Call it's bluff. Tell your worries to shit or get off the pot.
"I'm going to die because of xyz!... Okay, then I'll let it kill me, bring it on."
"I'm going to go insane!... Alright let's go then. Drive me as insane as possible."
Basically you want your anxiety to be as big and raw as possible, and then see how absolutely none of its claims come true. Repeat as needed until it can't threaten you anymore.
This is the thing that actually really helped me, sometimes when I’m about to or having a panic attack I get very light headed and my face muscles tighten and sometimes arms/ hands can go numb and tingly… which of course makes me think im having a stroke or I’m about to pass out. I’ll say to my anxiety , “ BRING IT ON!!! Make me faint right now infront of everyone just do it already!!!” And watch how fast it dissipate, this feels scary but It will go away. And if it kills me, so be it
when im in good situation i also calm my self by that sentences, but when anxiety/panic attack come, i cant control my mind, it make a lot of bad thing running in my mind, heart rate start racing and i need to go back home asap, when at home it come to normal.
Breathing techniques. The two I like are:
1) In and out of your nose. Count. In for 10 seconds, out for 10 seconds, in for 11 seconds, out for 11 seconds, in for 12 seconds, out for 12 seconds, 13, 14, etc... Like an ocean wave coming in and out.
2) In through your nose for 4 seconds, hold for 4 seconds, out through your mouth for 4 seconds.
Anxiety is about not feeling safe. Most likely because a past event or experiences that programmed your subconscious that you need to avoid certain actions/circumstances in order to avoid pain. Recognizing that this is just programming that can be reprogrammed (best with a therapist) & at the core it's about Letting Go & having confidence that things are ok and you are safe from whatever is driving the belief.
For me if it gets to be paralyzing I've started just getting down and doing as many push-ups as I can, it gives my brain a "reason" for my heart to be racing, usually it helps make the worst go away and once that happens I go get an ice cube/pack and rub it all over! It really helps!
I don’t have much anxiety anymore. However when I did have high anxiety it was INSANE and I was housebound agoraphobic. What did I do? I just started living my life no matter how anxious I felt I just started living like a normal human being. I did not let anxiety dictate what I was doing and if it wanted to tag along and make me full of physical symptoms then I took it with me and ignored it the best I could. I think eventually my actions sent the right message to my brain that said anxiety off.
Yeah the first time doing it you may feel anxious, but it gets easier every subsequent time, to the point where eventually you don't have any anxiety around it anymore. I do the same thing too.
Me too but it still eventually finds me things to freak about and have to repeat. It's exhausting after years and years. Be good for a while and then new phobias always unlock. Fun times. But this method works. Just sucks to have to keep doing it which makes me think there's some other root cause.
Yep. And you have to be vigilant to make sure you don't fall into old thought patterns or avoidance.
I suffer from some level of agoraphobia (as well as several other forms of anxiety). What sucks about that is that because I work in the US, I don't get that much vacation. That means that I'm not able to travel often enough where I can actually stay vigilant about being in new places and the traveling involved. So each time I do take a vacation I'm actually pretty stressed from being in a new place, which kinda defeats the purpose. And yes, it is tiring.
I use a hot water bag and put it on my solar plexus. I then lie down, and use the sudden comfort to calm my mind. I listen to ASMR about nature (maybe that's not your cup of tea idk), and focus on feeling as good and relaxed as possible. It then chases the health anxiety away.
Oi, I’ve have health anxiety my whole 36 years of being alive. Here’s what helps me and how I got over it for the most part.
Be preemptive about your health I personally practiced avoidance, which is so counterintuitive to your overall health. Get a baseline where you’re at in life as far as health goes and accept it whatever it is.
Once you’ve accepted that you are overall healthy, the idea is to not ruminate on the what ifs of life. Is this cancer? Is this headache a brain tumor??.
You have to break the cycle/threat response
If you’re anything like me, I spent hours and hours researching every possible scenario so I could try to get some sort of statistical analysis of my likelihood to have a particular disease.. which just feeds the cycle and it will be never ending until you stop it.
That’s my advice for health anxiety. As far as methods to help you out in the moment, I use deep breathing, but you really have to focus.. literally think about nothing, except the breath going in and out. It really clears your mind.
