Please post one tip to help people beat phobias

[Admin]

We plan to build this section to become a one stop shop for ideas and tips about beating phobias. If each of us add our best tip for beating phobias (something that works for us) this WILL help others. Also, many of us may come across tips and ideas we had not even thought of which would be useful in the future.

 

[kelbel]

Mine would be to carry a small (business card size) card with you that lists the top 5 things to do if you start to feel the onset of a panic attack. Mine include; 1) Breathing techniques, 2) Distraction (eg. looking around me to find 10 things beginning with the letter P, or count backwards from 200 in 7's) 3) Call someone (but not to talk about your anxiety),4) Say a positive statement out loud about anxiety sensations not being able to hurt you, 5) Breathe into a brown paper bag.

Having this list prepared and with you, means you won't get flustered and not know what to do first.

 

[pixie10]

Daily relaxation DVDs have really helped me. But you have to do them regularly to make a difference.

 

[Mark]

Good idea with the card - the card itself would be a distraction technique.

My techniuque - which has worked for me many times - is to ensure I am not hot and bothered as I find this makes things 10 times worse. In the car I will wind the window down and put the air con on cold. Sometimes I find it better to have the radio off as well - make my surroundings as calm and relaxed as possible.

 

[Admin]

I find that my phobias and my anxiety are much much worse when I feel hot and I am sweating. Simply getting some fresh air, winding down the window in the car or switching the heating to cold makes a massive difference for me. I can feel my phobia anxiety rising much quicker when I feel hot and agitated.

 

[GH0STP03T]

My tip would be to find your own mantra (special word or phrase) which you can say or think to yourself in order to reset your thinking pattern. If possible, find some where you can sit or relax and take several deep breaths - focusing only on your breathing.

 

[Jade]

I’d like to share one of my own personal tips and hopefully somebody will find this helpful too. What I try and do when I start to panic over a situation that I can’t directly remove myself from is to try and put all my focus and concentration on a specific item. Even focusing on something as silly as a crack on the ceiling for example can occupy my mind and mentally take myself out of the situation as I’m not just focusing on the problem that is causing me stress.

I also find breathing techniques are effective in getting your anxiety under control.

 

[Mark]

Think of happy things such as friends, family, etc and how proud they would be that you are fighting your fears - that works for me!

 

[Mark]

Music has been mentioned as a potential crutch in the fight against phobias - personally I prefer peace and quiet when I am feeling a little anxious but we are all different.

 

[Paul1]

I read a technique that's really helped me, I think a lot my anxiety problems came from negative thoughts and images coming in my head unbidden. I read that these thoughts are perfectly normal (seems obvious now!),but you have the option whether to engage with them or not, and that's where one of my problems were, I would engage with them and turn them over and over and inside out and, then, start the whole process all over again.

So the technique was to think of these thoughts/images, as they came in and out of your head, as a film reel passing in front of you; each image on the reel being a thought or image. The idea is to only stop and focus on the positive images (thoughts),allowing the negative ones to pass you by. An alternative was to think of them as a train, and as you stood at a train station, allow negative thoughts to come in and pass on through, without stopping.

This really helped me. For one it stopped me trying to prevent the negative thoughts, that were causing me so much distress, from entering my head... a losing battle! But it also (slowly but surely, it wasn't a quick fix!) helped me stop dwelling on and remunerating on the thoughts that caused my anxiety and panic attacks.

 

[Jade]

I read a technique that's really helped me, I think a lot my anxiety problems came from negative thoughts and images coming in my head unbidden. I read that these thoughts are perfectly normal (seems obvious now!),but you have the option whether to engage with them or not, and that's where one of my problems were, I would engage with them and turn them over and over and inside out and, then, start the whole process all over again.

So the technique was to think of these thoughts/images, as they came in and out of your head, as a film reel passing in front of you; each image on the reel being a thought or image. The idea is to only stop and focus on the positive images (thoughts),allowing the negative ones to pass you by. An alternative was to think of them as a train, and as you stood at a train station, allow negative thoughts to come in and pass on through, without stopping.

This really helped me. For one it stopped me trying to prevent the negative thoughts, that were causing me so much distress, from entering my head... a losing battle! But it also (slowly but surely, it wasn't a quick fix!) helped me stop dwelling on and remunerating on the thoughts that caused my anxiety and panic attacks.

Hi Paul thanks for this tip I think I could find this really useful as I seem to find myself in a similiar situation to you with the negative thoughts and images. I’m certainly going to give this a try, I love the whole idea of thinking of these thoughts as a film reel or train. I’m glad you eventually found this helpful and I’ll let you know how I get on with it. Thanks again Paul

 

[Paul1]

Hi Paul thanks for this tip I think I could find this really useful as I seem to find myself in a similiar situation to you with the negative thoughts and images. I’m certainly going to give this a try, I love the whole idea of thinking of these thoughts as a film reel or train. I’m glad you eventually found this helpful and I’ll let you know how I get on with it. Thanks again Paul

You're very welcome Jade. Do let me know if it helps!
(In case you're interested I read these in 'CBT for Dummies'. If you haven't already read it it's an excellent book! It has many coping techniques for lots of anxieties etc. It's not a great title considering who it's aimed at, but it's comprehensive and it's an easy read. It was written by the psychologists at The Priory in London, which impressed me, but then I'm easily impressed).

 

[Jade]

You're very welcome Jade. Do let me know if it helps!
(In case you're interested I read these in 'CBT for Dummies'. If you haven't already read it it's an excellent book! It has many coping techniques for lots of anxieties etc. It's not a great title considering who it's aimed at, but it's comprehensive and it's an easy read. It was written by the psychologists at The Priory in London, which impressed me, but then I'm easily impressed).

Thanks again Paul I would like to give this book a try because the techniques in there really appeal to me. You should add this book to the list of book reviews on the forum and give it a little review because I’d like to know a bit more about it and I’m sure this could be helpful to others. As for the title not very sensitively named haha but I must admit I’ve read through a few of those ‘ for dummies’ books on different subjects before and I found them to be very useful and well written.

 

[Admin]

Rid your life of all negativity - try to focus on positive things. Every second you spend thinking about negative issues is a second you cant get back.

 

[GH0STP03T]

Rid your life of all negativity - try to focus on positive things. Every second you spend thinking about negative issues is a second you cant get back.

Carrying on from your point....

 

[GH0STP03T]

Exercise is a really good way of combating certain phobias like anxiety for instance. I regularly play football as an outlet for my pent up stress and aggression. Finding an activity you thoroughly love which gets your blood pumping is great way to help clear the mind and improve the body.

 

[Jade]

Exercise is a really good way of combating certain phobias like anxiety for instance. I regularly play football as an outlet for my pent up stress and aggression. Finding an activity you thoroughly love which gets your blood pumping is great way to help clear the mind and improve the body.

I agree that exercise is a good outlet for stress and in fact doctors always prescribe regular exercise for people suffering with depression.As you said it also makes for a healthy body and that in itself it’s also important for mental health - to gain a positive body image and to keep the body and ultimately your mind functioning healthily.

 

[GH0STP03T]

Putting together an action plan might be a good idea. Writing down a list of achievable goals that get progressively harder as you go through them.

 

[Beattheblues]

Never look further forward than tomorrow - short terms goals help to build confidence

 

[Mark]

Have a log term goal but short term targets - this ensures that you feel as though you have done something.