dealing with high anxiety, stress

[Bob]

Any tips, strategies, etc.

A few things came up, a few more things are up or coming up.... Life sch***t.

I'm still here, about the same, but I'm noticing the feeling of anxiety seems more cumulative.  If originally I was at a 3-5 range, something happens, I bump up to a 5-7 range.  That goes away or is dealt with.  Then something else happens -- I'm not start back at 3-5.  More like 4-6.  Or if the same issue comes up again, boom -- back to an 8 or wherever it left off.

Any ideas?

I was making a mental list before...
Just deal with it.
Deal with it ahead of time.
Save up money/spend less if possible.
Exercise.
Good nutrition.  Don't overeat.
Plenty of good sleep.
Make more money / extra job(s) if possible.
Clean, organize.
Friends I suppose.
Go out.
Find something funny, amusing, entertaining.  Or just something to mentally leave.
Tough it out.
Breathe.
Meditation I suppose.
Purposely, actively relaxing.  I've done that for music before.  I can feel things unwinding just thinking about that.  That and breathing.


I've never had a panic attack before.  I can understand how it could happen though.  There's some freak out level I'm sensing. 

More...?

Accurately assess the situation.  Plan.
Drugs I suppose.  That seems like a ...  cheating or something.  Or potentially ignoring reality if something real is producing anxiety.  Still, if this is just some generic thing/side effect/cumulative thing that's nothing turning into actual anxiety/stress, I'd like to get rid of it. 

It feels deeper too.  Not quite a surface thing.  Anxiety, stress, dread, fear.  Something along those lines.  Paranoia. 

Vitamins.... Or not overdosing on vitamins....
I suppose sleeping pills could be useful.  Or Nyquil.
Work harder, tough it out, force things to happen.
Think through more, come up with a better plan.
Rest.  Good, deep rest.  ie Sleep.

[outin]

How I deal with stressfull things is I just block them out of my mind whenever I can and hope that they are less stressful when I have to get back to them. Usually works fine, although I am not sure it's working that well right now, since I occasionally feel anxiety in a way that I am not used to. Too much is too much I guess... When it comes to that and I start getting too wired up, I usually just decide to drop something, let something go...I just try to pick the one with the least harmful repercussions.

But in general, for me it works best just to forget about whatever is bothering me... but of course I have a special talent in forgetting things, it has become evident on the piano thing...

[Bob]

Thought of some more....

Suffer.  If you can't change it. Hopefully come out stronger in the end (what doesn't kill you makes you stronger.. hopefully.  Unless it leaves you weak but still alive.)

Same idea as suffer -- expect pain.  Pain of the situation.  Pain associated just from working or working past normal levels.

Better time management.  Work more effectively, efficiently.   Blocking out time has worked best for me.  Even doing a half-baked job could be good enough in some cases -- If it shows others you were working on the project/topic even if it's not perfect/the way it should be.  Same idea -- Just do a surface job of it and make it appear more than it is. 

Yes, let it go.  Give up.  Give in. 

Devote more time to things, if possible.

Or delegate, if possible. Say no, etc.  If possible.  Not the case here.

Forgetting it is something I think I'm looking for.  I think my brain is framing things in the worst case scenario, but worst case in several different directions, ie not really realistic (but still possible I guess). 

Same as forgetting.... I think it's what I'm looking for here... Purposely/forcefully push the mind off the topic.  Either with dealing with, telling the brain that's how it is, or.... There's something with pushing the brain out of repetitive thoughts I think.  My mind repeats the same things over and over sometimes I've notice (fatigue, lack of sleep, etc.)  It's the rational part of the brain too that overcomes that during the day.  Breathing, thinking it out, telling the brain to stop and get back on track.... Something along those lines....  Even just a loud "Stop!" command in the mind might be good.

Same idea -- Will.  Willpower. 

Produce some type of change.

[Bob]

Buy your way out.  Or buy things that will help you.

List out all the stressors/projects.  Wrap up some of them.  Finish them off (do them, or break into pieces and do them).  Or give up on some.

Drink fluids, stay hydrated.

[Bob]

Anger.  That burns energy quickly, but it can get stuff done.  It could be useful on getting small stuff done.  Or angrily finishing something after work and then crashing.

Staying positive.  Although I'm not quite sure what that means.  Thinking happy thoughts.  Repeating positive statements.  Trying to feel happy.

Humor.  Jokes.  Something amusing to actually laugh about.  Retrain everything for laughing that way as opposed to staying ultra-serious all the time.

Baby steps.  One thing at a time.  Which I suppose really means do something and then rest.

