Anxiety over loud noises

Question

How do I deal with loud noises when I am feeling very anxious. When I am having a bad day a door slam down the hall or a loud motorcycle or even someone laughing loudly suddenly can almost drive me crazy, like for real crazy...not regular anxiety crazy lol...! It's a big issue for me. Is there any way I can minimize the effect loud noises have on me? I don't expect that there is but I am just asking in case you can think of something that have not.

Jill Palmer · Accepted Answer

I'm not sure what you've already tried or thought of so I will tell you what I can think of. Since you can't really control loud noises around you, I would first notice when you are in this type of mood. Having the awareness of it is the first step. Once you notice you are in this type of mood, I would take a bunch of deep breaths on a regular basis to keep your frustrations at bay. Once you hear noises that bother you, I suggest you either close your eyes and breath deeply or give yourself a time out and go to a quiet place to breath deeply. The goal of the breathing is to keep your adrenaline from flowing out of control.

Meditation is a good practice for many reasons including this one. Mediation teaches you to not be distracted by what is going on around you. Being able to calm your brain and focus on yourself would help in these types of situations.

I also suggest the basics of general care like getting 7 to 8 hours of sleep, eating well and exercise. Those 3 things work wonders in every day life.

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