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Anxiety

Millie2787Millie2787 Community Champion Posts: 5,143 Part of The Furniture
In year 9 i was diagnosed with social phobia (social anxiety) and part of this means that i struggle with new places, new people and loud crowded situtations.
im due to start college on monday and wondered if anyone had any technuiques that i could use to ground myslef it times of panic - i have my physcial things like my tangle and hand cream but wondered if anyone has any good technuiques other than square breathing and imaging your ideal safe place
Sometimes all you need is one person to believe in you , for you to begin to believe in yourself.

Comments

  • BubblesGoesBooBubblesGoesBoo Posts: 3,590 Community Veteran
    Hey :)

    Anxiety is something I have struggled with for a long time aswell. @Floxy shared some useful tips here https://community.themix.org.uk/discussion/3592376/some-useful-tips-on-dealing-with-anxiety-and-panic#latest  

    When you were diagnosed did they give you any support for it? Maybe it's worth a trip back to the GP if it's still effecting you so much?

    Some things I personally have found useful is popping candy, it focuses on all your senses at once, so like listening to it, tasting it, hearing it.... something else I do which again is to do with the senses is something you can see, hear, smell, taste, touch and see.

    Let us know how you get on! :)
    ' So I put a bullet where I shouda put a helmet, and I crash my car cause I wanna get carried away, that's why I'm standing on the overpass screaming at myself 'hey, I wanna get better''  
  • Millie2787Millie2787 Community Champion Posts: 5,143 Part of The Furniture
    Hey :)

    Anxiety is something I have struggled with for a long time aswell. @Floxy shared some useful tips here

    When you were diagnosed did they give you any support for it? Maybe it's worth a trip back to the GP if it's still effecting you so much?

    Some things I personally have found useful is popping candy, it focuses on all your senses at once, so like listening to it, tasting it, hearing it.... something else I do which again is to do with the senses is something you can see, hear, smell, taste, touch and see.

    Let us know how you get on! :)
    @BubblesGoesBoo  i've been to the doctors a few times as there are on the ones who refereed me to CAMHS but its been nearly 5 months waiting to have 1-2-1 with psychiatric nurse there, so im left with no where to go whilst im waiting for them to see me.
    someone from there was meant to ring me yesterday but lone behold no one did.

    i went back to the Gp last week and she basically said theres nothing she can do because there nothing they've got that will be any faster than waiting for CAMHS and she don;t want  to prescribe me medication even though i told her that a lot' of the days i cant bear to leave the house and if i do need to leave the house it takes me 45 minutes/to a hour and alot of tears and back and forth and simple things like a 5 minute train journey can oftern leave me in tears (goodness knows how i'm going to cope 6 hours for a training residential )
    college have said i can go see LS if im struggling and that there make sure that's some going to check on me for the first week to make sure im settling in ok and I think after half term I’m staring a weekley support session that they said can be a mixture of academic snd pastrol support.

    thank you for the link to the article and I’ll let you know after my first day as I’m not sure when it is as i don’t get my timetable till Saturday so I don’t know when my first day is ☺️
    Sometimes all you need is one person to believe in you , for you to begin to believe in yourself.
  • EyepatchEyepatch Posts: 666 Incredible Poster
    I like to go over the lyrics of my favourite songs in my head. 
    Remember you can always go to the bathroom to calm down for a while. Do your teachers know about this? It might be a good idea for them to know so that they don't ask you to sit in the centre of a room or they keep it in mind if you ever have to do a presentation. 

    Well done for being brave and asking for help before your first day, good luck with collage and if you ever need any help you can always make another post :) 
    "Sometimes we find ourselves stuck between choosing what is right, and what is easy." 
  • Candlestick56Candlestick56 Posts: 90 Budding Regular
    Hey @Millie2787,

    I also suffer from social anxiety and the thing that helps me is trying to expose myself to the kinds of situations I find scary gradually, so I'm not throwing myself in at the deep end. For example, I would find it terrifying to get on stage and make a speech, but at least I can try making a simple phone call to customer services or something, where I know they won't really care about what I have to say. The little wins like that help build up confidence over time. So maybe try to pick some things that you find a bit scary, but not completely out of your depth, that you know you'll be able to handle and do them. The more you do that, the more confident you'll feel, and the more you can build up. If something is really scary- like going to a massive party, or speaking in front of the class, the best thing to do is avoid it until you feel ready. No matter what people say, it doesn't help to throw yourself in the deep end, if you're just going to sink and feel worse about yourself!

