How do you deal with anxiety?

Learn noting.

Keep a journal.

Headspace meditation app .

Also, contact insurance they will be footing the bill, let them deal with it.

Posted by: joshvegas

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Also, contact insurance they will be footing the bill, let them deal with it.

I'm going through a load of anxiety issues now. Have a regular session with a counselor and occasionally just walk out of the office for half an hour when i'm feeling particularly stabby. Or getting chest pains.

On a practical level, get on to insurance quickly. Likely to be their issue to sort and this alone may resolve a lot of that particular stress.

On practical stuff, I find just working through a list of what needs to be done helps. Ticking things off, however small, feels like an achievement. In the past though, anxiety did take over and it affected me, my family and my work. At that time, I felt it was too big an issue to ignore and I was on Citalopram for 18months or so, it really helped and I know my family were better off for it as I was easier to live with. Starting meds felt like a big deal but it really wasn't and I would be happy to go down that route again if needed.

I don't know if this is specifically related to anxiety and is perhaps falls more into a broad mental health category but "Three Good Things" is a) easy, b) free c) takes about 3mins to do and (I think but don't quote me) scientifically proven to work. The proper exercise involves writing it down but I just tend to think of my three things in my head every night when I go to bed and I am told this is still quite a powerful exercise if done consistently. 

https://www.siumed.edu/gme/three-good-things  

I also find putting worries into time-line categories helps. i.e. will [x] still be a problem in 1 day/week/month/year?

(Appreciate that the subsidence issue may take some time to resolve- though equally it may not).

Edit to say smashing out a load of Vo2 max intervals certainly seems to help too.  

All of the above plus:

Leave the coffee and caffeine well alone

Get as much natural light as you can

Go for walks in nature and take as much in of the forest etc as you can (essentially mindfulness and being amongst nature is proven to lower anxiety)

Supplement with magnesium (Epsom salt bath or a good quality magnesium powder in a drink before bed)

I've just started having hypnotherapy sessions and they're helping massively. It's not the cheapest option, and as a result, I don't go as often as I'd like, but the benefits are very real. And for those who think it's like stage hypnotism, I can assure you it's nothing like that. In fact, a large part of each session is simply talking things through. 

Is this a stage of life thing? I'm regularly awake at 4:20am (nearly always the same time) with all sorts of anxieties. 

Usually non-specific, but I think I'm going to have anxiety on the OP's behalf now. Good luck with that subsidence, kuman.

I have no real advice though. Riding (regularly, even if short) defo helps, as does staying off alcohol. I'm pretty much on alcohol-free beer only these days. 

And I suppose addressing things that eat at you in the small hours, like calling insurance companies etc. 

Thanks, all good advice. I will try to get out on the bike this afternoon. Three good things mental health exercise looks like something worth trying. 

Horrible thing anxiety .  I've had a touch of it related to situations.  

No real practical advice but I have done two things.  Hidden under the duvet when its really too much and powered thru when I can.  I have also done various positive thinking things and am generally healing anyway.  I liked Duggans suggestion and I am sure it works

Deffo watch the caffine - I love my coffee but after an anxiety ridden morning when I thought " I'll have a cup of coffee to calm down"  having already had a couple I learned a lesson when I spent a few hours twitching and climbing the walls 🙂 !

Time outside and exercise is really important.  Back in the day I used to walk around the block at lunchtime in a stressful job.  YOu need to burn off the stress hormones.  cycling is fantastic of course for doing this 🙂

Unlikely given the demographic of this forum but if your an older female the other thing to consider is menopause since you say your getting worse at dealing with it.

I went from having anxiety I could deal with all my life to uncontrollable anxiety set off by minor things* In my case the hrt worked wonders and I'm now back down to my usual base line as a semi anxious person.

* I'm not saying your subsidence issue is minor, good luck with that.

Posted by: kuman

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Thanks, all good advice. I will try to get out on the bike this afternoon. Three good things mental health exercise looks like something worth trying. 

 

Tell us you ARE going to go out then you have to report back 😜 

In all seriousness it is something I do - arrange to meet folk or tell folk you are going to do something then you have to 

In reply to the thread title:

I do CBT!

Thanks, all good advice. I will try to get out on the bike this afternoon. Three good things mental health exercise looks like something worth trying. 

Its fine to try getting out but remember it's not worth beating yourself up. It os perfectly acceptable to not go for a bike ride*. On bad days make your goal so small its almost impossible to not achieve. 

Its sounds hippydippyhappyclappy but its really not its justva logic process.

*Bike rides are alot of effort to get ready to get your stuff out to make it long enough to be "worth while" i know i won't achieve that during periods of stress so its a dog walk for me.

I'm not really qualified to contribute, because neither I nor Mrs Bigjohn have ever been subject to anxiety.

