u/SoundwaveTheDragon

Hi, r/Anxiety. I hope you all are doing well. I thought I'd stop by and share a trick I use that I don't really see anyone talk about.

It's a simple trick, really. You can use it when you're anxious, or even when you just want to relax for a few minutes. It can help you tune into your body, focus on your vitals, and help remind your brain that you're alive and safe.

First, go to a quiet, secluded spot. It can be your bedroom or anywhere else in your home that you feel safest in. Next, close your eyes. Take a nice, long breath in. Feel your lungs expand within your ribcage. Think about the rich oxygen entering your system and keeping you healthy. Just let it all in.

Breathe out. Release the pressure from your chest. Flush out all the carbon dioxide. You don't need it anymore.

You can take a few more breaths if needed. When you're done, find a comfortable position to rest in. You can stand up, sit down, or lie down. It's up to you. I personally like to lie down on my back so my muscles get a chance to relax.

All set? Good. Now, close your eyes once more. Just focus on each of your breaths. Breathing is good. You're doing a very good thing for your body by breathing.

Now slowly lift up your hand, and very gently let it rest over your chest.

Feel your heartbeat... Feel it fight for you. Feel it keep you alive.

Think about what it is that you're feeling under your hand. Think about how your heart has been beating for you for many, many years, and hasn't gotten tired.

If your heart's beating fast, don't be frightened by the sensation. It's simply trying to protect you. It'll calm down with time, so don't rush this process.

If it's beating slowly, that's good. Just focus on the steady rhythm under your hand. You can count each beat too, if you want.

Relax... Let your blood circulate through your body. Let your heart and lungs keep you alive. Thank them for their services. You don't have to do anything other than just let your organs do their part in keeping you healthy.

Let your lungs slowly tense and relax. Your chest contains your life. Let that life thrive within you.

And that's really all there is to it! You can stay in this state for as long as you want to. This method might not work as well for people who have heart problems or people who simply get squeamish from the sensation of their blood pumping, but I hope this advice helps someone someday! :)

Stay safe, everyone. I wish you wellness and peace. 🙏

We drink all kinds of milk, but could a woman drink her own milk? I've wondered this if I ever start producing milk later in life. What does it taste like? And is it safe to consume? Is it gross to even be thinking about consuming a bodily fluid, even if its whole purpose is to be a nourishing drink? I'm not a baby, obviously, so I'm wondering how drinking it would affect an adult, especially the adult who made the milk.

I got my first period when I was 13. I'm 18 now. So I've been in the period club for a good amount of time. Yet, every time that dreaded month comes and I start gushing red, I am still blown away that what's coming out of my body isn't a warning sign of internal fatality.

Like, seriously, how is THAT much blood coming outta me every day for a week and not killing me? Where the heck is it all coming from? How is this not evidence of a crime scene and just simply a biological release of uterus stuff??

I try my best to learn about anatomy and even the process of a period itself, but I still can't get over the fact that every bathroom trip I'm cleaning up spilled blood and walking away like it's nothing. How is this sort of internal bleeding normal? It's insane!

ARRRGGGGHH! I just made a post like this not too long ago, but there is yet another fanfic on AO3 that I cannot find! Could use some help, Reddit, if you don't mind.

The main premise is that N is scared of a thunderstorm happening outside, and Uzi tries to help him feel safe. She even gives him earmuffs to lessen the noise.

That's all I can remember, but I hope it's helpful. If anyone recognizes that premise, let me know please. Thank you!

It has begun...

The channel was called Awkward Animations. I became a follower of her channel after her first upload because her animations were really well done and had a very charming atmosphere. But now, when I search for her channel, I get no results.

The person who ran the channel was named Millie, I'm pretty sure. She had at least two videos before the channel disappeared. There might've been a third one, but I can't remember for sure. If there was a third one, I think it was about snacks.

The other two videos were about "The times I almost died" and "Creepy childhood memories/shows." (These aren't the exact titles from memory, just descriptions of what I remember.)

What I remember about "The times I almost died" is that one of the stories was about when Millie almost fell out of a log flume ride as a child. And whenever it cut to her animated character standing in her room talking to the camera like a lot of YouTube animators do, the Grim Reaper himself would be in the background giving casual and funny commentary while eating various snacks. That part of the video was the most charming to me.

