Anyone tried the slow breathing exercise.
- Thread starter jerim
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Chilling__Echo
Well-known member
i've tried it before and it helped me quite a bit, however most of the time when things come up i don't have time to focus... :?
clairet
Well-known member
Hello again everybody, got some time on the computer with out preying eyes around so I can finally tell you about my distraction methods- sorry it took me so long to get back to this post.
This is my strangest distraction method for when I feel socially anxious or generally just up-tight (got a lot of negative anger locked in my head sometimes).
I think about myself with a party hat on blowing one of those weird things that you blow at parties that makes that ridiculous noise (y'know that annoying high pitched squeaky noise!) and I kind of imagine myself bouncing/hopping around around a room going kinda crazy in fast speeded-up motion!
This image of myself is sometimes how I see myself (sort of hopping mad I spose!) and how I see social anxiety - something I need to mock. I feel that if I can laugh at social anxiety and the way I sometimes see myself I've got more control - it's a bit like rationalising an irrational emotion. Also this image never fails to make me laugh out loud and physically smile - so it serves another purpose - to take me out and away from my own negativity. 8)
I realise that this probably wouldn't work for everybody, but it seems to work for me.
If I am at home, then doing something completely banal like cleaning I find really helps me. It allows me to clear my mind and just focus on the job at hand. Even focusing on a cup that has a really stubborn bit of dirt stuck to it is a good thing, if it means you are thinking about something other than concentrating on how anxious you feel. I spose this follows the same kind of principles on how people distract themselves with hobbies.
Getting a hobbie would probably be better and a lot more fun than washing up or doing household chores though obviously! I honestly believe that one of the reasons I worry so much about life and get so anxious about things is because I don't have any positive hobbies (thus positive thoughts to focus on and lift my mood). I think if you can find something that you are passionate about and you can get good at, this can give you a sense of confidence in yourself and give you something positive to focus on rather than letting the negative hobbie (anxiety) get a grip of you.
Obviously if you are in a social situation then you cannot do this, but if you are in a social situation where you can be doing something physical instead of just worrying about how you are feeling inside, try to do it.
I know this advice is not amazingly revolutionary, I wish it was, but these are some of the things that help me.
Something else I have started to do lately too (which is and isn't a distraction thing, sorry that makes no sense, I'll try to explain!) is the questioning my thoughts thing. Nicola Maire talked about it in one of her posts (which I found very inspiring - cheers girl!) What I mean is, say a negative thought comes into your head, for example, "Sheila doesn't like me." What you then do is question this thought until it no longer holds any impact. So first of all ask yourself why you think this? Say you say to yourself "well she snapped at me last time I asked her a question." Then question that and say to yourself "Well it could be that she had a bad day, or something happened before I saw her, she may even have SA herself, who knows." "Even if she doesn't like me, I cannot place too much emphasis on it, my opinion of myself should and will count for more than somebody else's opinion of me."
This is something I have been trying to do a lot lately - talk myself around and challenge negative thinking.
It is difficult to try to convince yourself to look at things in a positive light, especially as the old routine hobbie of negativity is so tempting but I think it is the way forward.
Sorry a bit off thread there really cos that is not really gonna help control an anxiety attack but it is relevant in some ways because it is about positive thinking and trying to change your own mind.
This is my strangest distraction method for when I feel socially anxious or generally just up-tight (got a lot of negative anger locked in my head sometimes).
I think about myself with a party hat on blowing one of those weird things that you blow at parties that makes that ridiculous noise (y'know that annoying high pitched squeaky noise!) and I kind of imagine myself bouncing/hopping around around a room going kinda crazy in fast speeded-up motion!
This image of myself is sometimes how I see myself (sort of hopping mad I spose!) and how I see social anxiety - something I need to mock. I feel that if I can laugh at social anxiety and the way I sometimes see myself I've got more control - it's a bit like rationalising an irrational emotion. Also this image never fails to make me laugh out loud and physically smile - so it serves another purpose - to take me out and away from my own negativity. 8)
I realise that this probably wouldn't work for everybody, but it seems to work for me.
If I am at home, then doing something completely banal like cleaning I find really helps me. It allows me to clear my mind and just focus on the job at hand. Even focusing on a cup that has a really stubborn bit of dirt stuck to it is a good thing, if it means you are thinking about something other than concentrating on how anxious you feel. I spose this follows the same kind of principles on how people distract themselves with hobbies.
Getting a hobbie would probably be better and a lot more fun than washing up or doing household chores though obviously! I honestly believe that one of the reasons I worry so much about life and get so anxious about things is because I don't have any positive hobbies (thus positive thoughts to focus on and lift my mood). I think if you can find something that you are passionate about and you can get good at, this can give you a sense of confidence in yourself and give you something positive to focus on rather than letting the negative hobbie (anxiety) get a grip of you.
Obviously if you are in a social situation then you cannot do this, but if you are in a social situation where you can be doing something physical instead of just worrying about how you are feeling inside, try to do it.
I know this advice is not amazingly revolutionary, I wish it was, but these are some of the things that help me.
Something else I have started to do lately too (which is and isn't a distraction thing, sorry that makes no sense, I'll try to explain!) is the questioning my thoughts thing. Nicola Maire talked about it in one of her posts (which I found very inspiring - cheers girl!) What I mean is, say a negative thought comes into your head, for example, "Sheila doesn't like me." What you then do is question this thought until it no longer holds any impact. So first of all ask yourself why you think this? Say you say to yourself "well she snapped at me last time I asked her a question." Then question that and say to yourself "Well it could be that she had a bad day, or something happened before I saw her, she may even have SA herself, who knows." "Even if she doesn't like me, I cannot place too much emphasis on it, my opinion of myself should and will count for more than somebody else's opinion of me."
This is something I have been trying to do a lot lately - talk myself around and challenge negative thinking.
It is difficult to try to convince yourself to look at things in a positive light, especially as the old routine hobbie of negativity is so tempting but I think it is the way forward.
Sorry a bit off thread there really cos that is not really gonna help control an anxiety attack but it is relevant in some ways because it is about positive thinking and trying to change your own mind.
The breathing helps me a lot. I've tried it in the middle of a stressful situation or just sitting at home on my couch during an anxious day. I think it really helps with my GAD symptoms though. The book I'm reading recommends doing it everyday during a quiet time, but I prefer to do it when the anxiety hits. It is an instant relaxer.