Venting How to deal with overwhelming emotions

[itachi of death]

I wanted to see if anyone had any tricks to dealing with overwhelming anxiety,idk what cause it but I feel like I have panic attacks all the time for no reason:(

 

[WornOutLife]

Trying to find a hobby is a good idea.
In my case, I'm still depressed have lots of ups and downs but studying japanese and playing videogames help me lots.

 

[Ghost2211]

Marijuana

 

[itachi of death]

I was playing dark souls 3 and started having a panic attack when I thought of someone from my past and its made me really shakey,and my heart feeling like it'll explode,ill try and find another hobby thank u

Marijuana

I had to quit for a charge im facing,or I would be smoking now

 

[XYZ]

I usually self-harm. Don't recommend it, obviously. I tried meditation and medication. The former works, but I am too lazy to keep it up and the latter worked as well, but had too many side effects, so I stopped.

If you think you can learn and practise some meditation techniques, I say go for it.

 

[itachi of death]

I try to do different things to sooth me and I've read alot of psychology books but,my ex beat me up and left scars and got me a felony charge and was so horrible even writing this makes me have a panic attack,so im trying to keep my mind off of it

 

[antigone_iris]

I wanted to see if anyone had any tricks to dealing with overwhelming anxiety,idk what cause it but I feel like I have panic attacks all the time for no reason:(

I'm also dealing with anxiety and personally, I'd say music (soothing or just with a nice beat) and dog videos helped me the most. Sometimes even talking to someone, or talking to myself helps me.

Sending lots of love and hugs

 

[itachi of death]

I'm also dealing with anxiety and personally, I'd say music (soothing or just with a nice beat) and dog videos helped me the most. Sometimes even talking to someone, or talking to myself helps me.

Sending lots of love and hugs

Sorry your going through and when I talk to myself I'm not nice,and posting this thread was the only thing I could think of to calm me down music wasn't working and I just hate myself,so I try to bring myself up while talking shit to myself saying I deserve it is a battle within its self if that makes sense

 

[Marauder]

My solution will be ctb

 

[itachi of death]

My solution will be ctb

I wanna die a certain way and I dont have to courage to do it,I want to either slit my wrist or set myself on fire

 

[antigone_iris]

Sorry your going through and when I talk to myself I'm not nice,and posting this thread was the only thing I could think of to calm me down music wasn't working and I just hate myself,so I try to bring myself up while talking shit to myself saying I deserve it is a battle within its self if that makes sense

I understand I'm so sorry you're going through that and that these suggestions are not working for you. I hope you will find comfort on this forum. We're here for you

 

[itachi of death]

This is the most comfort I've felt in 20 years and I appreciate and thank anyone on this forum,I've never met a better community than this one

 

[antigone_iris]

This is the most comfort I've felt in 20 years and I appreciate and thank anyone on this forum,I've never met a better community than this one

 

[Marauder]

I wanna die a certain way and I dont have to courage to do it,I want to either slit my wrist or set myself on fire

Damn, dont you want to reconsider you method? These are extremely painfull.
My method is gun.

 

[itachi of death]

I tried expressing my emotions like this my whole life,and its pushed everyone away,no one wanted to talk or acknowledge the emo kid who just wants to talk about ctb,so I really am thankful for this forum and wish I had it as a teen

Damn, dont you want to reconsider you method? These are extremely painfull.
My method is gun.

I hate myself to the point that I want to suffer I want to feel the pain and agony,I feel I dont deserve a peaceful death,all my life I've known pain,I guess idont know how to think any other way,if I had access to a gun I wouldnt be here right now

 

[GoodPersonEffed]

How I've learned to manage anxiety attacks is to pay attention to them. I sit with them, pay attention to the feelings or sensations. I usually do something like put my hand on my forehead, chest, stomach, or some combination, or do a technique like TAT or EFT. When I've had enough, I pull back and then try to do something else, and they let go enough that I can, because they got some attention and don't require I keep giving it.

