Anxiety and depression relief methods

There are first aid methods that can immediately respond to acute mood swings, life intervention methods that improve mood baselines in the medium and long term, and professional medical/psychological intervention paths that respond to moderate to severe symptoms. There is no "universal solution" that applies to everyone. The core premise of all methods is "not forcing yourself."

To tell the truth, the visiting girl I picked up last month had a 985 degree and was working in a large factory doing algorithms. When she had an acute anxiety attack, she almost stopped breathing. The colleague next to her was still telling her, "Just don't think too much." She was so angry that she almost cried on the spot. Really, when you have an acute attack, don't talk about "thinking more". Take a deep breath first to be serious. At this time, the methods of different schools are actually quite different. The "5-4-3-2-1 sensory grounding method" commonly used by the CBT school is indeed useful for most people: name 5 things you can see, 4 things you can touch, 3 things you can hear, 2 things you can smell, and 1 thing you can taste, and rely on sensory anchoring to pull you out of the emotional whirlpool. However, most consultants from the humanistic school do not recommend this kind of operation that is too "task-sense". They prefer to follow the body's instinct: if you don't want to count, just hold a fluffy pillow for 1 minute, or clench your fists and loosen them three times, or squat on the ground and touch the soles of your shoes for half a minute. I met a high school girl before. Because she counted the wrong numbers when using the grounding method, she felt that "I can't even relieve her emotions", which aggravated her self-attack. Later, she relied on the small action of touching the shoe pattern to stabilize her breathing for half a minute each time.

After the breathless feeling has passed, let's talk about longer-term adjustments. Don't believe in the nonsense of "just exercise will make it better" or "a change of environment will be fine." The adaptation methods for different groups of people are far different. Psychodynamic counselors will suggest that you first find out your emotional trigger points: Does every collapse happen after your leader assigns you excessive work? Does your chest start to feel tight just thinking about going to work on Sunday afternoon? There is no need to force yourself to "solve" these problems immediately. First, take a small notebook and write it down for half a month. If you can see the pattern itself, you can already eliminate one-third of the nameless anxiety. However, practitioners of the behavioral activation school do not recommend that you think too much about "why". They think that the more you think about it, the easier it is to get stuck in self-attack. It is better to do an easy "minimum action" first: you don't have to force yourself to run 3 kilometers a day, just stand up, pour a cup of hot water, and stand by the window to bask in the sun for 3 minutes. ； There is no need to force yourself to wash the dishes that you have been saving for a week immediately, just wash a cup first. I have a friend who has improved from depression. Previously, the doctor asked him to go out for a half-hour walk every day. He found it too difficult to move his legs. Later, he changed to going out to throw out the garbage every day, and standing downstairs for a minute to blow in the air. This small thing lasted for 2 months. He gradually took the initiative to walk two more steps to buy a bottle of iced Coke, and his condition was so relaxed.

Nowadays, there is a lot of quarrel on the Internet about "should I resign/take a break from school to recuperate?" In fact, there is no standard answer at all. According to clinical data, it is true that nearly half of the patients' stress source is the current highly involved work/study environment. After leaving the environment, the symptoms are significantly relieved. However, there are also nearly 40% of people who, after resigning, fell into self-denial of "I am a deserter". Their work and rest were completely disrupted, and their symptoms became more severe. Before you really make a decision, it's best to have a clear discussion with your attending doctor or consultant. Don't just read two Little Red Books and then resign, which will end up forcing yourself into a more difficult situation. There is also the mindfulness meditation that has been so popular recently. There are indeed studies that prove that systematic practice for 8 weeks can effectively reduce anxiety levels. However, I have also encountered several clients. When doing mindfulness, all I can think about is "Am I distracted again?" Am I doing something wrong? ”On the contrary, the more they sit, the more anxious they become. For such people, instead of forcing themselves to sit cross-legged and meditate, it is better to dance in the square for 10 minutes or clear the table for 5 minutes. The effect will be much better.

If you have been having trouble sleeping and eating for more than two weeks in a row, and are completely uninterested in the things you loved so much before, and even occasionally have the thought that "life is meaningless", don't hold on to it, go to the psychiatric department when you need to, and take the medicine as directed by the doctor. Many people are afraid of the side effects of taking medicines, and I completely understand this - many antidepressant and anti-anxiety medicines will indeed cause drowsiness, nausea, and increased or decreased appetite 2 weeks before taking the medicine, but most of the side effects will gradually subside within 3 weeks. Compared with the transient side effects of medicines, long-term anxiety and depression will cause much greater irreversible damage to the hippocampus and cardiovascular system of the brain. Of course, there are also some patients with mild symptoms who can gradually improve without taking medicine and rely on long-term psychological consultation and life adjustments. The specific path to choose depends on the judgment of professional doctors. Don’t stop taking medicine or refuse to take medicine after searching Baidu for two days.

I have been in this industry for almost 6 years, and the biggest feeling I have is that many people have increased anxiety, not from the emotion itself at all, but from "Why am I still anxious?" I’m so useless” secondary attack. A visitor told me before that she used to think that it was normal to eliminate all bad emotions. Later, she learned to treat anxiety as a clingy little follower. When she went out, she would tell it "Follow if you want, but don't delay my work." Instead, she gradually stopped paying attention to it. The little follower became bored and left on her own.

Oh, by the way, if you are feeling uncomfortable right now and don’t want to try any method, then just stay paralyzed and don’t do anything. Don’t blame yourself. You just ran out of power temporarily. It really doesn't matter if you charge it for a while or slower.