Staying calm under fire Hey guys I have been doing really well the past 2/3 weeks in terms of obsessive thoughts. I had a crazy relapse and was able to get it under control and I feel great!! So here’s a few tips to help you guys better understand and manage your anxiety. 1. Become acquaintances with your anxiety Many of us try and push anxiety away or feel the urgent need to have it go away “now”, this only makes us more anxious when it doesn’t go away or makes us go back to compulsions to have it go away. So my advice is to become friends with your anxiety, next time it comes acknowledge it and say “okay you can stay here for now because I know you will go away soon”. Don’t try and force it away, just become aware of it and don’t judge yourself for having anxiety because it is not your fault and it will go away. 2. Visualization This technique has helped me tremendously. Next time anxiety comes visualize yourself in a calming situation. I think of myself being in the gym training or at the beach late at night watching the water. Now I know it can be hard to shift your thoughts from anxious to calming but we can do that, start off focusing on the breath, breath in and out and count each breath. I usually count 10-20 breaths and once I get there I feel pretty calm or at least calm enough to focus on the place I want to be. Engage the senses think about how that place feels, smells, tastes, that’s crucial with OCD because when we are in a rush things don’t feel real so if we can engage the senses and have some sort of objectiveness we are putting ourselves at the advantage. Hope this helps!! Good luck everybody if you have any questions don’t be afraid to reach out!