Posted by Kath on March 2, 2008, at 19:16:12
In reply to Re: Help, posted by rskontos on March 2, 2008, at 9:40:53
In the group, the doctor highly recommends not taking pharmaceuticals! I was pretty surprised. She mentioned a few books about that viewpoint & I think even one book about getting off medications!
You asked what I do for anxiety. Last Monday the GT doctor taught us a really good 'template', she called it. It's to bring oneself into the present, as a tool to help not worry. I used it in the car on the way home & it actually worked.
She said it is VERY important to use the exact words she taught us.
Here it is:
It's using our senses (5) to get out of our 'head' focus in the 'now'.
Say, "Now I Am Aware of SEEING -----"
"Now I Am Aware of HEARING----------"
"Now I Am Aware of SMELLING---------"
"Now I Am Aware of TASTING--------"
"Now I Am Aware of TOUCHING-----------"
for ex:
Now I am aware of seeing the blue sky.
Now I am aware of hearing the engine of the car.
Now I am aware of smelling the hot chocolate in my cup.
Now I am aware of tasting a sweet taste from the hot chocolate.
Now I am aware of my hands touching the steering wheel.
Then I repeated it, trying to notice different things. If I couldn't notice different things, & the only thing I could notice was what I noticed before, I just said that.
Then I repeated it 2 or 3 more times.
I felt MUCH calmer. Quieter in my mind. Settled down. And those feelings stayed. When a worrying thought came into my mind, I did the exercise again 3 or 4 times.
I find it QUITE GOOD. I guess I could go through the day doing it as necessary!!!!
Next day I used it again. I did it slightly different. I found that for me, seeing & hearing were the easiest. And I noticed that when I said, "Now, I am aware of hearing the car engine" or some other sound, it pulled me into the present WAY more than any other sense. So I decided to just keep saying that one. So........
Now I am aware of hearing the windshield wipers.
Now I am aware of hearing the water splashing under my tires.
Now I am aware of hearing the gears change.
Now I am aware of hearing that truck drive by.
etc. It kept me RIGHT in the 'now' & was actually quite enjoyable. Felt one heck of a lot better than worrying!!!
I've been using it every day since, when i start to worry or feel anxious or a 'sense of impending doom'
Sometimes I have to do it for a couple of minutes, but so far, it has worked to 'chill me out' every single time I've used it. I love it because it's:
free
portable
private (unless I say it out loud, as I tend to if I'm alone or in my car)
easy
has no side effects
:-)))
I'm tending to feel more anxious as today goes by. (And yes, I have been using what I'm calling "the here & now exercise".) I'm hoping that being at group tomorrow morning will help my anxiety. I'll be really interested to see if it does.
I'm so glad yoga helps you. I had started taking Tai Chi classes. Was sick after Christmas & haven't gotten back into the swing of the Tai Chi as I forgot it, but purchased a DVD from teacher, so I can watch & learn then return to class. I hate being there & not knowing what the HECK I'm supposed to be doing!
hugs, Kath
Oh yes, I also use EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique) www.tapping.com
Also TAT
http://youtube.com/watch?v=KRXdQNA3aEk
and www.tatlife.com
Please feel free to ask me any questions about these methods. K
poster:Kath
thread:814996
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/psycho/20080226/msgs/815811.html