I've learned several things from doing this. It takes away much of the power of the anxiety attack, and the more I do this, each one has progressively less intensity and power over me. The feelings aren't going to kill me. The feelings will pass. Something is coming up because it needs attention, so I give it attention, even if I don't understand it; sometimes I eventually do understand, or sometimes it seems that some part of myself understands me as a co-part of my same whole self. Overall, I have less anxiety attacks, and I don't lose myself and my groundedness in them when next they do come up. I don't fear them anymore. I'd say when I focus on them, we exist together at the same time, I'm not "taken over" by them. It's also helped me in other stressful situations to maintain my self and my groundedness, and not get disempowered or taken away from myself by what I'm feeling or what's happening, I can instead acknowledge, "I disprefer this. It sucks, but I'm getting through it. Not everything sucks."

 

[BitterlyAlive]

How I've learned to manage anxiety attacks is to pay attention to them. I sit with them, pay attention to the feelings or sensations. I usually do something like put my hand on my forehead, chest, stomach, or some combination, or do a technique like TAT or EFT. When I've had enough, I pull back and then try to do something else, and they let go enough that I can, because they got some attention and don't require I keep giving it.

I've learned several things from doing this. It takes away much of the power of the anxiety attack, and the more I do this, each one has progressively less intensity and power over me. The feelings aren't going to kill me. The feelings will pass. Something is coming up because it needs attention, so I give it attention, even if I don't understand it; sometimes I eventually do understand, or sometimes it seems that some part of myself understands me as a co-part of my same whole self. Overall, I have less anxiety attacks, and I don't lose myself and my groundedness in them when next they do come up. I don't fear them anymore. I'd say when I focus on them, we exist together at the same time, I'm not "taken over" by them. It's also helped me in other stressful situations to maintain my self and my groundedness, and not get disempowered or taken away from myself by what I'm feeling or what's happening, I can instead acknowledge, "I disprefer this. It sucks, but I'm getting through it. Not everything sucks."

Acceptance is so powerful.

 

[itachi of death]

How I've learned to manage anxiety attacks is to pay attention to them. I sit with them, pay attention to the feelings or sensations. I usually do something like put my hand on my forehead, chest, stomach, or some combination, or do a technique like TAT or EFT. When I've had enough, I pull back and then try to do something else, and they let go enough that I can, because they got some attention and don't require I keep giving it.

I've learned several things from doing this. It takes away much of the power of the anxiety attack, and the more I do this, each one has progressively less intensity and power over me. The feelings aren't going to kill me. The feelings will pass. Something is coming up because it needs attention, so I give it attention, even if I don't understand it; sometimes I eventually do understand, or sometimes it seems that some part of myself understands me as a co-part of my same whole self. Overall, I have less anxiety attacks, and I don't lose myself and my groundedness in them when next they do come up. I don't fear them anymore. I'd say when I focus on them, we exist together at the same time, I'm not "taken over" by them. It's also helped me in other stressful situations to maintain my self and my groundedness, and not get disempowered or taken away from myself by what I'm feeling or what's happening, I can instead acknowledge, "I disprefer this. It sucks, but I'm getting through it. Not everything sucks."

Thats really help im going to try those techniques

 

[Samsara]

First of all OP, I commend you for proactively learning how to better manage your emotions; I've found DBT "TIPP" skills very helpful during emotional crises:

Tip the temperature of your face with cold water (to calm down FAST): Holding your breath, put your face in a bowl of cold water, or hold a cold pack (or zip-lock bag of cold water) on your eyes and cheeks. Then, hold for 30 seconds. Keep water above 50 degrees (F). Doing this activates the mammalian diving reflex, which in turn activates the parasympathetic nervous system (the counterpart to the sympathetic nervous system) that creates relaxing physiological changes and reduces "fight or flight" symptoms that can manifest as panic attack symptoms.

Intense exercise (to calm down your body when it's revved up by emotion): Engage in intense exercise, if only for a short while. Expend your body's stored up physical energy by running, walking fast, jumping, playing basketball, lifting weights, etc.

