"My relationship to fear got me here" Support Group

I want this to be a safe space for people to share their tips and tricks for dealing with fear. I have found out that I can't quite ignore it or attack it or use some kind of a simplistic techique to deal with it. It's far more complicated.

 

For example. I stood outside the Post Office door today, waiting to open after a lunch break. I was terrified. I was beseiged by anxiety, feeling of floor tilting, derealizations and flashbacks and remembering this same post office from other stressful times.

 

I was grateful for a free PanicShield app for the Android phone, and how it actually helped me at those moments where I felt like I was imploding with multitude of fears and symptoms, that I felt like an alien in the Post Office. But then, I remember the movie "Men in Black" and the joke how everyone who works in the Post Office is an alien, anyway (how else would they handle the stress?), so remembering that silly line from the movie got me through this, as well.

About to listen to Dr. Claire Weekes right now. I am hoping her voice starts guiding me through situations if I listen to it often enough.

 

Dr. Claire Weekes - How To Recover 01

https://youtu.be/60108Yg3-8k

 

Dr. Claire Weekes - How To Recover 02

https://youtu.be/pVTT1itQAs8

 

Dr. Claire Weekes - How To Recover 03

https://youtu.be/Sc-2TY5t5IQ

 

Dr. Claire Weekes - How To Recover 04

https://youtu.be/LADvwYeZ1vA

Oh my goodness Thank you for these  links LP and so glad you got thru your post office trip. Good job.

 

My relationship to fear got me here too. It is complicated. And it’s exhasting and I think that’s why so many people got on these maybe?? because it’s just so damn hard to fight fear...remembering all the mantras and coping skills and techniques.

It’s a hard way to live. And at first the pills made life easier for me anyway. I’m fighting everyday every minute to not just give in and ask my doc for a new combo that makes life better. I am a wimp.

Good to see you  here, offandon. I was recently listening to an interview given by Stephen Levine and really like what he said how what we experience as fear is actually resistance to fear, and really just built-up resistances to the fear. His idea being that while fear itself is a very real feeling, it's actually our aversion to it that gives too much power.

 

I especially like this part. Pain being physical, emotional. All of it.

 

Good to see you  here, offandon. I was recently listening to an interview given by Stephen Levine and really like what he said how what we experience as fear is actually resistance to fear, and really just built-up resistances to the fear. His idea being that while fear itself is a very real feeling, it's actually our aversion to it that gives too much power.

 

I especially like this part. Pain being physical, emotional. All of it.

 

 

Thanks. I’ll check it out. Hopefully I can come up with some tips and tricks that actually help others. Right now I’m just winging it.

The Panic Attack Breathing Triangle

 

https://i.imgur.com/PF7PJdd.gifv

 

https://imgur.com/gallery/Huou7Gh

 

 

Meditation for Panic Attacks/Emergency Anxiety Relief

 

Meditation for Benzodiazepine and Psychiatric Drug Withdrawal

 

Benzo Withdrawal Guided Meditation

 

 

Coping Strategies

http://benzosupport.org/my_coping_stratgies.htm

• Acceptance:  http://benzosupport.org/my_accetpance.htm
  
• Abdominal Breathing:  http://benzosupport.org/my_abdominal_breathing.htm
  
• Chewing Gum:  http://benzosupport.org/my_chewing_gum.htm
  
• Cooling Off:  http://benzosupport.org/my_cooling_off.htm
  
• Counting to 10:  http://benzosupport.org/my_counting_to_ten.htm
  
• Deep Breathing:  http://benzosupport.org/my_deep_breathing.htm
  
• Distraction: http://benzosupport.org/my%20distraction.htm
  
• Dog Walking:  http://benzosupport.org/my_dog_walking.htm
  
• Help:  http://benzosupport.org/my_help.htm
  
• Hydration:  http://benzosupport.org/my_hydration.htm
  
• Exercise:  http://benzosupport.org/my_exercise1.htm
  
• Exposure Therapy:  http://benzosupport.org/my_exposure_therapy.htm
  
• Friends:  http://benzosupport.org/my_friends.htm
  
• Massage:  http://benzosupport.org/my_massage.htm
  
• Meditation:  http://benzosupport.org/my_meditation.htm
  
• Progressive Muscle Relaxation:  http://benzosupport.org/My%20Progressive%20Muscle%20Relaxation.htm
  
