Definitely distraction, but like you said that doesn’t always work. When that fails, I try deep breathing and progressive muscle relaxation. For breathing, my fave technique is just to count each inhale and exhale as you breathe all the way into your belly (so inhale is 1, exhale is 2, next inhale is 3, exhale is 4, etc. I rarely go past 25-30 because it calms me down fast).

Progressive muscle relaxation is seriously a godsend. If you haven’t tried it before, definitely do. Your mileage may vary, but it works great for me. Here is a guided recording for progressive muscle relaxation (mp3 format).

Best medicine for me: go outside and engage in some kind of physical activity. Not necessarily strenuous — an easy walk with the dog, some light yard work, etc. Nature sounds are also helpful: listening to the wind in the trees, the sound of the water rippling over rocks, birdsong, summer cicadas and frogs, etc.

My wife has BPD and when she is handling anxiety she does the same as you but also does breathing exercises and the like. She’s a fan of mantras as well.

I just have vanilla anxiety depression and if I’m anxious try to do something like the breathing or some self imposed memory test - like try to remember all the Beatles albums in chronological order, the kings and queens of England etc.

Everyone has something different that works, stay safe, hope you find what works for you! 👍