Tips for dealing with Anxiety and Panic

[chloe cardiff]

I have been trudging through page after page for some kind of help like this thanku michelle!

i have had anxiety related vertigo for 2 weeks now and it has stopped me in my tracks for completing revision for degree exams.

my gp has put me on stemetil for the time being - im going to try every single thing about the small meals etc...is there any possible further advice to help me tackle this dizziness? its 24 hours a day and unbearable!!!

[lynn1906]

fantstic post, im making a good recovery, the only problem i have that i cant cope with is nausea, ive lost 2 stone cos i cant eat properly and im diabetic, so reading that you burn more sugar with anx has worried me a little, any suggestions to stop nausea please.

[michellemumof4]

hi all , Sorry I havent replied to your messages sooner its not often I am on this site at the moment .

Ok dizziness can be controlled with breathing, when you feel dizzy no doubt your immediate thought is " oh here we go again , or I am going to faint " very very highly unlikely you will faint, If you were to take a moment or too and take some slow deep breaths to bring your breathing under control this would ease the diziness, the other thing is make sure your eating well and the dizziness is not a result of lack of food or sugar.

Same with the feeling sick , try mints or some other boiled sweet if you can , ensure that you are eating well and doing controlled breathing excersises at least 3 times a day to begin with until you feel a difference.

Hope this helps - and good Luck

Michelle xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

[shrimp]

Lisa, thanks so much for all that advice, really helpful, the shaking of the arms and clenching fists is exactly what i feel like doing (i also feel like running around the garden at 3am to get rid of what feels like electric energy that seems to surge through my body !! its only that ive got neighbours that i dont do it!! - is that excess adrenalin do you think?) - i know i must get exercise but find it so hard to get motivated to do it. Lots of good advice - im going to try really really hard to start meditating - ive found a group locally near hornchurch in essex which im thinking about joining if i can pluck up the courage xxxx

[tara1987]

ok, i was a bit sceptical, that the breathing exercise with the fists would actually work!..., but it did! so thank you for posting that tip! xxx

[stephenp79]

biggest tip i can give is breathing out. I know it sounds silly but when people panic they tend to take a big breath in and hold. THis leads to messing up your oxygen/carbon dioxide levels which in turn exaserbates the panic. I had seen so many doctors and specialist and it wasnt until this year i was told about this.

When you feel a panic starting and you take and hold your breath, make sure you gave a big exhale. A lot of panic attack prevention methods I find (brown paper bag breathing for example) I dont like as i feel they draw more attention to you which you are self conscious about anyway. A big breath out/sigh is something everyone does all the time and will not come across strange. After this, count to 4 for each inhale and exhale.

Obvioulsy, this can be done with the many other methods such as disctraction but after all these years I was gobsmacked something so straightforward could make a difference

[Cazfat]

I remembered reading the breathing exercise today when I started to feel the panic rising, and tried it, it really seemed to help. I have to say that normally the only time I panic are in confined spaces and high up places, but I seem to have a lot on my mind at the moment. I'll keep reading through the posts in the hope I pick up more help. Thanks

[dante7887]

You have just described my life lol
Every single little detail.

I am curently 18. Hardly go out and spend my days sat at home on my own. Used to smoke cannabis (been quit for nearly a year now). I carry a bottle of water every where with me incase I cant find any when I need a drink lol.

I will deff try the nuts thing though, Thanks.

ice tea is good too. try meditation and hypnotherapy too

[MaddyMoo]

Hi Everyone

I have just looked on itunes for free podcasts in relation to anxiety and I completed a 12 minute relaxation one called 'test anxiety guru' I went througha few at first and his voice was one of the only ones which wasnt really grating on me. Anyway was feeling anxious earlier, calmed myslef down and listened to that I think it seemed good and was just the right legnth for me.

I would be interested to hear what others think of it it felt a bit corny at first but I am going to try and do it every day over the next week I will let you knowhow it goes. I am sure there are millions out there even on this site and I will further look for those but this one just seemed to give instant relef from anxiety for a short time at least. Maddymoo xx

[evita]

I made myself a relaxing powerpoint presentation. I took calming pictures from the net like water, rivers, lakes, birds, cats, winter, summer etc and attached sounds to every slide.(for example a slide with a sunny river would have a sound of river running or birds chirping). Then I forced myself to watch the "show" daily and in the same time do my breathing exercises (4 inhale, 2 holding, 6 exhaling). In the beginning my mind raced and i thought whats the use but after a couple of weeks I noticed a real difference. Now if Im out and start getting nervous I get the images in my head and start feeling relaxed. I also used a machine called Emwave at the same time which I borrowed from my therapist, it sort of measures your calmness and pulse by showing lights, and you are suppose to get it to green.