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[LuckyCharms]

This message was self-deleted by its author (LuckyCharms) on Sat Feb 9, 2019, 06:55 AM. When the original post in a discussion thread is self-deleted, the entire discussion thread is automatically locked so new replies cannot be posted.

[Kali]

1. ...

[leftyladyfrommo]

2. BREATHE!

And tell yourself it is a panic attack. And just keep breathing.

I wake up in the nite with anxiety attacks.

[GulfCoast66]

3. Unplug for a couple of weeks.

No news, no DU, no media.

Go to the beach, the park or whatever.

Our emotions nor minute by minute attention have no effect on the affairs of the nation. It will just drive you crazy.

I am taking the boat to the coast tomorrow for a couple of days. I will read no news.

Find your own boat.

[grantcart]

20. +1

[Corgigal]

4. Music, my dear.

Get those brain circuits to light up a different way. I call music/concerts my church. It's the only thing keeping me OK for the past few years.

Do you need any tunes? Let us know, DUers will help you out.

[jrthin]

5. The price we pay for caring is exactly as you described. But people like

us don't have a choice, we care, we care deeply. Consequently our anxiety throws us for a loop.

[DesertRat]

6. Take some deep breaths

It will be ok

[sheshe2]

17. DesertRat.

Do you realize how much your breathing post really helps.

I am serious. I have been through major panic attacks, over time. Won't say how long...lol.

Wow!

Thanks.

[lunatica]

23. Thanks! That really helps!

Hugs to you!

[Judi Lynn]

31. Very helpful gif. Thank you. n/t

[PatrickforO]

37. Yep. You get a valentine for that gif.

I told her below about the fourfold breath, but this might be better because it engages the visual sense as well as the other senses.

[Jarqui]

7. I've encountered a record number of folks suffering from anxiety this year

Trump tends to have a bunch to do with it for a number of them.

[dalton99a]

8. Top Psychiatrists Gather to Warn That Donald Trump 'Represents a Danger to Public Health'

https://people.com/politics/psychiatrists-warn-donald-trump-danger-public-health/

Top Psychiatrists Gather to Warn That Donald Trump 'Represents a Danger to Public Health'
Diane Herbst | May 01, 2018 04:42 PM

President Donald Trump has called himself a “very stable genius” — but a group of esteemed mental health professionals apparently don’t agree.

A group of psychiatrists and psychologists gathered Tuesday for a panel discussion titled “The Increasingly Dangerous Case of Donald Trump,” and argued that President Trump’s “mental instability,” pattern of violence-inciting rhetoric and multiple lies are “dangerous” — and have already caused unprecedented anxiety and stress across the nation.

[rufus dog]

9. Whitaker looks like the typical bully asshole/abuser most of us have encountered

If it makes you feel any better, I can guarantee you that Whikaker will go down hard. In a few years he will be largely forgotten, but then there will be a story about him. And it will be laughable. Well it may be tragic, but still laughable since it happened to him.

[struggle4progress]

10. Try this: "My anxiety is nothing but my awareness of being alive"

[lunasun]

11. It was probably the Whitaker hearings . I didn't listen to it all I was

at work, but checked in to news at lunch and became incensed after just a few clips I saw of what was going down
Really pissed me off more than usual
If you watched it all that could be what started this for you
Replied to an Atticus post here earlier @du
I guess Atticus hit on some of what I was reacting to today.
https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=11794652
https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=11794744

[Hekate]

12. Breathe. Music -- here's a favorite of mine...

Ode to Joy flash mob Sabadell / Beethoven's 9th

It's on You Tube -- but damned if I can find the link on the page like I used to. But I found it with the key words.

As for music in general, it changes the wiring in your brain for awhile.

Edited to add: Ode An Die Freude is exquisite, but the interplay between the musicians and the crowd that gathers in tnis little gem always makes me weep -- for joy. 5 minutes 41 seconds.

[Danascot]

13. You're right!

Listening to the music you love will make your brain release more dopamine, study finds

https://www.democraticunderground.com/103413885

[Hekate]

14. Found a good link!

https://www.classicfm.com/composers/beethoven/news/beethoven-9-flashmob/

[fierywoman]

25. I love the flashmobs. But I listen to the Venezuelan Youth Orchestra's "Mambo" from the London

Proms concert when I need an upper. Of course it was an encore -- I think the music that was programmed before it was Very Serious. The Mambo starts around 4:00 in this clip. (Lemme tell you, the Mambo is wicked hard to play!) I sob every time I watch this for the sheer joy in these young people:

Peace to you Lucky, you are such a dear presence here.

[PatSeg]

15. Old movies

Or binge watch a TV show that is totally removed from reality. I go back and forth between current events/news and television dramas, preferably period pieces.

I know its little consolation, but your anxiety is shared by millions of people.

[58Sunliner]

16. I just allow myself to feel the panic knowing it will pass. I just focus on love, for myself.

Love is indestructible. If you can't feel it, fake it. You deserve it. Practice makes perfect.

[world wide wally]

18. I hate to sound indifferent,, but grow up and kick some ass for a change

[SunSeeker]

19. You have got to find a respite to this shitshow, you need to break.

For a person with soul and a heart, these are wrenching times.

[Caliman73]

21. Your anxiety is normal and valid given the times we are living in. That said, take care of yourself.

Others have said, try to take a break. John Fugelsang often says, go to a movie, catch a play, read a good book (non-political). Unplug and unwind. I too get into the political stuff way deep, but you have to nourish yourself and step away from the madness that is the current political situation.

Take care of yourself so that you can go on caring for a long time.

[KT2000]

22. try some Irish music

the Dublin choral group do some beautiful work and it can take you away from the madness.

