meditation Archives - Musings by Danna

The 5 Best Distractions for Anxiety

Anxiety can feel completely overwhelming at times. Today, I am here to share with you my top 5 distractions for anxiety.

When to use distractions

But first, it’s important to talk about when to use distractions. It’s not a good permanent solution for anxiety because if you keep distracting from the problem, you never deal with it.

However, there are also times when you may feel too overwhelmed to deal with what’s causing the anxiety. Or, you may not be in a situation where you can immediately deal with it. In this case, distractions for anxiety are an appropriate course of action.

My top 5 distractions for anxiety

Now for the good part. Let’s talk about some of the best ways I know to distract yourself from anxiety.

1. Meditation

Meditation is a great way to distract yourself from anxiety. It can really help you focus on your breath. This can be hard when you’re feeling anxious, but is one of the best ways to deactivate fight or flight so you can really relax.

I recommend using the app Insight Timer if you are looking for guided meditations. There is a paid version but the free one works just fine. Some people also like Headspace, but there are more free guided meditations on Insight Timer.

2. Art

Art projects definitely distract me from my anxiety. Once I am focused on the art project, everything else seems to fade away from my attention. I become immersed in the world of creation.

It doesn’t even have to be good. It just has to be something to get you out of that anxious feeling.

If you’re looking for ideas of types of art to do, you could draw, paint, collage, or even start an art journal.

3. Count backward from 300 by sevens

This is maybe not the most fun distraction, but it does keep your mind focused on something other than the anxiety.

It can be very useful, especially when you are in a place where your usual distractions are not available to you. For example, you could use this in public settings more easily than the other distractions.

4. Joyful movement

Are there any forms of movement or exercise that bring you joy? For me, this is going on a walk with my dog. I also enjoy hiking, although I haven’t gone lately.

For some people, it may be swimming or running. It could be playing volleyball or going surfing. Any kind of movement that is actually enjoyable for you counts.

Exercise produces endorphins, which can make you feel better. It can also help burn off the extra stress hormones. While I don’t encourage unhealthy amounts of exercise, I do think there are benefits to moving your body in a joyful way.

5. Cuddle a pet or stuffed animal.

Physically touching something, especially something soft, can help ease feelings of anxiety. Cuddling also releases hormones that make you feel better.

My dog, Lily, will perform deep pressure therapy when my anxiety gets too high to help me calm down by essentially putting pressure on me until my heart rate, blood pressure, and breathing are under control again.

But even if you don’t have a dog trained to do something specialized like that, spending time with your pet can still be quite helpful.

Final thoughts on anxiety distractions

Distractions are very useful in the moment when facing intense anxiety. However, I would also advise you to take the time to sit with your feelings when it is safe to do so.

This will allow you some time to explore where these feelings are coming from. It will also allow you to search for more permanent solutions so that you don’t need to use distractions so often.

I hope that you found this post to be useful! As always, I welcome any feedback.

Until next time,

Danna

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5 Tips For Dealing With A Panic Attack

Panic attacks can feel completely terrifying. They may come on suddenly and leave you feeling completely drained. Today, I am going to share with you my top five tips for dealing with a panic attack.

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1. Grounding exercises

Grounding exercises are meant to bring you back to the present moment. They can stop you from having the intense feelings of a panic attack by helping you to realize the situation you are in is not actually dangerous, since most panic attacks happen due to benign situations.

There are a number of different grounding activities you might try but I will give you my top ten.

Squeeze something like Play-Doh.
Play with a fidget spinner.
Push your feet firmly into the ground.
Hold a piece of ice.
Listen to the world around you.
Recite a poem in your head or aloud.
Count backwards from 500 by sevens.
Describe your surroundings.
List information that is purely factual about yourself or the situation. For example, “I am Danna. I am sitting at my computer.”
Touch something soft like a pet or a blanket.

These are some things that can help when you’re in the midst of a panic attack and need to ground yourself.

2. Meditation or deep breathing

Meditation is a form of grounding but I felt it deserved its own space. Meditation has been helping me a lot lately. I think it’s great to use both in the moment of a panic attack, but also to help lower your stress levels to hopefully prevent future panic attacks.

I really like to do guided meditations, but you can also just use music or other techniques. My meditation app of choice is called Insight Timer. If you want to read more about meditation, try this post I wrote about meditation tips.

Meditation can be practiced in many situations, but for situations where it cannot, you can try deep breathing exercises.

Some people really like box breathing, where you breathe in for the count on four, hold for the count of four, then exhale for the count of four, and repeat.

3. Positive self-talk

Positive self-talk can be very effective for dealing with a panic attack. However, this is a technique you will need to practice in advance. Otherwise, you may not remember to use it in the midst of a panic attack.

