[SiriusKyoki]

I started to have what I now know are panic and anxiety attacks in middle school and over the past six years they've gotten more frequent.
Lately I've also been just generally anxious. I'm very fidgety and so I tend to tap my feet & fingers, wring my hands, and repeat words. My friends at school tend to notice I twitch sometimes and often try to calm me down.

My triggers tend to be yelling, deadlines, people telling me things over and over again, looking out the windows while in cars, the thought of needles, and other things I can't really think of at the moment.

My parents tend to get mad at me for having attacks and being all fidgety because they think I'm trying to get attention but I really can't help it.

Often times to calm down I listen to music and sit in my closet since I'm partial to corners and small spaces. It hasn't really helped lately since I'm having more often at school then home now.

Any advice on what to try to help would be very appreciated.

[sundog]

Hi Sirius. I'm sorry you're dealing with panic attacks and generalized anxiety. I have these problems too. Are you seeing a therapist or counselor? It can really help to work with a professional and learn some ways to better manage the anxiety. Also to try and figure out where it's coming from.

When I'm having trouble with generalized anxiety it really helps me to distract myself. Going outside for a walk is one of the best ways for me to do that. Writing in a journal helps too. So do breathing exercises. Or going online and finding ways to distract myself on the internet.

Of course if you're getting really anxious in class then I realize most of those things are not going to be possible. In that situation learning some deep breathing techniques might help most. You could do them at your desk and no one would notice. And hopefully it would calm you down a little.

I do think it would be really good if you were able to see a therapist and I hope that's a possibility

[SiriusKyoki]

I do happen to have a therapist but she mostly just observes me and listens to what I say, probably due to the fact that she's a family therapist.

I've tried the deep breathing before but then I tend to just panic in my head and my concentration on it slips.