Anxiety
Nearly half of all people with Bipolar II Disorder experience anxiety at some point in their life, and if you have BPII, you are more likely than most to develop some sort of anxiety disorder. Anxiety is a future-focused emotion, often experienced when you are imagining a scary or threatening possible situation, unlike fear which is a present-focused emotion. As a result, anxiety tends to be less intense than fear, though it is more chronic and longer lasting. They both share the same unpleasant physical response known as fight-or-flight, which is the body’s natural alarm system. Symptoms include sweating, rapid heart beat, dizziness, muscle tension, dizziness, etc. Each symptom does serve a purpose, for example the rate and strength of your heart beat increases oxygen to your arms and legs so you can run away from dangerous situations. At the same time, it decreases blood flow to your brain. This response is automatic, as the body relies on the brain to tell it when you are experiencing a threat. The problem comes from not being able to differentiate between an actual threat and a perceived threat - anxiety causing distorted and incorrect perceptions still elicits a fight-or-flight response from the body when there isn’t a real danger.
There are a number of different anxiety disorders, including PTSD and OCD. I personally have been diagnosed with Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) and Social Anxiety Disorder (Social Phobia). Those of us with GAD experience chronic, persistent, and uncontrollable anxiety about day to day things and feel anxious most of the time/all their lives. Social phobia involves intense anxiety and self-consciousness in social situations, with a fear of being judged or scrutinized in and by the public.
There are also a few techniques for coping with and treating anxiety, these include avoiding avoidance (exposure therapy), practicing mindfulness (being present non-judgmentally, just like with a depressive episode), and abdominal breathing, which is what I want to focus on here:
Take either a seated or lying position somewhere where you will be comfortable and not disturbed. Put one hand on your abdomen with your thumb at your belly button, and the other on your chest.
Imagine that your abdomen is a balloon that you are slowly filling with air.
Breathe in slowly through your nose. Feel the cool air going through your nasal passages as you inhale.
Allow your abdomen to expand, rather than your chest. You should feel the hand on your abdomen being pushed away from your body as your abdomen rises. Let the air flow into your upper chest and down your spine - expanding your sides and lower ribs, filling your diaphragm, back, and lower back, and dropping all the way down into your pelvis. Allow the deep inhalation to push your belly out a little bit.
As you breathe in, count silently. See if you can continue to inhale deeply until the count of five, but do not strain yourself. If you can only make it to two, that is fine.
Slowly breathe out through your mouth. Let go of your breath in the reverse order that you brought it in. Drop your lower abs, then your belly. Let your ribs pull in, and finally, let your chest drop as you fully expend the air.
Breathe in through your nose and count silently.
Slowly breathe out through your mouth
Take five more of these breaths, allowing yourself to experience the feelings of relaxation that accompany this type of breathing.
If you can, practice this exercise at the same time in the same place on a daily basis - consistency helps when learning something new.
Something that I have worked on in the past with my previous therapist is called a Body Scan. It’s basically just mindfulness of the body - checking in with your body to see what you’re feeling and where. For teaching purposes, I’m just going to include what the book says. Find somewhere comfortable to sit or lie down, take several deep breaths, and close your eyes.
Start with your toes and notice any sensations that are there. Any tingles, pain, itchiness, etc? Then move to your feet. Keep in mind not to judge your experience and if your mind wanders, gently bring it back to your feet (or wherever you left off).
Slowly move up your legs, noticing any sensations in your lower legs, calves, knees, and then thighs. Are you noticing any tenderness, warmth, or perhaps nothing at all? Remember, no judgement.
Then focus your attention on your lower back, slowly moving up the middle then upper back. Take note of any sensations, like tension or pain.
Shift your attention to your upper arms, slowly working down through the elbows to the forearms, wrists, hands, and fingers, pausing on each one to notice any feelings.
Move your attention to the muscles in your lower abdomen - does it feel tight or relaxed? Work your way up toward your stomach and chest.
Turn your attention to your neck, working your way up to your chin, mouth, and the rest of your face - is it tight or relaxed? Are your eyes tightly closed or do they feel more loosely closed? Remember there is no judgement.
Now focus on your head - do you feel any pain or tension?
Finally, take several deep breaths and slowly open your eyes, returning to the present.
At first it might seem kinda silly, but you might be surprised what you find. As my therapist said, the idea is to keep practicing this when you don’t need it so that it becomes second nature when you do. I'm still working on that part... 👻
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