Hello Dark...Haven't seen you in awhile in chat, sorry you are struggling. Heres my two cents, now this may not help you (I hope it does) but if not...somone will read it and maybe it will help.
Over the many years I have taken notice to a few things...and with that said..seems like it took me forever to figure it out and apply it...anywho. Back in the day I was panicking daily and at that time didn't really know squat about what it was and how it worked?
I had to make a trip to GA and since I was panicking daily, I had no clue how I was going to do that. My wife bought me my first book about anxiety. Took me a few days to read it, but the results were amazing!...didn't have another panic attack for two years...anxious..you bet...but hey, no panic... because anxiety is driven by fear and now I didn't fear it as much.....progress. Made the trip and didn't panic once!
As years went on, I didn't really change things and eventually anxiety and panic came back and bit me hard! So, I tried so many things to relieve it. What I did begin to realize at some point was....fast relief was possible. On a couple of occasions I would be somewhere trying to fight off an attack and someone would come up to me and start talking about whatever and 10 minutes later when they walked away, I would be feeling fine...I was in the dentist chair getting my numbing shots felt panic and my dentist recognized it and sat me up and ask me a question that he knew I knew a lot about and TADA! with it a few minutes I was calm again.
At some point I realized it totally had everything to do with my thoughts and was all in my head, but how do I make it better. I think many people feel you can't get instant relief, that you have to go through a whole check list of coping things or you have to hurry up and divert your thoughts....I did all those things.
What I learned was you can not control it, almost any method involves thinking about anxiety. When I adopted the idea to except it and in no way try to stop it or steer it or control it, but except it and welcome it....it gave the anxiety a lot less meaning and thus less thoughts about it, less fear, less worry.
Many may feel like...no, I don't want to take that chance of excepting it, I don't like how it feels. Or, I'm not inviting it, that's crazy and a scary thought, but until they try it, they don't realize how quick some relief can be had. In many cases, by thinking to myself to bring it on and then do nothing else but roll with it....relief came in minutes...because I stopped fighting it in any way shape of form.
I hope that some try this way of thinking about it. Many have said it's not that simple or easy and believe that it's much more complicated or maybe just feel like that won't work for them.
Sadly, many that make this claim are still fighting it and will keep themselves in the anxiety cycle for who knows how long.....years maybe?......I did....until I made a decision to basically try something different than I had been doing for so long...because obviously, it wasn't working. I mean I got some relief and it got better, but I was still hung in that anxiety cycle.
I hope that most everyone that suffer with anxiety has at least one example of something taking their mind off of the anxiety and it made it much better in a very short time....When I stopped long enough to realize that many times that happen to me...it was proof enough relief could be fairly quick at times in the right situation. It was enough to make me a believer that it could be overcome and for me, I refuse to believe any different....anything less could forever keep my in the cycle.
Just my long winded two cents, I assure you that some people that try this will have success, but you have to let go of any grip or control and except it....in order to weaken it.
Dark, I wish you all the best.....hope to chat with you again soon...you are one of the good ones, please hang in there.....you are strong...sure you will have times where if feels like too much...but you will only get stronger when the weak moments pass....Big hugs and take care.