Symptoms and Coping

Thought I would share in case it helps someone.

This is what panic and anxiety feels like to me:
-hot tingling in face, hands, down legs, hot!
-nauseous
-sooo tired
-crying/depressed
-heart racing
-short of breath
-feeling of dread

I’m trying to cope by doing CBT. I read a book called “The Happiness Trap” that’s been superhelpful in coping techniques. I also take bupropion, propranolol, and escitalopram.

Part of CBT is retraining your brain in reacting to anxiety. When I start to feel it I close my eyes and let it roll through me imagining a wave. It helps me realize it’s just a feeling, and it can’t hurt me.
The other part is understanding what the point is. Anxiety has no purpose except to help you react in life threatening situations, but having it prolonged for random reasons or times is not what it needs to be doing. So, understanding there’s no need, ive come up with a mantra:

“Anxiety is just a feeling. It doesn’t mean anything. It can’t hurt me. Anxiety isn’t going to change or help the situation, so I can feel it all I want, but it’s not going to change anything.”

Anyone else have any good coping techniques?

MainerMikeBrown said:

JustBeHappyG, when you mentioned what the point of anxiety is, it reminded me of what one of my past therapist's told me back when I was having excessive anxiety issues. She told me that if their is nothing I can do about a problem, then their is no point in worrying about it.

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Yeah- that’s the latest thing that’s been helping me. Every time I start to worry or get anxious, I keep thinking that there’s nothing I can do, it is what it is, so I need to make the best of it. Any other advice?