regine;

Buildings Ornamentations (No. 62)

Ocean Plaza, Miami Beach

McAlpin, Miami Beach (two pics)

Crescent Hotel, Miami Beach (two pics)

Winter Haven, Miami Beach

former Van Ness Hotel, Miami Beach

Nomanhole Comic

Everything's peachy~

A little doodle to de-stress. Wrong season, but Supie gave me the word "peaches" so...😅

Deadlines are killing me ever so slowly, yey uni!

today is world mental health day, so i thought i would share the method i use to kick panic attacks in the butt!! i spent a year and a half in therapy working w/ a really great trauma therapist and he taught me the stuff i’m going to share today :> shoutout to my therapist u rock!!!!!

PRE-ATTACK / GENERAL STUFF:

remember that a panic attack cannot physically hurt you - i always found this information super patronising while i was having an attack. y’know, because it literally feels like you’re going to die. but it’s true and if you remind yourself of that enough times while you’re not panicking, eventually it’ll sink in and you should find panic easier to cope with.

remember that your body only has enough panic juice for an attack to last 20/30 mins max - this will pass. it cannot physically hurt you and you’ll come out the other side. hang in there.

have some mantras - i find it helpful when i feel panic coming on (or in any stressful situation) to have some reassuring mantras i can repeat to myself. personally i find that my mantras only help if i’m the person saying them (if someone else says it i find them really patronising? idk): ‘you’re okay’ ‘you’ve got this’ ‘you’ve survived worse before’ ‘this can’t hurt you’

have a panic attack buddy - let the people you love and trust know that you get panic attacks and that they suck, and tell them what they can do to help when you’re having one. that way they know in advance how they can help and you don’t have to navigate telling them what to do while struggling to get your breath under control. you can also let them know that you have a method you use, so they know what’s going on / can keep you on track.

OKAY, SO WHAT’S THE METHOD?

the method is based on this premise:

there is basically a tiny caveperson in your brain trying to protect you (bless) by kicking you into instinct mode and making you panic because they think that whatever you’re panicking over is a cave bear who wants to kill you. there is no cave bear. that thing you’re panicking over almost definitely isn’t going to kill you. you don’t need to be in instinct mode. to get out of instinct mode, you need to re-engage rational, intellectual mode.

(instinct is super useful if a cave bear really did burst in through your window but, like… most of the time panic attacks are in response to things which aren’t life treatening. that’s not useful and your rational brain knows it. that’s horrific. kick that ish in the butt!!!)

BUT THE MOST IMPORTANT PART IS THAT YOU MUST!!!!! PRACTISE THE STEPS WHEN YOU AREN’T FEELING ANXIOUS/PANICKY SO THAT IT’S SECOND NATURE TO YOU WHEN A REAL ATTACK SETS IN! honestly it will feel really silly at first but if you practise when you’re not panicking it makes things waaaaaaaay easier during the real thing. it’s like a fire drill but for your brain.

HERE ARE THE STEPS:

STEP 1: GROUND

method a:

if you are somewhere overwhelming, move yourself somewhere quieter

sit down with your hands on your knees

push your feet down into the ground, your butt into the chair, your hands into your knees

concentrate on that feeling for a couple minutes

method b:

if you are somewhere where you cannot stop to ground, practice mindful walking (this is useful in that just moving probably tricks your brain into thinking you’re fleeing from the danger when really you’re just, like, busy in town)

focus all of your attention on to the sensation of how your foot touches the ground as you walk: heel, arch, ball, toes; heel, arch, ball, toes… etc

you may want to verbalise that motion aloud or in your head

if you have a panic attack buddy with you, they can walk with you or be on the lookout for somewhere to stop and ground with the first method

method c:

i tend not to use these unless i am at home and i’m catching a panic attack before it really sets in, or if i’m not really panicking but more just dissociating. anyway: engage the senses

drink something strongly flavoured / fizzy (no alcohol or caffiene tho)

good old water to the face (either splashing at the sink or standing in the rain for a sec)

smell something really strongly scented (lavender for me is a good shout since i associate positive memories w/ it, coffee is also good)

squeeze/tear up tissues / playdough / putty

pop rocks.

if you’re having a flashback, i find it helpful to talk yourself back down from dissociating by reciting the date, your location, and the fact you are safe over and over again

e.g. ‘it’s the 10th of october 2019, i’m at home in [town],[country], and i am safe’ - repeat ad nauseam

