Anxiety 'control', is there such a short term mental trick?

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I have anxiety problems and generally it's just feeling tense etc, I dont get panic attacks but I get to a stage where if I try to do something (say a physical action) it will all fall apart.

The reason for this thread is to ask if anyone knows of any methods to ignore/delete/supress these over anxious moments for a short period, say 5-20 seconds?

These only come about when I practice/play golf. I get to a point where I'm not comfortable standing over the ball, I'm very tense and I stand there rearranging my grip while moving the club about (think of stimming) in hope I will get to a point where I feel comfortable enough to swing. This does happen, but I am not in a position (mental) where I can make a 'proper' swing. ie. It comes out like I've never swung a club before.

Do such methods exist, or do I have to go back to medication, which I'd prefer not to.

Get a dog and walk it every day, once during the morning and once after work/school.
It helps.
(And no, I'm not saying get a dog solely for that reason)

I've had years of CBT to help with my anxiety (my AS magnifies the severity of such too): it didn't work.

Distraction has been the best for me--it is the best for me. Playing a computer game, swinging knives around, stalking animals [with a camera], and whatnot lower my anxiety threshold (I've been in constant states of panic for weeks on end, not fun at all).

I take a Diazepam/Valium now and again when I'm particularly bad, or I'm overwhelmed via sensory stimuli from people/the environment. It helps to make me more comfortable, and also takes the edge off the bad times.

Personally, doing stuff and distracting your mind is probably the best thing; you'll notice that it won't be as loud. Anxiety will always be there if you suffer from it (long term regular use of sedatives are out of the question), but you can adapt, and ultimately endure the pain.

I'm on a SSRI, they say it lowers the anxiety threshold; it seems to have cut down on my panic attacks anyway (I kinda stopped caring about them for I was getting them so frequently, so I don't know if the medication helps completely or not--they say it does).

What are SSRIs? Are those drugs related to like Prozac, or I'm probably not remembering what they are at all. I just remember the name.

I'm disappointed to hear that CBT didn't help. I've sort of hoped it might help me with my AS and OCD symptoms, although I have to actually get to the point where someone will believe me about them before I can get treatment.

I have found that learning to notice when my anxiety is beginning to build up and doing some relaxing then works much, much better than if I try relaxing after the anxiety is at a high level already.

I like to take a short, slower paced walk around the building coupled with deep breathing is a good calmer when I catch the anxiety starting to build. It barely seems to have any effect if it already got to a high point.
When at a high anxiety point I find a short vigorous thing like running a short lap sometimes help if I use the deep breathing as my pulse returns down to normal.

All these take more than your 20 seconds, but I think with practice at learning how to calm yourself down and using meditative practices too, you might be able to work up to a 15 second meditation. All that is guessing as I am just beginning to work with meditation myself.

CBT can help with OCD [and specific phobias]; it helped me, but it still did nothing to alleviate anxiety from other causes, i.e., I don't compulsively wash my hands a billion and one times a day for I feel they're contaminated; whilst logically, I knew I was being silly, I still needed another to explain my own logic to me to break the cycle (when one is anxious, one's helpful voice is dampened).

It won't alleviate anxiety that's just there, whether from AS or whatnot.

And a member mentioned, if you can notice when your anxiety is building up, and then implement relaxation techniques (they do nothing for me--distraction is mine); it can stop the anxiety from building to high levels. People with AS actually have trouble in noticing when their emotions "move", I'm kinda working on this now with a psycho (helping me recognize my levels of anxiety; it was all or nothing for me, it still is to some extent).

As another member said, CBT won't do a damn thing for certain aspects of autism (there's nothing you can do for a brain that cannot think any differently).

O, the SSRI I am on is Zoloft. It was prescribed for my OCD; I don't know if it helps or not, but I do know it helps my AS--it allows me to focus on things other than my special interest. I believe there are studies done on this, and it appears to do such to me (there's no way I could post here if it wasn't for the Zoloft).

Thanks for the info Danielismyname!

You may try a deep breathing exercise. Some scientists think that panic/anxiety is rooted in the suffocation alarm in the brain.

It's easy to do, break in through your nose, all the way, all the way, till your ribs stick out. Hold till the count of 2 or 3. Then exhale somewhat slowly thru your mouth (not nose - for some reason, that is important so you don't hyperventilate.)

You can repeat this a few times, or breath normally for a little while and do another deep breath, etc ... what i'm saying is experiment with it.

The nice thing about breathing exercises is they are quick, and invisible to others.

Also, visualization can help. This can leverage the Aspie Visual Superpower. For some it's a calm scene, like a lake. For others, they find it's better to picture the transition from anxious to calm, like a great tower of flame collapsing into a field of ice.

You can combine the two, so that - for example - when you exhale you picture the tower of flame collapsing.

The brain has an enormous capacity to regulate itself; especially with a little experimention and practice.

As a long time sufferer of anxiety and panic I have become somewhat of an expert on the subject.

You mentioned that this only happens to you when you are playing golf and are unable to stand over the ball to swing(pardon me if this is incorrect- I just woke up).

Bending forward(even slightly) compromises the diaphragm's ability to work properly. It gets "squished", if you will. This will cause you to take very shallow, short breaths. The resulting effect of such breathing is hyperventilation.

Additionally, people sometimes forget to breathe altogether when they are concentrating on something(like a golf swing). As your body reminds you to start breathing again you will most likely do so with very rapid breaths. This will increase your chances of hyperventilation.

Hyperventilation (or pre-hyperventilation) is one of the main causes of unexplained anxiety and panic.

May I also recommend the above-mentioned breathing techniques? Be aware that when you're breathing correctly your shoulders should not move up and down(that means you're doing it wrong). Instead, you will notice that your stomach sticks out on the inhale and back to normal on the exhale.
I had to train myself to breath properly which meant always being aware of it. It stuck.

Good luck



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