How do you cope with your "general axiety"

[caro_san]

I have anxiety. At times I freeze, or double guess myself, or have a panic attack. I'm not the best under pressure. I take meds for it but I'd like to get to the point where I hardly need them.

I talk to people, write in my journal, exercise (when I can), give myself choices and tell myself that option x isn't the only one, I side track.



What do you do to cope with your anxiety besides meds?
Is it effective?

[pinchot]

after begin diagnosed with anxiety by multiple therapists, i can safely say i have it but i'm not medicated.

how i handle it, is to understand potential triggers, and work around them when you can. when you know that some bouts are caused through a trigger, try to avoid them. i became particularly bad whenever i was timed for one reason or another. this did not treat me well in tests. instead i was given 'endless time' on exams and found i was answering them immediately. i'm also HIGHLY empathetic so they also removed me from the class during tests since i'd pick up on the collective anxiety of others and go nuts.

in the event no trigger is found, it's spontaneous or unavoidable, i taught myself to take naps if i could. sleeping will automatically force your body to calm down. the comfort of a bed is a great thing. just dont get addicted. i developed a bit of a dependency on this and had to break it. otherwise, i found stopping what i was doing, imagining that my anxiety was just some wave crashing against me, and letting my anxiety go with it helped. it is a form of meditation really.

exercising and time management are huge, however. if you break an exercise routine for even a week you fall back into the "bleh" as i want to call it. it SUCKS to have to keep up with it since it takes time, but doing little home exercises when you cant go to a gym or run is better than falling into the lull of not doing it and losing a routine.

hope this helps.

[maggoty tacos]

I do everything in baby steps.
I mean it takes me hours to make a phone call. And sometimes I'll put it off for days or weeks. But eventually I work up to it and do it.
And the next time I make a phone call I try to remind myself "Remember last time? It wasn't that bad. You did it. You did good."

I dunno, it helps me.

[Anesia]

I like the advice given above, very helpful! My hubby and I both suffer from this (him more so than me) maybe we can all try and find some answers that works for us. I hope you find what works for you! wahmbulance

[cisslinger]

i typically do my best to avoid anything stressful until i recover enough to analyze what is making me anxious and how i can tackle it.
my primary methods of distraction or relaxation are talking with my online friends and watching videos that make me laugh.
i also have a tendency to plug in my tablet and draw whatever is on my mind. no erasing, no undo. just drawing. a lot of the time the finished product is intriguing enough to make me think, "this is nice, i did a good job" and it helps calm me down.

on top of anxiety, this also helps with my dissociation.
i'm not on any medication as of yet due to my family thoroughly believing i did not need any until a rather tragic event occurred last week and they gave in to it.

i hope you find a method that works for you. anxiety is tough to deal with.

[Mein Frankenmind]

Marijuana and self-discipline work for me.