Packing & Preparation

I remember when I first started to get familiar with the idea that Major Depression Disorder and Anxiety Attacks had found me. It’s kind of like having an unplanned baby and not being prepared to carry a baby-bag around with you.

You need to learn to pack.

It sounds weird, doesn’t it? But when you first get diagnosed (depending on the severity of the diagnoses), doctors love this little thing called Medication and medication comes in more than just one tablet form.

For me, my medication is:

-      Two antidepressant tablets that also work against anxiety: Daily

-      A pack of strong anxiety/ calming tranquilisers: As and when needed

-      An asthma pump: For when I forget to pack my bag and don’t have my anxiety/ calming tranquilisers with me

The asthma pump was recommended to me by my doctor as a back-up in case I don’t have any medication with me. I have a small compartment in my bag that this is secured into and anyone that I am with will be told about it instantly, as sometimes, I cannot help myself due to collapsing from an attack.

What is an anxiety attack?

For those of you who don’t know, a simple and most common way of explaining this is:

“Flushing, sweating, sore chest, pounding heart rate: You might think you’re having a heart attack…”

This experience can start completely unannounced and only last a couple of minutes, but when you’re alone or even with people who don’t know how to calm you down, this feeling really makes one aware of what it would be like to suffocate and can, definitely, feel longer than just a couple of minutes.

Some additional symptoms to help you distinguish the difference between a Panic Attack and an Anxiety Attack are:

1.   Feeling overwhelming fear,

2.   Feeling crazy or like you’re losing control

3.   Feeling like you’re in grave danger

4.   Feeling like you might pass out

5.   A surge of doom & gloom

6.   An urgency to escape

7.   Dizziness

8.   Heart Palpitations

9.   Trembling

10. Sweating

11.Shortness of breath

12.Chest Pressure Pain

13.Turning pale

14. Feeling detached from reality

15. Burning skin

16. Pins and Needles

17. Hot and Cold flushes

18. Numbness and tingling sensations

I am not a very big fan of medication and especially not antidepressants because I have seen what they have done to people, and from what was seen, the results weren’t really encouraging. This is the reason why, when I can, I try to steer clear of needing to take my tranquilisers or my asthma pump and try something more… natural.

So, when I feel an Anxiety Attack start to rise within my gut and I can feel my mind slip off into an Underland of questions that cannot be answered, I have a file saved on my phone called: SOS.

Inside this file are two apps that are designed for people who suffer from anxiety and for people who want to concentrate on meditation and centering themselves. Yes, yes, I know – I was also skeptical of this, but after doing some research, I decided that I needed to make up my own mind and downloaded these apps. What a blessing!

NUMBER ONE:     Atmosphere: Relaxing Sounds

ATMOSPHERE V2.11

This app creates your perfect atmosphere in ANY situation and what I love about this the most is that you can select more than one of your comforting sounds to play, at the same time! It uses binaural beats and isochronic tones that stimulate your mind, reduces stress and stimulates creativity.

The first time I used this app, I could feel the stress rise and then before a full-blown attack could happen, I put my headphones on and turned the sounds up that I know calm me down the most (rain, the wind, water running). I was a sceptic, like I said, but I went from the beginning stages of freaking out to, all of a sudden, waking myself up to my head “catching flies”.

This app really worked! If I can’t sleep at night, I often tune into this app and I can feel my mind & body instantly melt into mush, and a calm rush through me.

You must try this!

Atmospheres that you can select from are: Beach, Forest, City, Home, Underwater, Park, Countryside and Oriental and as I mentioned before, you can play ANY number of sounds from ANY atmosphere, at the same time.

NUMBER TWO:    Meditation & Relaxation: Guided Meditation

MEDITATION 

This app allows you to learn to meditate, relax and centre yourself, to focus easily, sleep better and to live an overall happy life. The thing to love about this app is how sleek and simple it is to use with a very appealing clean look about it.

This app is in my file called SOS, because other than the many Programs and Single Sessions it offers to you, it also has an emergency SOS Calm meditation that you can select when you are out and it will talk you through your process until you are stable again.

The Medication Programs that can be found on this app are:

-      7 Days to Meditation for Beginners

-      14 Day Advanced Meditation

-      7 Days to Stress Release

-      7 Days to Focus

-      7 Days to Better Sleep

-      7 Days to Self-esteem

-      7 Days to Happiness

And the ones I love the most, are the Single Sessions, which offer a bit more of a personal touch:

-      Sleeping Better

-      Concentration & Focus

-      Loving Yourself & Others

-      Forgiveness

-      Calm

-      Body Scans

Finally,

…someone once taught me the phrase: “You do you” and with that in mind, you need to know that not everything works for everyone. You need to find what works best for you and you need to start. Once you start to focus on what makes you healthier, stable and ready to live to fight, then no one and nothing can keep down for long!