# healthy diet, daily exericise and meditation



## soundsgood (Nov 7, 2005)

for myself, healthy diet, daily exercise and meditation means - no social anxiety. this is just from my own experience, and it's proved correct for me time and time again. i was just wondering if anyone else out there *knows* what they need to do to be s/a free but stuggle with motivation to keep the ball moving in the right direction?


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## emeraldoceans (Sep 13, 2006)

I totally agree with you that these 3 things are extremely important in dealing with SA but for me, whilst they do drastically reduce my SA symptoms _most_ of the time, i wouldnt say that my SA just dissapears altogether. I never struggle with motivation regarding these things as i clearly see the results and the benefits of keeping them up. Even at my worst i can still drag myself out of bed and force myself to the gym b/c i just know that i will return home feeling so much better for it.


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## soundsgood (Nov 7, 2005)

your right, i probally overstated when i said *no* anxiety but mine lessens to the degree where it is an non-issue. i do the exercise thing as well and train hard everyday but if i'm meditating as well then i feel even better ... i guess i'm frustrated at not having the self-dicipline to meditate daily.


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## soundsgood (Nov 7, 2005)

oh quickly, do you meditate most days? and do you have any special sort of diet or just a balanced one?


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## emeraldoceans (Sep 13, 2006)

I actually usually meditate twice a day lol and no i dont have any special diet, just a balanced one. Ive always been a pretty healthy eater and i just watch what i eat, very rarely do i have takeaway and the only liquid i consume is water, i totally stay away from soft drinks arghhh evil stuff that :b


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## fog (Dec 3, 2005)

yep, these are the three big ones for me. exercise comes easy for me, i love it ( run 3 days a week, weights 3 days a week, walk every night, cycle every day weather permitting). nutrition i am getting better at, (-breakfast 1 cup oats made with milk,- lunch 1 cup cooked brown rice, 1 cup peas, 1 tbs olive oil, i bud garlic made into stir fry- snack at 2:30 pm 1 cup orange juice 1 apple 1 banana made into a shake. but once dinner rolls around i let it all hang out and eat whatever i want, and i snack on junk at night (i know , not good eating at night but thats my time). Meditation- every morning after about 10 mins of yoga stretches i meditate , if i have something important or stressful coming up, i visualize myself in that situation being calm and enjoying it,for a couple of days leading up to the event.(it really helps)


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## Steve85 (Oct 11, 2006)

I'm curious about meditation. I have no idea what it really entails. Can someone who's had success with it lead me to a link or explain more about how to meditate? I've always wanted to try it, but really never followed through. Thanks.


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## emeraldoceans (Sep 13, 2006)

*Re: re: healthy diet, daily exericise and meditation*



Steve85 said:


> I'm curious about meditation. I have no idea what it really entails. Can someone who's had success with it lead me to a link or explain more about how to meditate? I've always wanted to try it, but really never followed through. Thanks.


http://1stholistic.com/Meditation/hol_meditation.htm

This site is pretty informative, it should explain everything you need to know


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## Steve85 (Oct 11, 2006)

Cool. I'm gonna give simple meditation a try tonight.


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## soundsgood (Nov 7, 2005)

emeraldoceans & fog - how bad is your anxiety? like to what degree does it affect your lives? it sounds like your both doing the important things right and should be getting on pretty well?


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## soundsgood (Nov 7, 2005)

oi, how'd it go steve85?


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## emeraldoceans (Sep 13, 2006)

*Re: re: healthy diet, daily exericise and meditation*



soundsgood said:


> emeraldoceans & fog - how bad is your anxiety? like to what degree does it affect your lives? it sounds like your both doing the important things right and should be getting on pretty well?


Well ive had extreme SA my whole life and im 35yrs old. It has impacted my life to a point where i cannot hold down a job for very long as my anxiety is always heightened when dealing with people on a constant basis which is required when employed.

Although CBT, meditation and exercise etc has helped me alot, i still wouldnt call myself cured, not by a long shot. Up until just over a year ago i drank alcohol to cope with almost every situation you could imagine(i no longer drink at all anymore and this has definately helped me enourmously as well) CBT has helped me so far as it has changed the way that i think about things/situations. I can now hold a conversation with somebody without always thinking that what i say is stupid or boring. I now know that, that is just not true and im not so focused anymore on how people see me although i have to admit that im still not always comfortable around pple, i still feel anxious in alot of social settings etc, but i am much better than i used to be.

Meditation and exercise, i just couldnt imagine not having these things in my life, they have become a daily routine for me. Meditation keeps me calm (well more calmer than i would be without it) and exercise is great for muscle tension plus just a general all over feeling of wellbeing etc. 
The frequency of my panic attacks has also definately declined since taking up these things so yeah bottom line is that im happier doing these things than i was living my life when i was drinking to cope, that was just unbearable and really only made everything so much worse.


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## Steve85 (Oct 11, 2006)

soundsgood said:


> oi, how'd it go steve85?


It was definitely a different experience. It's tough to sit completely silent for 10-15 minutes. It felt pretty good afterwards. My mind was completely blank, and I felt soothed. I just hoped into bed and had a fantastic nights sleep.

