Listening to Chant is the closest I've come to finding any true peace the past few days...a beautiful album that has over 121 reviews on Amazon, 81 percent of which are 5 stars. Below is a review from allmusic.com 

 

 

Decca's recording of chant sung by the Cistercian Monks of Stift Heiligenkreuz in southern Austria fulfills the purpose of this type of album: mellow, slow, reflective chant melodies for general audiences. The CD has high production values; the sound is exceptionally clean and clear with just enough resonance to evoke a monastic atmosphere. The singers have light-, pleasant-, natural-sounding baritones, and their voices blend smoothly. Their singing is more expressive than many performances of this repertoire, with a subtle use of dynamic shading that follows the melodic contours of the chant. Two of the most satisfying tracks are simply the tolling of the bells of the monastery with birdsong in the background. The notes, which reflect a Roman Catholic spirituality, don't identify the source or specific era of the chants being sung, but simply describe them as "Gregorian." The volume of the album is very loud, and the listener will probably want to adjust the levels to avoid being blown out of the room. --Stephen Eddins

I wouldn't say the music is loud enough to blow you out of the room. If anything, being surrounded by all its strength is amazingly comforting.

This is the horrible thing about having good intentions: sometimes they are hard for someone else to read and all they can judge you on is your behavior. That's certainly understandable; no one is a mind reader and even people who know us can't always tell why we do what we do.

If you ignore someone, for instance, it definitely comes across as being rude no matter that you're terrified if you look at them, they will see things you don't want them to see. On the extreme opposite end, if you're concerned about someone and express that concern and it's unwanted, then you can come across as having no respect for their privacy.

When you worry about something you did or didn't do, it doesn't really matter what your intentions were because the results are what have to be lived with for a long time. The unrest and worry it stirs up can make you physically ill and have the other person never want to have anything to do with you again.

You literally (whether because of worry or guilt or unease) can feel "beside yourself." I know when I feel beside myself it's almost like the pain is so intense you have to leave your own body. But I was curious as to a more medical or psychological explanation so I Googled the expression and found this:


...So it’s only to be expected that in such an extreme state of feeling, any mental clarity (let alone lucidity) would have evaporated.

It’s crucial to point out that being “beside yourself” is an unusually wide-ranging, all-purpose idiom. For it can refer to almost any emotion at all, as long as in the moment that feeling (another idiom here!) “holds sway” over you. Totally under its influence, it—rather than your reason or common sense—“oversees” or “regulates” your behavior, even though to others your being so overcome with emotion is likely to make them perceive you as not in control at all.

It might be helpful to enumerate some of the emotions, both negative and positive, that have frequently been associated with this familiar idiom. But first it should be emphasized that what links all of these different emotions is that they relate to extreme nervous system arousal—whether it be of agitation (negative) or exhilaration (positive).

So, for example, you might be “beside yourself” (or “out of your mind”) with anxiety, anger, frustration, confusion, fear, worry, rage, grief, sorrow, or depression. Or, you could be “beside yourself” with glee, joy, astonishment, enchantment, awe, or ecstasy (which typically—and secularly—refers to an extraordinarily pleasurable, dopamine-drenching sexual experience). Just compare being “in the pit of despair” with being “in seventh heaven” or “cloud nine.” For in either case, you’d be “beside yourself.”

https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/evolution-the-self/201410/where-are-you-when-you-re-beside-yourself

I found a magazine called Spirituality & Health at Whole Foods the other day. It's geared for all faiths, though I suppose it does have a New Age feel to it. There are a lot of things within it that I find helpful and healing...these are just a few of the highlights.

 

The pictures are a little fuzzy, but if you click them on individually you can see them better. The article these are from covers all kinds of emotions, but the shame and fear ones spoke to me the most... 

The only time music doesn't help me is when I'm too worried about someone, too anxious, too keyed up, too lost in real emotions to enjoy other equally real emotions found in most of the intense music I tend to favor.

So, tonight, I fixed myself some chamomile tea and that didn't work. Then I remembered I had some wine in the fridge so I went and poured myself a whole glass and an hour later it sits next to me only half full, which I am kind of relieved about since having more than that is not my thing and it would worry me if suddenly it did become my thing.

I am out of sorts with how to beat anxiety lately. A few years ago I was taking trazodone, which helped some at first, but soon stopped working, then somehow made me more anxious. My doctor said he didn't think it was a good fit and I decided to return to herbal medicines and teas, which help some, but nowhere near as much as music usually does.

I feel more anxious since I started drinking the wine tonight and I wonder: does alcohol make anxiety worse rather than help one unwind at the end of the night?

This article seems to think so:

http://www.anxietyguru.net/why-alcohol-causes-anxiety/

For those who do believe wine helps anxiety, this writer urges caution:

The key signal is flexibility. If you're disappointed there's no alcohol and you're having trouble not drinking at a party or a friend's house, you likely have a problem. "That's a sign of dependency," says Landau.

 

Says Sher, "If you're using any drug as a primary way to regulate emotion, you're in big trouble."

 

http://www.cnn.com/2013/09/24/health/drinking-reduces-stress-upwave/

 

When I started to Google "natural remedies for anxiety" I hadn't even gotten past "remedies" when it came up with anxiety...that means it is the most common search made for the use of natural remedies. I don't want other people to suffer, but it's still interesting that that is the most popular search result when typing in "natural remedies."

 

I find that Ashgawanda helps with anxiety, much more than chamomile tea does for me:

 

https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/inner-source/201401/ashwaganda-anxiety

I go on Pinterest way more than I should, but I often find the most helpful things, at just the right time. I didn't even go searching for this one, it just showed up in my feed, from one of the people I follow.

Suffering really does comes from wishing things were different...this is so heartbreakingly true that it physically hurts. The hard part is un-wishing those things and making a life that is more realistic and bearable.

Also hard, but on a much, much smaller scale is the need for me to change "effect" to "affect." Here you have this beautiful advice and there's one little mistake and I'm bothered by that...just another example of needing to let things go. :)