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Anyone know how to deal with anxiety, panic etc without drugs

Pagey

Bluelight Crew
Joined
Apr 11, 2012
Messages
9,428
Location
The Valley of Ashes
Hey everyone
Haven't been on here in a while, I hope you're all doing well. Have a non drug related question I really need help with. I've had severe anxiety for the past year or so - used to be the least anxious person in the world until I quit heroin, and since then it's been ridiculous even though it's been almost a year. I also get really bad panic attacks a few times a week. I've been on xanax but I'm not at the minute, and I'm on supposedly anxiety-reducing SSRIs but I can't really tell the difference frankly. Anyway, I was wondering if anyone on here had any experience with that and could give me some tips on how to deal with it in day-to-day situations. It's getting debilitating, to the point where I'm constantly questioning almost every single thing in my life and it's taking a bit of a toll on me.
Thanks.
 
I find getting out in quiet and open spaces places of natural wilderness type places is very calming. And as you are relatively young you could maybe push yourself really hard with some kind of regular physical exercise. If you drink coffee i would definately stop that as it makes things much worse, even nicotine can too. Getting out and about as much as possible also helps. Meditation is another solution, but requires immense discipline. There are plenty of solutions. I'll probably be in a simillar situation when i first get off etiz, whenever that may be, sometime over the next few months.8(
 
Pretty sure shes been getting out a lot after moving to aussy
 
maybe look into meditation. If you try it with an open mind it really can be beneficial. youtube has loads of guided meditations which are useful.
 
Proper decent exercise can help with anxiety if i recall, also depression

Also yea look into meditation
 
Have a look in to 'binaural beats', it's a way of inducing the frequencies in our brain that are associated with certain moods through sound.

I don't know any more than that I'm afraid, it was just something that my key worker suggested I look in to the other day to help with my upcoming detox.
 
Yeah, my ex won't take aspirin for a headache , and has dealt with anxiety using. Meditation and breathing exercise's very successfully.
Look into it pagey. Good luck.
 
I never found the deep breath or meditation helped me any.

Only technique I've ever found that helps is mindfulness. This is where instead of letting thoughts of your past or future dominate your thinking you step back and simply let your mind exist fully in the present moment. So if you're walking down the street you simply pay attention to how your body is feeling, how the wind is feeling, notice what's in your mind moment by moment rather than thinking about what's happened or what might happen.

Usually moment by moment things are bearable and any anxiety dissapates. Good luck pagey.
 
I never found the deep breath or meditation helped me any.

Only technique I've ever found that helps is mindfulness. This is where instead of letting thoughts of your past or future dominate your thinking you step back and simply let your mind exist fully in the present moment. So if you're walking down the street you simply pay attention to how your body is feeling, how the wind is feeling, notice what's in your mind moment by moment rather than thinking about what's happened or what might happen.

Usually moment by moment things are bearable and any anxiety dissapates. Good luck pagey.

Nice advice, but isn't that the point of breathing exercises? So that you slowly focus in on your breathing pattern until it consumes the entireity of your thinking?

I could be wrong, I might have got the wronng end of the stick.
 
Only technique I've ever found that helps is mindfulness. This is where instead of letting thoughts of your past or future dominate your thinking you step back and simply let your mind exist fully in the present moment. So if you're walking down the street you simply pay attention to how your body is feeling, how the wind is feeling, notice what's in your mind moment by moment rather than thinking about what's happened or what might happen.

Or as we used to call it, "paying attention". "Living in the now".

But of course you can charge £30 an hour for mindfulness 8(
 
Or try the Wilko Johnson route. Realise time is relative, life is short and death is imminent. This will give you a whole new perspective on the wind in the trees, that butterfly that flutters by etc.

Wilko Johnson was diagnosed with terminal cancer and given two months to live. He refused chemotherapy in order to make the most of what was left of his life. Fifteen months later Wilko is still alive. Turns out the doctors misdiagnosed the seriousness of his cancer. Go Wilko.
 
I never found the deep breath or meditation helped me any.

Only technique I've ever found that helps is mindfulness. This is where instead of letting thoughts of your past or future dominate your thinking you step back and simply let your mind exist fully in the present moment. So if you're walking down the street you simply pay attention to how your body is feeling, how the wind is feeling, notice what's in your mind moment by moment rather than thinking about what's happened or what might happen.

Usually moment by moment things are bearable and any anxiety dissapates. Good luck pagey.

For me these things are actually related. Breathing excercises and meditation can help sharpen your focus but also help you in learning how to shift your focus away from anxious thoughts, for example by focusing on the here and now. Anxiety is all in your head really, and being able to shift your mindset away from anxious/ negative feelings can indeed be achieved through said techniques.
Physical excercise simply makes for an overall feeling of wellbeing, lessening anxiety.
 
Nice advice, but isn't that the point of breathing exercises?

Never been able to concentrate on my breathing tho. Just not something I feel like I can do. It's deadly dull and makes me more miserable than thinking about a loved one who has died to be honest. And you can't do while you're doing other things either - I don't have time to sit still for hours on end thinking about my breathing. Whereas I can walk round quite happily doing all the tasks I've got to do in a day observing what's going on in my mind and body at that moment.

Or try the Wilko Johnson route. Realise time is relative, life is short and death is imminent. This will give you a whole new perspective on the wind in the trees, that butterfly that flutters by etc.

Wilkos done quite a few good interviews on it lately and his book is pretty good too.

meditation can help sharpen your focus

Same problem with meditation as I have with breathing exercises tho - I'm busy and I have too many other things to do in my day than sit still for 30 minutes. It's good if you're a buddhist monk with nothing to do all day.
 
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Never been able to concentrate on my breathing tho. Just not something I feel like I can do. It's deadly dull and makes me more miserable than thinking about a loved one who has died to be honest. And you can't do while you're doing other things either - I don't have time to sit still for hours on end thinking about my breathing. Whereas I can walk round quite happily doing all the tasks I've got to do in a day observing what's going on in my mind and body at that moment.

It can helped to be talked through it: Noah Levine Meditation

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdyFYjZ-vd8

Only followed it properly once, and it did work, i dont think i have the patience to get into it regularly and properly though.
 
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