More Stuff for Your School Anxiety Kit (Some DIY) (video)

So we found even more stuff that we think will be helpful for your anxiety kit. Three things are DIY; for two of them, the “to-do” demo is right in the video, and the link is in the video to the third one.

Transcript

Hi I’m Deborah.

And I’m Lawrence and I have new glasses.

That’s true – he does. So now we both have glasses.

So we’re doing a third video, anxiety kit video, especially because this is back-to-school time and so –

Y’all need, ya’ll need to make one so you have it ready for school.

Well, especially if, I mean, if you’re going into middle school or you’re starting high school or you’re starting college, you’re probably a little more nervous, and being nervous obviously makes you feel more anxious, so it’s good to have these things which are, which – you know, a lot of people find to be comforting to have with them if they’re worried about having anxiety or a panic attack.

So I guess the first one is – I saw these a while ago. These are from Stickman Communications, and what they are – these guys actually have a lot of different cards and other items for if you have any kind of condition and you have trouble explaining to people.

I’ve actually heard of these people.

Yeah.

I think I saw one of those on Instagram or something.

Yeah, anyway, so I can’t remember where I saw these. I think I saw them on someone else’s channel. I wish I could remember and give them credit. But anyway, so um, so this one, for instance, says, “I have an anxiety disorder,” and it explains, you know, if you’re, if you’re having an anxiety attack or panic attack and you just, you know – or you just don’t feel like talking about exactly what the problem is, if you feel like you feel one coming on, then this explains to people what it is, what they should do and you know so – or the front says what it is, the back says it says on the front, “See the back of card for things to help me”. And then you would write things on here. Some people would say, “Please don’t touch me,” you know, “Please don’t,” – or “Don’t worry,” just you know, “It’ll go away.”

And so here’s another one just, that just says, “I’m having a panic attack. It isn’t dangerous even though it feels awful. It will pass,” and again, “See back of the card for more helpful things.”

And then this one is for ocean wave breathing which is something that some people find helpful when they are, you know, feel a panic attack coming on, or or have had one coming on. So anyway, so, it’s specific instructions for what to do. So, so, I thought those were very helpful and you know something that just might make you feel comfortable having it with you, so that you know, if, if, you know, you feel like you’re nonverbal then you just have something to to give to people.

So then let’s – another thing that a lot of people are worried about is, is throwing up in public.And this is a pretty common fear among people who have anxiety.

So, um, where is – oh, so, remember when I was in the emergency room for the norovirus?

Umm-hmm.

And I was throwing up – a lot.

I don’t think – was I there?

No, you didn’t come with us.

I stayed home.Because I was – it was really early in the goddamn morning.

Well, you also said it would make you more anxious.

Oh, yeah.

Plus the room was tiny. Those – they usually are.

So, anyway, so what – one thing that I was, I was pretty pleased about, when I was throwing up many times, was, they had these bags. So, the, the, the big thing about this –

Let’s see.

Is it stays – it’s got a rigid, it’s got a rigid opening. So –

So you aren’t going to end up accidentally, just accidentally closing it so you just barf on your hands.

Right. That’s the thing is that, like, normally those gives you a ba- they used to give you a basin, you know, like a bowl. Um, and then you’d throw up, it could splash back on your face. I’m sure this is not helping people who are worried about throwing up, but this is actually really comforting.

So, um, and so this is rigid. This is like –

Yeah, there’s a –

You don’t have to worry about it folding in.

There’s a solid plastic rim which, you know, is slightly – is bendable, but not –

Yeah.

Unless you’re like, unless you have –

Yes. It’s really, really strong.

Unless you’re like, purposely trying, unless – yeah, just hold on to it and, you know, vomit. But, um, like, like, unless you’re like, trying to bend it –

It’s really strong.

It won’t.

Yeah, so I, I think –

I’d like to note something, because we didn’t earlier. I haven’t seen any of these items.

Oh yeah, yeah.

So this is all a surprise to me.

Yeah, I, I figured we’d do a bit of a surprise. I think maybe you’ve seen one of them.

Well –

We talked about a couple.

So, um, but anyway – so, it’s, it’s really rigid, and so if you throw up it’s like totally going down here. It’s not splashing up in your face.

You can see, uh –

Too close, honey, too close.

Well, you can maybe see, there are these little, there are these little ridges in the white plastic where you can –

Well, you know, I’ll –

Roll and tuck it.

I’ll do a – but anyway, so, you just get the air out, twist, yeah, and then tuck it in and then get rid of it whenever you can.

But it, it won’t smell. You won’t have any smells, and let’s say you’re in class or something. You feel like you’re gonna throw up. This, this is totally – this is really pretty flat. You could, you know, you can conceal it pretty easily –

You chuck a couple of them in your bag. It’s easy.