There are several phrases you can use. Some include “I am safe” or “This will pass”.

One that works really well for me is to remind myself that I am having a panic attack and not actually dying. I also try to remind myself the average duration of my attacks to remind myself that it will end.

4. Exercise

I find that exercise can be a good way to get the adrenaline out of my system. I’m not talking hardcore exercises either, but if that’s your thing then go for it.

What I usually do is take a brisk walk. When I can, I will take another person with me. My dog usually comes along, too.

I also like to punch pillows or a target that I have from when I used to take Tae Kwon Do lessons. You may enjoy other options like yoga, taking a run, or even jumping on a trampoline. Just make sure whatever form of movement you pick is healthy for you and your body.

5. Talk it out

This is probably the most effective way for me to cope with strong anxiety. It’s obviously not always going to be possible as there may be times where you don’t have immediate access to other people. But when you can, it is definitely healthy to open up.

When dealing with a panic attack, it can be easy to share more than others are comfortable hearing. It’s important to be respectful of the boundaries of others. If you’re not sure if the person is in a good place to listen to you talk about anxiety, make sure you ask them first.

Some closing thoughts

Dealing with a panic attack is always hard, but I am hoping these tips today will help you to have a better handle on them.

Grounding, meditation, positive self-talk, exercise, and talking it out are all healthy ways of expressing your anxiety. I hope you will try at least one new technique and implement it into your life.

Until next time,

Danna

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Meditation types and practices

Today, I will be walking you through different meditation types and practices. I am inviting you to join me in trying meditation for the next five days and I hope you will see the benefit.

What is meditation?

Meditation is difficult to define, due to the number of different meditation practices that exist. However, my general definition is that meditation involves maintaining a focus in order to reach a sense of calmness.

Just what are these different meditation practices though?

Types of meditation

There are a ton of versions of meditation out there, but today I want to focus on seven of them. They all meet my above definition of meditation, but they go about doing so in different ways.

Mindfulness meditation

Mindfulness is being aware and in the present moment without judgement. This version of meditation can be used to increase your overall mindfulness skills.

With mindfulness meditation, you will find a comfortable position and start noticing your thoughts. You don’t try to hold onto them or change them, but simply notice them as they are.

Spiritual/religious meditation

This practice differs depending upon the spiritual or religious affiliation of the person who is practicing it. However, it is commonly used in many religions.

A lot of people think of it as similar to their prayer practice.

Mantra meditation

In mantra meditation, you focus on a word, sound, or phrase. You will speak this word, sound, or phrase aloud to yourself. This is the type of meditation you see in media where people are repeating “Om.”

If you are not a fan of silence, this could be a great meditative practice for you.

Focused meditation

With focused meditation, you will want to stay focused on one thing. This could be your breath or an object. It could also be a thought or one of your senses.

Focused meditation is useful because it can be done anywhere. You can essentially do it without anyone around you knowing.

Movement meditation

If you have trouble sitting still, this may be the form of meditation for you. Movement meditation involves parts of mindfulness or focused meditation and combines them with things like walking or yoga.

So, you would either cultivate a state of mindfulness or focus on something like your breath, then add movement.

Guided meditation

Guided meditation is the one that I find the easiest. For this practice, you will use someone’s voice as your point of focus. Usually, this is done by finding recordings of guided meditations. However, it is also sometimes done in person in places like yoga studios.

Guided meditations can be found through various apps and can be searched through Youtube. My personal favorite app is Insight Timer.

Music/sound meditation

Music meditation involves using music or sounds to achieve meditation. You can find music or sounds specifically for this on the internet or through many apps. The point is to find calming music or sounds, usually without words, and bring your attention to it.

I also recommend searching Youtube and Insight Timer for music meditations.

Benefits of meditation

Meditation can benefit both your mental and physical health. According to Healthline.com, here are just a few of the benefits you may receive from a regular meditation practice:

reduction in stress and anxiety
reduction in blood pressure
lower levels of pain
improved sleep
longer attention span

Creating a meditation practice

Now it’s time to create a meditation practice that works for you. I have a few tips to help you:

Allow yourself to experiment with different kinds of meditation to see what feels the most helpful to you.
Pick a time of day when you will meditate. Schedule this time for yourself every day. It is most commonly done in the morning or evening, but it doesn’t have to be.
Don’t push yourself to meditate for too long to start with. Build up slowly.
Do your best not to judge yourself if your mind wanders away from your focus point. It’s normal and okay.

I hope you will try to build your own meditation practice! It really can reduce anxiety. As always, let me know if you have any questions in the comments down below or you can find my contact information here!

Until next time,

Danna

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