How do you keep your anxiety at bay when you're alone?
I find doing something else helps me but sometimes my brain just comes back to my anxiety. Any advice on this one?
Maybe it would be helpful to try paying attention to your anxiety. Not spiraling or believing it. But having a line of separation while you mindfully, nonjudgementally, look at what the problem is.
"I have the emotion of anxiety."
"I am feeling worried about this situation because I have the thought of a bad outcome." Etc
I've found it helpful to schedule a time, only 15min or so, to focus on the anxiety provoking thoughts in my mind. Then if I run out of time, I can just add short notes to the list and then look at that list the next day.
"I don't have the mental space to let this worry spiral for me, so I'm going to tackle this problem, if it's still a problem, at this specific date and time."
For example, this video about cognitive defusion
@StrawberryShaken Oh and has that helped you keep your anxiety in check? Mine's worse since it sometimes creeps in at random moments.
@lnzB Hi, I hope you've been doing well! To answer your question: yes, sometimes. I find it most helpful for the kind of anxiety that is like persistent worrying about the same thing and ruminating so much that it uses up a large portion of your time. For random bursts of anxiety, especially since it involves physical symptoms, that's still hard for me but I'm learning how to cope in the moment.
The anxious feeling sounds very dreadful. Often we are anxious because we feel uncomfortable and then we tend to worry. Are there any particular places, thoughts, people, actions that trigger the anxiety in you? It could be that doing something fufills your deep need of having to do something all the time or doing something could be distracting you from feeling the presence of something uncomfortable.
Listen to music, try breath work too…
I think that it’s really only natural for you to think back to things that cause stress/distress to you, even with distractions. Perhaps joining an in-person group or keeping in contact with friends/family more often may be able to help. It’s all up to you.
@lnzB drawing , dance, Journaling, music
@lnzB
Yeah, it's tough when that happens. I too will sometimes try to distract myself. I find working out with music the best. Listening to a podcast or audio book while cleaning also seems to help me. Other times I will self talk and tell myself things like: My brain is giving a wrong signal. I am safe, this feeling will pass soon etc. Re-framing my thoughts tends to help the situation.