sunny...the thing is if we are mindful and practicing mindfulness and only focused on this moment here and now we can tolerate feelings and watch them pass over us like clouds or washing on the shores like waves coming and going....

writing helps me with the overwhelm when i can't be mindful or it's too hard.........or too scary..........

i also think DBT helps with this. the emotion regulation module teaches us about emotions and what causes them, what they feel like, b/c sometimes we are mistaken, and what to do about them.......

but for immediate relief i would suggest mindfulness as it works really well for me. being present in the here and now non judgmentally......all you can do is observe really....open awareness without judgment.

thanks Finn, I will look it up. I did have some books on it!

another thing that you can do is quiet your mind and go through your senses. what do you smell right now?? what do you hear?? see?? etc....and the ice trick if the emotions are extremely painful or overwhelming....hold a piece of ice in each hand over the sink and stay there until it melts....it shocks your brain onto a new train of thought....

this is good for painful obsession too!!

Reminds me of a quote from a spiritual book I love, "let no false perception keep us in its hold, nor represent more than a passing cloud upon a sky eternally serene."

yes Finn I remember thrice trick - why can I not remember these things when I need to!

Although I have no sense of smell!!!