  Stuff from childhood, bad habits, lots of little things.   Addictive escapism is a factor, I am shutting that down, but it's there.

I've been hitting the problems head on, confronting them, changing them, dealing with them, instead of denying them.  But  at the end of the day I am worn out here.

So lots of stressors.

I wanted to ask, how do you cope with anxiety?   I don't use meds, as an addictive personality that would be unwise.  

[Trinity]

Escapism doesn't work for me, but I do it, maybe bingewatch TV

It can lead to compulsive eating, it can lead to all kinds of things.

Half the reason I post so much on the forum is that it relieves anxiety.

There's excercize and a lot of stuff, but the bottom line for me is that I have to get at the root cause of the anxiety and get it dealt with.

Hormones, if too high, will also produce anxiety.

Often I have to put pen to paper and list the fears, then opposite list the facts, the consequences, the reasons why they are there.

Thoughts dear ones? Its like fight or flight, isn't it?

[Avery]

The deep breaths thing sounds cliche, but it can help to take long slow breaths (it's even backed up by brain chemistry, etc.).

In terms of stress and "cycling" (i.e. obsessing over worries, being stuck in your thoughts, being overwhelmed by decisions) I always find that taking a walk helps. I usually walk outside with no destination or time frame, but always on familiar streets so I don't need to think about where I'm going, it helps me to calm down and work out what I'm feeling. Or, if I don't want to think and need to get away, I can do the same but with loud music in my headphones.

Another one is, whatever helps you calm down or what you enjoy when you're calm, like bubble baths, hot cocoa, etc.

I also make to-do lists and pro/con lists. I'm a big list person

[EchelonHunt]

My BED psychologist told me the breaking the vicious cycle of depression format can also be used to break the vicious cycle of anxiety.

>Person becomes anxious about meeting people
>Person stops going outside
>Person neglects responsibilities
>Person feels worse
>Person then becomes anxious about meeting people, going outside and growing pile of responsibilities
>And the cycle keeps going and going, repeating itself in a circle...

(Added quote of my post, in-case anyone wants to have a look!)

Apr 19, 2018 21:02:00 GMT 8 EchelonHunt said:

www.cci.health.wa.gov.au/resources/docs/Info-Vicious%20Cycle%20of%20Depression.pdf

My BED psychologist gave me this infographic about depression.

It may help you or any friends you know who suffer from depression. It kind of surprised me how cycle keeps repeating itself and how you can stay on top of it.

Basically, you have to adjust your behaviour before the low motivation hits to be able to break the cycle.

I know I’ll keep being mindful of my feelings and adjusting my behaviour before the low motivation hits.

Mine are:
- Walking at local botanical park and playing Pokémon GO
- Listening to music
- Doing illustrations
- Playing on 3DS or Switch
- Hanging out with 1-2 close friends
- Making silly threads on here :^)
- Going for a cycle

You're right though, confronting the root cause of your anxiety will help alleviate it and at least, allow you to rationalise the anxiety. Sometimes, rationalising your thoughts stemming from anxiety can make the anxiety lose power over you.

I have lots of social anxiety, this stems from my poor body image and my fear of being immediately "seen/recognised" as trans. Being obese, I heavily dislike how I look and I miss the days where I was thinner, where I was more confident and happier. I am currently losing weight and forcing myself to be socially receptive. The latter one, it's easy to get rid of that one, because nobody can tell I am trans just by looking at me, I have to remind myself that I look male to others, this helps but the fear is still there, deeply ingrained. I just try to accept I am trans and there is no shame in that.

She really hammered it into me, "Active change ensures that things won't stay the same." If I do nothing, in six months time, I'll still be stuck in my ways. Whereas, if I put effort in and actively change my behaviour, I will be at a much healthier, more positive outlook in six months time.

But it's okay to have a down day, to kick back and retreat from the world. Just don't let your anxiety stack up on you.

You got this, Trinity!

(I've been thinking about making a fun new thread, stay tuned...!)

[Trinity]

They asked me to come into dance class today.

That might not sound huge, but it is.  Tearfully huge.

To have people care about you like that is not normal for me.

I danced, felt great, full pro workout, kept right up with the big boys and girls.

And i'm all over that play.

We are taking the right actions, its going to work out, matter of time.

Good post.  Last night was tough...

[Avery]

Glad to hear things are looking up <3

[~k×tten]

Anxiety is a beast Im glad things were working out Trinity ^.^

Ummm how do I cope with anxiety? I dont XD Well, I have all these cliche methods that yea do help sometimes... but now Im sweating it out over all kinds of small things D:

Like I was having so many second thoughts over joining this forum and making a first post T.T

[Trinity]

Mine is getting better.

It still causes a lot of behavioral things, particualarly connected with addiction (spending, chocolate, binging, all or nothing, horsepower.....)

Music has been a big help.

And long drives at night with my wife, that helps big time.

Still have a lot of stressors, saw my original post, I had no idea what hell I was in for over the summer, but the results have been ok. I have some ptsd like sypmtoms left over from it though.

Glad you overcame your anxiety and started to post. You are most welcome here.

[Ativan Prescribed]

I have L-Theanine in a powder form that I can take a couple doses and let it melt under my tongue, not bitter, kinda sweet really if anything.
Stuff works just about right away, comes on slow enough to be not adding to anxiety, and it just mellows me out.
I sometimes make my coffee stronger than the melt spoons kind I usually make and it can be to much if I drink it all right away.
If it can stop that in its tracks, then you can imagine how well it just works in general.
I used to take a dose before bed and sleep was pretty good, but started to forget and it seems like I don't need to now.
Got it on amazon in a bulk bag, so cheap enough, came with a dose spoon, tiny little thing.
For what I bought, I haven't used half of it in the months I've had it, so a good bargain not having to buy more.
The other thing is the CBD flowers I bought online, may or may not be illegal in places, but it ships in really tight sealed pacs, so that pot smell isn't there.
Just a hit or two and it's all good, again bought a bunch so it lasts and is a lot cheaper, no THC, just the CBD stuff, and the smell of pot being smoked, I like that.
There is oil you can buy and use a vape thing to smoke it in, I haven't looked into it yet but plan to, none of the smell, and straight CBD oil, I hear it works good.

[Yuki]

We're planning to get more of the vape oil, from a different brand this time without the fruity smell. We wanted to try a full spectrum one this time. Still no THC, but it has some of the other stuff that supposedly makes it work better, like gives more of a full effect or something. They call it an "entourage effect" if you want more info on that. The flowers automatically are full spectrum, because they're not extracted at all. But even the isolate vape oil we have still works really well, despite not being full spectrum.

If you do the vape thing though you do need to make sure it's an oil specifically for vaping, and not a tincture. The tinctures often have coconut oil added, or other oils that are not good to be vaporized and inhaled.. so make sure to notice the difference. Most vape oils can be vaped or ingested... but tinctures are only for ingesting, not vaping. (I feel like I could work at a dispensary at this point, lol.)

I still haven't tried the L-Theanine but it sounds interesting.

There was another thing I've seen that's supposed to be good for anxiety called Kratom? I haven't done any research into that yet, though, so I know nothing about it. The legality of it is questionable, too, apparently. I think it's more like a drug than CBD or anything like that, but I have seen it being sold around here... some places have a workaround to still be able to sell it. Not sure if I'd try it or not, just because I don't know enough about it and don't see it often enough to bother.

[Trinity]

River laurie uses that successfully