this post was submitted on 12 Jul 2023
9 points (90.9% liked)

Bipolar Disorder

590 readers
2 users here now

Welcome!

This is a safe place to discuss, vent, and share information about bipolar disorder. It is also a place for peer support and comfort.

Please use empathy and common sense when posting and commenting. We are all in this together, let’s stay kind and civil.

The rules for posting and commenting, besides the rules defined here for lemmy.world, are as follows:

Rules

Related Communities

Community Moderation

For inquiry on becoming a moderator of this community, please send a message to the current moderators.

founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
 

My anxiety is pretty bad today so I want to ask a question. What do you do when you are anxious to try and soothe yourself?

I try to do simple repetitive tasks that can help take my mind off my worries but that doesn’t always work.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] ickplant 2 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Definitely distraction, but like you said that doesn't always work. When that fails, I try deep breathing and progressive muscle relaxation. For breathing, my fave technique is just to count each inhale and exhale as you breathe all the way into your belly (so inhale is 1, exhale is 2, next inhale is 3, exhale is 4, etc. I rarely go past 25-30 because it calms me down fast).

Progressive muscle relaxation is seriously a godsend. If you haven't tried it before, definitely do. Your mileage may vary, but it works great for me. Here is a guided recording for progressive muscle relaxation (mp3 format).