[outin]

One thing that helps in pushing things out of your mind is manual labour. Something that requires just enough attention to keep the mind a bit busy and exhausts you physically...helps with sleeping problems too. Housework, small renovation, whatever. Something one would normally try to avoid.

[Bob]

I suppose the other thing is to nip it as soon as possible.  Otherwise it could grow like this.

Housework is one of the stress things.  One more thing to deal with.

[Bob]

I bet fake laughter would work somewhat well too.  The body can be pretty stupid about things sometimes.  Fake laughter, fake smile... Actually feeling less stressed as a result.

[ted]

Broadly speaking, before application of internal, mental techniques, the actual external stressors should be eliminated, or at least reduced as far as possible. In other words, each stressor should be calmly assessed as to how much of it is really unavoidable. In my experience, people seem to work themselves up about little events just as badly as they do about big ones. This is especially true for minor stressors which present regularly. The sink outlet is starting to block, the sliding doors are coming loose, the car is making a funny noise, the neighbour was grumpy, an element on the stove is not working properly, the water bill seemed too high - issues like this have simple and real solutions which ought to be attended to, not constantly worried about or ignored in favour of mental techniques. Yet it is surprising how many people will see the kitchen flooded, the door fall off, the car break down, the stove set something alight, the leaky pipe remain undiscovered, with all the consequent real bother, rather than put their minds at rest with simple, direct action. Eliminate as many stressors as possible first by logical means, keeping the mental techniques for the truly intractable ones.

[iansinclair]

Ted's basic theme (or at least what I read to be his basic theme!) is right on -- deal with what needs to be done as soon as possible after it is observed.  Don't put stuff -- even small stuff, or perhaps especially small stuff -- off to some other time!

Finish projects.  Things left hanging out there can be very stressful, without one's even realising it.  Even taking the empty coffee cup to the sink!

Take the time to really enjoy your music...

There's a lot of stuff -- including about 99.999% of the world news -- which I either ignore completely or which I file under "incurable, endurable" and then don't worry about any more...

There is a little prayer I use:  God, grant me the strength to change what must be changed, and the courage to endure what cannot be changed, and the wisdom to know the difference.

[outin]

Housework is one of the stress things.  One more thing to deal with.

Really? Why would you stress about housework? I never do, if it stresses me I just don't do it...until there are no clothes left or clean dishes...Then one can put something in the machine...

Cleaning is best done very seldom, because it's more fun when you can actually see the result of your work.

Except the litter boxes, leaving them undone for too long is not a good idea...

[birba]

I would never have imagined "bob" suffering from stress.  Ever.  To me he sounds like such a laidback and take-it-easy sort of guy.   Always quick,with the clever reply, sound advice, funny comment...

[Bob]

F it.   Along the angry lines.  Also works.  I suppose that's bolstering confidence.... Possibly useful, even if it's fake.

Or... Just do. Don't think.  Another strategy.

[eric0773]

The best thing is to rationalize. If you can do something to improve the situation, do it. Otherwise, skip to other thoughts. Life is short. Time should be invested in either fun or work. You will never retrieve the time you waste in anxiety.

Now, this is easier said than done.

So, when there is some unjustified thing in my mind that just won't go away and about which I cannot do anything (for instance, thinking about a mistake I made, insulting behavior I had, missed deadlines, legal threats received, etc.), I give myself in private half an hour or so to be intensively, overly depressed: making an inner drama out of it, what happened, even exaggerating the consequences - basically, mulling the same thoughts over and over ad nauseam, and pushing it to the level of absurdity.

That may seem weird, but doing this little "brain acting" allows me to feel how pointless those thoughts are, and what an utter waste of time that little comedy I just did is.

And when the anxious side of my brain become active again, I simply think "Ok, here we go again, let's give it a couple minutes for drama so that it can mull the exact same things again, only to reach the exact same conclusions than last time". This process works for me because it looks absurd, and makes me feel like an imbecile when I do it. "What the hell did I just do? My situation is not that bad. Now, enough time wasted, let's actually do something".

Another strategy is to create diversions: planning a trip that requires a lot of organization, beginning an intensive sport for which you also set yourself deadlines (example: I want to be able to do a marathon by a certain date), or meeting people that have a completely different background and objectives than you.

As for the anti-anxiety medicine, I recommend staying away from them. When you start taking them, it is very difficult to stop. A member of my family quietly developed an addiction to those over the years, and the price to pay for being "stress-free" was becoming a vegetable (oversleeping, too much TV, no energy whatsoever, lack of will, etc). It ended up in an accident that could have been lethal, but luckily was not.

[birba]

Change your motto to "Aller  Anfang  ist unschwer".