Every severely affected person has times when their brain seems to go out of control, whether it is racing from thought to thought or making you feel stressed or anxious worrying about the slightest little thing.

 

It is very unpleasant and uses a lot of energy because proper rest is not possible and the tension in your muscles also makes you tired.

 

Here are a few things that have been found helpful: -

 

• Deep breathing in and out of the nose concentrating on the sound of your breathing and the movement of your diaphragm (just below the rib cage).

 

• Distraction – if you are able to do something – even if it is sticking one sticker on a card or doing something that you enjoy for a short while. This shifts the focus of your mind. After the activity try not to let your mind go back to the anxiety – force yourself to think about something else and keep forcing your mind away from the anxious thoughts each time they reappear. This is very hard to do at first and it feels like the anxiety will never leave you but with time it gets less and one day you realise you haven’t been stressed in quite a while.

 

• “Emergency Essence” or “Bach Rescue Remedy” or “Five Flower Remedy”. These drops taken in water and sipped slowly at times of anxiety, stress or upset help to calm down your mind, nervous system and muscles and work very quickly.

They can be obtained by mail order from:

 

Neal’s Yard Remedies

29 John Dalton Street

Manchester

M2 6DS

0161 8317875

www.nealsyardremedies.com

 

• Aconite is a homeopathic substance, which comes in small tablets that you suck. It is also good for nausea.

 

• Neal’s Yard also do “Ready to Roll Aromatic Essential Oils” – the one for night time smells of lavender and when applied to the pulse points on the wrist helps to relax the body and mind very quickly.

 

• There is a calming acupressure point in the middle of the left hand. To find it make your left hand into a fist, locating where your middle finger ends, then open your hand and using the thumb of your other hand press on the located point firmly for a minute.

 

• When your brain is spinning or is stuck repeating thoughts over and over again try either “White Chestnut Bach Flower Essence” or “Calm and Clear Australian Bush Essence” either dropped into the mouth with the pipette or sipped in water to help relieve the unwanted thoughts. The “Ready to Roll Remedy” also helps in this situation.

 

• The “Calm and Clear” and “Emergency” Australian Bush Flower Essences are also available in a mist spray from:

 

 

The Nutri Centre at Tesco’s

7 Park Crescent

LONDON

W1

0800 9121163

www.nutricentre.com

 

• Around the time of the month if you experience mood swings try Woman Essence available from Neal’s Yard and The Nutri centre to help calm the moods.

 

• Some people suffer from hallucinations when they are very tired. This can be frightening and unfortunately there is not much that can be done to overcome this. Try to stay calm and if you are able, tell your carer what is happening and get them to sit with you until the hallucinations pass.