You are never given a wish without also
being given the power
to make
it true.
You may have to work for it, however. (Richard Bach)
Coping with Anxiety
Usually, I will try to distract myself. Play a computer game, call a
friend. As much as I love reading, if I'm that bad, I end up reading
the same paragraph countless times, without any comprehension of what I
just read. Music helps, too. My close friends will still tell me when I
start talking loud and fast, but instead of a total suppression, I just
think on my breathing as they say calming things to me.
One of the things that helped me the most, was this
workbook I found at a bookstore: "ANXIETY, PHOBIAS, AND PANIC - Taking
Charge and Conquering Fear" by Reneau Z. Peurifoy [MA, MFCC]. I did
it a couple of years ago and it helped me. I'm thinking about going
through it again, because I know I need the refresher.
I find if I challenged my more common anxiety thoughts, when I'm not
experiencing extreme anxiety, repeatedly, the anxiety about whatever
it is begins to decrease for me, and I am more able to control the
anxiety. I actually picked up this coping technique as a child. My
mom's favorite past-time is
inspiring paranoia in others. The only way I could stay sane was to
sit down and analyze what was being said. I would also do research on
the subjects involved, so I would know the facts and, hopefully, be
able to evaluate the actual possibility of this being a harmful factor
of my life.
Now I won't tell you that it relieves all my anxieties, because it
doesn't, but it does reduce the number of things that do trigger my
anxiety and give me more control.
One more thing, taking too many deep breaths (ie. sighing frequently)
is also a type of hyperventilation. I kept telling my doctor that I
wasn't hyperventilating. He found this confusing, since the tingling
and dizziness I described suggested that I was. Then I sighed for
the third time during my examination. He asked if I did that
frequently. I said yes. He then explained that sighing like that
was also a form of hyperventilating.
I hope this maybe helpful to someone out there.