YOU ARE NOT ALONE - A companion online community discussion board for The Mental Illness Happy Hour podcast with Paul Gilmartin

Yay for teddies! I still sleep with my teddy most nights, and that brings me comfort. He's small enough to nestle in the palm of my hand and I like to feel that as I fall asleep.

I like to take hot baths.

I will also watch cartoons, old kids TV shows and reread books from my childhood. Interesting that I seem to do a lot of childhood related stuff.

listening to classical musics somewhat give peace to my mind and not to mention reading some boring books hehe

A rocking chair is a great way to sooth the savage beast of anxiety.

This is funny because this week my therapist announced, "You have no ability to self soothe." Me: "No shit." (She's new. She's learning.)

So my homework is to try these things:
--Snuggling my cat. I call this cat meditations. I listen to his tiny breaths, in and out.
--Drinking tea
--Running (the most important, very calming for me)
--Focus on what I'm doing at the moment (mindfulness)
--Listen to music without words

We'll see how it goes.

Lately I find myself watching a lot of ASMR videos (particularly hair play videos). I also find it very calming to drink tea, particularly chamomile before bed.

One thing that helps my overall stress/anxiety level is walking outside for maybe half an hour each day. During the week I get this walking in on my work commute, since I take the train and the nearest stop is half a mile away. It's especially nice now that it's spring and all the flowers are blooming!

I really like your doing deep breathing, as you can do this anywhere, in any situation and without needing anything else.

I would also encourage to dig deep into your past in therapy to determine the causes of the anxiety.
This would be ultimately more significant than finding ways to calm yourself.

When I was in therapy, I was relieved to learn, after a few family sessions, that I was the one showing the symptoms of what was in reality a family problem.
My therapist used Gestalt, and also taught me how to use this tool on my own, by doing dream analysis using this technique.

Bumping this up...