Long story short but been put on beta blockers to deal with stress and also advised to try mindfulness/meditation.

Had a quick look in the App Store and seems to be loads of options. Anyone use any that they’d recommend?

Cheers

Headspace app is really good

Yes, Headspace

I tried the free Headspace app.

I’ll be honest, at the time I was still so messed up it didn’t really work for me, and by the time the meds had kicked in enough I stupidly didn’t try it again. For just relaxation, there’s a free app called Calm, which I liked.

Now med free by the way. Been a bit of a rollercoaster, but out the other side. Counseling arranged by our work scheme helped me the most

My Wife’s GP recommended Headspace and a book on CBT

Genuine question…..in simplified terms what is mindfulness and how does it affect everyday life?
I’ve never really been aware of it before.

Mindfulness apps have been good to me, CBT for my Anxiety was really good.

I’m currently 3 weeks into a 6 week course on Stress Management and it’s been very good so far, they seem to run nationally. No need for a referral you just turn up on week 1.

Everyone is different, but I CBT and stress management better than Mindfulness and drugs.

Headspace is a good introduction

Headspace and get yourself on a course if you can

Good book also:

https://www.worldofbooks.com/en-gb/books/j-mark-g-williams/the-mindful-way-through-depression-freeing-yourself-from-chronic-unhappiness-inc/GOR001943495?keyword=&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIxo6D2vjL5AIVzLHtCh1ojgHWEAQYASABEgJWlPD_BwE

Headspace is good. There’s quite a few corporates who offer it free/cheap to their employees so check if your employer / union does this.

Have a look for a local “stress control” course. It’s free and run by the nhs and lasts about 6 weeks. Gives a good intro to the basics of CBT and meditation.

Also see if your employer / union has an EAP that offers free / cheap counselling.

I’ve suffered with panic attacks for over 30 years and I’d suggest the following advice.

Wether it’s a phobia or stress, THE only way to move forward is to get to the root of the problem.

Beta blockers are for a physical condition, they don’t help at all.

If you’re stressed then you need to manage the cause of the stress.

I’ve got a 25 year phobia of flying and last month, for the second year running I bailed at the airport for a two week family holiday.

I’ve tried every sort of CBT under the sun and whilst hypnosis has been an absolute life saver for me, it hasn’t helped with my phobia.

Headspace is a great app to just distract the mind and clear it out for a bit, as is Calm.

We all work differently but it’s taken me 30 years to realise I’ve been masking the symptoms and not addressing the real issue.

You need to find out what actually makes you feel the way you do.

Then you can conquer it.

I hear you geordimick00:   https://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/kryton-1-0-flying/

I’m the other way – tried everything and CBT with Easyjets fear of flying course combined really help.   I don’t medicate any more, and use all the CBT tricks I’ve learned for flying and on a general day today basis – it take practise.   I’m still nervous on planes but am able to do long haul watching a movie and managing my head through turbulence and such like.   You have to keep doing it (exposure therapy) so you essentially become bored with the whole thing which removes the anxiety e.g. it becomes the norm rather than the exception.

OP I also practise mindfulness.  You can google about it but is basically focus on breathing / meditation and letting your brain settle itself quiet for periods of time.  I’m one of the few people that sit on the Tube not staring at phone – doing just that.   For me it settles a tumultuous mind and a good 20-30 mins of that feels me feeling quite refreshed.  Its a rest from the constant “chatter”, and helps slow things down / spiralling with anxiety.  The trick is making time for yourself.

Headspace for me. I don’t know that I’m doing mindfulness right, but even just the meditation exercises for 10 minutes a day help with calmness, focus etc

@Kryton57 has probably summed it up really well. My wife uses Headspace. I’m not an anxious person, but suffer with work and life stress. I’ve done a fair bit of CBT that lets you stop the ‘cycle’ and identifies stress ‘risers’…

It’s mind maintenance, like you’d maintain your bike….

Thank you guys – must admit the beta blockers wasn’t what I expected when I went into the docs this morning – I had no idea what to expect, main reason for going was a banging head that’s lasted for a few days now – work has been abnormally stressful for a few months but I’m just putting it down to a bad patch

I’ve downloaded the Headspace app which I’ve started, I’m not expecting miracle results but hoping it’ll just give me a focal point to step away from relentless days. Also download the Calm app but not looked at that yet.

More than anything I feel somewhat better in getting to a point where I’ve realised that, crap, I need to change/do something as I can’t carry on as I am.

I didn’t know about the free NHS stress courses so thanks for highlighting those. Definitely something to look at as well.

work has been abnormally stressful for a few months but I’m just putting it down to a bad patch

Without being flippant, get out and get a new job. Any job that affects you to the point of illness needs dropping.

Sorry to hear your struggling a bit mate. If you ever fancy a ride and a download to someone in the industry, give us a shout.

You need to deal with the source of the stress, not medicate the symptoms. All that will happen is you’ll hit a tolerance with the mefs, the doc will thrn increase them, and the problem isn’t fixed its just dulled.

Move around as much as you can and walk like a flanneur, notice new things. You need 40 minutes minimum of broad daylight on your head per day and you can’t overdose then save it up. Drink more water. Cut down on screen time. Try to find a ‘flow’ activity that completely engages your brain (in addition to mtb, obvs), wood carving does it for me but it could be anything. Use your bike more, even for little journeys. Work at it and it works.

Headspace is a great app.

I had a major episode about 10 years ago driven by stress, over exercising and a number of other factors which resulted in time off work and not being able to ride my bike or do anything for a number of months.

Mindfulness/meditation was a massive tool in resolving my issues and also creating a better environment for me in the future to avoid it happening again.

The way I think of it is the aim is to train your mind to focus on one thing for as long as possible (usually your breathing – which actually helps with the calming physiologically too). This ability to give your mind stamina to focus on one thing is like building up stamina on the bike – the more you do it the better you get – so you may feel some effects each session but over time you’ll really notice it. By doing this it enables you to avoid the distractions of modern life where you are drawn to flick between things rapidly – like mental channel surfing – due to pressures of work, notifications on your phone or similar. Being able to avoid these distractions and remain calm and focused will help your stress levels. Headspace (or any meditation training app) will give you the tools and understanding to train you to understand the difference between calm and stress. I’d always recommend 10 mins of headspace twice a day – before work and after.