How do you deal with low level anxiety?

For me painting gives me a high that melts away all stress.

If I cannot get into the studio:

Exercise helps a lot or a glass of wine if I do not have to drive anywhere.

hahahah i was about to write “cigarettes – one a day cures mine”—until i read up through the description.

(is it weird that i read descriptions bottom-up?)

Deep regular breathing. It’s a physiological impossibility to be anxious and hyper while you are taking slow, deep, even breaths.

I agree with @Dog on the painting. You need not be good, you need not even be decent – you only have to take a stab at it.

Beyond that, cuddle fights with my pupsicle. Rocking out to my swamp rock collection or some good 60s pop rock. And just letting myself feel it, crying if necessary.

@The_Compassionate_Heretic: Having suffered from panic attacks for 12 years, I assure you – your body does not always cooperate. Despite consciously thinking about my breathing and forcing my lungs to slow down, I have almost always descended into hyperventilation and muscle spasms. I have very little control over it. At the start you sometimes can ward it off, but sometimes it can snowball on you.

For that method, you really have to get the timing right.

I organize. Even if it’s something small, like a drawer, or going into a closet and rearranging and refolding. Creating a small oasis of order amidst mental chaos is rewarding, and it yields an accomplishment.

Most of my stress comes from multi-tasking at both work and at home.

@asmonet I’m sorry for that.
This can work for low level anxiety. What you experienced doesn’t sound like low level.

I thank my lucky stars it’s finally dropped to low level. Has yet to happen though, to be honest.

@The_Compassionate_Heretic: It started that way. :-/

But as I said, I agree with you. However, you have to really focus and commit to the moment. You have to breathe. And, at least in my case when my anxiety was less serious and even now I was less concentrated on my breath and more focused on my own racing thoughts. It requires a certain amount of presence and understanding and an unwillingness to let yourself get caught up in your own wild emotional state.

Really, it’s just easier said then done, yet entirely possible.

Laugh. I go online and find something to make me chuckle. From a witty image to a video of a old T.V. show, and humor works.

Oh, back when I had an attic – I used to crawl up there, shut the ladder up behind me and breathe when I was stressed – different from anxious or panicked. It was hot, or freezing or still and musty. It was always another world to focus on, completely silent and removed from the rest of the tumultuous beings in my house.

It was a complete break from my stressy stuff and allowed me to sort of zen the crap out of myself in about ten minutes.

smoke a little weed

I had crazy, full-on panic attacks that were assuaged by deep breathing and relaxation techniques. The trick is to practice the deep breathing when you’re not panicking. You have to do it often enough that it becomes second-nature to you. When the anxiety inevitably comes along, you can instinctively go into “relaxation mode” without effort.

Try doing the following 3 times a day at first, then reduce the number as you grow accustomed to it:

-Lie down on a bed, putting one hand on your chest and the other on your belly (right below the rib cage, but above your belly button)
-Breathe in so that only your stomach rises and your chest doesn’t move at all (or as little as possible)
-Breathe in for two seconds (one one-thousand, two one-thousand) and breathe out for four seconds (one one-thousand, two one-thousand, three one-thousand, four one-thousand)
-Practice this for about 10–15 minutes per session

After a few weeks, you can lower it to twice a day, and a few weeks later, down to once a day. Of course, it’s up to you if you want to continue with the higher frequency (there is no ill effect). You should probably continue once a day just to keep in practice and to have a moment in your day when you are completely relaxed. It’s like meditation.

The above-described method was essential for me in getting over my debilitating anxiety.

there’s this stuff called pharma kava and it’s sold at places like whole foods. it is a liquid herbal extract that has a dropper and you put it into a little hot water and it’s supposed to calm you down. I’ve used it a few times but it didn’t do much for me… although i’ve heard positive feedback from others who have used it. you may want to look into it….

First be grateful for what you have now. then work on lifestyle, exericse, and nutrition.

@drdoombot: Where were you the last three years when I was having panic attacks that made me vomit all over my bathroom? :(

@poofandmook Three years ago my anxiety was starting to get out of control, two years ago it peaked, and last year I finally started getting over it.

I have many other tricks for fighting anxiety, but those are more long-term changes than quick fixes.

I smoke a cigarette, or take half a Xanax, or play with my dog for a while. Nothing like a few kisses from the dog to make me realize there is nothing worth getting cheesed about.

For me, when I get anxious, the best thing is just to keep on going normally. It’ll pass. It helps for that if you have a “normally” – that is, some sort of routine. The times when I have not had one, I have found that anxiety has stopped me from doing stuff more easily, because there has not been the “default” stuff to do when everything feels boring and scary at the same time.

Great question, when I am feeling down it is usually because I am not taking care of myself. Practice self-discipline and anxiety will run away. Workout. Hared. Eat spinach and carrots and the healthiest things you can get your hands on. Turn off the tv and read a book. Do something that is fulfilling. Learn something like an instrument or a language. Serve in your local community. Yes, you may have to take difficult steps if you want to beat anxiety. But self self-discipline, learning, and service should fix the problem.