In the video about "Childhood trauma," Millie talked about Freaky Fred from Courage The Cowardly Dog, the Nosferatu episode from SpongeBob, the SpongeBob episode where Squidward is ALONE, I think DoodleBob as well, and Steve from Blue's Clues quitting due to balding. Here's a reenactment of my memory of the start of that video.

Millie is lying in her bed at night and hears something in her closet. (or the other side of her bedroom door, can't remember which one.) She cowers in fear, but then it's revealed to just be SpongeBob. "Hi," he calmly says. "Oh. You're not scary at all!" Millie comments. It then cuts to SpongeBob's appearance in the episode Scaredy Pants. "Oh, yeah, now I remember," Millie acknowledges.

I really wanna see that video again, especially cause everything she talks about was not stuff I was familiar with before I saw that video. I didn't watch Courage The Cowardly Dog or SpongeBob as a kid. I did see a VHS movie of Blue's Clues, but I wasn't aware of Steve balding until Millie mentioned it. The channel Awkward Animations was just so new and charming to me, and if it hadn't been deleted, it most definitely could've had a bright future. It looks like there is another channel that goes by the same name, but it's not the one I remember. Again, Awkward Animations was a YouTube storytime animator similar to JaidenAnimations, TheOdd1sOut, Haminations, etc.

Because this was a YouTube channel and I can't find it anymore, that means it's probably lost media. So I might not get anywhere by talking about it here, but I thought I'd give it a shot anyway. Let me know if you remember this channel, or have some kind of archive of the videos. That would be greatly appreciated!

I DO know the name of this one! It was called Guilt for the Graves. It was written by a user called Writer_for_the_Eldritch_and_Robotic.

It's about N going through a nightmare where he's forced to relive his previous murderous nature. Dead bodies of worker drones pop up, eventually piling up so much that he almost "drowns" in them. Later, he finds Uzi, and she's horrified by what he's done and doesn't trust him anymore. When N tries to apologize, tendrils spring from his fingers and penetrate Uzi's heart (yes, I'm not joking), to which N panics and tries to revive her, but fails. The nightmare ends with Cyn appearing and taunting N from behind before shoving her hand through his heart, and then N wakes up in a cold sweat.

Uzi wakes up next to him, and N tries to convince her that everything's okay and not to worry. (Typical fanon N.) Uzi doesn't buy it at all, but before she can pry for the truth, N hugs Uzi tightly. Traumatized from the nightmare, he panickily listens for her heartbeat to reassure himself that she's still alive. Uzi is confused by this at first, but quickly understands what N needs, and just lets him listen for a bit while leaning against the wall. N and Uzi talk about the nightmare for a while, and at one point Cyn shows up in the form of Uzi's tail and spooks N.

And that's all I remember. Or rather, all I read, because the story devolved into fluff and make-out sessions, which I personally don't enjoy reading. Despite that, I really wanted to read through the nightmare sequence again, cause I thought it was really well-written, horrifying, and creative. I saved the link, but putting it into the search bar gets me nowhere. Did the writer delete this fic? Is it lost media now? I hope not.

Here's the link to the fic, if that's helpful. archiveofourown.org/works/63855124/chapters/163754740 But like I said, it doesn't really work anymore, at least for me.

I'm relatively healthy, but I still thought of a scenario where a heart attack hits me out of nowhere, where I'm alone and can't call for help, and just die with no hope.

Two days ago, the angst came, and it hit me HARD. I started my morning with a tingling feeling of anxiety in my body, and there was zero reason for that to happen. Plus, every word that came out of my mouth toward my mom was a complaint of some kind about the smallest things happening around me. Despite the warning signs that I was experiencing Period Angst, I tried to ignore it and go about my day.

I went grocery shopping with my mom, and I suddenly started panicking about the smallest, most insignificant crap. I already have anxiety issues sometimes, but it's always way worse, and sometimes dangerous, exactly every week before my period. I went home early that day, and basically had a panic attack in my room, without anything triggering it. I spent the rest of the day crying, sad that my own stupid emotions were getting in the way of me having a good day.

The next day, I was fine. As I'm typing this, I've recovered since then. Every time this angst hits me, my best bet is usually to watch TV and wait it out until the next day. But I wish there was a better way. I take medicine to help me calm down from anxiety, but it has zero effect during Period Angst. If anyone else has dealt with this, how do you usually cure it?

I can't even think straight when it happens to me. It's like having a sick day, but mentally.