Showing posts with label anxiety. Show all posts
Showing posts with label anxiety. Show all posts

Saturday, April 2, 2016

distract, self soothe, and calming activities

first up we have the dbt skill distract, aka, wise mind ACCEPTS.
here is a page about the skill
and here are a few ways to use it:
  • activities: take up a hobby, do something you enjoy, do something you need to do if you have the spoons, such as cleaning
  • contributing: make your own coping skill blog, volunteer at a soup kitchen, etc
  • compare: comparing to others may make you feel worse. "other people have it worse, so why am i complaining?" so compare to a time when you dealt with "worse" and survived
  • emotions: create opposite emotions. if you're anxious, create a calming emotion by using calming strategies/activities (more on calming activities further on in this post) if you're sad, listen to happy music, if youre angry, watch a funny movie.
  • push away: while you can't push away the feelings forever, promise yourself you'll deal with it when you have more spoons. then take a nap or use other ACCEPTS strategies or another skill, such as self soothe
  • thoughts: think about a time when you were happy. think about your significant other. think about a dog. anything that distracts your mind, such as counting from 50 by twos, or to 100 by threes, counting sheep (hey, it's not just for falling asleep!!)
  • sensations: use self soothe
next we have the DBT skill self soothe. 
and here are some ways to use it:P
  • vision: draw a picture, look at pictures of cats or dogs or whatever animal you like, watch tv (take care not to watch anything triggering, i know certain shows trigger me)
  • hearing: listen to music, watch tv, sing, hum to yourself, listen to sounds here or here
  • smell: bake cookies, go to a restaurant just to smell the food, or if food is triggering to you, light a candle or incense, chew gum, etc.
  • taste: chew gum, drink water, eat cookies, chew ice, etc
  • touch: cuddle a pet, human, or stuffed animal. touch something soft, create something with your hands.
and finally we have some calming activities
listen to jasmine thompson
or my playlist here
listen to sounds here 
or here

about and coping with social anxiety

hey everybody, i'm posting today to talk to you all about social anxiety, as requested by a friend. remember, some things that work for you may not work for others, so if you have anything to add, or any input, drop a comment below or shoot me an email at superwholock6661@hotmail.com
without further ado, here is my post
about social anxiety
social anxiety vs shyness
now that you have an understanding of social anxiety and anxiety attacks, here are some coping skill pages
two (also has good info about social anxiety)
three (very good website here)
tips for work (can also work for school too)
here's a list of my personal coping skills\
1) the 54321 trick. name 5 things you see, 4 you hear, 3 you feel, 2 you smell, and 1 you taste. if you don't currently have these sensations (ie, taste can be hard if you've just drank water or havent eaten recently) create them. (pop some gum, make tea, buy and drink a flavored water or other drink you enjoy, bake cookies for smell, light a candle, etc. there are so many possibilities with this trick)
2) music. i like jasmine thompson and ed sheeran for anxiety. and if you go to this website you can download their music from youtube for free
3) self soothing is a dbt skill for distress tolerance. create a sensation with taste, smell, touch, hearing, and sight that calms you. i will make another post right after this about ways to do that.
4) if you go mute when wyou have social anxiety like i do, make sure somebody knows that and is able to assist you in communicating\, whether it be through sign language or writing notes.
5) distract yourself. my next post will also feature this dbt skill

Tuesday, February 16, 2016

stimming

What is STIMMING?
"In a person with autism, stimming usually refers to specific behaviors such as flapping, rocking, spinning, or repetition of words and phrases.Many people, people with autism may stim to help themselves handle overwhelming sensory input."
source
Why should I stim?
more about stimming
stimming can help with
anxiety
depression
adhd
autism

Wednesday, May 13, 2015

my story (and why people think i'm lying) TW sexual assault

     a year and a half ago, i was raped. it wasn't like you see on law and order, where a violent repeat offender, serial rapist, or child molester scooped me up in public, had his way, and went on with his day. for one thing, my rapist was a female. for another thing, it occurred in a baker act facility. for those of you who don't know what a baker act is, it's a law in florida where police and healthcare professionals have the authority to admit you to a psych hospital for observation for 72 hours, and even if you're an adult, you can't sign yourself out. anyway, back to the gritty truth. 
        (NEXT PART EXTREME TW, DESCRIPTION OF ASSAULT HIGHLIGHT TO READ)
     i was getting ready for bed, when they brought in another girl. i'll admit, i engaged her in conversation for a while, but then the conversation got awkward. she started saying things like "i want to fuck you" and "you have nice boobies" to the point where i got very uncomfortable. i told her to stop or i would go to sleep, as it was late and i had already taken my night meds. she kept right on talking that way, until i told her i would go to bed, yet again. then, as i got up to use the restroom, she followed me into the bathroom and tried to open the door. well, she actually did open the door. it was there that she made me take off my shirt as she licked and sucked my breasts. even during consensual sex i don't like my breasts touched. but some people do it without knowing, and it makes me anxious, you know? she kissed me and she tasted like corn bread and the death of an innocent girl and the rebirth of a monster. she told me i had a "fat pussy" which still bothers me to this day. i can still hear her voice telling me that, and i can still hear the little giggle afterward. 
     the next morning, we both had to switch rooms. we were still together, just in a different room. nobody found out until a few days after i got home and i typed up a letter to my girlfriend, telling her what had happened, and she sent me a letter back, supporting me and advising me to talk about it. my mom found out a few weeks later when i flew into one of my famous borderline rages and screamed at her that i was raped. she called a rape crisis hotline for me and let me talk to a counselor. 
     later that year, i started drinking. i didn't drink every day, but every once in a while to forget the sadness. the pain. the anger. the vengeance. it was like my whole chest was collapsing in on me and i couldn't breathe, i couldn't think about anything but what had happened, i couldn't sleep. i would stop fantasizing and daydreaming about fun things and i would fantasize about being whisked away on the TARDIS to far away times and places, confiding in the doctor that i was broken and allowing him to pick up the pieces, and sherlock deducing that i was mentally ill and a rape victim just by looking at me and john relating with me, or hunting with the winchesters and breaking down with them because they're just as broken as i am. i also had daydreams of revenge, where i would strangle her to death or stab her. 
     the summer before i turned 17, i was arrested for punching mom in the face and breaking her nose. (i know what you're thinking, who in their right mind would punch their mother in the face? well, my answer to that is nobody. i wasn't in my right mind)
     a counselor was asking me intake questions and asked me if i'd ever been raped. i told her yes. so they forced me to report it to the police and DCF (department of children and families) which was like being raped all over again. they made me talk about it, then had the goddamn motherfucking NERVE to tell me that "if i was lying i would be prosecuted with perjury, and that lying about being raped wouldn't get me out of jail. like i was stupid enough to think that if i told a lie i would get out of jail. it still bothers me that they accused me of lying. 
     when i went into a residential treatment program, i got a little peek at my paperwork. they had consulted the hospital it occurred at and it said that my "accusations of sexual abuse were found to be false". what a motherfucking slap in the face. i mean, everyone at residential was acting like they believed me, but how could i really be sure with that on my papers? it still hurts now, as i write this. it hurts less, day by day, minute by minute, second by second. the most triggering part of writing this blog article was writing about how the police thought i was lying. even describing the assault and how it unfolded wasn't as triggering as that. now i'm doing better, i've got two trauma workbooks from residential and i'm not drinking anymore, or using maladaptive daydreaming. it really does get better, if you move inch by inch and take it one minute at a time. 