Paced breathing (pace your breathing by slowing it down): Breathe deeply into your body. Slow your pace of inhaling and exhaling way down (on average, 5-6 breaths/minute). Breathe out more slowly than your breathe in (for example, 5 seconds in and 7 seconds out).

Paired muscle relaxation (to calm down by pairing muscle relaxation with breathing out): While breathing into your belly deeply tense your body muscles (not so much as to cause a cramp). Notice the tension in your body. While breathing out, say the word "relax" in your mind. Let go of the tension. Notice the difference in your body.

These skills are, of course, just basic immediate ways of calming down - but with more practice, you'll experience more benefits and will be able to do this more automatically/easily in your daily life. I hope these help!

 

[BitterlyAlive]

First of all OP, I commend you for proactively learning how to better manage your emotions; I've found DBT "TIPP" skills very helpful during emotional crises:

Tip the temperature of your face with cold water (to calm down FAST): Holding your breath, put your face in a bowl of cold water, or hold a cold pack (or zip-lock bag of cold water) on your eyes and cheeks. Then, hold for 30 seconds. Keep water above 50 degrees (F). Doing this activates the mammalian diving reflex, which in turn activates the parasympathetic nervous system (the counterpart to the sympathetic nervous system) that creates relaxing physiological changes and reduces "fight or flight" symptoms that can manifest as panic attack symptoms.

Intense exercise (to calm down your body when it's revved up by emotion): Engage in intense exercise, if only for a short while. Expend your body's stored up physical energy by running, walking fast, jumping, playing basketball, lifting weights, etc.

Paced breathing (pace your breathing by slowing it down): Breathe deeply into your body. Slow your pace of inhaling and exhaling way down (on average, 5-6 breaths/minute). Breathe out more slowly than your breathe in (for example, 5 seconds in and 7 seconds out).

Paired muscle relaxation (to calm down by pairing muscle relaxation with breathing out): While breathing into your belly deeply tense your body muscles (not so much as to cause a cramp). Notice the tension in your body. While breathing out, say the word "relax" in your mind. Let go of the tension. Notice the difference in your body.

These skills are, of course, just basic immediate ways of calming down - but with more practice, you'll experience more benefits and will be able to do this more automatically/easily in your daily life. I hope these help!

Wonderful advice, especially the cold water.

 

[Samsara]

Wonderful advice, especially the cold water.

Yes, I almost completely directly quoted these skills from the DBT manual - wanted to make sure no information was lost in translation. Feel free to copy and paste where it might be helpful!

 

[everydayiloveyou]

What kind of anxiety are you struggling with? Generalized, social, obsessive-compulsive? Is it the mental or physical symptoms that are bothering you most? I have social anxiety with both types of symptoms, so I will speak on that:

Unfortunately I haven't found any relief for the physical symptoms. I sweat porfusely, shake, blush, get a palpitating heart, and stutter when I'm very anxious. There's no way to get rid of it besides getting out of the situation. Mindfulness is useless and so is grounding and other crap like that. I think medication would be best for dealing with physical symptoms if theyre your biggest issue. Otherwise you will just have to manage them. For the trembling, I like to wear jewelry that is easy to fiddle with (such as stud earrings with cute designs or bracelets with charms), and for the sweating, I wear two layers of shirts (to prevent sweat stains) and clinical-strength antipespirant the night before I know I'm gonna do something scary.

As for mental symptoms, if I'm at home, I will listen to music, cry, or watch fun videos about my hobbies. I also like to draw since it's very distracting. Sometimes you just need to be distracted from it.

What's most helpful though is writing out my thoughts and thinking about them critically. Look up cognitive distortions and start keepng a thought journal. Try to identify when you're writing something distorted. If you see that youve written something like "all my friends hate me now, all because I forgot to chips to the party," identify it as an all-or-nothing distortion, and try to redirect yourself. So instead of holding onto that thought for the rest of the day, think, "what kind of friend will suddenly hate me because of chips? that's silly, people will view me as a whole and not by this one action. When my friends do something similar, yeah Im upset but it doesnt change my overall feelings about them, theyre still my friend"

Acknowledge that the thought existed and that it made you feel bad, but remember it was not a healthy or productive thought. Nothing good comes out of dwelling on a distorted thought and letting it control your actions. Aim to think more productively in the future, and to act against your thoughts so that you can prove them wrong. This is the basis of CBT therapy. Most anxious thoughts are extremely irrational and should not guide your actions. At first, its tough to identify them as such, but eventually you get the hang of it, and those panic thoughts will influencing you less and less.

