Do you have any strange coping mechanisms?

[greg123]

I was wondering if i'm alone in this. I was curious if anyone else has any ''strange'' things that calm them down during a panic attack. When I say strange I don't think they're actually that strange but it's strange the way I use them to make me feel better, when really deep down I know I don't need them (it's all in my head :weep:).

I love the rain, it seems to calm me down instantly. I find it very grounding. Infact I would go as far to say that I dislike sunny hot days since I got anxiety, maybe I feel the weather needs to match my mood? :D

Ice poles, i eat them all the time. I also find them grounding (probably because they are cold). :blush:. I bought like 400 mr freeze ice pops so i'm pretty much stocked up there :blush:

My duvet - this is a bad one but if i'm having a bad day, there's nothing quite like my duvet to bring me back down to earth LOL :blush:

All these things are fine and I don't think they cause me much harm but obviously it doesn't always rain and I can't take my duvet to work with me (which sucks :D)

So what about you? any weird ones?

[Rayne]

I blow on my fingers. It stemmed from my therapist, and became a habit. I'll go from the left to the right until I'm calm or calmer.

[Leah1971]

I find the rain instantly calming too. I keep watching the weather reports for rain and get excited when I know we're going to get some

[GingerFish]

There's a Scottish comedy show called Still Game, I watch it every night when going to sleep when my anxiety is at its highest. I put it on my phone and listen to it while drifting and ever since doing that, I have never had a panic attack while going to sleep again. I also put it on if I am in the car (as a passenger) if I feel a wave of panic coming on. My bf doesn't mind as he loves the show too and he says its kind of cute! Lol. As long as it calms me down, that's all I care about. I also watched it while flying last year which helped. No other show calms me down like this show and I can watch each episode a million times and still not get bored. Its maybe because I'm Scottish :D

Other things I do to calm myself down is place my hand over my heart when its beating so fast I think its going to jump out and I talk to it in my head. I say "ok, you're going to slow down now and relax" and within ten secs, I can feel it slowing down and most of my symptoms easing.

I also tap my legs. I have a certain little tune I seem to tap out when I feel anxious. My mum and bf can point it out and don't even have to ask if I feel panicky.

[Daniele_T]

I love still game for similar reasons....originally I thought it was garbage but it's really calming.
Somehow gets you wrapped up in their little world.
'I lovett' was a similar thing but I've not seen that in years,.,.think I'll go look for dvd sets

[christinaKountoura]

I dance. My therapist told me to make a list of things I like doing and try them when I'm having a panic attack. The only thing from my list that can be easily and quickly done is dance. It really helps

[silver blaze]

I watch the weather forecast to see if it's going to rain and when they do say it's gonna rain and it doesn't I feel very disappointed, and the Still game comedy I have on DVD it's so funny

[sial72]

I'm the same with rain :), I love it and makes me feel good and cosy, unfortunately in Spain we don't get that much of it.
I also have a particular friend who just speaking to for a few minutes never fails to relax me, as soon as I hear her voice I feel "safe"

[Davit]

Yeah, I love the rain more than anything. It smells so fresh. I love fresh cut grass on a hot day. They wash away all my troubles.

[MyNameIsTerry]

I blow on my fingers. It stemmed from my therapist, and became a habit. I'll go from the left to the right until I'm calm or calmer.

I think I came across that one when my relapse was coming and I was looking for quick panic techniques. It sounds familiar.

Don't let it become a OCD compulsion/ritual though. Even the healthy stuff can become unhealthy with obsessive style disorders.

---------- Post added at 09:21 ---------- Previous post was at 09:17 ----------

When I was starting to relapse and panicking from building anxiety at work I would find myself heading to the toilets to get away from it all.

When I was in there I would count backwards slowly in my head from 100 (and repeat if I needed more time) while using an accupressure point on my wrist for the nausea. This did work quite a bit until my panic started become too strong and long lasting and then it was less useful.

I have also used the staring intensely distraction technique to some success. This got me through a wisdowm tooth extraction when I was quite severe. I stared at the ceiling light all the way through and it helped greatly. I also did this by staring at the TV power button whilst eating meals as they started to become a real panic situation for me when I was experiencing the side effects of meds which ramped up my anxiety and caused a ton of agitation. The side effects left me in a bit of a mess for a while and eating was a real problem for a couple of weeks until this seemed to help and I got over that.

[Rayne]

Thanks for the advice. I try not to do it to often.