for future reference

a guide to self care for people with anxiety

Friday, May 8, 2015

just some coping strategies

:grystar: these are just some of the coping strategies i came up with off the top of my head in two minutes :grystar: 

:cystar: watch bbc sherlock
:cystar: or doctor who
:cystar: or supernatural
:cystar: or better yet, have a superwholock day (don't be ashamed to be in the superwholock fandom, they're good shows!!)
:cystar: coloring
:cystar: drink tension tamer tea 
:cystar: out of one of your decorated mugs
:cystar: drink flavored water 
:cystar: light a candle or incense
:cystar: read a book
:cystar: make crafts (ie. loom bands, friendship bracelets, crochet, knitting, diy)
:cystar: journal
:cystar: write poetry
:cystar: cuddle a fuzzy stuffie
:cystar: lie down for a bit
:cystar: listen to comedy videos on youtube
:cystar: listen to demi lovato on youtube

Thursday, May 7, 2015

beating your ED - a tips post of a different kind (bulimia-centric)

this isn't your usual tips post. you know, the kind that tell you how to restrict your calories to unhealthy amounts, how to shrink to a size zero - by any means necessary? throw those out and jump on the recovery bandwagon... here are some tips for recovering from your ED



BINGING

tips i've found helpful
1. take it one step at a time
2. forgive yourself for any slip ups. minor setbacks are a natural part of recovery, just make sure they don't happen too often or for extended periods of time.
3. get support. i can't stress this enough. just knowing that people are there to help you in your time of need, even if you try to push them away in the heat of the moment (don't deny it, i do it too) can be comforting
4) get a workbook. i suggest this one.
5) or this one for anorexia (for teens specifically, also works for bulimia and other EDs, pdf here)
7) challenge destructive thoughts. get a journal just for this purpose, and use the CBT ABCD model to challenge damaging thoughts. 
8) make good use of cheerleading statements during this time. recovery can be hard, so i suggest setting a timer for once every hour or two and telling yourself something positive in your life, such as "i'm good at math" or "my SO believes i'm beautiful/handsome/good looking, and i trust their judgement, therefore, i am beautiful/handsome/good looking"
9) make countless relapse prevention plans. one for every situation, every day of the fucking week if necessary.
10) get information on your behaviors and how destructive they are, but also acknowledge how they used to "work" for you without glorifying them
11) be kind to yourself. don't beat yourself up over every morsel of food that passes your lips. forgive yourself. this doesn't mean go hog wild either though, just don't torture yourself
13) and above all,

contents of my DBT distress tolerance box!

my DBT distress tolerance box is a huge bin, so bear with me and you may get some ideas for your own box.
coping box contents:
:lblstar: stickers
:lblstar: plushies (x2)
:lblstar: seashell
:lblstar: dryer sheet
:lblstar: birthday cards
:lblstar: tissues
:lblstar: candle
:lblstar: nail polish
:lblstar: stress ball (x2)
:lblstar: bouncy ball
:lblstar: bandana
:lblstar: playing cards
:lblstar: lotion
:lblstar: body spray/perfume
:lblstar: tea mug (decorated w/ sharpie)
:lblstar: markers
:lblstar: lip gloss (x2, bonne belle and EOS)
:lblstar: carmex (i really like the taste of carmex)
:lblstar: relaxing cds (x3)
:lblstar: poetry notebook
:lblstar: sketch book
:lblstar: journal
:lblstar: coping skill handbook
:lblstar: loom band tutorial book
:lblstar: coloring books and pages
:lblstar: puzzle
:lblstar: vitamin e cream
:lblstar: construction paper
:lblstar: tea (tension tamer)
:lblstar: loom bands
:lblstar: crayons
:lblstar: book (the fault in our stars)
:lblstar: word search book
:lblstar: positive affirmation book