Improvements, of sorts

[geekchick]

I spent very little of today crying, got some amount of work done that I'd wanted to finish up yesterday and kept on top of the new stuff that appeared in my inbox. That's an improvement over yesterday.

Unfortunately, I also spent more than a couple of minutes talking myself down from the edge of panic attacks. I think perhaps I'm a wee bit stressed, and maybe I'll take some theanine and/or valerian before leaving the house tomorrow. At least I was successful in staving them off, so there's something.

Comments

[brian1789.livejournal.com]

(soothing thoughts)

hope that you aren't cycling... lots of stress and adrenaline could do that.

[nminusone.livejournal.com]

Heh, somebody's getting her meds tweaked tomorrow, which should sort things out very quickly.

[azhreia.livejournal.com]

I know you don't know me from a bar of soap (I read your LJ through a friend's friendslist), but I wanted to jump in and offer some advice that helped me when I was suffering from frequent panic attacks last year. The counsellor I was seeing where I worked suggested this to me.

when you start to feel panicky, take a slightly deeper than normal breath, and hold it to the count of 3 or 4. not very long, certainly not long enough to be uncomfortable. then breathe it out slowly to the same count (3 or 4). breathe in slowly, breathe out slowly.

I added to it a small "mantra". "I am not in danger - 2 - 3 - 4" (while breathing in) "I am perfectly safe - 2 - 3 - 4" (while breathing out). You could use something that refers to whatever sets you off, or another one of mine, "I am not a stress puppy - 2 - 3 - 4" "I can cope with this - 2 - 3 - 4"

repeat this even, controlled breathing for a minute or two - or as long as it takes for you to feel in control again.

I know it sounds simplistic, and I admit I scoffed a bit at the idea when the counsellor first suggested it, but I was finding the panic attacks totally debilitating, and it did help me. I hope it helps you too.

[geekchick]

Thanks for the suggestions, they're appreciated. That's something similar to what I was doing yesterday, in fact. I find that if I start feeling an attack coming on, if I catch it in time I can talk myself down by taking deep breaths and telling myself that it's nothing I can't handle. It's been a while since I managed to have a full-blown attack, and that happened in the middle of the night when I didn't have a chance to try and get a handle on it.