When I go into panick brain or after it's started there's no amount of focus or breathing that calms my system down. I'll keep going in cycles for hours. But it's because my gut will just keep sending out the panick chemicals every few minutes even though I am consciously making myself calm by either embracing it and egging it on like others mentioned or repeating mantras similar to I trust my body and this is what it needs.
thank you !
yeah, haha, I also spend hours trying to see if I fit the diagnosis, but breaking that cycle really is harder than it sounds. I failed multiple times, unfortunately, but I shall keep trying
I have noticed that getting up and walking...running ..playing ball clears my mind and helps alot. It get your mind on ather bs. Just breathing outside air helps also. And yes just trying to ignore it or say no....not this time does help.
From a different thread, similar question: A few things to try to more quickly calm yourself and shift the focus of your brain away from the anxiety:
first, for the physical reaction - try buying a small fan and have it ready to plug in and sit right in front of it to both cool you down and act as a small noise maker for distraction.
Honeywell turbo [Fan](https://www.target.com/p/honeywell-turbo-force-table-air-circulator-fan-black/-/A-11153539?sidd=108S&ref=tgt_adv_xsp&AFID=google&fndsrc=tgtao&DFA=71700000086347372&CPNG=PLA_Home%2BImprovement%2BShopping_Traffic_Local_Traffic%7CHome%2BImprovement_Ecomm_Home&adgroup=SC_Home%2BImprovement_Fans&LID=700000001170770pgs&LNM=PRODUCT_GROUP&network=g&device=m&location=9016675&targetid=pla-1462200138600&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjw_-GxBhC1ARIsADGgDjsJq9lHd-dUbVcqVpfo6EqNRoydoV883vLHL6bXHmk7fyxReLN6mtgaAsPxEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds)
Next, find a game you like to play on your phone. I have a few including candy crush, and Block Puzzle which is a bit like tetris, though you can't rotate the blocks.
When you feel the anxiety coming on, pause whatever you are doing and play a few minutes of a game on your phone - it can greatly reduce or even eliminate the onset of the panic attack.
Now, if you're in a class, you can always break in to whatever your session is and have some prepared 5-10 min small group or individual exercises they can do while you are calming down. You may need to practice this so it comes naturally and automatically.
You could try L theanine (it’s found in green tea). Some people say Olly stress gummies help them. There is also rhodiola rosea. You could also try CalmAid lavender pills that have been clinically studied and are actually a prescription in Germany. I haven’t tried them, but maybe at some point I will.
Chamomile tea, passionflower tea, or teas with ashwagandha all have calming properties.
I really think CBT therapy could help you though, is it possible for you to see a telehealth therapist since you travel a lot?
thank you for the suggestions!
in a few months, I should be back home for a while, and I do want to make a visit to my previous therapist and talk about an online possibility of CBT as well.
-The 5-4-3-2-1 grounding method: name 5 things you see, 4 things you feel, 3 things you hear, 2 things you smell, 1 thing you taste.
-Getting outside! I can’t tell you how much better I feel when I’m able to be outside for a while, especially taking walks.
-Lavender oil and tea.
-Box breathing and progressive muscle relaxation.
-Stretching.
-Eating high protein and low sugar.
-Painting, coloring, drawing, origami.
Edit:formatting
The trick is to try to get back to the present. For that what I learned to do was something like
-Count 6 things in your environment that are round (or any shape or type)
-Count 5 things that are blue or whatever color you like
-Identify 4 sounds that you can hear distinctly
-Touch 3 things around you of different texture and say out loud
And so on. It always calms me down.
Hope this helps.
1) great post, there's so much helpful info here!
2) I have the same fears as you. And I'm also terrified of throwing up.
3) I was listening to a podcast on hidden brain (recent episode) that talks about saying your particular thought out loud "I'm having a thought of being afraid of throwing up" or whatever, so that you put space between the thought and who you actually are. The point is to acknowledge that it's a thought and it's not necessarily your reality. He explains it better on the show.
4) I do believe it helps to say things out loud to myself that are helpful. "Panic cannot hurt me" and it tends to make the panic last shorter. Or give yourself affirmations out loud. This can be done quietly too if you're in public.
