Hey game. Well, there's always listening to music. I have found music incredibly beneficial lately. Breathing excersizes of course, and visualtions.

my anxiety largely comes from what other people may think of something i'm doing or what other people may say to me... so i've finally convinced myself that these things don't matter. so long as i can answer to myself, i'm all good. that's helped me relax so far the last week...

I am still working on this. What works for me one time might not work all the time. I try to read. Reading helps a lot. Turning off the tv helps. Trying to determine the cause of my anxiety helps. Breathing. Removing myself from what is triggering the anxiety. I'm sorry I can't be of more help.

How did you convince yourself that these things don't matter point5cat?

One Saturday I was having the worst panic attack and I did what I do best; I called my boyfriend at work. I made him so furious with me I can't count on all my fingers and toes and then some as to how many times he used the f word at me. And he is not someone who normally ever swears. Using the phone during bad moments of anxiety is probably the worst thing you can do. It helps me to turn on Dr. Phil and watch people with worse problems. It's bad I know, but tv can help me zone out.

If I knew the answer, I probably wouldn't be here in this discussion!
The ideas suggested by the others sound great, and many thanks to all, but they're not always appropriate. What am I supposed to do when my anxiety attack is being caused by my kids fighting in the car and we're already late for school? Can't remove myself from it, can't sit down and read a book or meditate, and music just adds to the noise.
Gameplay, I wish you luck, but for me the only options that work are meds and cutting - and I promised a whole bunch of people I wouldn't do the later anymore so I'm sticking with the meds!

Totally know where your at, i regularly feel like this.

One thing I have learned though is relaxation is like the 'holy grail' - the harder you try to find it the further away it gets. There is a lot of psychology research which supports this too.

Best thing is to not conciously try and 'force' yrself to relax. Find something to do which takes your mind off how your feeling, something absorbing that you enjoy. (personally i find playing the guitar, or computer games helps, also meditation)

Exercise is also a good one as it gives you something to focus on but also stimulates the production of endorphins - your bodys natural relaxation chemicals. A long jog or walk with my headphones on and swimming work particularly well for me.

'If you do what you've always done, you'll get what you've always got'

Hope things improve :)

I can't tell you how many people have told me that. It is annoying when you are the one dealing with it. Sometimes it is chemical and that's why we have a harder time relaxing. It's part of our makeup.
For me getting fresh air, sun, exercise, playing with my dog or petting my dog helps relax me. Even playing on the computer, listening to music, having coffee with friends. Yoga.

If you are sick of Klonopin there are herbal remedies you can take. I just would NOT take them together with the Klonipin. One or the other. A good one is "pure calm" from www.nativeremedies.com or "calms forte" from www.drugstore.com

Hugs! People just don't understand, unless it's happened to them!

Yeah, and I'm fed up with the 'just get on with things' too.

Good luck and hugs!

I rock back and forth, sometimes with the tv on, sometimes with it off and quiet in the room. Rocking defintely helps to relieve some of the stress.
peace, t

I have anxiety too. I take meds for it, but sometimes my mood still gets a bit wacky. I try to take deep breaths, take a shower, or maybe play with my dog.

When things get really really bad for me, I listen to music.

the thing that helps me is to know that it is JUST A FEELING! i tell myself that it is in my head and that i can control it...now sometimes that works and sometimes it doesn't but i try not to give it any power. I AM IN CONTROL. it's not easy and again not always helpful but that's what i have. and others are right. unless you've experienced it, you don't truly know. i was just told that i like being tortured and having a chaotic life...so much for support!

3 years ago on Halloween, my bf at the time and I were supposed to go to a halloween party. I spent all day getting ready, and I was so excited, but about 20 minutes before we were going to leave, I had one of the worse panic attacks I've ever had. I started crying for no reason, and ran into the bathroom to be sick.

While I was hugging the toilet, I started thinking about how mad I was that my anxiety was interfering with my fun in life. I got so mad I was shaking! I took a few deep breaths, got up, went over to the sick and splashed my face. I looked in the mirror and said to myself "this is bullcrap! I am NOT dealing with this anymore."

I went out, grabbed my boyfriend, and we went to that party. I beat it then, and ever since then, when I feel an attack coming on, I do the same thing. The best thing I can do is catch them early, which I do often, because I learned to recognize the symptoms. I take some deep breaths, and whatever it is that I'm nervous about doing, I do it ASAP, because putting it off just gives me more time to freak out about it.

There are still a few situations where I KNOW I'll have a panic attack, like when I need to give a speech. In those cases, I take a half of my Xanax just to be safe, because there usually isn't time to stop and calm myself down in that situation.

Anxiety sucks, but through a combo of breathing techniques and meds, I've been able to keep it under control...good luck to you!

-Nicole