STEP 2: BREATHE

breathe in through your nose for 4 seconds

hold your breath for 3 seconds (allows oxygen to travel)

breathe out through your mouth for 4 seconds

if you have a panic attack buddy with you, they can count 4-pause3-4 to help you gradually get in sync with their counting

do this for a couple minutes or until your breath has slowed to a better pace

STEP 3: SALIVA

yeah you did read that correctly

the point is that everyone gets a dry mouth from anxiety/panic and if you can get that saliva back or stop it from disappearing in the first place it kind of sends a signal to your brain of like ‘hey, no. no. we’re not doing this now. there is no cave bear with a machete.’

you cannot use gum or mints to do this. this is why practising when you’re not panicked is important!!

at the front of your mouth under your tongue is a lil well where you can make a pool of saliva. if you wiggle your tongue about enough it should start to collect there and your mouth will return to optimum wetness.

do this until you’ve got enough saliva to set up an etsy store selling your own spit

STEP 4: I.Q.

by this point your breathing should be under control. you will likely still feel anxious but that’s okay. time to engage your i.q. here are a few ways to do it!

1) mobile games: tetris, sudoku, wordscapes, two dots are all good examples. anything which is basically a puzzle or problem solving is fine.

2) play i spy: go through the alphabet and identify one thing in your surroundings beginning w/ each letter. you can also play this with your panic attack buddy.

3) carry around a rubix cube if you feel like it

4) the alphabet game (my go-to): pick a theme. then name something for that theme for each letter of the alphabet.

e.g. if the theme was food, you’d say “a is for apple” “b is for bread” “c is for corn” “d is for date” etc etc <you gotta say the full sentence because it’s just more… hypnotic that way???

you can play this game with your panic attack buddy

if one person can’t think of something for a letter but the other person can, that person can answer instead

if nobody can think of something, you have permission to whip out the google

do this for a couple minutes or until you feel noticably calmer

CONGRATULATIONS YOU JUST KICKED A PANIC ATTACK IN THE BUTT!! the more often you use this method and the more you practise it while feeling calm, the less time it will take for you to kick a panic attack in the butt. after doing it for almost two years it used to take me the entire length of the attack, but now i can usually do it in five minutes or so? once you get a hang of it you’ll be able to do some of the steps concurrently, too - like grounding and breathing at the same time.

AFTERCARE:

eat and drink something: panic attacks can be draining. do yourself a favour and have a drink of water and get something to eat. you don’t need to eat a whole meal if you don’t feel like you need it. a couple of crackers is fine. do not drink caffeine or alcohol.

do something nice for yourself: take a bath, wear some comfy clothes, do a face mask, play some nice music, etc

if you wanna watch something, pick something satisfying but not overly-stimulating: i like those satisfying video compilations of, like, soap cutting… or live kitten cams / baby animal videos on youtube. something you can watch that isn’t going to mess with your emotions too much and that you could zone out / fall asleep to.

go to bed at a decent time: sleep is really important for your mental health. it’s the time of the day when our brains process the events of the day and file everything away as memories / past events. get some sleep.

offload any overwhelming house tasks / errands to someone else: after an attack you can feel pretty rough, so see if you have any loved ones / friends who can help you tackle that pile of laundry / go grocery shopping with you (or even just do it on your behalf). you aren’t burdening them by asking for help when you need it.

talk to your panic attack buddy / trusted loved one about what happened: you don’t need to do this straight away, and depending on the attack you may need some time to process and decompress. i know that sometimes i have panic attacks and i don’t realise for a couple days what it was that made me panic. either way, talk to someone who was there / who you trust about what happened. discuss what the trigger was (or what it could have been; talking to someone about the events leading up to it can help you clarify what the trigger probably was) and how you can find ways together to cope with that trigger in a healthy way.

okay, that’s it!! if you’d like any more tips (about anxiety, depression, trauma, phobia, etc) or have any questions please let me know! :> take care of yourselves, friends!

Here’s my personal guide how to fight stress and anxiety:

1. Reality check 

Does your stress and anxiety have a real reason? 

Interview yourself and talk to yourself as you would to a child. “Why are you scared?” “Can this problem be solved?” 

This might not make the anxiety go away but it will help you be more aware how bad it actually is.

