Do You Have Any "Go To" Coping Techniques to Get You Through the Day?

I try to focus on things other than my tinnitus...I try to distract myself, but that's not always easy. I'd love to hear any coping ideas people may have.

 

I pause and remind myself to do some relaxing breathing exercises (which is a form of meditation). It's the only way I know to calm down the limbic system. I'll also find a quiet room and do some full-on meditation.

 

But still you hear T singing... How would you escape by meditating? I won't be able yet to do that.Congrats

 

Agree with @Zorro! Mindful breathing (there are various techniques) is a lifesaver and drug-free -- although I use this more for calming down my anxiety than distraction. For distraction, I: see friends, go to a play, focus on my work, run white noise in the background, go for a run/walk. Anything that I enjoy that has very light noise in the background. Even walking with the wind blowing through the trees works as noise for me.

 

There is no escape. And my T doesn't sing, it screams. Meditating isn't easy or comfortable for the first couple of minutes but eventually it relaxes me. So even though my T is just as loud when I'm done my reaction to it is more indifferent and dismissive.

And no offense but as long as you engage in negative self-talk ("I won't be able yet to do that.") then you will make slow progress, or none at all. Stop telling yourself that you can't do things because of the loudness of your tinnitus. The best thing is to simply do them. Sure it will suck at first but eventually it will get easier. Eventually you should see positive results.

 

20+ years of T that can not be masked...and it is so much of me that it is normal, my T is so normal I can not remember life with out the ringing...I will sit in a quite room and let my T sing its heart out and just relax and meditate...

I know I really can't help much for the ones that have just acquired T but perhaps my experience will help in some small way...that there is normal life, and as much as I want to reach out and "hug" everyones pain away perhaps a little glimmer of hope will help...

 

So much wisdom from posters above. They speak the truth. Abdominal breathing can soothe the nerves and hopefully restore the limbic nervous system back to the parasympathetic system and then you can have less stressful reaction from T. Distraction is huge for habituation. It helps the brain to have fun in other things too while it is coping with T . But @zeroday hits the main point - time. Mother time is an important factor for almost every one to get better. Some will be fast, others will be slower.

But there will be progress as long as you stick to good strategies. Neural plasticity will occur over time and our perception of T will improve over time. This happens to many people. However we just can't rush it. Trying too hard to rush it and insist on progress will actually hamper the process, creating unnecessary anxiety and stress, which can aggravate T. Try to put more positive affirmations. Instead of saying 'I just can't seem to habituate', perhaps say, 'I am definitely better than the initial days. I will just stick to good, proven strategies and I am sure eventually habituation will happen without me willing it'. This will take pressure off the brain to afford it to focus on other priorities of life. Sooner or later, the brain will get bored with T when it finally believes T is not a threat (as you prove you can live a full enjoyable life over time), and with that things will improve much faster.

 

Sadly, I have had depression since I was a teen and obsessed over things that bothered me. I could get over some things but then they would come back. Some days were harder than others. I used to take xanax or klonopin for it but then I started using klonopin every day and I did okay for a while. I thought it would last but it didn't. One of the side effects was tranquilizing me. I would get off work and just want to go home. Later, I just wanted to watch tv or get on the computer. I lost my ambition and wasted years of my life. Over time the tinnitus slowly got louder, snuck up on me I guess. Then one day I got depressed about something and was depressed for a couple of weeks which caused anxiety. At one point I was like, hey my tinnitus is bothering me so I took klonopin and it did not calm me down nor lower my tinnitus. I was in full blown panic mode. I got hearing aids with maskers which helped some since I have hearing loss but my tinnitus can't be fully masked. After some years I got on Lamictal and magnesium glycinate which is what I am taking now. I guess I will see what happens. I hate that I have to use drugs and supplements as a crutch but right now that's what is helping somewhat. Looking back I should have used klonopin or xanax only when needed.

 

Yes! By getting yourself ridiculously distracted.

For me I do this by playing video games with headphones on. They give you a lot of stimuli, much of which you can control, for example changing music and fx volume levels, and difficulty levels (put on easy mode if you need to zone out).

 

If I'm at home I have a shower, sometimes multiple a day. Helps relax my mind a bit and feel rejuvenated afterwards. It also masks my T nicely.

 

Going outdoors hiking in the forest. Or drinking wine. Sometimes a hot shower can help a little.

It's tough.

 

At night when I put my head on the pillow on concentrate on my breath and I don't hear my T