Run out of the room and, uh – or walk quickly out of the room and, um, there you go.

So that, that probably will help, you know, relieve a little stress about, about the idea of throwing up in public or somewhere that’s not near your bathroom. Because I always think about throwing up in – at school, in the sink and it’s going to go down the drain –

What about the toilet?

Because the toilet, if you OCD like me, then it’s really hard to throw up in a toilet.

It’s gross.

Yeah, it’s really gross. So, um, so blech.

Well, that deters you from throwing up, then.

No, it really doesn’t, actually. But so these – I got these on Amazon. They were maybe a little over $1 each. They came in a pack of, I think, 15, although I think you can get fewer of them. Anyway, so that’s something to keep in mind.

So, let’s say then, um, um – also, people are worried about, “What if I throw up? How will my mouth smell?” or just “How will my mouth smell?” So, um, these I got – I can’t remember when I got these. I got these – these are mini –

I think you got these for me –

Mini toothbrushes. Yeah.

I went on a trip or something, and you got those for me.

Yeah. So then these are mini toothbrushes. They have toothpaste in them. I realize this is not, um, uh – what’s the word, ecologically…I realize…

Friendly.

Yeah, I realize this isn’t ecologically friendly, but remember that this is, this is, more like an emergency thing. Like, hopefully you won’t need it. If, you know, if you’re the kind of person who brushes your teeth, teeth every day no matter what, at school, then obviously you’re gonna have, have, you know, the non-disposable stuff.

But this is just – takes a very little room, you have it there so that you don’t have to worry if you throw up, what’s gonna happen with your breath. Because let’s face it, unless you have like, a ton of mouthwash, and – or toothpaste like…you know, it’s like – anyway. I won’t go into it.

But you know you feel better once you brush your teeth. Um, okay. So let’s say you have a panic attack. One of the things that you have to do is you have to replenish your – the nutrients, okay? Cause, cause one of the things that can happen during a panic attack is that you, that you actually just get like drained of a lot of stuff, the adrenaline causes problems. So one thing you have to do is replenish. And so you need to have snacks, something like this that’s, um, like a nice, a nice, like, granola bar. Don’t just, don’t just go to the, you know – if you have a snack machine or something – don’t just go and get some, you know –

Skittles.

Yeah, potato chips or something like that. Because you, you actually need some nutrients, because you’re gonna feel very tired, very weak and you need to replenish nutrients.

Something like this or something like this, which someone started eating without –

You didn’t tell me it was for the video!

You’re supposed to actually ask people before you eat food that is not yours, okay? So these are, these are –

Shut.

Excuse me? So these are sriracha peas, um, sriracha flavored peas. So these, um, these have some protein in them, they have fiber. Um, what you want to do is you want to have something – you want to eat something with some fiber so that you are –

Don’t eat those if you are unable to handle spicy food. Like a coward.

Well, right. So this is just an example. This is um, this is, this is something that is good to eat because it’s got some fiber. It’ll keep you going until your next meal. It’ll, it’ll, it’ll replenish some nutrients.

Or one of my favorite things and –

Which we already ate.

I think I ate most of these.

Yeah, yeah you didn’t give me any.

Yeah, so this is – you had a couple, right? I know, I gave them –

Four.

Okay. Something like this – this is maybe not ideal, but it’s still better than getting like a candy bar or like Geo – Lawrence says, some –

Snickers.

Skittles or potato chips or something like that. It does have a little bit of protein, um, and so, so, you know, just, just try to be mindful. So keep something like this with you so you don’t have to go looking for it if you have a panic attack so you have it there. You also should definitely have some – always have water with you because you definitely need to rehydrate.

So you know just just keep that in mind, you should have that every day with you.

So another thing, if you have a panic attack – another thing I got – I think one of our. one of our videos we had acupressure ring and this is actually – this is an acupressure ball. And so this is, um – so when you’ve had a panic attack, what you need to do is, is bring yourself back. You might have experienced depersonalization, derealization –

Isn’t this meant for feet?

Yes it is.

And it feels really good if you roll –

I’m not going to touch that with my hands.

I didn’t use this on my feet.

I saw you using it on your feet.

I had socks on.

Still.

Did I, did I ask you to take this? You held out your hand for it.

I forgot.

Yeah. Anyway, so here’s the thing – and we did do a video on this with, using the Sims, about self-care after a panic attack. So if you’re having depersonalization or derealization, um, you need to kind of pull yourself back to earth, to world, to your reality, to ground yourself and, and and come back.

So the things you need to do are use, you know – there’s there’s an exercise you can do that we go over in that video, and you can see that video and if you click there – that you can use things you smell, things you taste, things you touch, to bring yourself back.