    Good luck! :)
  • LaineLaine Deactivated Posts: 2,762 Boards Guru
    Hey Millie while I only have a few suggestions in regards to what to do I also want to point out some things that may help and areas of support. 

    During class you may feel free to use your tangle,  if you get a difuser bracelet you can fill it with lavender oil and that's really calming. Rescue remedy and cbd+ oil are great for anxiety you take it as and when you need it just warn the college that you've brought medication in :)

    Breathing exercises are great you may do so while in lesson however if it's all too much do pop into your student services they should let you sit in the corner and calm down before returning to class you can talk to them if you wish or you can alone it's usually calm in there and ours has classical music on x
    Here's some exercises: https://www.verywellmind.com/abdominal-breathing-2584115

    https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.drweil.com/health-wellness/body-mind-spirit/stress-anxiety/breathing-three-exercises/1?amp=1

    https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/in-practice/201607/breathing-techniques-anxiety?amp

    In regards to student services again they can also offer counselling if you wish to step in that direction,  anything you tell them is confidential :)

    Lunch.  Lunch is hard the cafe gets real packed howevee you can mention this to a tutor or programme leader and they can work around it be it letting you eat in a private room or you head for lunch early eat in quiet and can go to your tutor room for the rest of the time I'm doing that right now :)

    Best wishes you got this!  <

    🌈Positive thoughts🌈

    "This is my family. I found it, all on my own.
    It's little, and Broken, but still good. Yeah. Still good." ~ Stitch

    "Lately, I've been struggling with all the simple things in my life" ~ Cian Ducrot

    "I don't know if it's because my heart hurts or I'm insecure" ~ Juice Wrld
  • Millie2787Millie2787 Community Champion Posts: 5,143 Part of The Furniture
    Hey @Laine
    thank you so much for all of this , Mum spoke with learning support today and bassically what they’ve said that what there going to put in place for me is that there going to make sure until I start my 1-2-1 that somone is there’s to check up on me and  that if I wanna an wanted  order food somone can come down with me during one of my frees and get a order slip from the canteen and then pick it up again in a free if I’ve got it before lunch or see if one of the dinner ladies would meet me by the doors with it if  it was a sandwich etc 
    thank you again for it all 💖
    Sometimes all you need is one person to believe in you , for you to begin to believe in yourself.
  • AzzimanAzziman Moderator, Community Champion Posts: 1,826 Extreme Poster
    Hi Millie,

    Lots of great advice above. I'd just add that if you feel like things are too much, asking for a time out is no problem. Sometimes, it helps to take a breather, and then go back in once you're calmer. Usually, going into the next room or outside is a great help - just let the teacher know beforehand that you might need to do sox

    Much love <3
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  • Invisible_meInvisible_me Posts: 138 The Mix Convert

    Hi.

    I had similar difficulties. School staff were really supportive, so often in the teacher's office's or quite room at lunch... which was so helpful. Takes the edge off.

    having someone to talk to was so helpful!!! You can release your feelings.

    I hear your GP that there's not much she can do, and her reluctancy it's understandable. GP's are limited in their training on mental health. But if she's nice then you can still go back and release your feelings it works wonders. My GP doesn't neccersarly do much but she's nice to talk to and she's happy for me to do so? I again go to camhs but lately not finding them much use.

    my 1-21 therapy work I had and found that helpful... You often get out of it what you put in.  Show engagement and you;ll be fine and tell them how you feel and updates! So you can see what strategies are working for you and which aren't some won't and that's fine! She had to completely adapt her style and our 1-2-1 work was quite different she says to other's. But in the end I foundit quite helpful, but unfortunately due to the ending of it being because of my age and in together with transition it soon slipped-since then I've been going to the GP more regularly like monthly rather than before hardly ever.

    Keeping a diary can help?

    ANd keeping something to keep you occupied, I often use to keep scrunched paper in my hands and it worked wonders for me!

    Take care, Good luck,

    In_me.

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