I had a suggestion from a fellow blogger, Psych Dog Partner over on A Dog With A Very Important Job. They suggested that I write down the causes and feelings I go through when I get an anxiety attack. I started last week doing this. I opened a new journal, starting fresh and wrote down a snapshot of my life right now, this instant. From there, I wrote down throughout the day anything that made me anxious. It helped me to identify what my main sources were. It also helped me to see what the symptoms are. I know the things I'm supposed to do, but it's hard to remember when you're feeling overwhelmed.
I'm hoping that by writing these things down and getting them out of my head, I will be able to function better. I'll be more aware, and more able to deal with things when they pop up. Especially if it's the same things affecting me all the time. Identify a pattern and you should be able to come up with something to deal with that pattern. I'm also hoping this will make my next counseling session a little more directed. I'll be able to tell my counseler what's happened, why, and what I did about it. It not only helps me, but helps her to aid me and give me advice and things to work on.
I'm glad that my suggestion is working for you. The advantage that I found with doing this is that I was able to notice that something was coming earlier and earlier. While you may not be able to avoid it, you can at least brace for it. The only one with anxiety to watch for is don't end up avoiding a place just because you've had a few attacks there. Eg. Don't avoid Wal-mart because you've panicked there. We can't live our lives in fear.
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