
Ask HN: How did you hack anxiety? - astrowilliam
Some of us have crippling anxiety and since we are all hackers in some form or another I find it would be helpful to hear from others out there that have dealt with it. I&#x27;ve had anxiety starting at around age 20 and have found numerous ways to deal with it, depending on the circumstance. I wouldn&#x27;t say mine was crippling so I&#x27;d like to hear from others that have had to deal that circumstance. Maybe we can help a few people move in the right direction.
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SCAQTony
I have three ways: I pull out a piece of paper and do simple 4th grade math
problems over and over till I am completely bored. By the time I am done, I
don't even care what I was anxious about. The "angular gyrus" portion of the
brain (look it up) is used for number processing and also helps us maintain
attention. Anxiety for me is worrying about the future or my mulling over
severe regrets about the past. The math puts into the "NOW" section of the
timeline.

Two: Mindful meditation 2-to-3 times a week. this gives the ability to direct
my thoughts better. UCLA page has guided meditations on MP3s that are amazing
for stress reduction.

Three, I stay active: I am in a masters swimming program (2-to-3 times a week)
and I take hour long walks.

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emiranda
I'm also doing a masters swimming program (3 times a week). It definitely
helps, I've never taken proper swimming lessons so it's a nice activity to
focus on and improve.

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ThrustVectoring
Anxiety is a symptom, not a root problem. The root problem is uncertainty
about the things that are important to you. What are you uncertain about? If
you suddenly knew it, would you still feel anxious? If not, what else are you
worrying about?

Now that you've got a list, try figuring out how you'd learn about those
things, and what you'd do differently if you knew. If you wouldn't do anything
differently, try being okay with not knowing. If it's straightforward to find
out, figure that stuff out.

The overall goal of this is not to fight anxiety, but to use it. You have
emotions for important reasons. Trying to fight emotions without addressing
the underlying reasons is an unnecessary battle against yourself.

~~~
galfarragem
Thank you. This is the best advice/explanation on this subject I ever read.
This is why I read HN.

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DanBC
Cognitive behaviour therapy is effective for many people who have anxiety
disorders.

Seek a registered therapist (in England you can get access via your GP; or you
can self refer to your local IAPT talkig therapies; or you can use your
company's occupational health services; or you can get a private therapist.
BACP are a reliable registration body for psychological therapists).

The Australian website "Mood Gym" provide online CBT.
[https://moodgym.anu.edu.au/](https://moodgym.anu.edu.au/)

Sometimes anxiety disorders interfere with day to day life - they can become
quite disabling. Early intervention helps and it might be useful To talk to a
doctor, and to push the need for treatment.

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eivarv
If you're talking about anxiety as in a diagnosed or suspected anxiety
disorder (i.e. not in the sense of the normal emotion), the way to go would
be:

Treatment [0] - as with any other health problem - and a generally healthy
lifestyle.

Last I checked, talking therapies like CBT [1] and ACT [2] yielded favorable
results in research [3].

[0]: [http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/anxiety-
disorders/inde...](http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/anxiety-
disorders/index.shtml#part_145337)

[1]:
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cognitive_behavioral_therapy](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cognitive_behavioral_therapy)

[2]:
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acceptance_and_commitment_thera...](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acceptance_and_commitment_therapy)

[3]:
[http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3263389/](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3263389/)

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virde
I had a massive blow out after something I was working on did not work out,
something I flew a thousand miles, leaving behind a family, to work on. The
fact that I did that tells you I was the most fearless daredevil you could
ever meet, and I did not know what anxiety was!

Firstly this is NORMAL, accept it. I dont know how long I struggled to accept
it. Everyone is anxious, some more than others, because of either human nature
or the way they are from the beginning or due to some life changing events.

Secondly I cant stress the importance of breathing exercises enough. Anytime
you feel anxiety coming on(and you will eventually start to recognize it with
some physical or mental symptoms) do the 4..7..8 breathing exercise

\-- Exhale completely through your mouth, making a whoosh sound.

\-- Close your mouth and inhale quietly through your nose to a mental count of
four.

\-- Hold your breath for a count of seven.

\-- Exhale completely through your mouth, making a whoosh sound to a count of
eight.

\--This is one breath. Now inhale again and repeat the cycle three more times
for a total of four breaths. TRUST ME ON THIS. THIS IS THE HACK YOU ARE
LOOKING FOR

Thirdly be mindful of your thoughts, step away every time you are anxious and
see it like you were someone else advicing you, what would you say to someone
else who was going through this?

Fourth - Be active! Physically. Gym, Run outdoors!

I was slightly iffy on Swimming, because although it helps physically, I
always felt slightly more anxious underwater because it left me alone with my
thoughts initially. But then eventually once I controlled my anxiety enough,
and learned to be more mindfulness I thought it was great too!

This is how I hack anxiety and in my opinion is more than enough.

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codezero
There are lots of different kinds of anxiety. Procrastination is a form of
anxiety. The only way to really get started in dealing with it is to see a
doctor and get into a system that is tailored to your specific needs.

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sarciszewski
I stopped eating anything with any carbohydrates and instead ate more fat.
This means I mostly only eat meat. (And I drink a lot of water.)

It knocked out my anxiety and depression so well that, recently I've had a lot
of stressful things happen in my life, but I don't feel any anxiety at all.

I've also lost 35 lbs in 2 months.

[http://www.ketotic.org/](http://www.ketotic.org/)

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJ3C0mrZ3ZY](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJ3C0mrZ3ZY)

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mlwarren
There seems to be a big resistance to a pharmacological solution to mental
health problems on HN. That's how I "hacked" my anxiety. I tried various
dietary changes, various physical activity routines, meditation, etc but in
the end found the best solution was a visit to a professional and get a
prescription.

I used to be more resistant to medicating mental health problems in that way
until it worked for me. I went from an almost nonfunctional wreck to a
thriving, functional person again. YMMV.

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MalcolmDiggs
I've had terrible anxiety at certain times in my life. I've found that it
doesn't just 'go away' on its own, so it's great that you're asking for help.

Two things have helped me quite a bit: Exercising and meditating. Exercising
helps flush out nervous energy, that knee-tapping, pencil-chewing, frenetic
buzzing that tends to keep me up worrying at night. It also helps get me on a
regular sleep schedule, and I tend to stay calmer when I'm well rested.
Meditating has helped me quiet the noise. When I have a lot going on it can
become hard to even decide what to focus on...meditating helps me clear that
up and set my mind on single objects/tasks at a time. It also helps me accept
the things that I can't change, and learn to acknowledge and move past my own
failures (like missing a deadline) without freaking out or panicking.

Hope that helps.

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tpae
I... smoked a lot of weed.

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kleer001
Indica hopefully. Sativa is the more uppy-thinky one.

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jbrooksuk
Count to 10, deep breathing and then just do it.

It also works on calming too!

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indoindo
today is not equal tomorrow if you do something

