subject: Start living again to Reduce Anxiety [print this page] One of the biggest problems that I found with anxiety and panic attacks is how my world shrank. I became totally wrapped up in my own anxiety and found it almost impossible to get out and meet friends. It felt like I couldn't think about anything but my anxiety. I would spend all my time dwelling on my anxiety, asking myself how did I feel, did I feel anxious, how did I feel?
A big step for me on the way to getting better was my making a conscious decision to engage with life again, to take an interest in things so that I could start getting over my anxiety. It is a form of distraction, what I was trying to do was keep myself too busy to let the anxious thoughts to start going round and round in your head and it worked wonders for me.
I am not suggesting that try to fill each and ecery minute of the day with a hobby or interest. That smacks of obsessive behavior and I think would be a dangerous route to go down, but I don't see the harm in filling an hour or two every day with a hobby, something that you find interesting and keeps your attention.
You will gradually find that you have started to spend some quality time when you have managed not to check in with your anxiety; they have simply moved to the back of your mind and let you get on with your life. The best thing you can do is take up a pastime that you can engage in regularly and one that takes up your complete attention.
I found three new things that helped. I started researching tropical fish and plants on the world wide web, ended up buying an aquarium and am now totally addicted to the fishkeeping hobby. The children love to help with the maintenance so not only do I get some relaxation time but the kids also get to spend time with me when I'm not feeling anxious.
I took up the guitar. We had bought our daughter a guitar a year or so back but couldn't afford lessons so now we both play the guitar for half an hour an evening, both working our way through on-line lessons.
And then for purely selfish quality me time when the wife and kids have gone out, I took up model making. That was something I enjoyed doing as a kid but now I could take it to a whole new level. I just need to fit the controls and engine now.
Just think about it for a moment. Imagine how powerful a few hours of anxiety free time could be and how relaxed you would feel if you manage to get them. Don't be too ambitious to start off with. Find something that you enjoy and make time for it.
Distraction is a great way of breaking the cycle of anxious thoughts and de-sensitizing your mind and the great thing is that you get to do something that you really enjoy.