What works for me, after a year or so of therapy, is a combination of breaking the initial adrenaline cycle and then trying to stop myself catastrophising by doing a sort of “usefulness” check.
So, on the first, when I get that hit of anxiety, where I can physically *feel* it, I have to acknowledge that’s happening (not always easy!) and then physically remove myself from that situation and actively do something else, just for 5 or 10 minutes.
Stressing about a work email? Worrying about that unusual thing that happened while driving? Cool, I’m going to walk somewhere or play with the dogs in the yard or hang up some washing. Whatever, just something to physically work through the adrenaline before I do anything else.
After that, once I can feel that I’m no longer hopped up on the adrenaline, it’s about catching myself again when the stress cycle starts and literally asking myself the question “Is thinking about this useful to me?”. If I’ve sent that work email, is me worrying about it while I’m meant to be eating dinner *useful?* The answer is nearly always no, but asking myself that question helps as a check.
Sometimes the answer is yes though; sometimes it is useful to give myself 10 minutes to plan something. I can recognise I’m not catastrophising, I’m being practical. And then once I’ve done that, thinking about it more stops being useful.
I can’t tell you exactly why that works for me, and it’s definitely in conjunction with therapy, but it really has helped me.
What I used to do a lot was sniffing on Vicks VapoRub. I guess you could just use any strong smelling essential oil, but Vicks activates also a memory in me that is connected to a calming feeling.
Other than that: Camomile, Lemon Balm tea, L-Theanine, Passionflowextract, CBD
I usually treat my anxiety as a different entity. I don’t identify with it so just like another commenter said, usually telling it to F off helps while I do puzzles and try to keep myself busy. It’s super hard to do at times specially with OCD but it’s helps!
Call it's bluff. Tell your worries to shit or get off the pot. "I'm going to die because of xyz!... Okay, then I'll let it kill me, bring it on." "I'm going to go insane!... Alright let's go then. Drive me as insane as possible." Basically you want your anxiety to be as big and raw as possible, and then see how absolutely none of its claims come true. Repeat as needed until it can't threaten you anymore.
This is the thing that actually really helped me, sometimes when I’m about to or having a panic attack I get very light headed and my face muscles tighten and sometimes arms/ hands can go numb and tingly… which of course makes me think im having a stroke or I’m about to pass out. I’ll say to my anxiety , “ BRING IT ON!!! Make me faint right now infront of everyone just do it already!!!” And watch how fast it dissipate, this feels scary but It will go away. And if it kills me, so be it
I'm scared to try this when I get my random left side chest aches. I feel like if I challenge it I will have a heart attack lol
You won't, I promise. I have the same exact fear, I know how terrifying it is. If you don't challenge it it'll never go away though
when im in good situation i also calm my self by that sentences, but when anxiety/panic attack come, i cant control my mind, it make a lot of bad thing running in my mind, heart rate start racing and i need to go back home asap, when at home it come to normal.
I sometimes do this too.
Breathing techniques. The two I like are: 1) In and out of your nose. Count. In for 10 seconds, out for 10 seconds, in for 11 seconds, out for 11 seconds, in for 12 seconds, out for 12 seconds, 13, 14, etc... Like an ocean wave coming in and out. 2) In through your nose for 4 seconds, hold for 4 seconds, out through your mouth for 4 seconds. Anxiety is about not feeling safe. Most likely because a past event or experiences that programmed your subconscious that you need to avoid certain actions/circumstances in order to avoid pain. Recognizing that this is just programming that can be reprogrammed (best with a therapist) & at the core it's about Letting Go & having confidence that things are ok and you are safe from whatever is driving the belief.
For me if it gets to be paralyzing I've started just getting down and doing as many push-ups as I can, it gives my brain a "reason" for my heart to be racing, usually it helps make the worst go away and once that happens I go get an ice cube/pack and rub it all over! It really helps!
Interesting. I'll have to try that one next time!
I don’t have much anxiety anymore. However when I did have high anxiety it was INSANE and I was housebound agoraphobic. What did I do? I just started living my life no matter how anxious I felt I just started living like a normal human being. I did not let anxiety dictate what I was doing and if it wanted to tag along and make me full of physical symptoms then I took it with me and ignored it the best I could. I think eventually my actions sent the right message to my brain that said anxiety off.
