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)

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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.

Created by my
cyberbrother, Corwin. 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.

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