[Gus1234U]

Default Management and Coping Skills for Anxiety, Panic and PTSD
here are some of the Coping Skills i learned for managing anxiety, and found to work well for stress AND PTSD~ i hope you find some of them useful ~

i have posted these before, but am bringing them together and up to date, and adding the DBT Self-Soothing Skills that also help, either before or after a panic~

Self Comforting Skills
we are social creatures, but getting what we need when we need it from another is not always available. here are some of the suggestions from the DBT handbook on Self Soothing Skills:

think of soothing each of your FIVE SENSES

1) Vision: Notice what you see, find soothing things to look at.
(i go to a blog that has lovely pictures: C PTSD - A Way Out | A place to check in daily )

2) Hearing: Pay attention to what you can hear around you.
(put on your favorite music...)

3) Smell: Be aware of the memories that smell can bring.
(i like to do aroma therapy. there are many Essential Oils for that.)

4) Taste: Carefully savor flavors that the day brings you.
(keep a favorite hard candy on hand, for the little sugar boost, too.)

5) Touch: Find comfort in touch.
(keep a special pillow or blanket with a favorite perfume on it.)

Dialectical Behavioral Therapy/Distress Tolerance Skills/Self-soothing - Wikibooks, open books for an open world

these are not listed, but i find them handy, too:

A) Reassurance: Tell yourself that you are OK, safe and unharmed.
(the danger is past, you have survived this before and now
you are stronger and more skillful than then.)

B) Take Action: Go for a walk, or exercise or clean house or cook. (use your
body's natural focusing powers to leave the fear behind.)

C) Refocus: Think about pleasant things. Push the hurtful thoughts away.
(have a hobby or a story, or a book that you like, to take your
mind to a better place.)

Coping With Anxiety and Panic:

1. Remember, feelings of panic are just exaggerations of normal bodily stress reactions.

2. Sensations are neither harmful nor dangerous - just unpleasant. Nothing worse will happen.

3. Anxiety is temporary. Instead of fighting it, relax into it. Just let it be.

4. Focus on facing the fear rather than trying to avoid it or escape from it.

5. Stop adding to the panic with frightening thoughts of where panic will lead.

6. Stay in the present. Be aware of what is happening to you rather than concern yourself with how much worse it might get.

7. Notice that when you stop adding to panic with frightening thoughts, the fear begins to fade.

8. Wait and give the fear time to pass.

9. Look around you. Plan what you will do next as the panic subsides.

10. When you are ready to go on, do so in an easy, relaxed manner. There is no hurry.

11. Think about the progress made so far despite all the difficulties.

Some Specific Actions:

1. Manage your breathing, if it is rapid, breathe into a paper sack to lower oxygen uptake;

2. Count your breaths, 1001, 1002, 1003, ect, up to 1020, then start again, slow down the count to slow your heartbeat. counting interferes with anxiety;

3. Delay doing anything about your anxiety or panic, just follow the steps and focus on getting thru it;

4. Distract yourself, with anything that requires you to focus and is simple and handy - at home you might read something easy, like a magazine, or knit or wash dishes, whatever engages your attention;

5. Eat something to replenish the blood sugars that adrenalin has burned up, and give yourself at least 15 minutes for the kidneys to clean out the 'ashes' in your blood;

6. Write these things down and keep them with you, until you have made them a habit

practice these skills before you need them, or when you are just mildly anxious, so they will be familiar when you are feeling very upset. i hope you find this information helpful~

best wishes~
Gus

this is a good thread, and would probably benifit from being a sticky here (I don't actually know if we have a sticky in the anxiety section for methods?)

someone told me recently that one way to help with anxiety is to suck on a humbug.

not suck on a sweet, it has to be a humbug.

why, I don't know, but I tried this and it did work to help calm a panic attack I was having

so now I ordered a huge bag full

[Fuzzybear]

[made08]

Thank you for the tips. What is the name of the DBT handbook?

[Wild Coyote]

Great post, Gus!
Thank you!

WC

Thank you for this!!

[Shazerac]

What is a humbug?