However, when I've been faced with a tricky situation that doesn't have an easy solution I ask myself "will I still be worried about this in 12 months time? No." Then I rationalise if it won't be a worry then, it needn't be a worry now.  Deal with it as if it were someone else's problem.

Ive struggled more too as ive got older.  Young kids, more tired doesn't help.  So don't underestimate sleep, and any relaxation/switch  off time.

GP can help.

Fingers crossed for you.

I definitely need to watch my caffeine intake. I'm heavy coffee drinker. 

Very apt thread. Instead of getting better at handling anxiety as I get older, the opposite seems to be unfortunately true.

Alcohol mostly. 🤔

This plus cbt for me

https://open.spotify.com/episode/0koglpmx6BQjnaqYw0WnSt?si=yMHHXijYRdiLqy9Wsovr1Q

Disorded podcast - willful tolerance and trying to retrain my thoughts to "what would none anxious me do here" and then doing it. ****ing hard work,! 

Avoiding stuff doesn't work for me as it reinforces what anxious me thinks not what none anxious me would do. 

Reframing panic attacks as adrenaline dumps and recognizing when they start and then trying to continue doing what I was doing before the feeling takes hold.

Having had a period of anxiety attacks which manifested in feeling like I was having heart attacks and heavy weights on my chest at night. All of which was completely out of character and then undertaking a period of therapy I found the following really useful.

Riding was not enough to keep the bucket from overflowing.

Breathing exercises when feeling the rising tension associated with anxiety really helped, and especially at night when the heavy weight on chest. Breathing slowly in and imagining the breath travelling to the very top of the head and then breathing out and feeling it move from there out, then progressing very slowly through eyes mouth neck etc etc to toes.

In my situation I was being an arseh*le to my family as I was feeling so rotten, I had to re adjust what was important to me. Giving less f’s about work and other unimportant things helped. 

it wasn’t a quick process but I find myself able to control the feelings, as well as recognise them quicker.

Having tried various options, medication. 

I retired from work as that was the thing making me most anxious. Shame, because I otherwise enjoyed the job. 

That's not to say that ALL anxiety has left my life. Mostly I try to take pleasure in being outdoors, often at a very slow pace. I've also been doing yoha regularly, trying to engage the mindfullness angle of it as much as the fitness and flexibility aspect. 

Firstly, get your insurers involved with the subsidence. It will be stressful but they will have experts to try and get it resolved for you - it's what you pay them for.

I'm blessed with depression and anxiety. Have been since I was very young, but only dealt with when I was going properly out of control about 10 years ago.

Speaking to my GP was a huge step, and it helped. Was reluctant to go down the meds route but been on Citalopram on and off - mostly on - for 10 years now. Had some NHS CBT but counselling through work helped the most.

Fresh air, daylight and/or exercise make a huge difference to me, just 15 minutes makes a difference so grab it when you can. Cutting down on doom scrolling and social media of course.

Sleep hygiene made a difference to me - no screens for half an hour before bed, no caffeine after 2pm, having a set bedtime routine like a toddler 

I have cut down on alcohol in last couple of years but can’t really say this has made any difference. Also have been trying to implement slow living and generally taking everything at slower pace but it’s not always possible with full time job and family life. 
I have to say I enjoyed this afternoon’s bike ride for the first time in a while. 

https://www.dareresponse.com/

Genuine game changer with my anxiety. Rather than try to stop the feelings and sensations this approach removes the fear of the feelings and sensations. It sounds counter intuitive at first but really worked with me. 

The app is really accessible amd there is a book as well if that's your preference.

Best of luck you can change your relationship with those horrible thoughts, feelings and sensations. 

Middle of last year I was diagnosed with depression with a potentially underlying diagnosis fo Generalised Anxiety Disorder. Lots of factors behind the depression, lots of reasons it took so long for the diagnosis.

I got both acute and follow up treatment for the depression, but the GAD issue took work for me to acknowledge and progress with. Partly that was CBT, partly medication, partly self realisation. One of the biggest helps I have now, after deciding to stop the medication, is having a cat and being a part-time dog-sitter for a neighbour. The cat is company in the evenings and allows me to fuss him occaisionally; the dog is just an adorable bundle of [currently sleeping] energy and good spirits. 

TL;DR: I dealt with it poorly until I got professional help that allowed me to accept it and improve it

100mg Sertraline and some CBT (although I'm not really getting along with that but it has helped identify some triggers). Also trying to re introduce exercise and riding more generally into my life. We have a 2 year old and my general health and wellbeing has fallen of a cliff since her birth.

Firstly, I literally run away from it. Running is hard enough that I can't think about anything else when I do it. If my brain wanders I run faster.

The other thing is lists. Write down what you can do, what others need to do and what you can do to influence those people. Then do it. That then gets crossed off and I feel much better about it.

