How do you deal with anxiety?

Any tips? I think that’s what’s keeping me stuck…back door spike when I’m finally feeling ok drags me back in.☹️ Makes it a lot harder to stop compulsions cause my brain is in fight or flight mode. My dad said he has hydroxyzine he doesn’t need if I need it. Idk I want to be medicated as I feel like my anxiety is really bad and it’s been hard to even do my daily routine lately, but I also kind of don’t want to cause I’m a little afraid of side effects and I don’t really want to be switching around trying to figure out what works. Idk maybe it’s worth it

playwithyour...

Date posted: 18h

anxiety is similar to me. For me the biggest areas to tackle were my self-opinion and general acceptance. If you have a strong self opinion you are less worried about others views. Getting to know yourself through the 36 questions for love or questions that are a good reflection of 2025. (I have lots of these saved so if you’re interested please message!) Another tip is noticing your thoughts. You are not Your Thoughts. they can be things that just pop into your head. You are what you choose to do. so sometimes I notice “wow I am really ruminating on this decision or something that happened in the past” and this awareness gives you an opportunity to let that go, to be proud of yourself for noticing you were preoccupied, and you can do something else. if you want to explore the feeling: “where do i feel that in my body?” sometimes I can tell my brain “ok, thank you for trying to protect me but I will be okay” Somatics and Yoga have been the BEST thing for me. through exploring buddhism and philosophy I have the view that suffering is the difference between your expectations and your reality. If I am pretty attached to the idea that I “should” travel the world, I might spend some time ruminating and doubting myself and on and on. Instead, I have changed my thinking to be that travel is important to me, going some places is a big goal I will have for the rest of my life- and I have lots of time to reach that. I am more focused on being in the present moment and sometimes building the skills i would want to love a life like that. because this is the season of life i’m in right now

playwithyour...

Date posted: 15h

@playwithyourtrash (medication can be a good tool and it works well for people, it’s worth considering. but it is not your only option. I have briefly tried a few medications and I really don’t like altering my feelings. I am happily not taking medications. it is possible! That doesn’t mean it’s wrong for you or anything, but just to share my experience) I love a DIY -therapy youtube lol

maddz

Date posted: 18h

While I don’t want to downplay the frustration and pain of having to find a medication that works and doesn’t have a lot of side effects, I do encourage you to work with a psychiatrist and try out medication. You could try hydroxyzine (or propranolol), but that mostly is for bringing down panic symptoms. For the actual underlying OCD/anxiety thoughts/compulsions, trying an SSRI would be the recommendation. It has helped me a lot, even if I am still working on the right meds for my panic.

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