[Buffy01]

Originally Posted by Gus1234U

Default Management and Coping Skills for Anxiety, Panic and PTSD
here are some of the Coping Skills i learned for managing anxiety, and found to work well for stress AND PTSD~ i hope you find some of them useful ~

i have posted these before, but am bringing them together and up to date, and adding the DBT Self-Soothing Skills that also help, either before or after a panic~

Self Comforting Skills
we are social creatures, but getting what we need when we need it from another is not always available. here are some of the suggestions from the DBT handbook on Self Soothing Skills:

think of soothing each of your FIVE SENSES

1) Vision: Notice what you see, find soothing things to look at.
(i go to a blog that has lovely pictures: C PTSD - A Way Out | A place to check in daily )

2) Hearing: Pay attention to what you can hear around you.
(put on your favorite music...)

3) Smell: Be aware of the memories that smell can bring.
(i like to do aroma therapy. there are many Essential Oils for that.)

4) Taste: Carefully savor flavors that the day brings you.
(keep a favorite hard candy on hand, for the little sugar boost, too.)

5) Touch: Find comfort in touch.
(keep a special pillow or blanket with a favorite perfume on it.)

Dialectical Behavioral Therapy/Distress Tolerance Skills/Self-soothing - Wikibooks, open books for an open world

these are not listed, but i find them handy, too:

A) Reassurance: Tell yourself that you are OK, safe and unharmed.
(the danger is past, you have survived this before and now
you are stronger and more skillful than then.)

B) Take Action: Go for a walk, or exercise or clean house or cook. (use your
body's natural focusing powers to leave the fear behind.)

C) Refocus: Think about pleasant things. Push the hurtful thoughts away.
(have a hobby or a story, or a book that you like, to take your
mind to a better place.)

Coping With Anxiety and Panic:

1. Remember, feelings of panic are just exaggerations of normal bodily stress reactions.

2. Sensations are neither harmful nor dangerous - just unpleasant. Nothing worse will happen.

3. Anxiety is temporary. Instead of fighting it, relax into it. Just let it be.

4. Focus on facing the fear rather than trying to avoid it or escape from it.

5. Stop adding to the panic with frightening thoughts of where panic will lead.

6. Stay in the present. Be aware of what is happening to you rather than concern yourself with how much worse it might get.

7. Notice that when you stop adding to panic with frightening thoughts, the fear begins to fade.

8. Wait and give the fear time to pass.

9. Look around you. Plan what you will do next as the panic subsides.

10. When you are ready to go on, do so in an easy, relaxed manner. There is no hurry.

11. Think about the progress made so far despite all the difficulties.

Some Specific Actions:

1. Manage your breathing, if it is rapid, breathe into a paper sack to lower oxygen uptake;

2. Count your breaths, 1001, 1002, 1003, ect, up to 1020, then start again, slow down the count to slow your heartbeat. counting interferes with anxiety;

3. Delay doing anything about your anxiety or panic, just follow the steps and focus on getting thru it;

4. Distract yourself, with anything that requires you to focus and is simple and handy - at home you might read something easy, like a magazine, or knit or wash dishes, whatever engages your attention;

5. Eat something to replenish the blood sugars that adrenalin has burned up, and give yourself at least 15 minutes for the kidneys to clean out the 'ashes' in your blood;

6. Write these things down and keep them with you, until you have made them a habit

practice these skills before you need them, or when you are just mildly anxious, so they will be familiar when you are feeling very upset. i hope you find this information helpful~

best wishes~
Gus

That great advice! I will keep that in mind.

[Buffy01]

Originally Posted by shattered sanity

this is a good thread, and would probably benifit from being a sticky here (I don't actually know if we have a sticky in the anxiety section for methods?)

someone told me recently that one way to help with anxiety is to suck on a humbug.

not suck on a sweet, it has to be a humbug.

why, I don't know, but I tried this and it did work to help calm a panic attack I was having

so now I ordered a huge bag full

What a humbug?

[Quebec01]

I'd also like to know what is a humbug...

[ken9018]

thanks so much for this

[Sunflower123]

Thanks for this excellent post!

[Yzen]

Thank you for this post! Great ideas.

I believe humbugs are mint flavored hard-candy. I had some with chewy toffee in the middle.