to ask you to share your little tips on handling anxiety/panic?

[JollyGiraffe]

Posting here for traffic, in the hopes someone might see something that helps them!

I have suffered from panic attacks and anxiety on and off for the last 8 years or so. Things are much better than they were, but by no means fully resolved and I still have panicky feelings almost daily.

I thought it would be nice to start a thread with some small easy tips on how to distract yourself from the panicky feelings until they pass.

I'll go first:

Chewing gum, or sucking on a mint (peppermint is calming and refreshing, and chewing or sucking on something helps to relieve anxious energy)

My favourite grounding technique: thinking of 5 things you can see, 4 things you can feel, 3 things you can hear, 2 things you can smell and 1 thing you can taste. Particularly helpful when somewhere busy in public!

Anyone else?

Orchidflower1 I love your idea about looking at peoples gardens when out and about and picking something you like and dislike, I shall be remembering that one

Rescue remedy pastilles - orange & elderflower. One of these chewed takes the edge off the jitters, two when I'm more stressed about something specific. I'm not one for believing in this sort of thing but they really work for me (I was surprised).

I get anxious and panicky while waiting for a train.. Bus.. Appointment... So I play Candy Crush.. It's monotonous and gives me something to concentrate on

Mindfulness is really helping me at moment.

Blatant place Mark. ..sorry..

This may sound stupid but when I am panicking I find that doing star jumps or running really vigorously on the spot helps. It gives my body a practical way to use up some of the adrenaline and I don't stop until I am really out of breath because then I have to focus on my breathing because the exercise has left me out of breath instead of focusing on my breathing because I am panicking.
If I am not in a position to do that then I also find playing Candy Crush strangely calming.

Cross-post with Sweetpea.

Another 'mental game' which helps as a distraction until the panic passes (in case you're not somewhere you can play candy crush!)

Thinking of a country beginning with each letter of the alphabet. A is for Algeria, B is for Belgium etc.

And then the same with capital cities, or any topic you like.

Nike- those sound yummy! Similar to my chewing gum or mints.

RedFace I'm tempted to try that on the tube in the morning

redFace woops that was meant to be a !!

Duloxetine quite honestly is the only way I can get through the day right now.

This is so useful and I am making notes! I am not anxious myself but my 11 year old gets anxious about all kinds of things (I want to say silly things but I know they are not silly to her). The tip about just accepting that you feel anxious sounds like it might be something she could try. Also the 5 4 3 2 1 thing. I will follow closely in case there are other things she might like to try. Thanks all for sharing your experiences.

This might not work for everyone but this is what stopped my panic attacks years ago. It's similar to what growingboys's therapist said: I told myself "fine, panic. more, more!" or something like "let's see what will happen, I'm going to panic to the end". It went away
Also, decided to take up Tai Chi (haven't started yet but I've been deciding every week for years lol)

Hebenon you sound like a great mum! I never felt able to admit when I was feeling anxious as a child- in case I was seen as silly. Hope your daughter finds a way to help her

Blatant placemark

Thank you, JollyGiraffe. I seem to spend a lot of time and mental energy coping with her anxiety but it means a lot to know that perhaps I am helping her a bit even if just by listening.

It is quite hard sometimes, tbh. She worries about stuff like if I might die or hurt myself when she is at school (I work from home so rarely doing anything more dangerous than sitting at a desk with a computer or making toast) or if a psychopath might break into the house and kill us or if there was a huge explosion and we couldn't get out of the house.

She had some therapy via CAMHS a few years ago but that came to an end and things seemed to be better but this year has been awful. It's her last at primary and I think all the inevitable worries about growing up and moving on are coming to a head and sending her a bit loopy. I mean that in the kindest possible way!

I do listen and take her worries seriously. I never tell her she is being silly (I do tell her that X is very very very vanishingly unlikely and won't happen). I'm not sure how to help her best. But reading all of your tips is very helpful. We can at least try the ones that might be possible for her and see if they help. Something I've noticed reading this is that children have so much less agency than adults. She can't get up and move around. If she patted herself in class I can imagine the teacher not being massively impressed. Stuff like that.

I'm going to take her back to the GP and see if there is anything else we can do for her. But thanks everyone. Will keep reading and taking on board all the comments and tips!

Hypnotherapy and a small polished rose quartz stones that I gently rub/smooth/thumb whilst doing breathing exercises like slowly breathing into the count of 5 and saying relax in my head as I breathe out slowly.

hebenon

I think hopefully your dd will grow out of this. But maybe you could share with her when you feel anxious and normalise it. As it is normal but you have to have limits.

My youngest dd has PTSD after a trauma and I just let her vent. I vent too because nearly loosing her made me anxious so we are struggling together.

You sound a wonderful mum and I get you are strong and need to be strong for your dd but sometimes it’s good for the person whose anxious to feel they arnt being silly
Or weak and if you mention your fears or anxieties too that makes them feel they arnt alone.

Normalising anxiety is good for everyone because it takes the fear out of it.

But please don’t think I am criticising you, far from it you sound amazing. Dealing with a child with anxiety issues is exhausting

I don't get panic attacks but I have had anxiety since being a very young child. I started sertraline six months ago (after lots and lots of encouragement from dh) and I wish I had done it 20 years ago.

My life is so much easier, I can cope at work, I don't have to ring dh to run through social exchanges that I'm anxious I 'got wrong' and I don't spend all day, every day in fear of dying. It's wonderful!

I have a child who has anxiety and I will definitely support him to look at medication once he becomes an adult. If he feels it might help him, I would encourage him to try it. Anxiety has held me back so much all my life and now at 44, I have escaped!!

Separating the sensations of anxiety and panic from the outcome of the attack helps me. Just because I'm feeling this way doesn't mean that X will happen. Recognising panic for an experience rather than a causation.
Also, statistics. If I have a particular anxiety, like worrying about fainting. How many times have I actually fainted.. once as a child. So 100% of my adult life has been faint free. Millions of people around the world have had a totally faint free day, including me so far.

Thanks, Whatsoccuringlovely, all good tips.

Give it a name (mine’s a Barbara), and think of her as an annoying but faintly ridiculous relative. At the onset of anxious thoughts, I can think ‘oh, it’s just Barbara’, or ‘not now, Barbara, I’m busy’, etc. Sounds daft, but helps me keep anxiety at bay and acknowledging it’s presence whilst reminding myself it’s just a thought, just a feeling.

What helps when I feel very anxious, especially before sleeping is to write down all the things that scare and worry me. Once I have finished my 'list' I tear it apart and throw it in the bin. I then writ down 3 things I am grateful for and why.

I have had a lot of social anxiety recently. This has resulted in having strange heart flutters and now I am worried that I have some sort of hearts disease. I's not heart palpitations but a unsettling lint fluttering sensate in my chest ): I am in my mid 40s btw.

I know of others for whom Yoga was a life save in terms of getting through anxiety.

All very useful tips. Thank you for starting the thread @JollyGiraffe