Excellent post man, very good advice it sounds. Cool of you to be so open, insightful and helpful. One of the best posts I have read in a long time. Me I would say gets anxious from time to time nothing too bad but stress never the less, your suggestions for calming yourself and being aware I will remember.
Thanks, man. Glad you took something away from that.
One thing that really helped me was having complete ego loss on mushrooms back in the day. I only ingested two grams but didn't eat that day and got stuck in the sun. I had a pounding migraine whilst tripping balls and couldn't even speak English. I was speaking in tongues and my friends laughed at me thinking it was a joke...
But having your ego ripped through your asshole and send traveling through the universe at the speed of light does things to you. I became grounded when an acquaintance noticed me tripping out and sat me down. He had dropped acid many times and experienced ego loss as well. The more he spoke, the more coherent I became. I eventually felt connected with the universe and felt as though I had reached Nirvana. Like I said, I'm far from a guru and can't say that I'm a Buddhist, but I've learned a lot from Buddhism and meditating.
When you have an anxiety attack it's hard to rationalize things. The more you fight it, the tighter the mental straight jacket becomes. You have to calm down using whatever method you can and just let it pass. I find that analyzing my attacks and asking myself questions really helps to snap out of it. I often forget the lessons I've learned from tripping and/or meditating so sometimes it takes a minute or two to become grounded. But I really think the two helped. I used to live with crippling depression and social anxiety. When I tried talking to my family about it they just shrugged me off as an emotional teen who was going through a phase. But it certainly affected me for a long time. I had a hard upbringing but it molded me into the person I am now.
I know so many people who are quick to do drugs and just wallow in pity because of their mental challenges... such a waste of energy. Again, if there's a problem that can't be solved then wasting your energy on negativity will only make things worse. If there is a resolution in sight, work towards it. A lot of people are mentally exhausted for stupid little reasons. I think a lot of people are unnecessarily stressed out and just don't know how to cope with it. In this day and age, no one can afford being stressed out for no reason. It cripples the mind. I refuse to let myself stress out over the little things.
I think the take home message is to learn how to identify what's discomforting/causative from the "anxiety attacks". That'll take a whole shit ton off your chest right there. Hell, it'll probably resolve most anxiety attacks. But again, it's hard to be rational when you're sketching out. Identify the challenge and dissect it. Even if you have to say it out loud, do it. Go over with a fine tooth comb and laugh, because it's all in your mind. It's just a matter of perspective. With all the bullshit out there in the real world, are you going to become a slave to your own mind? That sounds pretty gay to me... I have no time to be owning myself when I might slip in the shower or get hit by a drunk driver on the way to work. Stop investing time in thinking negative thoughts and wallowing in pity. Should you be unable to cope with whatever difficulties on your own, talk to someone. It's much better than popping addictive drugs. Save those for recreational purposes.