 

[itachi of death]

What kind of anxiety are you struggling with? Generalized, social, obsessive-compulsive? Is it the mental or physical symptoms that are bothering you most? I have social anxiety with both types of symptoms, so I will speak on that:

It's social and obsessive-compulsive,mostly mental but the physical aspect of it is shaking involuntary and heart beating so fast i can't think I appreciate the tips

First of all OP, I commend you for proactively learning how to better manage your emotions; I've found DBT "TIPP" skills very helpful during emotional crises:

Tip the temperature of your face with cold water (to calm down FAST): Holding your breath, put your face in a bowl of cold water, or hold a cold pack (or zip-lock bag of cold water) on your eyes and cheeks. Then, hold for 30 seconds. Keep water above 50 degrees (F). Doing this activates the mammalian diving reflex, which in turn activates the parasympathetic nervous system (the counterpart to the sympathetic nervous system) that creates relaxing physiological changes and reduces "fight or flight" symptoms that can manifest as panic attack symptoms.

Intense exercise (to calm down your body when it's revved up by emotion): Engage in intense exercise, if only for a short while. Expend your body's stored up physical energy by running, walking fast, jumping, playing basketball, lifting weights, etc.

Paced breathing (pace your breathing by slowing it down): Breathe deeply into your body. Slow your pace of inhaling and exhaling way down (on average, 5-6 breaths/minute). Breathe out more slowly than your breathe in (for example, 5 seconds in and 7 seconds out).

Paired muscle relaxation (to calm down by pairing muscle relaxation with breathing out): While breathing into your belly deeply tense your body muscles (not so much as to cause a cramp). Notice the tension in your body. While breathing out, say the word "relax" in your mind. Let go of the tension. Notice the difference in your body.

These skills are, of course, just basic immediate ways of calming down - but with more practice, you'll experience more benefits and will be able to do this more automatically/easily in your daily life. I hope these help!

Wow,I will definitely try these when tbe next time it happens and thank you,this is very informative and helpful.

First of all OP, I commend you for proactively learning how to better manage your emotions; I've found DBT "TIPP" skills very helpful during emotional crises:

Tip the temperature of your face with cold water (to calm down FAST): Holding your breath, put your face in a bowl of cold water, or hold a cold pack (or zip-lock bag of cold water) on your eyes and cheeks. Then, hold for 30 seconds. Keep water above 50 degrees (F). Doing this activates the mammalian diving reflex, which in turn activates the parasympathetic nervous system (the counterpart to the sympathetic nervous system) that creates relaxing physiological changes and reduces "fight or flight" symptoms that can manifest as panic attack symptoms.

Intense exercise (to calm down your body when it's revved up by emotion): Engage in intense exercise, if only for a short while. Expend your body's stored up physical energy by running, walking fast, jumping, playing basketball, lifting weights, etc.

Paced breathing (pace your breathing by slowing it down): Breathe deeply into your body. Slow your pace of inhaling and exhaling way down (on average, 5-6 breaths/minute). Breathe out more slowly than your breathe in (for example, 5 seconds in and 7 seconds out).

Paired muscle relaxation (to calm down by pairing muscle relaxation with breathing out): While breathing into your belly deeply tense your body muscles (not so much as to cause a cramp). Notice the tension in your body. While breathing out, say the word "relax" in your mind. Let go of the tension. Notice the difference in your body.

These skills are, of course, just basic immediate ways of calming down - but with more practice, you'll experience more benefits and will be able to do this more automatically/easily in your daily life. I hope these help!

Wow,I will definitely try these when tbe next time it happens and thank you,this is very informative and helpful.