• Self Talk  http://benzosupport.org/my%20self_talk.htm
  
• Simplify:  http://benzosupport.org/my%20simplify.htm
  
• Small Meals:  http://benzosupport.org/my_small_meals.htm
  
• Structure:  http://benzosupport.org/my_structure.htm
  
• Thought Ignoring:  http://benzosupport.org/my_thought_ignoring.htm
  
• Walking:  http://benzosupport.org/my_walking.htm
  
• Yoga:  http://benzosupport.org/my_yoga.htm
  

 

Guided Meditation for Beginners (for free) from QuietKit

https://quietkit.com/

20 Tips to Recover from Agoraphobia

https://psychcentral.com/lib/20-tips-to-recover-from-agoraphobia/

[*]Open up to those who understand. Knowing that some people have the same disorder you have and learning how they’ve dealt with it can be a big key to helping maintain your own recovery.

[*]Bring a book or magazine. Getting lost in another world can make this one not seem so harsh and hard to deal with. If you are focused on something else, you won’t be looking at people and imagining them staring at you or a disaster striking wherever you may be.

[*]Music. Carry headphones or devices with you to surround yourself with the calming presence of music and release tension and stress.

[*]Remember. You had a life before being an agoraphobic, and you can have a life while in recovery. Think back to all the times you had in the past when you weren’t sick or struggling with anxiety. If you were happy then, you can be happy again.

[*]It takes time and patience. Small acts of bravery every day can make a huge difference in getting to a happier place. A simple act of taking a shower can make a person feel more like facing the day.

[*]Exercise. Start with five minutes a day and work your way up. Even thirty minutes, three times a week should act as an anti-depressant and can make you see the world in a happier, less stressful way.

[*]Laugh. Set time every day to laugh. Whenever you find something that makes you laugh, do it for as long as you can. You can never laugh too much.

[*]Make a schedule. Write a list of eight or nine things to do today, such as cleaning, reading, starting a new hobby or continuing an old one. Stick to it.

[*]See a therapist and doctor regularly. Even if you need to get someone else to drive you. Or see if they will come to you.

[*]Forgive and forget. Let the guilt go, whether it is directed at yourself or others. Keep the past in the past.

[*]Take your medicine. When directed by a doctor, anti-anxiety and other medication can really take the edge off and help you live a normal life.  (LorazepamFree2015's comment: This is the article author's view and not mine)

[*]Don’t compare yourself to others. We often compare our greatest weaknesses with others’ greatest strengths. Be fair to yourself. Only focus on how you’ve improved from one day to the next.

[*]Give your life meaning. Whether it is religion, a strong sense of spirituality, or a particular talent, if it makes you realize you have a purpose and a reason to exist, it should be a part of your life. Prayer or meditation can also be powerful tools to achieving peace and calm.

[*]Don’t isolate. Give someone a call or text. Have whatever interaction with others that you can.

[*]Learn to say no. The world’s not such a scary place if you know how to say no to drugs, food, sex or whatever may be pulling you down. Don’t let others make decisions for you. Practice and repeat the word, “No.” What you want is just as important as what another person wants. But what you need has to come first over what others need. You’re the one who has to live with your decisions.

[*]You belong in this world just as much as anyone else. You are more valuable out in the world. You can help someone in a similar situation or you can go out and learn that things are not nearly as bad as you made them out to be.

[*]Let your room and house become a safe place. It’s okay to have a safe place to lash out at the world and cry. But allow yourself only an hour a day to do this. The rest of the time is better spent trying to experience the world or learn that it’s not such a scary place.