I think there are some good short-term fixes that help me; like riding my bike, going to the beach, throwing my phone to the other side of the room etc etc

Longer-term the most effective thing I've found is the NHS 5 Ways to Wellbeing and trying to incorporate as many of them into your life as often as possible.

If you can manage your overall mental wellbeing then you might be able to reduce the power anxiety has over you day-to-day.

Edit to add: writing lists at work and home is my basic go-to. As people have said - just ticking things off one at a time is incredibly effective...I tie that in with micro-rewards (cup of tea break at work for example) to get things done.

Some really good suggestions here, I'm making mental notes. 

For me, I think recognising it as a period of anxiety is a good start. Just being able to label it helps - kinda takes me from just being in it to being able to think (a little) about "oh, that's what it is, what usually works to try to get out of/ manage it". 

On practical stuff, I find just working through a list of what needs to be done helps.

I have this. In fact sometimes I find I'm spiralling into the to-do list, trying to get relief by ticking irrelevant things off it. It does help though. 

Also running, biking, walking the dog on the beach, sauna and a dip in the sea. The last one's quick where I live, and honestly, the feeling of achievement from dunking myself in the cold water for 10 minutes picks me up for the whole day. Oh, and keeping the blood sugar high helps too, but that may just be me. 

Supplement with magnesium (Epsom salt bath or a good quality magnesium powder in a drink before bed)

Unsure if it was anxiety related or just an unsettled period in life (same thing perhaps) but I did start taking magnesium tablet supplements a couple of years ago after reading how it may aid sleep as well as muscle recovery from exercise. I'd say that combined with only having a beer at weekends, not the odd mid week bottle after dinner, seems to have got me onto a much better sleep pattern - no waking up at 3am with an overactive mind focussed on something problematic or negative and struggling to go back to sleep. I take them like vitamins, every few days as a supplement to a decent diet rather than a daily must-have. 

Aldi sleep tea is good stuff too, it's a nice enough evening caffeine-free tea but it does make me sleep well - I took it on bikepacking trips as something to do and aid sleep in a bivi and now quite like it at home too.

Others have mentioned CBT and similar. I've had periods of being frustrated with aspects of my personality and recently have found ChatGPT brilliant for exploring why we think the way we do, difficulties in communicating ideas when people are a mix of N-T and N-D, understanding my own thought processes and cognitive divergences, and so on. Sounds daft to say this now now but until quite recently I thought we were mostly mentally wired about the same and just had personality variances - or there were labelled traits such as autism that were fairly clear in their expression. I hadn't appreciated the scale from 100% N-T to 100% N-D and how it's far more a spider graph than a line, and looking into where you are on that multi-axis range, for me, has been valuable as well as mentally calming. Asking ChatGPT to comment on a couple of opposed thought processes you have or areas you might hyper-focus on or shy away from, and for it to give examples of writing or concepts that relate to them isn't a bad place to start. I know it's prone to errors and it's just super-googling with good result formatting but if you stay at top level and don't look for personal level insights, just read what comes back as general concepts that you might relate to or may provoke further thought, I think it's a fascinating tool. I kept a couple of threads it generated, saved them as Word docs to go back to from time to time. I know a psychologist and asked them about one aspect of it, was really interesting hearing about how something new to me was a basic part of how our minds and motivations work. Would I have found that via a conventional google search? Probably, but ChatGPT is good for summarising and keeping a thread on track, less of the rabbit hole effect that's a risk when you venture into a complex subject.

Have you considered embracing Nhilism ?

No better treatment for anxiety than simply not giving a **** 😀

Posted by: dyna-ti

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Have you considered embracing Nhilism ?

 

No better treatment for anxiety than simply not giving a * 😀

I wish it was that simple to just not give a * 🙂

Mindfulness has been useful for me with anxiety, grief, low self esteem and all the "shoulds" that come with having a bunch of autistic traits. Things like kearning to find the space between your thoughts and your reaction, to acknowledge the thought and move on without being carried away by it, or to see your thoughts as different to your identity,. That helps me to understand what I'm going through without it dominating my mind, and when it does dominate my mind I have the tools to quieten it down. For me there's still a bit of a conscious effort to do this so I'm a long way from being some sort of zen master.

Headspace is a good place to start and they have courses to address some of these topics - all pretty much the same techniques though.

Buy two pairs of 1 kg dumbbells.

keep one pair at work (paperweights), and the other pair at home.

try to get some very light reps in before bedtime. Think muscle tone, rather than strength.

those grippy silicon spheres from Amazon are worth a look. They’re meant to be gently squeezed.

CBD (the legal stuff), when combined with light exercise can be awesome. But only after work.

try and go organic wherever possible.

On the subject of anxiety, anyone experienced it as a side effect of a viral infection? The wife and I both had a mild ‘buggy’ feeling last week, and both now have this low level background generalised anxiety that intrudes at various points of the day - very weird feeling!