How do you cope with anxiety ?

[MAJOR METAL]

I find myself digging in really hard playing bass or going for a long walk with loud music playing in my ears. How do you cope with anxiety ?

[i_got_a_mohawk]

I need to disconnect from whatever is causing the anxiety.

Usually takes the form of me going to the gym for a couple of hours and obliterating myself.

[basste]

deep breathing

[Jefenator]

Bit of whiskey on the rocks before bed.

[5StringBlues]

In ways that would get me banned if I told you.

[lynott-forever]

Accupressure. It works wonders.

[sarcastro83]

Not well.

[Asa Samuel]

As some of you may remember I posted a thread a long time ago about my own personal anxiety "battle". Well things are going a lot better, I've been seeing a homoeopath and it's working really well; I've been able to do things that before I would've run a mile from.

Apart from the homoeopathy and steady breathing the biggest thing I've found that has helped is to do the things that make me feel anxious. I know, I know that sounds like a terrible prospect for anyone suffering from anxiety but it really does work. Start of little and build it up, lets say you feel so anxious you can't even get on a train or a bus, start off by just looking at the timetable online and seeing how long you'd be on the train for. Then you could go to the station and wait for the thing to get there but you don't have to get on, just wait for it to come and go. When you are used to doing that you could get on and get off at the very next stop. If you are ok with that try travelling a bit further.
Build it up slowly, wait for yourself to get comfortable or at the very least wait till you can 'cope' with each situation before you move on to something bigger.

As for one-off things where you don't have much time to prepare I've not found anything that lets me get rid of my anxiety but I find that once I am doing it I generally calm down and it is just the getting there that is the trouble.

[Webtroll]

Avoid my family. Not a joke, my family stresses me out like nothing else. Talking about my parents here, don't have kids. Prolly a good thing.

[JimB52]

Thrash around in my sleep.

[Relic]

I fidget. A lot. It helps.

[Gard]

Beer.

Play really loud music. Very loudly.

Lather, rinse, repeat.

[Phalex]

I get myself a glass of rum and sit on the couch. My dog jumps into my lap and starts licking my head. My wife comes home and gives me a sympathetic ear. Repeat as necessary.

[jokn388]

I exercise to leave me in a state of utter relaxation. I will exercise harder depending on how much anxiety I have. Endorphins work wonders, and exercising is a healthy release.

I was consistently having panic attacks a few months ago. For those I made a "panic attack" mix comprised of mostly Animal Collective. That got me through some tough times

[Joe Gress]

Loud music, alcohol, some green, a bit of wankin', long walks when it's beautiful outside.


They all put me at peace.

[ugly_bassplayer]

-Exercise
-Exercise
-Breathing
-Beer

[EricF]

Anything that forces me to focus elsewhere - music, hard exercise, sex...

[finalrequiem]

Originally Posted by sarcastro83

Not well.

Quoted for truth...


I'm not going to act like I'm some tortured, misunderstood soul who is constantly battling clinical depression but when I do have these kinds of issues I don't handle it well. I tend to hyper focus and dwell and it gets worse. I make a playlist that reflects what I'm feeling and it all just compounds and magnifies. My release used to be with a chick. My wife kinda took issue with that though, lol... Wasn't sexual but I suppose we were closer, as friends, than was healthy. May have ended up sexual. Not good, seeing as how I adore my wife. She was right, I was wrong, but that was a pretty serious source of anxiety for quite awhile in itself and I'm not sure I've figured out how to cope since then.

[ausf]

I clear my head with either exercise or Guinness, depending on the time or situation.

[CapnSev]

Bob Marley