FearfulInMA
Super Moderator
Staff member
- Joined
- Jun 14, 2012
- Messages
- 2,150
- Location
- Massachusetts, USA
Ah, you are referring to the aftermath in terms of your emotional and physiological reaction. I just wasn't clear based on your post, but I am very familiar with the physiological response to prolonged stress and trauma -- I am familiar from both a personal as well as professional (I worked for many years as a mental health therapist) experience.
Some things that help me:
1. Eating good, whole foods with calming properties -- as preservative free as possible (they can be very activating to the central nervous system). Soft nuts are very good for this.
2. Making sure to get exercise. And, it has to be exercise that gets you to the point of being out of breath and physically exhausted. It does a very good job at interrupting the cortisol cycle that happens oath anxiety -- even if it only produces brief respites, the more you can interrupt the anxiety chemicals, the more likely you will be to have longer periods where you don't feel so horribly anxious (I describe it as feeling constantly and al the time like you are at that moment at the top of a roller coaster or about to jump out of a plane)
3. Get enough sleep by any means necessary. By this I mean that sometimes you may need medication (even if it's just Benadryl) to get your body back on a good sleep/wake cycle. Without sleep you cannot deal with anxiety.
4. Remember to breath. As crazy as this sounds, practicing good, diaphragmatic breathing can do amazing things to interrupt the physiological anxiety response. Like exercise, even if it's only for a few moments, it can eventually become longer moments.
Perhaps you already know all of these. And, they are always easier said than done. But I find if I can even just focus on doing one really well, then it's easier to do the others little by little.
And, of course, we will all be here for you to get support from!
Some things that help me:
1. Eating good, whole foods with calming properties -- as preservative free as possible (they can be very activating to the central nervous system). Soft nuts are very good for this.
2. Making sure to get exercise. And, it has to be exercise that gets you to the point of being out of breath and physically exhausted. It does a very good job at interrupting the cortisol cycle that happens oath anxiety -- even if it only produces brief respites, the more you can interrupt the anxiety chemicals, the more likely you will be to have longer periods where you don't feel so horribly anxious (I describe it as feeling constantly and al the time like you are at that moment at the top of a roller coaster or about to jump out of a plane)
3. Get enough sleep by any means necessary. By this I mean that sometimes you may need medication (even if it's just Benadryl) to get your body back on a good sleep/wake cycle. Without sleep you cannot deal with anxiety.
4. Remember to breath. As crazy as this sounds, practicing good, diaphragmatic breathing can do amazing things to interrupt the physiological anxiety response. Like exercise, even if it's only for a few moments, it can eventually become longer moments.
Perhaps you already know all of these. And, they are always easier said than done. But I find if I can even just focus on doing one really well, then it's easier to do the others little by little.
And, of course, we will all be here for you to get support from!