Emerald, here is how I meditated. Could you let me know if you do anything different? I was alone in my room with the door shut. Complete silence. I sat indian style on the floor with my back upright against my bed. I chose the word "calm" to repeat. I repeated it silently in my head everytime I exhaled. Is there anything you do differently? Do you repeat the word outloud? Thanks.


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## emeraldoceans (Sep 13, 2006)

Congrats hun sounds like you did really well and it was only your 1st try :banana Wow it took me at least a few weeks to somewhat control the flow of thoughts i had constantly streaming through my mind, that was the hardest part for me when i first started to meditate.

The meditation you described is a mantra meditation and yeah i pretty much do it the exact same way except that i dont say the word out loud. Its not really important whether you say it out loud or not, just the focusing on the word is what really counts but you can do either.

There really is no wrong way to meditate and it really is so simple, the only thing you really need to remember is not to _think_ during meditation. Thats the whole point - to get away from your thoughts for short amounts of time.

The easiest technique ive found for meditation is to focus on the breath, i just watch (feel) the rising of my stomach on inhale and the fall on exhale. The mind will wander that is only natural so dont get frustrated with yourself, just gently bring your awareness back to whatever it is you are focusing on. With practice you will find that you will be able to control your thoughts alot more and over time this will spill into your everyday life and you will just all of a sudden seem to be a lot calmer, it is gradual but very noticeable.

The way you were sitting sounds just fine, i sit like that too with my back supported but i really just think so long as you are comfortable and your posture is such that you are able to breath naturally and without effort, then any way is the right way. So long as you are breathing the right way ie deeply into your stomach and not shallow breathing into the chest you cant really go wrong.

Keep it up, it really is worth the effort :yes


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## lucyinthesky (Mar 29, 2009)

Yeah looking after myself certainly helps my sa. I find sleep so so important as well.


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## Nuthatch (Apr 13, 2007)

Great topic!! They're definitely essential for me -- if I neglect any of the three over a long period of time I know I would soon up a wreck! However, I wouldn't say that they cure my anxiety, just take the edge off... in a big way.


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## eek a mouse (Apr 14, 2010)

Becks, my experience is if you keep at it eventually its just gonna click. You cant quit, you just gotta keep trying that there will be a point where you just shift gear, its like you break through a barrier.

I tried for 2 years to workout on a weekly basis, always failed. Sometimes I would manage to do 3 days a week but it was damn hard, I usually did 1-2 and pretty bad quality workouts. One day I got so fed up with trying and not succeding that I told myself, "enough BS, either I chose to do it or I stop trying". Now its been about 4 months or so that I workout 5-6 times a day for at least 1 hr and oddly enough its a lot easier than it was just to get through one damn excercise....I actually enjoy this sh/t


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## Nuthatch (Apr 13, 2007)

becks said:


> These things are key for me. I can reduce my sa drastically if I stick to them but I don't. It's stupid really.


You're too hard on yourself, Becks. It's taken me years to get to a point where these things have become incorporated into my lifestyle, and even now I still have my bad days. It's really a process and so takes time and a lot of patience. Just the fact that you acknowledge they're important, I think is awesome. So many people don't know how effective they can be or just don't bother to try.


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## yelda (Jun 12, 2010)

I think the most effective meditation is transcendental meditation:
www.tm.org


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## paulyD (Feb 16, 2011)

soundsgood said:


> for myself, healthy diet, daily exercise and meditation means - no social anxiety. this is just from my own experience, and it's proved correct for me time and time again. i was just wondering if anyone else out there *knows* what they need to do to be s/a free but stuggle with motivation to keep the ball moving in the right direction?


yes all of that stuff really helps with my anxiety. i wouldnt say it cure my anxiety but it definately helps and it reduces it .

i do lack the motivation to stick to things like that. i really want to start doing yoga every morning too


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## kentcharm (Feb 2, 2011)

I try to work out excessively every day, because the endorphins released make me soooo happy. I try meditation some times, but have trouble sticking to it. Anyways, I agree that working out helps SA. After an intense run I feel realllllyyy social. Good Times.


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## shanny086 (Feb 15, 2011)

i think for me it includes sleep as well.. so sleep (times i go to sleep and wake up and how long i sleep for)... meditation and breathing... diet and working out. But I cant seem to get my diet in tune. What do you all do to keep your food in balance to the point that it helps with sa?


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## Ready To Freak Out (Jul 20, 2010)

I feel soooo much better when I watch my diet and exercise. Interestingly, I've found I can go as low as twelve hundred calories a day and, as long as it's a relatively balanced, nutritious 1200, still feel better than I do when I eat regularly. 

Doesn't cure my SA or my generalized anxiety, but it makes me feel much better.

Haven't meditated though in a long time. That might be something to get back into. Anything that calms you down and centers you has to be good for anxiety.


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## Yage (Feb 23, 2011)

diet and exercise is an important part, not only for social anxiety but for your overall well bein but i think, that releasing negative emotions is much more important here


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## RenegadeReloaded (Mar 12, 2011)

I would like to try some meditations. Any exercises for beginners ? I don't have a clue about this domain. I saw some links here but i dunno from where to start.


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