Feeling of not being in the moment???

Often when you go out, panic can arise in different forms. One being the feeling of disassociation / swooning feeling. The best way I have come across is the following:

While it is good to practice your breathing techniques, sometimes the fear associated with this is too overwhelming to even think of what you can do to reduce the severity of this symptom!

Hold onto something such as your car / house keys, FEEL what the object feels like, run them through your fingers. You can also do the same holding on to a shopping trolley, etc!

Women – A long beaded necklace gives you quick easy access to something to play with when you are feeling this way.

What you are wanting to do is re-connect yourself, a sort-of grounding-technique!

LOVE

*.*.*. JOY .*.*.*

Acclimatise to EVERY Environment

Ever gone shopping, lunch / coffee with friends, to the movies, work, ANY outside activity can lead you to sit and worry and fret over nothing in particular. It is just the “thought” of engaging in any activity can send us into emotional-shock!!!

It could be anything to get your nerves on edge from the lighting, the noise of all of the hustle & bustle in the shops, sitting in a quiet room watching a movie, concentrating on your job. Whatever it is that pushes your buttons, I advise you do the following:

Get wherever you are wanting to go earlier than scheduled, what you are wanting to do is ACCLIMATISE to your environment. Because it only takes 10-15 minutes to go from fear to calm.

Going to the shops? Go there earlier, take some time, sit in your car or walk to the toilets, practice your BREATHING (In The Beginning (May ‘08) and Out & About (June ‘08)) if you feel yourself getting light-headed. Practice the TAPPING as previously discussed (Tap Away Your Troubles (June ’08)), or simply sit (yes, in the toilets) and get back your balance! Also, the diversion-tactic as discussed this month under “Out & About (June ’08)”.

If you have an iPod, take it with you wherever you go, keep the music, or audio-book (my personal favourite) on it that makes you feel good and listen to that! – Depressed / Nervous??? Mix It Up… (June ’08).

You could also head straight for a coffee shop, grab a water (Nutrition Matters (June ’08)), perhaps tea, whatever works for you and sit and drink and relax. You could even take a favourite magazine to flick through to keep your mind occupied!

OR – You could very well just dread the thought of doing any of this, if this is the case and WHEN you get the urge to want to go and do something (shopping, lunch, etc), go and do it, BUT, when you do this, I would like for you to KNOW that you have the option at ANY TIME to leave! When you do, DON’T criticise yourself for having done so, you are wanting to CONGRATULATE yourself for having tried it at all!!! Bleed those good feelings of what it felt like to take that first step, you are TRULY AMAZING, you will know within yourself that when the time is right to take that next step, you will and you will again come through it with flying colours!!! (I am speaking from experience)! If you are still having troubles, read about my section on Journaling – A Must Read (June ’08), and you will get there! Don’t keep checking the time-frame, your best time-frame is your emotions!!!

It takes EVERYONE a certain amount of time to acclimatise to their environment, so, PLEASE, be easy upon yourself and KNOW that you are not alone in this (ALL OF THIS), there are plenty in the same boat as you!

LOVE TO YOU

*.*.*. JOY .*.*.*

EXERCISE

Sometimes it is difficult if not impossible to exercise or even want to for that matter, so, here are some ideas for you to get started no matter where you are at regarding nervous tension or depression...

1. If you are finding it difficult to get out of the house, take small steps, for example, walk around your back-yard, go to the letterbox, even just outside your front door, wherever you are at is just fine! Keep testing yourself every day and build-up the momentum, don't forget to PRAISE YOURSELF for EVERY EFFORT you make! Wherever you are is perfect for you! Reel in the feeling of accomplishing this task!
2. Either start to or when you have conquered the first step, try a quick walk every day, it doesn't have to be long, it could be just a few minutes to a walk around the local block.
3. Go for a 15 minute brisk walk. I find walking briskly gets the nerves down and becomes relaxing (This releases ENDORPHINS in the body, like a HAPPY TONIC). The more anxious you are, the faster you walk because when you get home and sit down, you will feel more relaxed within yourself!
4. Go for a 20 minute walk (see where this is going?), gradually build-up your exercise regime.
5. DON'T THINK THIS HAS TO BE DONE IN A DAY, WEEK OR MONTH, THE BEST ADVISOR ON THIS TOPIC IS YOU. YOU KNOW WHERE YOU ARE AT EMOTIONALLY AND YOU WILL "FEEL" WHEN THE TIME IS RIGHT TO INCREASE YOUR SCHEDULED WALKS - THIS GOES FOR ANYTHING YOU DO!

For those who have mastered the above or are already at this point, I suggest:

1. GET INVOLVED IN AN OUTSIDE ACTIVITY: Take that class you have always wanted to do, Meditation Classes (some may think this would be perfect to start with, however, sitting quietly with new people CAN (for some) be overwhelming to begin with), Yoga, Pilates, Boxing / Boxercise (a great one for stress, trust me;) ), Chi-Kung (very good, I love it), Table-Tennis, Chess (ANYTHING THAT GETS YOU INVOLVED IN THE COMMUNITY / MIXING WITH OTHERS), Art (My personal favourite).
2. Start an on-line chat group about something you ENJOY! PLEASE NOTE THIS: I would NEVER suggest you start one regarding Panic / Anxiety Attacks & Depression for the following reasons... I attended such a thing (Panic / Anxiety Group) and found it not only overwhelming because everyone wants to talk about their personal stories & problems, AND, they want to discuss the latest drugs on the market, etc. There may be some advantage, BUT, I did not find it. You can have friends with the same issues! The difference being, it is easier to tell them you don't want to hear their problems, just solutions and it makes it easier for you to change the topic should you become uncomfortable...!
3. Try to plan outings with loved ones, something you love to do, anything from a picnic at your local park to a day at the zoo, perhaps a bike-ride, the beach, an amusement park, museums, visit places that ring your bells. From that, each time you do this, you are WIDENING YOUR BOUNDARIES to the point where going to the local shops, work, etc seem INSIGNIFICANT in time!

That should be enough for today:)

One tip I have come across more recently and I am pretty excited about it. As mentioned on "Food Matters", they suggest for NERVOUS TENSION, to eat Cashews, this will help calm you down! You can check their link out, it is on the right hand side of this under "HEALTH MATTERS", they have a FREE PREVIEW AND YOU CAN ALSO WATCH THE WHOLE THING ON-LINE!!!

TO GOOD HEALTH

LOVE

*.*.*. JOY .*.*.*