If I’m in panic mode, I focus on being fully present without thoughts. So if I’m home, I might start to clean, or make tea or just any activity that I can wholly focus on without thinking about what I’m doing. When I’m not in a panic, deep breathing usually helps. I try to meditate throughout the week when I’m not anxious to help with practicing staying present when the panic and anxiety does come.
this post was submitted on 11 Jul 2023
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Socialanxiety
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For somatic regulation: breathing and progressive muscle relaxation
For mental regulation: first, noticing what's going on and naming it. Then stopping the thinking (which is a process) and examining thoughts (snapshots of the process of thinking). You don't want to push the thoughts away (hence the differentiation between thinking as a process that can be stopped and thoughts as snapshots to be examined).
For example: I feel really anxious a couple of hours before an event and don't want to go. First, I notice it and name it ("Ok, I'm noticing I'm feeling anxious, especially tight in my chest, and it's hard to breathe"). Then, I do some deep breathing for 2 minutes or so. Finally, I visualize a stop sign (it's just something that works for me) and try to identify and challenge my thoughts.
Let's say I'm thinking "No one there likes me anyway, why go" - I might change that to "Realistically, I know at least one person there doesn't mind hanging out with me. I really don't know what everyone else thinks about me, and I might as well not make assumptions. This is a good opportunity for me to practice my skills. It's scary, and I can do this."
I really apprechiate that insight. thank you for shareing :)
You're very welcome. I love hearing from everyone on here.
i tend to use fidget toys to give me some sensory input on my skin. and then try to get into a quiet spot on my own asap! breathing exercises have helped a lot too. and if im still in a head space where i think rationally, i start describing my surroundings. like three things i can see. two things i can hear, one thing i can smell. its distraction of my brain that sometimes works, or at least buys me enough time to get into "savety". after i spend some alone time i sometimes even reenter the social situation. tbf that mostly happends in my own apartment where i feel save ^^