[*]Judge less, love more. Judging yourself or others keeps you from seeing the good in yourself and everyone around you. Judging is just an opinion, and doesn’t make it fact or truth. To understand someone, you have to get to know them.

[*]Take time every day to increase your self-esteem. There are workbooks you can order online or books you can read. You can also join a focus group on self-esteem, even if it’s an online group. You have your own unique personality to offer this world that is different from anyone else’s. We need you.

[*]Get a pet. The one thing that helped the most in my recovery was to get a dog. She helped me face the world, especially as a service dog, and I was able to bring her wherever I went. Most of the time, I couldn’t leave the house without her.

Wow, LorazapamFree,

 

All that information in one place is priceless!!

 

Thank you so much, love Mary 💟💜☮️

Wow, LorazapamFree,

 

All that information in one place is priceless!!

 

Thank you so much, love Mary 💟💜☮️

 

Thanks, Mary5588

98 best Coping Skills: Anxiety images on Pinterest in 2018

https://www.pinterest.com/dtaylor9511/coping-skills-anxiety/

About to listen to Dr. Claire Weekes right now. I am hoping her voice starts guiding me through situations if I listen to it often enough.

 

Dr. Claire Weekes - How To Recover 01

https://youtu.be/60108Yg3-8k

 

Dr. Claire Weekes - How To Recover 02

https://youtu.be/pVTT1itQAs8

 

Dr. Claire Weekes - How To Recover 03

https://youtu.be/Sc-2TY5t5IQ

 

Dr. Claire Weekes - How To Recover 04

https://youtu.be/LADvwYeZ1vA

 

Thank you for this.

About to listen to Dr. Claire Weekes right now. I am hoping her voice starts guiding me through situations if I listen to it often enough.

 

Dr. Claire Weekes - How To Recover 01

https://youtu.be/60108Yg3-8k

 

Dr. Claire Weekes - How To Recover 02

https://youtu.be/pVTT1itQAs8

 

Dr. Claire Weekes - How To Recover 03

https://youtu.be/Sc-2TY5t5IQ

 

Dr. Claire Weekes - How To Recover 04

https://youtu.be/LADvwYeZ1vA

 

Thank you for this.

 

You're welcome. They can also be found and downloaded from:

 

http://www.junior-anxiety-depression-exchange.org.uk/media/relaxation2/How-To-Recover1.mp3

http://www.junior-anxiety-depression-exchange.org.uk/media/relaxation2/How-To-Recover2.mp3

http://www.junior-anxiety-depression-exchange.org.uk/media/relaxation2/How-To-Recover3.mp3

http://www.junior-anxiety-depression-exchange.org.uk/media/relaxation2/How-To-Recover4.mp3

Soothing Ambient Music

 

Brian Eno - Ambient 1: Music for Airports [Full Album]

 

Brian Eno - Thursday Afternoon [HD]

 

Brian Eno - Music for Films (Full Album)

 

Thank you, LF!  Great!

Hey thanks so much for the links! You rock!!

 

PTSD Visualization: for trauma relief & healing (Spoken Meditation)

 

 

PTSD Visualization: for trauma relief & healing (Spoken Meditation)

Ohhh I wish there was a “like” button!  I love this!!

 

PTSD Visualization: for trauma relief & healing (Spoken Meditation)

Ohhh I wish there was a “like” button!  I love this!!

 

Thanks. I tried to find something that was really soothing & healing and not upsetting.

8 Ways To Start Your Day With Less Anxiety

https://www.self.com/story/start-your-day-with-less-morning-anxiety

 

I listen to a guided meditation for “overactive minds” for sleep nearly every night. I just got the Calm app and the iSleep Easy app. Both are wonderful as well. These are very helpful to me. Thank you again, LF

I have used the Insight Timer app. There are many helpful meditations there for anxiety and sleep.