Struggling with Anxiety: Seeking Control and Autonomy

i’ve been trying to use different grounding techniques when i don’t feel in control of anxiety/disassociation. i like to sit, breathe, and imagine roots are growing from my spine into the earth keeping me grounded, and connected to myself and the earth. showering and focusing on the water hitting your head while plugging your ears helps me if i rly need a second. body movement that feels right for you can also help u break out of a “freeze” or funk. if there’s certain objects, scents, foods, etc. that are inherently comforting to you, make urself a little care box for when u need to feel comforted.

Highly recommend using Finch. If nothing else, using it for the first aid kit (grounding exercises) had kept me from having flashbacks more than once.

In the same boat as you. I take it day by day, and I do little rituals and responsibilities to stay afloat when things are tough. giving yourself affirmations even if you don’t believe it, doing it every day is a game changer. don’t isolate and reach out to us or a support system!

these last few months in therapy I've been learning that relief from my anxiety may lie in actually relinquishing control of the uncontrollable, and accepting the uncertain nature of life as a human being... i know it may sound backwards, but I've been realizing how burdensome carrying false responsibility for things and experiences that were and are out of my control is, and how much of my fear of a lack of control is rooted in the notion that if I'm not in control of the problem theres no way to fix it, and because i learned through trauma at a very young that if i recognized and vocalized how other people's behaviour negatively affects me, i would lose their love or be rejected or punished... I've had to learn that i dont need to ve in control of everything, and that everything isn't meant for me to "fix", and that it is possible to be truly loved, accepted, and wanted as i am, and i am allowed to have boundaries and wants and needs. anxiety has kept me from connecting to people out of fear of experiencing the same conditional love i grew up with, the kind of "love" that never allowed me to be truly authentic; that hurt me deeply; that tried so hard to control me; that shamed and abused me. unlearning that control is integral to my healing.

Medication and therapy have been the best for me, but obviously those aren't in your cards right now. Box breathing can be helpful, most breathing techniques in general can really help with anxiety. I hope you find something!