2. Make a battle plan

If you can do anything about the thing stressing you out, make a plan on dealing with it

If you are just generally stressed out, plan out your day

Divide big intimidating tasks into small ones, that easier to deal with

3. Get yourself busy

Work on solving the problem that’s stressing you out and remember -the hardest part is to start, then it just gets easier

If you can’t solve whatever is making you anxious, make yourself busy and take your mind off the problem

Extra tips:

🌺 Take meaningful breaks

Find out what helps you relax

Rest by doing something instead of sitting around stressed

🌺 Let it out

Talk to someone if you’re comfortable with that

Cry it out or even punch something

🌺 Don’t beat yourself up about feeling anxious

🌺 Get rid of physical tension

Take a bath

Stretch

Work out

Get a massage

Go for a walk

so ive been struggling with both depression and anxiety for a while now, but both have went undiagnosed until a couple weeks ago

as of last year, the depression side of it has started to show more,,, usually the anxiety part was the strongest, but things have changed ! so now i will give u guys some tips that ive learned for coping with it, specifically for school

youre going to feel like quitting and it’s okay

lately, it’s been very hard for me to study. usually the anxiety is like omg !!! u have to !!! or else youll fail ur entire life !! and then depression is like “lol”

tbh it’s okay to give yourself a break from it. i find myself taking more breaks than usual, and theyre much longer now, but it helps. sure it takes me a little longer to get it done, but at least im giving my mental state well deserved breaks.

also, if you feel like you really just cant do it, and youre mentally exhausted, then stop. when youre in that state, it’s harder to take stuff in and it’s harder to retain information. it’s okay to push yourself a little past your limits, but dont break yourself.

exercise is your best friend

okay listen. it works.

at first, it was INSANELY HARD for me to work out, it felt like i was a giant cinder block that could not get anything done.

but i paced myself. that’s the most important thing to do. just do maybe a 15 minute walk on the treadmill, or if youre not comfortable with the gym, just walk around your house. do something that gets you out of bed and eventually youll crave more. because working out starts to make you feel good.

because of all this feelin good youll start to study better. taking in and retaining information becomes easier. it jus takes time and patience. i know it’s hard, and i know it’s easier to not exercise, but it’s worth it. i pinkie promise.

watch what you eat

this one is probably the hardest one for me to follow. ive been craving more “comfort foods” like pasta, fast food, and chocolate with soda.

chocolate and soda sound so good, don’t they? but it wont help you STUDY.

nuhnuhnuh, if you consume those kinds of things a lot in a day or in a week, it isnt gonna help your mindset which will lead to a horrible study session (and a worse lifestyle but we’re talking school here). fruits and vegetables are your real brain food, you need brain food, consume a nice big salad. give ur body some water please omg give it a bottle of water.

make your notes look cute!

i know this sounds a little ridiculous ok. but it helped me, so i thought id share it.

i had to do this BIG presentation on tapeworms like 15-20 minutes with a whole 3-4 page disease report on it. all due in the same week. my mind said: fuck that.

you know what though? the hardest part is starting. so the first thing i did was get a sheet of graph paper and looked up some fake calligraphy guides and made a cute, but disgusting title that said “Tapeworms.” and as i researched more, i kept adding little boxes and highlighting in different colors that still matched the theme, and i wrote all the research on that piece of paper.

it was glorious. and hey, i had everything i needed to do a presentation, and to write my report. it took me 2 hours to write the report and about an hour to do the presentation. idk why all those colors worked, but it did. now i do all of my notes like that because it helps me to get stuff done when things are appealing to look at.

basically, you know what im getting at

if you choose a healthier lifestyle, it will help you in school. notice how most of those tips were changing some of the bad habits that come with depression. it’s hard to do, but im in the process of doing it, and it’s helping a lot. self-discipline is a treasure, and you need it to survive this. and you can find it, it just takes time. you can do it. i know you can.

some other odd tips

sleep with a stuffed animal at night,,, it’s a comfort

get those papermate gel pens, or the bic pens and use crayola supertips as highlighters !!!

find a new book to read, it’ll keep your mind fresh

or do some puzzles! keep your brain working with sudoku or jigsaw puzzles

start somewhere. even if it’s typing 2 sentences within an hour, you have started something so good job!

make a list of things you need to do, but mark the top 3 tasks that Need to be Done by Today

Washing your face/not sleeping with make up on

Using a planner

Drinking more water

Making your bed

Taking your vitamins/medication

Going on walks

Reading something every day, even if it’s just an article online

Paying someone a compliment

Checking to make sure you aren’t holding tension in your body

Breathing exercises

Putting everything in its proper place before you go to work/school for the day or before you go to bed

La La Land (2016) dir. Damien Chazelle