So this is one thing you can use that when you when you hold it, it really presses on –

It leaves marks on your hand.

Yeah, it does. So it’s compact, it’s small, easy to carry and when you, when you clench it, it, it is something that’s going to – you’re gonna feel and it’s gonna help bring you back.

So that’s one idea. Another idea is something unusual to taste. You might not like these. Why don’t you try one, see. Um these are –

Ah, my teeth.

These are violet, um, I guess mints, kind of. They’re not mint But so sometimes like an unusual flavor might help bring you back. So these have been around for like 100 years or something. These are – I like them, but I don’t know if they’re everyone’s –

They’re not half bad.

Not half bad. But, but so, something unusual – unusual flavor might be good to have with you too, to kind of shock you into it. If you don’t like mint, this is really good if you don’t like mint, because a lot of people use mint but you know if you don’t like it, then, then this is a good option. That or something like a lemon lozenge or something, or something like that.

Um another thing that you can use is –
You take that, I take this.

Okay, um – I have like eight of those.

Give me some.

Okay. Um, so another thing is I made some lip balm and it’s using the same recipe –

She makes a lot of that kind of stuff.

Yes, so, so, if you want to know how to make it –

Shaving soap.

Click on that link above and that’ll line up the video. I made it for the DIY Peace of Mind Origins stress relief balm, but it’s basically the same thing and I’ll put the actual recipe for these two below. But so, this one’s coffee which is a strong smell – you don’t like coffee, right?

No, I do.

It smells pretty good.

So you can use that as a lip balm, and so then that’s right there under your nose um. Because things – because a big part of taste is smell. So, so, this is a nice strong, strong smell and that actually tastes good and, and, is good for your lips. And this one is – it’s much more subtle. It’s lavender and chamomile with vanilla.

Yeah, it’s pretty good.

It’s much more subtle. But it’s also calming, so you might want to use it if you’re stressed out, um, instead of using after a panic attack, it might, it might be good to use if you’re stressed out. Lavender and chamomile are very calming and I actually put a little vanilla into just to add a little something. And so that’s a good idea because again, that’s right under your nose, and you know it can help calm you down.

So, so anyway, the, the – as I said, you can watch the video on making lip balm and the – now the ingredients for those, which are different from the ones I used in the Peace of Mind – now, I got these from a couple different locations. There are other, there are other ways to make, for instance, like coffee lip balm, but this is the way I made it. I got it from this place Majestic Mountain Sage and it’s really strong. I’m not sure how they did it. They somehow infused some, some – and I forget what, some butter, some kind of butter. They call it coffee butter. Anyway, so they infused coffee into it so it’s really, really strong and I used some of that and some other ingredients.
Then also from Majestic Mountain Sage that’s where I got the natural vanilla oil, but there are other ways to to get vanilla into things and vanilla was not the essential ingredient. I just added it in to make the coffee one taste better and then to add a little something to the lavender and chamomile. But this is not an essential ingredient, but that is place you can get it.

And then, and then I got the, I got the lavender chamomile flavor oil from this place that I really like called SweetCakes but there, there are recipes online for lavender chamomile lip balm that I can – that I’ll link to so this is an easy way to do it but there are other ways to do it.

It’s gonna taste weird after the violet. And besides, I want some of those. Don’t eat them all.

Anyway, so then the other thing, another thing I have is – so this was an idea that came to me when I went to, I went to Joanne’s yesterday, and I was just looking to see if there were any interesting fabrics like the one we used to do the mermaid scale notebook. And so I ran across this and so this is another thing, um- like, the mermaid scale one was more in like, distracting yourself if you, if you were getting anxious, you know – making, making patterns in it, and you know, making the mermaid scale sequence go up and down. This one is more for comfort, so if you, you know – and also for –

It’s really soft.

Yeah.

This is seriously soft.

And also for again, touch – using your sensations if you have a panic attack. So this I just took a plain –

I want a blanket made out of this.

I, I, yeah, I will see about getting some more. A plain three ring binder and so then, um, what I did –

Ah, it’s shedding.

Yes.So this is one problem with this. I just made this today so it’ll take a little time to stop shedding.

Stop shedding.

Things you’re going to need are a plastic 3 ring binder – I used one of the floppy ones, not the rigid ones – some faux fur fabric, about ½ a yard. I used a fabric that’s fairly thin. You’ll also need, preferably a hot glue gun. I don’t know for sure how well regular glue will work, but if that’s what you have, it’s definitely worth a try.

First measure the height and width of the binder. Assuming you want to cover both sides, measure the whole width from the far left to the far right when it’s open flat on your surface. You’re going to want to add an extra inch to all sides. You want the cut fabric to be bigger than the binder.

