Good Day!

Hi!
I am so happy to report that today has been an awesome day anxiety wise! I had another doctor's appointment again today and she helped me come up with more coping skills. We decided that I should exercise to head off my anxiety when I am at about a 2 on the anxiety ladder, just because of how unstable I have been. When possible, I am going to sprint to the corner of my street and time myself. Not only will the cardio work help, but my doctor and I can see how my times vary as I get higher up on they anxiety scale. When I can't run outside, I will jump rope in my basement instead. This will also get my heart rate up and my panic level down. Also, I have been known to have trouble with deep breathing when I am anxious, so my doctor also recommended that I try to blow up balloons when I'm anxious since that will force me to do deep breathing. I am excited to try these coping skills, but I am thankful that I haven't had to today. I was able to go to the store with my mom, and while I got a little anxious, about a 2-3, I was able to distract myself and get it down quickly. I even asked my mom to stay at the store a little longer so I could learn to cope in a different setting other than my house and my doctor's office, my "safe places". I ate quite well today and I feel so full since I haven't been eating, even though I didn't eat too much. Baby steps. I am winding down and congratulating myself for coping well today and not having a real panic attack! My mom says that even in these past few days, I have been managing my anxiety better. I am still taking the NAC supplement and we should be ready to start twice a day this weekend! I have an appointment with a new psychiatrist on Wednesday and I believe that I will be getting new meds to take some of the weight off of my shoulders while I learn to cope on my own. I have a goal of being medication free one day and this is another step to get there! I feel awesome and I hope that this continues into tomorrow! Thanks for reading!