Feeling anxious and panicky

[Ren88]

Hi first time on here. I have 2 yr old and 6 week old and feeling like I can't cope with them both. My 2 yr old is too much and I feel so nervous all the time especially at night knowing I won't sleep much due to waking up feeding baby and then having to deal with them both the next day having severe anxiety

[MarkJT]

Ren, when you are feeling overloaded and have a heap to do which is causing you to get anxious, stop. Look at what you have to do, maybe write a list. Look at this list and then see what needs to be done now and cannot wait.

Rate the things that need doing and you may find that although you think you need to do them, it is not that important to get them done now and can wait. You may find that you anxiety decreases after this.

Learn what your first sign of anxiety is. Mine is that my body starts to heat up which is great because it is an early warning. Once i feel this, i stop what i am doing and ground myself. I start deep breathing, I look around and find something to fixate on and control my thoughts. I tell myself that i am safe and everything is okay.

When i know that the attack is going to be a big one and one that i will not be able to control, i medicate. There is nothing wrong with this, it is just recognising that my coping strategies are not yet up to that level. It is all about knowing your triggers, getting to know them and safeguarding yourself from them.

Very happy that you have discussed this with the GP and will be seeing a psych soon. Great work!

Mark.

[BballJ]

Hi Ren88,

That's great that you will be going to see someone, just step towards recovery.

Everyone has different strategies for dealing with anxiety, mine are generally being around family and friends, using it as a distraction, music is great for me as well, listen to soothing music... another thing I have found peace in before is listening to inspirational video clips on youtube, many people put them together and there are heaps on there. Another, which I haven't done but could be beneficial may be meditation, something to just calm you and relax you.

My best,

Jay

[startingnew]

makesure you eat well balanced meals, stay hydrated, get enough sleep and do daily exercise.

Do the things you find most enjoyable

go out into nature

talk to a helpline or soemone you trust when your feeling overwhelmed or sad

set time aside for yourself even just half an hour to relax and take abreather

reduce your load of things your dealing with where you can

poisitve self talk
set yourself a in goal for the each day to look forward even something so simple

[startingnew]

count backwards from 100

Deep Breathing. i use the 3-3-3 method. so you
breathe in for 3 seconds hold for 3 seconds and breathe our for 3
seconds. continue doing that for a few time until you feel yourself
start to relax or calm down.

this one is pretty much medtation/deep breathing
put together- which is breathe in notice how it fills your belly,
hold for 3 breathe out and release that tension that you feel and
keep continuing on until you feel calmer

Meditation, there are heaps of you tube videos and
phone apps that can help you throught this, i found 1 GIANT MIND
particuarly helpful do you could try that

[startingnew]

mindfulness-

there are so many different way to do mindfulness
A) listen to your favourite song and concentrate
on one specific thing such as the words and what they mean, or the beat- what instruments can you hear in the song?

B) take a look at your surroundings, what
can you hear, what can you see, what can you smell, what can you
taste.

C) pick up an object like a pencil. really notice
how the texture feels, is it cold , warm, does it have a smell?

D) Go for a walk and take in the sights of nature,
feel the breeze on you, notice how it feels