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Anxiety
Past User
Recovering🥀Posts: 0 Just got here
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I'm really sorry to hear you are struggling at the minute
Thank you for reaching out for support. There is not one cure for anxiety that works for everyone unfortunately. However, I have heard meditation, mindfulness and deep breathing to be natural remedies that work for some people. In terms of medication, it would be best to speak to your doctor so that they can prescribe you with something that works for you! There are lots of anxiety drugs out there that may work for you, however it is important to get in contact with your doctor first.
Hope this helps, here if you need to talk more about this
That sounds really quite a frightening situation to be in. As @daisyella12 has suggested, I know that when my anxiety gets really difficult and my breathing becomes hard to get under control, I find either listening to a meditation, or a guided deep breathing meditation really helpful. I don't know if you have access to Spotify or something like that but I've found the Wake Up/Wind down podcast really really helpful. Particularly the wind down guided meditations, it's something maybe if you feel comfortable, you could try and incorporate slowly into your routine, and it may ease the anxiety slightly when these attacks come on. It won't cure it for sure, but it may help as your body will be slightly more adjusted to deep breathing. There are some other breathing techniques like the 16 breath i.e. you breathe in for 4, hold for 4, breathe out for 4, and hold for 4 and repeat as many times as needed. There's also something called colourful breathing, where you imagine your favourite colour, and imagine breathing that colour into your whole body, and then breathe it out. Another one I find helpful is the 5p5 meditation. For this one you breathe in for 5 by counting each finger on your left hand, then pause for three seconds and breathe out for five breaths by counting the fingers on the right hand. I hope one of these is helpful for you love! Please only do what you're comfortable with, and just know that if they don't work for you, it's okay, we can always brainstorm others!
Thanks for reaching out to us. I always appreciate how much courage it must take to reach out. I am really pleased to see all the wonderful support already provided by @daisyella12 and @Brookee that I would just like to reiterate.
The only thing I would add is are you aware of what is making you feel anxious? / What are you feeling the most anxious about? I always believe in addressing the root cause wherever possible. Though, we know some people simply feel anxious as it is a medical condition and that is perfectly ok and understandable too!
Just know that you don't have to go through this alone
As others have said, you are doing really well to talk about the feelings you are having right now. There are medications that can help with anxiety, however it is best to speak with a doctor about these, as they can work differently for different people, and so they may have an idea of what would work best for you in addressing the anxiety.
In terms of some practical solutions, similar to what Brooke and Daisy have shared, you may want to look into things called grounding techniques, which can be simple things you can do in the middle of an anxiety episode. There is a guide on young minds site that may give you an idea of what they are: https://www.youngminds.org.uk/young-person/blog/the-grounding-technique-that-helps-me-when-i-m-anxious/
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Sending hugs. Super proud of you for speaking out about how you are feeling!
I'd love to echo everything that has been said above. Also, going off @Laura_tigger82's point about being aware of the root, I find journalling can be helpful. I like to journal using "word dumping". So I take a pen and notebook and just write every single thought that comes to my head. It doesn't have to flow, or make sense, or even be in coherent sentences. Just getting everything out of my head on the page is the aim. I keep going and going until there's nothing else I'd like to write. I like to do this in the morning to start my day with a clearer head. It helps me to see the sort of words and themes on the page - normally has something to do with my mood
Alternatively, there a lots of great journal prompts online. You can search for "journal prompts for anxiety". This can help you to guide your journalling process, answering questions that might help to bring more clarity to your anxiety.
Take good care - we are right here for you
For me, truly one of the only things that works every time is placing something freezing cold on the back on my neck and more recently an ice pack at the centre of my chest to 'cool down' the vagus nerve which is linked to a lot of people's panic attacks. I combine that with some rando distraction like Tiktok and usually this cuts down the length of a panic attack once started or can even stop one in its tracks if I listen to my body's warning signs.
Here is a bit more scientificy info on vagus nerve and stuff if anyone wanted to know the background!!
I really hope any of these tips can help you to cope, i know this must be so draining for you so huge huge hugs
It's amazing that you've taken the first step and feel comfortable to reach out to people, I understand how much bravery that can take! Anxiety attacks are very difficult to deal with and there's so much amazing advice others have offered that might work for you.
Personally, I've found that mindfulness has been very helpful, especially progressive muscle relaxation. There are loads of amazing apps and videos online to help guide you through this to help deal with your anxiety. In the moment of having an anxiety attack, I agree with @AislingDM that cooling down can work really well - I found running my hands under a cold tap can do wonders! I agree that perhaps if you feel comfortable, talking to a GP can be very helpful - they can put you in contact with your local mental health service where you can get some therapy if that's something you want to consider as they'll be able to work through it with you so you can get some more personalised help to your situation.
Wishing you the best
Just tagging you in to give you the best chance possible of seeing @AislingDM's response. We all hope you are well. There's no pressure at all to respond but we are here for you if you need anything. Also hope your mock exams are going well for you