Hello beautiful people!
So in my first blog I spoke about my battle with anxiety and the ups and downs I have encountered.
Side Note: One thing I want to note that I should of said before is that in these blogs I am going to try to be as transparent as possible. For those of you who know me, you know that I don’t just babble my life story away. I am coming to an understanding that some things are worth sharing with others because someone can be going through what I am or went through.
So back to what I originally wanted to discuss. I am proud to say that since 2016 has started I have not had a panic attack! Now, once or twice I felt it coming on but it quickly passed. I went weeks and weeks without having that annoying anxious feeling in my hands and I must say it was the greatest feeling until I became stressed and then I felt it.
So far so good I must say. I give myself a thumbs up because I went from crying and wondering what’s wrong with me to a warrior ready to fight this darn thing!
Now, I am not a doctor and I am not going to say that these following techniques are guaranteed to relieve anxiety but these steps helped me. As I continue on this journey I am pretty sure this list will get tweaked and some things will get added or subjected but hey its 2016 why not share what I discovered!
- I noticed that stress played a huge role in my anxiety (that was the main source). I also realized that if I am under a lot of pressure I become anxious and I start to feel that tingly feeling in my hands and in my feet.
- We all know traffic is not the greatest; I find that in traffic a lot of rude individuals enjoy being mean and rudly prevent you from switching lanes to get off of an exit. I hate it! Traffick makes me extremely anxious, especially if I am in an area I know nothing of. I tend to feel the urge to panic, I get overly upset, I began to cry, and so on.
- Over thinking contributed to this issue, I am a thinker, even when I would not like to I do. Sometimes its good and sometimes its bad. Its good because I think of really awesome creative things I can do and it can be bad because I can worry a lot and over plan my next moves (which ultimately leads to stress).
- Lastly, I noticed fear played apart in my anxiety. Let me tell you guys a story of mine…
STORY TIME!
One day I was driving and I did not notice the “do not turn right when lights are no flashing” sign. When I reached the lights I treated it as a yield sign and I slowly took the right and continued straight over a bridge. I noticed in my rear view mirror and ahead of me that there wasn’t any other car driving; it was just me! As I continued driving over the bridge I was thinking, “I hope this bridge is not about to go up while I am on it!” Sure enough….it didn’t BUT as soon as I got off of the bridge the gates went down and the bridge begun to rise. I freaked out, I couldn’t stop thanking God for protecting me and not allowing me to die on that bridge. I was terrified. On my way back to where I came from I had to go over that bridge again. As I approached it, my hands became very tingly, I felt slight heart palpitations rising and I wanted to cry. I was really scared.
Side Note: Its crazy just thinking about that bridge made my left hand tingle and my heart flutter.
Coping Techniques
Above you can see that I identified some triggers to my anxiety. For me, that was an important step because I identified the triggers so I can either avoid them all together or learn how to cope with them.
(Now depending on what the trigger is, it may be more effective to learn how to cope with it, especially if its a trigger that is common in your every day life). I identified what the main source of my anxiety is (stress) so I can attempt to handle anything that leads up to it or go around anything that can lead to enormous amounts of stress.
Traffic is something we can not always go around. For me, its apart of my life. I drive and sometimes my commute is long; I tend to encounter traffic (especially at certain hours). For this situation I problem solved. I uncovered two things that I can do to alleviate the anxiety that traffic carries for me.
#1. I leave in time not to hit too much traffic or #2. I deep breath and reassure myself that I am okay and that I wont be in that current situation forever. This techniques really helps if I am lost and my GPS completely stops working.
I am an over thinker, I realize that. I like to map out what I have to do and when I have to do it. I schedule everything in my head and everything has to go as follows. I learned and am still learning that I have to take everything one step at a time and not “bite off more than I can chew.”
Fear can either be used to keep “you in check” or to hold you back. I accept that life can be random at times so living in fear wont do much. Yes, I will be cautious but not fearful because I will not move on in life but remain stagnant (and that’s a no no for me).
I know some individuals I have encountered told me that if I feel a panic attack coming on to focus on something else to avoid it. I tried that and for me it hasn’t worked yet, I focus on my panic attack but I do not give into it. I focus on my breathing, on my hands, and overall on my body. I focus on my panic attack so I can become in tune with my body. By doing this, I eventually work with myself to get through it. No its not always easy but that is a method that has helped me to get through a panic attack or avoid a heavy panic attack somewhat smoothly.
Coping Techniques Break Down
- Identify triggers.
- Problem solve.
- Relaxation Methods (Deep Breathing).
- Take every day and every task one step at a time.
- Don’t allow it or fear to control me.
- Become in tune with my body.
- Find out what works for me aka know myself.
Again, these techniques work for me. These techniques may not work for you that’s why I advise you to gain more knowledge about anxiety and some coping techniques and then find out what works for you.
I hope you enjoyed this blog post and hopefully this helped someone!
CHOSEN. 