Then use a pen and the measuring tape or ruler to make marks on the back side of the fabric where you’re going to cut. You don’t have to draw lines – just hash marks every couple of inches to keep you on track when you’re cutting the fabric.By the way, cutting faux fur is hard. If you have some nice fabric scissors, you should use those.

Cut your piece of fabric out and prepare for lots of shedding. Shipping or duct tape in a circle around your hand will help a lot with cleanup.

After you’ve cut out your rectangle of fabric, it’s time to start gluing it on. Start at the right or left edge, gluing a section at a time, pressing down and waiting a minute or so before moving on to let the glue harden.

By the way, hot glue tip – if you get some on your skin, don’t try to peel it off while it’s warm. Let it cool, and it may come right off without taking some of your skin with it. If it’s still sticking, try pouring some nail polish remover on it and waiting a while.

When the fabric is all glued on, let it sit for twenty or thirty minutes. Then start trimming off the excess around the edges. Once it’s close, take it outside if you can and start brushing at the edges to get the loose fur off.

And that’s it! If it’s still shedding after a couple days of use, you might want to use some plain white glue to carefully dot along the cut edges and seal it off.

So, so anyway so that’s, that’s how to make it. It’s, it’s, you know, it’s not rocket science and there probably are other ways to do it, but I thought that – I tried a couple different ways and that seemed to, to work the best. So – you’re gonna to have to pick those up.

Whoops.

So anyway. And then the other thing I made, and it doesn’t look like much. Looks a little weird. But so this is a glitter squeeze ball. Okay?

Okay, don’t squeeze it too hard, cause remember what happened last time we squeezed a glitter ball really hard?

No, Yeah, but that was because –

There’s still glitter out there. There’s still glitter outside.

Yeah, but those were with the sequins that had the sharp edges. This has no sharp edges.

If it bursts you’re cleaning that all up by yourself.

It’s – it has no sharp edges.

Still.

t’s it is no sharp edges. And those other ones, the, the one with the – what are those little balls called?

Orbeez.

Yeah, the other one with the Orbeez is – this is a few months later and it’s still in good shape. It’s – it still looks fine. So these, these look a little fragile but they’re, they’re really not.

To make your glittery stress ball you’ll need a clear balloon (they really look like of yellow when they’re not blown up) some fine silver glitter, blue food coloring or soap coloring, clear glue, some boiled or distilled water and a squeezable bottle. I used one of the bottles I have for soap and cosmetic crafting because it’s got a small opening. You can use a water bottle as long as the opening isn’t too big. A Hint water bottle opening is too big, but a Dasani bottle should be fine, just to give you an idea. A funnel would be helpful, but not essential.

Pour some of the water into the bottle first.This is so the glue won’t stick to the sides of the bottle. Then pour in some glue – about a third of the amount of the water. Then put in four or five drops of coloring, put the cap on and shake vigorously. Once the color is spread evenly, pour a teaspoon or so of glitter in and shake again.

Make more than you think you’ll need to fill the balloon. Once you’re happy with how it looks, fit the opening of the balloon over the opening of the bottle. Turn the bottle and balloon upside down and squeeze the bottle contents into the balloon.

The balloon should only be stretched out a little by the contents of the bottle. You’re going to stretch it when you squeeze it, so it needs a lot of give left – it can’t be full and tight. Leave the straight end part of the balloon empty, or you’ll have a mess when you try to tie it off.

Pull the balloon off the bottle opening and make a knot. It may not look impressive, but once you start squeezing it, you’ll see all the glitter swirling around, and it’s pretty cool.

So it’s kind of, I mean, it’s cool-looking. It’s, it’s kind of like the one with the Orbeez. It looks kind of weird and then, and then it’s kind of mesmerizing when you look at it. So it swirls all around and it’s just something that you can focus on if you’re feeling anxious. It’s not, you know, necessarily something to help after you’ve had a panic attack but it is something that you can focus on and help calm yourself down.

So obviously these are just ideas and you’re going to want to come up with your own anxiety kit, panic attack kit.

Yeah, like this was her, the – this was her idea of one. You could have your own.

Yeah, I mean, I’d definitely look into. you know. what kind of self care is important after you have an anxiety, anxiety attack. You know that I, our – I think our video was pretty good, the Sims one that was a sug – from a suggestion by a viewer and, um, and there’s a lot of stuff out there to, you know, to read and see, you know, what your body needs to recover from a panic attack and so you’re going to want to make your own up, but so these are just suggestions, but you know I think some of them, some of them could be quite helpful.

So anyway – are you going to leave me any of them?

No.

Yes. So we hope this video has been helpful and –

Because if that wasn’t,that would suck.

Uh, okay. And if you have any suggestions or comments we’d love to see them below, and uh, we’lll see you next time.