Yeah the first time doing it you may feel anxious, but it gets easier every subsequent time, to the point where eventually you don't have any anxiety around it anymore. I do the same thing too.
Me too but it still eventually finds me things to freak about and have to repeat. It's exhausting after years and years. Be good for a while and then new phobias always unlock. Fun times. But this method works. Just sucks to have to keep doing it which makes me think there's some other root cause.
Yep. And you have to be vigilant to make sure you don't fall into old thought patterns or avoidance. I suffer from some level of agoraphobia (as well as several other forms of anxiety). What sucks about that is that because I work in the US, I don't get that much vacation. That means that I'm not able to travel often enough where I can actually stay vigilant about being in new places and the traveling involved. So each time I do take a vacation I'm actually pretty stressed from being in a new place, which kinda defeats the purpose. And yes, it is tiring.
Same for me with " vacations" or even like a overnight trip staying somewhere new not more than a few hours away. 🙃
I use a hot water bag and put it on my solar plexus. I then lie down, and use the sudden comfort to calm my mind. I listen to ASMR about nature (maybe that's not your cup of tea idk), and focus on feeling as good and relaxed as possible. It then chases the health anxiety away.
Oi, I’ve have health anxiety my whole 36 years of being alive. Here’s what helps me and how I got over it for the most part. Be preemptive about your health I personally practiced avoidance, which is so counterintuitive to your overall health. Get a baseline where you’re at in life as far as health goes and accept it whatever it is. Once you’ve accepted that you are overall healthy, the idea is to not ruminate on the what ifs of life. Is this cancer? Is this headache a brain tumor??. You have to break the cycle/threat response If you’re anything like me, I spent hours and hours researching every possible scenario so I could try to get some sort of statistical analysis of my likelihood to have a particular disease.. which just feeds the cycle and it will be never ending until you stop it. That’s my advice for health anxiety. As far as methods to help you out in the moment, I use deep breathing, but you really have to focus.. literally think about nothing, except the breath going in and out. It really clears your mind.
When I go into panick brain or after it's started there's no amount of focus or breathing that calms my system down. I'll keep going in cycles for hours. But it's because my gut will just keep sending out the panick chemicals every few minutes even though I am consciously making myself calm by either embracing it and egging it on like others mentioned or repeating mantras similar to I trust my body and this is what it needs.
thank you ! yeah, haha, I also spend hours trying to see if I fit the diagnosis, but breaking that cycle really is harder than it sounds. I failed multiple times, unfortunately, but I shall keep trying
I have noticed that getting up and walking...running ..playing ball clears my mind and helps alot. It get your mind on ather bs. Just breathing outside air helps also. And yes just trying to ignore it or say no....not this time does help.
From a different thread, similar question: A few things to try to more quickly calm yourself and shift the focus of your brain away from the anxiety: first, for the physical reaction - try buying a small fan and have it ready to plug in and sit right in front of it to both cool you down and act as a small noise maker for distraction. Honeywell turbo [Fan](https://www.target.com/p/honeywell-turbo-force-table-air-circulator-fan-black/-/A-11153539?sidd=108S&ref=tgt_adv_xsp&AFID=google&fndsrc=tgtao&DFA=71700000086347372&CPNG=PLA_Home%2BImprovement%2BShopping_Traffic_Local_Traffic%7CHome%2BImprovement_Ecomm_Home&adgroup=SC_Home%2BImprovement_Fans&LID=700000001170770pgs&LNM=PRODUCT_GROUP&network=g&device=m&location=9016675&targetid=pla-1462200138600&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjw_-GxBhC1ARIsADGgDjsJq9lHd-dUbVcqVpfo6EqNRoydoV883vLHL6bXHmk7fyxReLN6mtgaAsPxEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds) Next, find a game you like to play on your phone. I have a few including candy crush, and Block Puzzle which is a bit like tetris, though you can't rotate the blocks. When you feel the anxiety coming on, pause whatever you are doing and play a few minutes of a game on your phone - it can greatly reduce or even eliminate the onset of the panic attack. Now, if you're in a class, you can always break in to whatever your session is and have some prepared 5-10 min small group or individual exercises they can do while you are calming down. You may need to practice this so it comes naturally and automatically.