[Grasswire2]

24. I don't feel personal panic, but I have been fearing that something awful is going to happen...

....and especially now that we know the Saudis are involved in the effort to ruin Bezos. Saudis capable of great, horrendous barbarism. Remember 9-11.

[KY_EnviroGuy]

26. I have similar problems, LuckyCharms and it feeds my depression.

I have to take breaks and go fix something (I'm a tinkerer), listen to music or clean the kitchen.

However, I still use some old reliable tricks from my recovery program of 28 years most every day:

* Quietening my mind (takes some practice) or mindful meditation.

* Journey meditation to help me get to sleep.

* Repeat the Serenity Prayer (or your own mantra) along with mindful breathing:

Earth**, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
Courage to change the things I can,
And wisdom to know the difference.

(**I'm now agnostic and non-religious. I use the Earth as my higher power)

One thing I'm firmly convinced of is that we all have to develop our own technique and tricks to escape the madness of our modern world, and that can bring us enough peace in our lives to survive. Be bold and experiment.

.... ...........

[StarryNite]

27. Listen to music...

and breathe...you are okay.

[UniteFightBack]

28. So sorry you are in distress, perhaps indulging in a little bit of your avatar could take the edge

off? But I've been sleeping better since we won the mid-terms. Adam Schiff and his assurances are making me sleep better at night. Things are unraveling...they are it is just a slow process.

I understand about the caring thing, I sometimes wish I did not care about things so much because like you in can affect me greatly. After observing people who absolutely don't give a shit about anything except their own pleasures...I can say NO. It's better to be like us.

[applegrove]

29. Belly breath. I've posted three good news OPs. Tax refunds are down (this

will wake up some more people), Powell at the Fed says government should do more on fighting inequality and republican anti socialism message is not working. Belly breath.

[Fuzzpope]

30. Your remedy, below.

Listen, from start to end. Put down the smart devices, close your browser windows.

We do not disengage enough anymore, it's a dangerous compulsion to refresh, reload, refresh site after site, you must allow yourself time away to recooperate.

This discipline, you must follow, lest you sicken and ultimately fail.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_l1x-JAx0w53suECoCI0YJtW6VB8DBQWRQ

There's a good reason this is the greatest selling album of all.

Find your way.

[Heartstrings]

32. I agree

On the “breathing”, “listening to some great tunes”, “check out for awhile” aspects. They all work for me when my anxiety kicks in...
Also, never forget “caring” is a positive character trait, not to be taken lightly. Cherish that....the opposite is what our resistance is battling.
Breathe....

[NJCher]

33. Sue your parents

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-47154287

You shouldn’t have to feel this way.

Cher

[whathehell]

34. You're not alone, brother -- I've felt the same, as recently as Yesterday!

When I get to the that point, I take a "time out" from all things political --. I stay away from DU for awhile, turn off the news, and just do things that make me feel calm, good, and comfortable . Just unplug from it for awhile, and remind yourself that the Trump Show is in it's final days.

[vlyons]

35. Calm down and get a grip

No matter what comes your way, you must stay calm, focused, and just deal with it. That's how you will live to see another day. I have survived a 7.1 earthquake, 2 hurricanes, and a tornado that destroyed my house -- while it in the dead of night. I stayed calm. You are much more effective at dealing with whatever happens when you are calm and focused than when you are paranoid or freaking out.

Staying calm also helps the other people in your life. Think about what you can do to help the other people in your life.

[PatrickforO]

36. Well, once you know, you can't ever go back.

That's for sure.

All we can do is have faith that in the end good will prevail, though sometimes it seems that evil hangs on for dear life. As Shakespeare said, "There are more things in heaven and Earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy."

I think that is true. Ultimately all things end up serving the light.

Try the fourfold breath. Breathe in four counts, hold it four counts, breath out four counts and hold your lungs empty four counts. Do this until all you are aware of is the breath going in and out of your body. That works pretty well for me.

Of course, I can only hope it will work for you, if you even try it.

Still, my best wishes. We're going to be OK.

[Captain Stern]

38. Something is trying to destroy you tonight?...hmmm...could it be...SATAN!?!

Naaah. It's not Satan.

It's just the world. It's the entire world that is trying to destroy you tonight.

All eight billion of us (except you) had a meeting, and pulled names out of a hat, to pick somebody to destroy. Not surprisingly..you lost.

Kidding aside, please don't stop caring about things, or questing for knowledge. trump is perfectly capable of fucking up our country without our help, but he can't really fuck up our days, without our help.

You don't really wish that you were going through life with no curiosity, and blissfully unaware..because if you were, you'd be missing out on all of us here.

[Jane Austin]

39. Peace be with you.

And, yes, deep breathing really does help, as well as a good book on tape.

It helps you get out of your own head.

[handmade34]

40. hope for a better day

this morning...

[LuckyCharms]

41. Thank you everybody.

I appreciate your responses. I feel better after some sleep. I've been dealing with some chronic pain issues and I must have had a weak moment last night. I'm going to lock this thread...the OP is copied below. Everyone have a good weekend.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

I'm right on the edge of a full blown panic attack over this administration. I'm barely keeping it together.

I have no idea why. Maybe something from the Whitaker hearing.


The scariest part of this is that I know myself. When I start feeling like this, there is usually a good reason.

Sometimes, caring about things is a curse. Sometimes, the quest for knowledge is a curse.

Sometimes, I wish I was one of those people who have zero curiosity and go through life blissfully unaware. One of those people who get a blank stare when asked who the vice-President is. One of those people who can grab onto a stupid slogan like it was a fucking security blanket.