I realised recently that I was not following my own teachings. I got a lesson in “practice what you preach” in regards to managing anxiety.
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
Late September I was in a car accident. The other driver made a mistake in running the light trying to get past before I got through, but it didn’t work out and so BAM… our cars crashed. The impact to my car caused the airbags to deploy and my hand got injured. It was a bad experience. I don’t wish to relive it too much, so I won’t give a full visualization picture for you, but I will tell you that it has caused me much stress and trauma. My symptoms pretty much fit the description of post traumatic stress disorder.
The Mayo Clinic explains post traumatic stress disorder very well in an online article at this link. They speak of symptoms that include flashbacks about the terrifying event, negative thoughts and severe anxiety. I experienced these symptoms and continue to experience the flashbacks. But thankfully, due to remembering about some of the methods I wrote about on my blog, I was able to reduce my anxiety significantly.
Managing Anxiety
There are various ways to manage anxiety, to include using supplements, getting enough sleep, doing exercises that have stress relief health benefits, such as tai chi.
Supplements:
I remembered that I read about supplements that can help reduce anxiety. Apart from St. John’s Wort and Fish Oil, I couldn’t remember much else, so I checked back online to see what else there was. I did remember L-Tryptophan from Dr. Amen’s book, and how effective he said it was, so that was on my list to try. I chose not to go with St. John’s Wort because I had experienced headaches when taking it in the past. The Lobelia supplements that my doctor had recommended was not helping me with the severe anxiety I was now experiencing. L-Tryptophan and GABA are the two supplements I ended up using. I felt some reduction in the racing heartbeat, but the negative thoughts and flashbacks persisted.
Sleep:
I knew getting better sleep would help reduce my anxiety, so instead of staying up till 11pm, I started turning in by 10pm latest and I also extended my morning wake up time.
Exercise (stress relief)
Most people know that exercise has good health benefits, but some forms of exercise are particularly helpful with reducing stress and anxiety. These exercises include yoga and tai chi. I did a few tai chi lessons about three years ago and felt blissful, so I decided to get back into a tai chi routine, to help me cope with my anxiety. I start my first class tomorrow and I am very excited.
Additional techniques: Prayer and Meditation
As a Christian, prayer helps to sustain me and strengthen me. It helps me reduce my fears as I put my trust in a higher power to be safe and protected.
Meditation helps also. I have been using a chakra healing meditation in the morning to start my morning off on a balanced note. At night time I meditate to a subliminal audio track that relaxes me and helps restore my sense of safety and security by giving suggestions about being safe on the road.
Hey, life happens. But when knife knocks you down and steps up your anxiety, you need to punch back. For a moment there I was knocked down and suffering from severe anxiety attacks, but then I remembered all my blog posts preaching to others on how to manage their anxiety. Well, now I am back on track with practicing what I preach.
Just remember to always seek medical advice from your doctor. While all of the above are helpful suggestions, do bear in mind that everyone’s body is different and so it is worth speaking with your doctor before trying any supplement or health care regimen. None of what I have stated above is intended to replace medical help or advice.
Cheers,
Karlene
