any one have any exercises or techniques to help me?

[semperfi]

im afraid to do alot of things and i self medicate with alcohol. i was prescribed  zoloft and took it once and did not like it. i need help with exercises that could help me relax other then alcohol. im 17 and still afraid to go to school because of panic attacks and i would like to be a marine when i graduate this year. help would be awesome
thanks

[Cuchculan]

Alcohol is never the answer. The worst form of self medication available. You have to weigh up your options. You see exactly were you are at right now. You know exactly were you want to be at. But how to get there is your problem. If medication was the sollution would still not be willing to accept it as part of the answer? Because you can stay were you are at right now and watch life go by. That is the easy option. Or you can bite the bullet and tell yourself that you need medication and maybe some theraphy as well. The theraphy will give you the answers of how to cope when in deep waters. A good therapist will teach you new skills about how to deal with situations you would run from as a rule. Or drink your way out of as your case may be. Not all medication is bad. It can be a case of trial of error before the right sort of medication is found. I used to hate medication. But I knew I needed it. I also knew that it was only part of the answer. The hardest work had to come from me. We must face up to the things we fear the most of all. Never easy. Can be a slow process. But a lot of people use distraction as a method of getting by. I know others who use elastic bands. On their wrists. They feel anxious. Sling. May sound odd. But these are just some distraction methods. I use an MP3 player. Don't go anywhere without it. Keeps my mind focused. You have a lot you would love to be able to do in the future. I love to see you being able to do all of those things too. But for that to happen you must work on getting back out there. Be it slowly at first. Local library first maybe. Just to sit with others. Maybe set yourself a time limit. That would be your goal. To stay for 15 minutes to begin with. Get used to the feelings that hit you. It becomes a lot easier each time done. Then maybe you can widen that goal to 30 minutes. Just to show yourself that you can still do these things. You still have the skills. You have just forgotten how to use them. Any roads. Think about medication. Don't let one bad experience put you off. There are loads more forms of medication out there. Think about theraphy as well. Or maybe you have a councilor at school you can talk to? It will help a lot. It will put some shape into your life again.

[CoolCalmAndCollected]

I've found that when I am panicking, I am over-breathing and don't even realize it.  This sets up a vicious cycle of panicking more.

This will be difficult because your urge is to breathe hard, as if you are suffocating although of course you have to remind yourself that you have plenty of air - too much of it, if anything, so your exercise is to reduce your over-breathing as such:

Take a breath, as deep as you want to, and hold it.  Count slowly to a number that is comfortable like 8.  One-Mississippi, two-Mississippee, three-Mississippi, etc.

Then let it out and with your lungs empty, count again, like to 8 slowly as above.  You can adjust the number but of course don't make it too short like only counting quickly to three because then you defeat the purpose and you'll still be overbreathing.  Then inhale to start it over again.  Repeat this as many times as necessary. 

You'll be surprised how fast this works to calm you.  Give it a few minutes and you'll feel like you took a tranquilizer.  You'll even feel the relaxation wash over you like a wave.  The problem, as I understand it, is that when we are anxious we breathe as if climbing stairs or running a marathon, and all that excess oxygen leaves excess carbon dioxide in the blood.  The blood turns basic (I think) and then the body is triggered to think something is wrong, and more over-breathing happens and that's why it becomes a vicious cycle.

Break that cycle by forcing yourself to slow down - you really don't need as much air as you think you do - and the blood Ph will return to normal, helping your brain to return to normal, and your mood will return to normal, too.  You can do this exercise anywhere, like sitting in class, and no one will know you are doing it.

[MrBBB]

When people get panic attacks, they are shallow breathing with their stomachs. This can give you a dizzy and out of breath feeling, which only fuels the fire. You need to concentrate on slow, diaphramic breathing. You also need to change your thought patterns during this time, tell yourself it is just anxiety and you will not go insane or die from it..and it will pass, it always does. Let it run its course, trying to fight it doesn't work. Another trick I heard about is clenching your fists or tightening some other muscle. The body will have less energy to put towards the panic symptoms.