by sass_my_frass 18 Replies latest jw friends
Sass, Two good books that I keep on my library shelf are: Hope and Help For Your Nerves, by Dr. Claire Weeks and Anxiety & Panic Attacks, their cause and cure, by Robert Handly with Pauline Neff. It's been years since I suffered any anxiety or panic attacks. I never took any meds. for it, just reached out for the books and read. It was like having a Dr. right there next to me. Reading these books calmed me down.
Blueblades
Guinness or if its really bad...Guinnii....he he
Echoing Juni and others, I take walks and get outside for some deep breaths of fresh air. Walking outside is where I get my best thinking done too. I've also had some psychotherapy over the past year and that has helped me to reframe negative thinking into positive thinking as soon as I recognize it.
For instance, I'll catch myself thinking, 'you are so stupid and never do anything right.' To which I'll stop and reason with myself, 'that is black-and-white thinking and doesn't even make any sense. you've been wrong before, and you'll be wrong again. that doesn't mean you don't do things right. you do plenty right..." etc. You get the point. It helps a lot to ask oneself questions and to reason within one's brain. We do each have that own personal power and we need to just empower ourselves to think positively and overcome some things and feelings.
That's not to say there aren't plenty of very real problems that need stronger assistance than one can do on her own. Getting help from others when needed is a very powerful thing to do too. Many people are too proud (or held back for some other reason) to do so.
It also helps me, and always has since I was in high school, to sit down and make what I call "Happy Thoughts Lists," which is basically just listing off the top of my head the things, people, sounds, tastes, memories, places, whatever in life that make me happy. It's also fun to keep the lists and go back and read them again.
Oh, also Sass, I'm sorry you are going through a rough time. I hope you are able to ease your mind soon!!!
Thanks all. A couple of years ago I was on antidepressants; SSRIs, they really helped. I didn't like the prospect of being on them for life though so I weaned off them. I think I'd like the instant relief of a xanax-type medication too much; I'm pretty sure I'd become dependent on them. I'm going to give it a few more months and a few more study terms to see if I should go back on the SSRIs; I am hoping that I can get it under control by treating the cause, not the symptoms. Hence the physical side of treatment; exercise, 'mindfulness', and avoiding bad situations.
Sass, Two good books that I keep on my library shelf are: Hope and Help For Your Nerves, by Dr. Claire Weeks and Anxiety & Panic Attacks, their causeand cure, by Robert Handly with Pauline Neff. It's been years since I suffered any anxiety or panic attacks. I never took any meds. for it, just reached out for the books and read. It was like having a Dr. right there next to me. Reading these books calmed me down.
Great books. I have both and also used them to "cure" myself of panic attacks a few years ago. I don't like taking medications for very long and was determined to work through the problem in a different way and these two books did it for me. Highly recommended reading.
Every body I think so far has given you some very good advice. I suggest yoga, helps me relax and for the scuba diving I suggest you wait until you have less stress in your life before you try the advance diving. I'm a dive master and I have been diving for 15 years now. I almost panic once. I was able to calm myself by stopping and taking deep breaths. After that everything was o.k. I was able to think strait.
Merlot
World of Warcraft
