To ask for your number 1 tip for anxiety?

[KM99]

Me = menopausal, separating from my husband, looking for a new job. Needless to say, some days I'm riddled with anxiety.

What is your number 1 go to thing you do to help manage it?

Medication, giving up booze, cutting down on sugar, exercise and eating a decent diet

Oh and plenty of water. And actually challenging the anxious thoughts

HRT

Sometimes it is a matter to wait a couple of hours until the anxiety pass, in some cases over rationalise stuff over which you have no control can only make you feel much worse.

Try to find ways to may thinks better, but don’t replay bad moments of the past in your mind again and again. You can’t change those, just ignore and move on.

Watching the YouTube videos that tell you when to inhale and exhale always help me come out of it

HRT and beta blockers.

My partner struggles but is so much better with regular exercise.

Breathe slowly in four count of four, out for count of five. Do it four times. Then scan your body and relax any tension in it - tense and release the muscles, or wriggle or stretch. Check from toes to head and back down again. If you need to, do the breaths and body scan another couple of times.
Once you have a bit more control of the physical symptoms ask: what would non-anxious me think, do or say in this situation? Then follow the lead of your non-anxious self.

No caffeine at all, restricted chocolate, kalms, pillow sprays.
Relaxing bubble bath, sleep music

The finch app, especially the first aid breathing feature

Is it expensive?

What are decider skills?

Placemarking

Guided breathing and body scanning amps up my anxiety massively, I absolutely cannot abide it. Perhaps partly because of the irritating smug voices and tone that so often come along with it. Weird because breathing properly is partly why singing is so good for anxiety.

Breathing properly, I tend to hold my breath without realising. So breathing has helped massively.

realising that it will pass, and I will feel better even if it’s only for a few minutes at a time.

understanding that I will often freeze when I’m feeling anxiety, so stop fighting it and sit with it for a bit and it seems to pass faster

Beta blockers - honestly try them they can be life changing. They were for me and lots of my friends. All they do is lower your blood pressure and ease the physical symptoms of anxiety do you can get on with things. I needed them for about 2 years but now I don't even take them it's just not an issue. I might for a job interview though.

sertraline blocked all the anxiety forever
(when all other natural attempts amounted to nothing)

Joshua is amazing. Listening to his anxiety podcast with Drew has considerably cured my driving anxiety.

Yoga, yoga yoga and time
also read the power of now

Exercise 5 days out of 7
Magnesium before sleep
One alcoholic drink a week ( like gywneth)
Limit watching or listening to news
Gate keep sleep

I can see that yoga works for a lot of people but I had to give it up and move to Pilates because it was giving me too much time to think. I've taken the most, for me, anxiety busting poses with me namely pigeon pose and downward dog and always finish with child's pose. I like a teacher on YouTube ( Keel Pilates) as she has a very calming voice and I can start the day doing this .

.

Yoga
Swimming
Dog walk/ cuddle
Hug someone
Stop drinking alcohol
Eat less carbs
Sleep
Read

Oh being in nature
Gardening

Giving it a name and telling it to shut up. Cold water therapy. Distraction. Cutting out all the people in my life that worsened it (as far as possible). Getting a job where I don't wfh every day. Distraction is probably the
most effective for me, too much time on my own is a killer