What keeps you calm

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I know there are 2 things that really keep me from melting down and those are video games ( but if it is a hard game that adds to the problems) and being with dogs. Not small dogs but big dogs you can hug on. Like a husky or a Labrador. I used to have a dog but she bit my mom making her have to get stitches and since then we haven't had one. Or neighbors in our apartment have one named Burt and when ever I here them getting ready to take him for a walk I sit by the door and make it seem as I caught them and say hi to there dog. Our landlord said we can't have a dog because he wants the place kept nice. That is why we are thinking about getting a helper dog. We have singed up but it says it could take a long time. I wish I had a dog with me now. Does anyone else feel different around a dog. Like everything in the world is fine. I remember my dog Shadow when ever I would start to lose it she would come over and lick me. For the time I had her I was just a lot happier.

I usually roll on the floor while making tractor noises, clap my hands, walk on all fours while screaming "beep beep I'm a tractor vroom vroom", repeat random phrases, etc. It keeps me calm for the next hour.

Water, cuddling with my dog or boyfriend, being packed in under blankets/pillow/etc.

Dogs or playing an instrument

I wear a compresion shirt and a pair of compresion shorts all the time. I rock alot, play with fidgrt toys, clap, wrape mysrlf in a blanket, wear my vest with weights in the pockets, wear ear plugs or headphones, listen to music, wear a pair of my colered sun glasses, sit in the shower and let the water run over me till it gets cold, go for a drive in my car if I have the gas, repeat random phrases, scream if i'm alone. I know I do more but thats all I can think of for now.

Listening to the radio.

Music with a fast beat (like dance music) keeps me calm as I lose myself in it. Writing my thoughts down in a journal or as poems helps because it gets things out of my system and helps me make sense of things better. And cuddling my beautiful little rabbit and hearing him purr (rabbits do tooth purrs!) is a great stress reliever.

But not dogs... I'm scared of dogs. If I see a dog on the street when walking down the road I totally freak out. I hate the way they run up to me and their barking is just too much for me to take in.

Cats (especially my kitty)
Dogs
Water (in a variety of ways)
Being held by my boyfriend
Other deep pressure (which is solidly different than being held to me)
Stimming/active fidgeting

I pretty much never get stressed, but I can tell you that I have never gotten on all fours and rolled around. Though that does sound like fun... (Devious smile) Hehehe.

A dark room, cool and calm, with the music of my choice playfully seducing the kaleidoscope of images dancing within my mind's eye.

TheSunAlsoRises

Hot showers, music, being under lots of blankets, my stuffed cow, rocking. That's all I can think of right now lol.

Caffeine helps me calm down. Not really a healthy thing to do, but under stress, energy drink and coffee usage shoots through the roof with me. It helps quite a bit, it helps me process everything faster. Maybe I should eventually go for a Adderall/Ritalin prescription one of these days, but yeah.

I've had cats all my life, I like kitties, but they can be a bit much sometimes. My Maine Coon has been my favorite cat thus far, me and her get along the best, and she knows her name and is callable and stuff, it's a pretty doglike cat. Some can be trained to play fetch and stuff too, but overall, my favorite cats. The cuddliness of a cat, with many of the advantages of a dog, but no drawbacks of a dog. The breed comes from the Norwegian Forest Cat, which was domesticated and around humans a lot, especially on ships and whatnot, so they're pretty adept to humans.

One way I calm down, it costs money, but driving. I'll get into the car and just drive on backroads to pretty much nowhere if I'm really really stressed. My most recent long ride was about 35 miles each way, just on a backroad to some small towns here. Very few other cars to deal with once you get on those backroads, it's just you and the road, it's pretty wonderful, but again, money. It'd be much cheaper if I had a motorcycle running, as I'd use like 1/3 the gas a car would use for doing the same thing, and it'd be easier to stop on the side of the road, too. But yeah, that's almost always a "cure" when I'm stressed, to just go on a ride to nowhere, just on a nice dark backroad somewhere, somewhere out of the suburbs and city, a nice small town like it is in Maine or Vermont or something.

Dogs.
Cats, especially my cat Lyra.
Music.
Staring at decorated ceilings, the more geometric the better.
Picking up small objects and running my fingers over their texture and taking in all the detail with my eye.
Avocado sandwiches.
Kinder Surprises.
Happy memory flash backs.
Reading.
Writing.
Deduction.
Watching sci-fi.
Exercise. Weight lifting.
Praying.
Deep slow breathing, obviously for panic attacks.
And of course stimming, in the form of hand movements, moving around or making sounds...of aeroplanes.

When all else fails...stimulants.

I love how you go on about Maine Coons. I do the same thing. They are lovely. My Lyra is especially cuddly and affectionate. She is getting used to her new home though and is now exploring but I can always hear her voice. Sometimes she gets stuck on the roof and need me to guide her down. I don't think that would work with any other breed of cat. She listens to me and loves to be around me.
There's another cat here that fights with her and she always looks at me because she's unsure what to do. I usually pick her up and take her away from the cat. She's seriously the friendliest cat to the other pets especially the dog (they are buddies) but when threatened she can hold her own ground.
Did I tell you she once got so jealous I was patting another cat she jumped from a 10 ft balcony just to get to me. She shook off her injuries and just mewed at me. She's now called the Super Cat.

Last edited by pensieve on 19 Feb 2012, 8:52 pm, edited 2 times in total.

Since I often have moments of anxiety, I have to find calms. One thing I can do is find a far corner of my house away from the rest of the family and absorb into my interests. I can also play games online like Flipwords or Solitaire. I can also write on my stories. If things get too anxiety ridden and I cannot find calm in the house, I can go to my Airstream camper and chill out.

My maine coon is somewhat possessive, too. My Maine Coon I swear has like, cat Aspergers or something. She gets along pretty well with humans who aren't complete idiots, but not with other cats. She's not "mean" toward other cats, though. Like we got a new cat now who is mean to other cats, will start fights, all that stuff, my Maine Coon, when we first got her, she just hid everywhere, and it was me who got her to stop hiding and she really got attached to me. But, in relation with the other cats, if other cats would get within about 5 feet of her, she'd fight them. But, she wouldn't go after other cats, she just wanted them away from her. All the other cats would hang out in my mom's room most of the time, and she'd be near the kitchen at the other side of the apartment. She just needs her space and alone time and stuff. But, very very nice to people, especially me. Lately it's been sorta hard as she's been getting on my computer desk, but I've taught her over time to avoid the keyboard area.

My favourite music
Tea
Falling Rain
Sleeping with my Teddy Bear
I feel calm for hours after a 30 minute bath
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