Top 5 things that have been helping me

1. Breathing - please please please learn how to breather properly. if you know how to breathe properly, please continue to practice when you are NOT anxious. Sit down somewhere and practice breathing, 10 minutes a day is good enough. This clears your mind as well as retrains your body to breathe correctly at all times , therefore increasing oxygen flow to your body. I'll tell you this, you cannot have a panic attack if you are breathing correctly during it, i've used 3 breaths to stop a full blown panic attack before. If i can do it so can you, our bodies are the same. what i used to do when i started and still do is sit on a bench in the park and just breathe slowly with my stomach. Google abdominal breathing its easy to do and there are many articles that will explain how to do it much better than i can.

2. Meditation - trust me, meditation is very important. you don't have to sit in a quiet place to meditate, although it is helpful. Once you learn to breather correctly, meditating will be much easier. I know i used to laugh and avoid meditation, but when i took it much more seriously it has definitely opened my eyes to my own ignorance. You can meditate doing anything you usually do, like showering..I do it while I swim..which brings me to my next and probably the MOST important point.

3. EXERCISE !!!!!!! - honestly there are not enough exclamation points to stress this. Exercise is so important, forget physical benefits.. Mental benefits are almost instantaneous. You don't have to intensely exercise, just do something everyday. Go for a swim, a walk, a jog...work toward your goal, don't try to do too much too soon. Working toward a realistic goal will make you feel much better and wont make you feel like you are not accomplishing anything. Exercise is known to release the proper amount of endorphins and chemicals that help you deal with stress...in anxious people it also uses up extra adrenaline that our bodies produce. I can talk about this all day, but let me just say that from first hand experience, exercise has taken me from agoraphobia and constant panic attacks to a traveling to work on a bus in traffic and tunnels and sitting at work all day and having a good mood. Sure I have my "off" or "down" days, but i just think about how I'll get home and run around and play some ball and feel better, it's almost an instant relief especially once your body associates exercise with pleasure, just thinking about it will put you in a better mood. DO IT! dont think to yourself that you can't. JUST DO IT!.

4. Diet - once you get into exercising which I hope you do, diet will simply follow...you won't even think about it. you will feel so good after exercising, that you will look for ways to make yourself feel even better. you'll be on a path to self acceptance and recovery, you will be motivated and diet will come in slowly. You'll start drinking more water, start cutting out bad food.

5. Share- once i started talking openly about my anxiety and panic disorder, i've felt much better. people understand it and i am more surprised how many people deal with this and you just don't know it. I don't hold back anymore, if someone asks me why are you in a bad mood at work, i just tell them I am slightly anxious. they understand and if they don't its not my problem. sharing gets things off your chest and makes you feel like you are not hiding some big bad monster, you are not. you are a regular person going through a difficult time, that is all. everyone will have to do something difficult in their lifetime.

Nothing has to happen in one day, take it slow. Remember don't think you'll be cured in one day, this is a long process. Determination and patience wins the day. look at this as a challenge. at the end you will be rewarded with a much more healthier and mentally balanced self. a much more self confident person. a patient person and a genuine person and please remember to accept yourself and your condition regardless of how much you want to fight it.

Good luck.
Stan.

Great post Stan :yesyes::yesyes: I agree with these points Ive been running , swimming and practising yoga and I have noticed that i have more energy, am happier and really don't fancy having chocolate (well not as much :D)

julie x

Would definitely agree with the exercise tip. Been running and cycling and feel so much better. Just plug in my music and forget about the rest of the world for an hour. Very therapeutic.

I am not on any medication at the moment, and I have decided to try meditation for at least a month and see if there is any improvement. I have started to take Kalms and already do Tai Chi. When I do this I find that I calm down and usually,unless I am having a really bad day feel better for it. Been looking on YouTube and there are lots of videos about learning to meditate. I don't know if anyone agrees, but I feel as though the 'cure' to all this anxiety,palpitations etc. does lie within myself. If you like I am my own worst enemy. Anyhow I am going to give it real try and see if there is an improvement. Has anyone else tried this?

Thanks for the tips. I had to get some beta-blockers to end my anxiety cycle, that was 2 weeks ago and I'm just coming "off the ceiling". My GP advised me to walk a bit every day, eat well, drink lots of water and try not to sleep in the day time. I was really against drugs but just could not do the breathing thing not knowing how to do it and get my pulse down. I can learn this now and have bought some calm music for relaxing, not sure if meditation is for me. I usually listen to metal so my neighbours must be quite relieved!
Counselling is also helping as I have lots of trauma that needs to come out of my head. At the end of the day, only we can help ourselves, but always use the support that's out there.

lovely post

Stan what afab post - thank you - for sharing. Is reassurig to to know other people have coping methods.

I try to walk most days and do a bit of Yoga and yes I feel the difference. I am working towards learning to run - hard as I am very over weight. The intention is to be able to join Jog Scotland so that I meet knew friends too.

Well done for your achievementsx