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Joined 2 years ago
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Cake day: June 22nd, 2023

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  • As far as anxiety goes, I loved a book called Dare by Barry McDonagh. Not going to lie, it boils down to “accept the anxiety” which sounds very “thanks I’m cured”, but it walks you through the steps to get there.

    I had a bad reaction to some medication, and had to go to the ER. For a long time after that I was terrified of dying and even just being alone in a room in case I needed help but couldn’t talk. For the first week or two after that, I’d have a panic attack every few minutes. It eventually spaced out to a few times a week, but it felt debilitating and embarrassing, and every time it felt like I was having a heart attack. I was constantly analyzing my body for any sign of abnormality and just waiting for it to turn on me.

    Seeing as I couldn’t get rid of the anxiety, I bought the book because it was on sale and it actually helped me a ton. Every so often I feel one coming on, but I’m now able to recognize it for what it is and move on with my life as opposed to getting sucked in.

    For meditation (kind of in reply to one of your replies here), to me meditating isn’t directly about feeling better, it’s about noticing things and accepting what’s there.

    The meditation app I like is Smiling Mind. It gets a bit repetitive, but it’s totally free (it is by a non-profit) and I like the Australian accents.

    I tried Insight Timer and it was pretty hit or miss (free meditations from tons of creators with an optional sub for courses and a few features), and Oak which was good but I remember being very basic.

    I’m sorry you’re going through this. It’s ok to not be ok. Give yourself some space and time.