Posted by ClearSkies on March 17, 2006, at 6:45:18
In reply to Re: It lasted 6 hours!, posted by gardenergirl on March 16, 2006, at 14:06:41
> Hey, wanna share what you come up with for dealing with anxiety? I'm going to try to let myself feel it more versus automatically avoiding it. But when I do, I realize how darned uncomfortable it is, and think no wonder I defend against this feeling so much. But I feel ready and really need to start facing it. So any help/advice you can give is welcome.
>Hmm. When I am experiencing anxiety, I:
-think about something that distracts me - what colour I want to paint my happway, or what kind of frames I would get if I wanted my family photos to be displayed all together. I think I start organizing things in my head, putting them in order or creating calm. It leaks through the anxiety and my breathing can become deeper and the strangled throat feeling passes.-never grocery shop near the beginning of the month. Social security and pension cheques arrive and that when I'm most likely to be frustrated by the slower, older shoppers around me.
-if an aisle is crowded, I'll skip it and come back to it when it's emptier. I swear that when there's one person looking at a shelf, it draws other people in case there's a bargoon they have missed out on!
- look at my cart, decide what's essential - what can I do without on this shopping trip? and then I race to the shortest line in the checkout
- look at who is checking out customers. If they look slow and uncertain, I'll choose another clerk (don't want to answer the "what is this?" question as they hold up a vegetable that isn't peas or carrots).-picking a household chore and spending 15 minutes doing it, and not a minute more. Another distraction, but engages me physically.
-lavender essential oil. I'll put a vial in my handbag and wave it under my nose while I'm panting away. Another distraction.
Here's what doesn't work for me:
-going away to try to meditate. Seems that if I try to consciously slow down my thinking and breathing that they speed up at the attention I'm paying them.
-trying NOT to think about my anxiety symptoms. They become much worse when I consciously try to avoid thinking about them. Distraction works much better for me.ClearSkies
poster:ClearSkies
thread:620524
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20060310/msgs/621242.html