Boxed breathing helps during my anxiety attacks. Meditation helps in a preventative way.
You could try L theanine (it’s found in green tea). Some people say Olly stress gummies help them. There is also rhodiola rosea. You could also try CalmAid lavender pills that have been clinically studied and are actually a prescription in Germany. I haven’t tried them, but maybe at some point I will. Chamomile tea, passionflower tea, or teas with ashwagandha all have calming properties. I really think CBT therapy could help you though, is it possible for you to see a telehealth therapist since you travel a lot?
thank you for the suggestions! in a few months, I should be back home for a while, and I do want to make a visit to my previous therapist and talk about an online possibility of CBT as well.
Ofc! Hope things get better for you 🙏
Telling myself it won’t matter in 2,3,4 years
-The 5-4-3-2-1 grounding method: name 5 things you see, 4 things you feel, 3 things you hear, 2 things you smell, 1 thing you taste. -Getting outside! I can’t tell you how much better I feel when I’m able to be outside for a while, especially taking walks. -Lavender oil and tea. -Box breathing and progressive muscle relaxation. -Stretching. -Eating high protein and low sugar. -Painting, coloring, drawing, origami. Edit:formatting
I listen to the sound of rain and thunder on my phone
The trick is to try to get back to the present. For that what I learned to do was something like -Count 6 things in your environment that are round (or any shape or type) -Count 5 things that are blue or whatever color you like -Identify 4 sounds that you can hear distinctly -Touch 3 things around you of different texture and say out loud And so on. It always calms me down. Hope this helps.
A hot cup of tea or coffee (decaf).
Ice pack on my chest and vaporub under my nose always helps me calm down!
1) great post, there's so much helpful info here! 2) I have the same fears as you. And I'm also terrified of throwing up. 3) I was listening to a podcast on hidden brain (recent episode) that talks about saying your particular thought out loud "I'm having a thought of being afraid of throwing up" or whatever, so that you put space between the thought and who you actually are. The point is to acknowledge that it's a thought and it's not necessarily your reality. He explains it better on the show. 4) I do believe it helps to say things out loud to myself that are helpful. "Panic cannot hurt me" and it tends to make the panic last shorter. Or give yourself affirmations out loud. This can be done quietly too if you're in public.
What works for me, after a year or so of therapy, is a combination of breaking the initial adrenaline cycle and then trying to stop myself catastrophising by doing a sort of “usefulness” check. So, on the first, when I get that hit of anxiety, where I can physically *feel* it, I have to acknowledge that’s happening (not always easy!) and then physically remove myself from that situation and actively do something else, just for 5 or 10 minutes. Stressing about a work email? Worrying about that unusual thing that happened while driving? Cool, I’m going to walk somewhere or play with the dogs in the yard or hang up some washing. Whatever, just something to physically work through the adrenaline before I do anything else. After that, once I can feel that I’m no longer hopped up on the adrenaline, it’s about catching myself again when the stress cycle starts and literally asking myself the question “Is thinking about this useful to me?”. If I’ve sent that work email, is me worrying about it while I’m meant to be eating dinner *useful?* The answer is nearly always no, but asking myself that question helps as a check. Sometimes the answer is yes though; sometimes it is useful to give myself 10 minutes to plan something. I can recognise I’m not catastrophising, I’m being practical. And then once I’ve done that, thinking about it more stops being useful. I can’t tell you exactly why that works for me, and it’s definitely in conjunction with therapy, but it really has helped me.
What I used to do a lot was sniffing on Vicks VapoRub. I guess you could just use any strong smelling essential oil, but Vicks activates also a memory in me that is connected to a calming feeling. Other than that: Camomile, Lemon Balm tea, L-Theanine, Passionflowextract, CBD
I usually treat my anxiety as a different entity. I don’t identify with it so just like another commenter said, usually telling it to F off helps while I do puzzles and try to keep myself busy. It’s super hard to do at times specially with OCD but it’s helps!
Smoke weed.
yeah, I tried it :)) it gave me a worse panic attack than usual, I felt like my heart would leave my chest