For years, my mother has spent hours (cumulatively, literally months of hours) pulling weeds. Once I bought her something to apply to the yard before sprouting season to get rid of the sticker and sticky burrs, a spray-on broadleaf herbicide and told her for the winter, we could strew rye grass seed over the yard -- the next spring that we would purchase the (more expensive) bermuda grass seed used commercially that does not keep growing til it's enough to mow and bale for hay.

She totally refused and sent my father back to the store to return what I had purchased, returning my money. 5 years later, 82 and a half, she is still pulling weeds - tho by now, even the bit of "real grass" she had is now gone - but then, she only focuses on the particular weeds she really dislikes. When I was there for some time, she would encourage me to come out and help her pull weeds - and I discovered it to be better than anything I knew of for curing anxiety.

I talked to her and discovered that she has always used it to deal with anxiety. Here you are, walking along, coninually searching, searching, searching for a paticular leaf, for that spiny burr that would prove a clump of healthy attractive-looking grass to actually be sticker burrs .... and your concentration on the task clutters the anxiety-provoking thoughts straight of your mind.

When you finally filled a wheelbarrow-full, you have a wonderful sense of really having accomplished something important ... your blood pressure is lower, your muscles devoid of stress-induced tightness and strain... The calm is something that lasts for some period of time. I have talked to psychiatrists about this and they grin and nod, one telling me he has done the same - pulling weeds.

Medical studies have shown that exercise, be it biking, racket ball, swimming laps or even something as simple as a brisk walk can effectively deal with anxiety.

Over 20 to 30 years ago, I discovered that if I took a generic Benedryl (an antihistamine), that it was had remarkable anxio-lytic properties for free-floating anxiety. In later years, I discovered that some prescribed "tranquiizers" are actually nothing more than anti-histamines with fancy names. To this day, I have never used a sleeping pill. If it is bedtime and I can't get my mind to stop ruminating, a benedryl and a melatonin tablet are all I ever need. (Well, a mattress topper and better pillows have added a nice added bit!)
If you are short on funds (like ME), then see if you can find some of those "egg crate" hospital types - very CHEAP and if you nestle the two crate sides together, it is like sleeping on a cloud. AND it does not sink you into a body-shaped hole that can be difficult to roll out of! I have had mine for many years and they are loosing their "ooomph", so I am currently looking for replacements.

When it comes to an oiled body massage, if someone else is not giving me that massage, it will NOT have the desired effect. In my experience, SKIN HUNGER is satisfied by by having another person doing the touching. Plus, I prefer purchasing a bottle of light purely "organic oils" from a variety of nuts and seeds, versus a blend of cooking oils or using a "mineral oil' like baby oil. These blend of organic oils (I keep them refrigerated after opening) do not leave a greasy film, no oily feel on the skin, but are absorbed. No stained oily towels or bedsheets, for instance. Just read over the ingredients - no mineral oil, no glycerin - and no added scents.

When my mother would overwork and have her post-mastectomy arm swell to absurd proportions, I would use the oil to do an upwards squeezing massage of each finger, over and over, then when they were of normal sized, up to the hand, then when that was normal, up to the wrist - and so on, up to the armpit. This would be repeated for several days until the arm's lymphatic system had recovered enough to handle the drainage.
..... Well, that was a bit more than you needed or wanted to know, I guess - just wanted to point out that she NEVER had wash or even wipe off any excess - she just put her shirt back on and got back to working.

I have a collection of CDs with harp music, calming classical pieces, and soothing nature sounds in various surroundings. Unfortunately, most have irritating (to me) musicical accompaniment. The burbling brooks I have sat beside have had no music to mask the calm of nature. But I do have a thunderstorm tape I can set up to repeat endlessly all night and it helps me tremendously to sleep solidly and wake stress-free.

Many people enjoy buying a bubble bath scent they find relaxing, lighting scented candles, turning on some soothing relaxing music, then easing into the bath in a darkened room for a long soak. For those of us who have problems "being good to ourselves", it is a big first step towards learning that YOU count too - as much as those who you spend your life caring for. If you have no alcohol problem, a soothing glass of wine or a cordial glass with a bit of a luxurious liquour can help intensify the relaxation.

I also strongly recommend studying your diet objectively, studying the vitamins most rapidly depleted during stress and anxiety, and work, with specific dietary vitamin and mineral supplements, and Omega-3 oils. Stress and Anxiety are ROUGH on the body, putting extra nutrient demands on the body, spurring the development of the stress-related Auto-Immune diseases. If your doctor (or his bossy nurse) says that no one in America needs supplements or that Omega-6 and CoQ10 can't help your heart disease, FIND ANOTHER DOCTOR as extensive large medical research studies have found otherwise. It is a still widely doctor-led fiction that the vast majority of Americans eat a balanced diet. Pure fiction.

Those over 40 begin to absorb lesser amounts of certain vitimins thru the gut, and it is important to take this into account, too. But don't just walk into a supplement business and ask the clerk for advice, for they may have little or no true education beyond getting people to buy meds. The same supplements are available at WalMart for a tiny fraction of the price. And for advice, I would refer you to this forum here - Vitamins, Nutrients, Herbs and Supplements, and to MrsD in particular. She has a professional degree in the medical arts and decades of study in the field of vitamins, minerals, herbs and supplements of other kinds. She will not lead you wrong.

I credit her with at least half of my success in handly my post-heart attack right-sided congestive heart failure. True, I will probably never be able to dump my meds, but I never would have improved so much given that I still need to lose another 60-70 pounds and start an brisk walking exercise program that will help strenthen the undamaged part of the heart muscle I still have. I I dumped my Cardiologist after 2 months and worked instead wtih my Family Practitioner - a man who believed in nutrional supplements to treat illnesses. He was also the one who told me, "I want you to get weight loss surgery", not suggested, not recommended - just a straight-out directive.

If your stress-induced anxiety has created over-eating or under-eating, contact your doctor for advice. Obesity leads to so many debilitating diseases that can make work impossible and shorten your life, so if your BMI is significantly elevated, consider a lap-band procedure. Medicare decided two years ago that the procedure is safe and is important in enhancing health (and reducing medical costs). Losing excess weight can enhance self-esteem enough to ease or eliminate anxiety as it opens up so many opportunities. For instance, overweight persons are less likely to be hired and less likely to be given promotions and raises.

If you are unemployed or underemployed, living your days with anxity, then consider volunteer work. Anything from reshelving books at the library to visiting lonely nursing home patients. Nothing like helping someone else to take your mind off your own anxiety-provoking

And to finish this long rambling "all over the map" ideas of fighting anxiety, let me reinforce that you MUST learn to love yourself and to take the time and trouble to treat yourself well. Not just finding a friend to swap massages with, not just setting up weekly special bubble baths, but also take the time, even if you are alone, to set a place at your kitchen or dining table. Don't just shove the pile of clutter to one side - find a box for it or another place in the house to deal with it. Use your BEST dinnerware and glassware. While it's okay to load your plate up in the kitchen, eat with a placemat or tablecloth, even a nice napkin. Try to have that TV off -put on some music, look out a window on a pleasant scene. And NEVER eat our meals standing at the kitchen counter or out of your lap in front of the TV. Focus on your food and the dining experience. Treat yourself like you would treat a valued guest, for you are a valuable human being.

Love and best wishes to all, for we all have the same battles to fight...
Teri
OneMoreTime