The Dos and Don'ts Of Helping Someone During A Panic Attack

Excuse my crude drawing but this is something really important that really needs to be talked about. I have panic and anxiety attacks on a weekly (sometimes even daily) basis and they are normally in public for that is when I am usually in my biggest state of panic or anxiety. Being around others can make the attack even worse for some people don't know what to do while I am going through this. I am not saying that these people are bad or anything. I am sure they have good intentions but just aren't used to these kinds of scenarios. Here, I have created a list of dos and don'ts of what you should do when helping someone during a state of panic. Remember: I am not a professional and though I know from my own experience and research, I am not able to fully cure a panic or anxiety attack.
Do:
Try and understand the situation. This DOES NOT mean press the person for questions but at least try and figure out what is causing this person to panic. Even if you don't get it fully, tell this person that you understand how they must be feeing. A lot of the time, I get really upset for I feel as though my emotions are stupid and as though I am just blowing everything out of proportion.
Don't
Do not joke around. One time, I had a panic attack on my friend's bed while another friend was over and the two of them just kind of began joking around about me having an attack and almost making fun of the things I had told them about what panic is. I did not tell this story so I could rant about how thoughtless they were acting (they are lovely people just a little clueless when it comes to this) but to say that I felt really terrible that my friends didn't realize how serious this was.
Do:
If this person is in a crowded room, tell people to back away and take the person out of the situation. No one likes being crowded around especially in a situation like this. If there is not another room this person can go into, inform people what is going on and clear out the space around the person having a panic attack.
Don't
NEVER tell someone having a panic or anxiety attack to "just calm down". Breaking this sentence down, every word counts. The use of the word just is extremely impactful. "JUST calm down." as though calming down is some extremely easy activity to do when you're brain is rushing and you're in such a state of panic. You should help this person calm down but merely telling them to will not just do nothing but hurt them even more.
Do:
Ask the person if there is anything you can do to help them. Sometimes, the thing this person needs the most is just to be left alone. If this person just wants their space, respect that and leave them alone. In some cases, the most helpful thing you can do is leave.
Don't:
I realize that someone breaking down like this can be rather frightening but saying that out loud to your friend who is going through this attack can make their experience even scarier. What you have to realize is that this person is going through a lot all at once and really shouldn't be focusing on what their friends and the people around them are saying. If you are scared, though you shouldn't be, get someone that can actually help instead of making it worse.
Do:
Tell this person you're here for them. A lot of times, people really don't feel as though others care for them. Telling someone this can really make a person feel better.
Don't:
Don't ever tell a person going through an anxiety or panic attack that it is nothing or what they're feeling is stupid. Though anxiety attacks only last for a few minutes, so much goes through you when you are having one. Though it may be hard to put yourself in the shoes of this said person, telling them that their feelings are invalid is not the way to go.

These are just a few things that are really important to learn about what to do when someone around you is having one of these attacks. To learn more about them, I suggest going to Psych Central.com I also have an amazing song the lovely, Peej Liguori covered that really gives you a good understanding of what an anxiety attack is.

-Ann

Friday Extra: My Favorite Short Films

Short films are one of my favorite things because unlike long movies, the plot has to be meaningful while still moving quickly and unlike a TV show, you don't have to get committed. I have watched many amazing short films but these four following films would have to be my favorites!

The Forever Train

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This eight minute film done by PJ Liguori is brilliant. The plot follows a train that is well...forever and it's weird and wonderful passengers but mainly focuses on an unnamed hero played by Chris Kendall. The entire film is extremely weird in that it just mainly is about Chris trying to get his stolen suitcase back while running into other passengers such as a newspaper couple (played by Dan and Phil), a strange boy who stares into space winding up a jack in the box (Christian Novelli), Becca Hodgekins (Chris Kendall) and many other youtuber cameos. Another reason why "The Forever Train" is one of my favorite is for the production value. You can easily tell a lot of hard work and effort was put into the intricate costumes of the unique characters and the set is absolutely gorgeous.

The Tea Chronicles

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Charlie McDonnel's first short film was definitely not a disappointment. Told in eleven minutes, it is literally a horror film about tea. The acting was amazing thanks to such an awesome cast of Charlie, Khyan Mansley, Chis Kendall (yet again), and Jenny Bingham. The special effects were also so well done with the help of extraordinary co directer and cameraman, Ciaran Obrian. Though the entire film was shot in Charlie and Alex's flat at the time, he did an amazing job of disguising the place and making it look much more like where the story should take place. Most scenes were even filmed in the same room and I couldn't even tell until Charlie revealed in a behind the scenes video! Lastly, the music used in "The Tea Chronicles" is extraordinary. Charlie did an amazing job of choosing the perfect tracks for the dramatic and thrilling scenes and kept you on the edge of your seat.

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Stray Dog
Before I tell you more about this surreal thirteen minute film, I have to point out that the director and main character, Bertie Gilbert, is sixteen years old. That is only two years older than me! The film follows Miles as he goes through a break up. Everything seems fairly normal up until Miles finds a time machine and brings himself back to the night of the break up. As the scene of the party unfolds, the entire plot only makes sense in the last five minutes of the film. Bertie plays two out of the three characters and you can really see himself in the characters he wrote. The script is written perfectly where is still is depressing and upsetting to see Miles go through this break up but has comedic points. Bertie outdid himself and showed so much potential for his next short film.

Offline

Charlie's second (and newest) thirteen minute film is not only hilarious but in a really strange way, relatable. "Offline" takes place in an office building with a pregnant woman (played by Lou Marie Kerr) who is addicted a world of warcraft like website, a young adult applying for college (Hazel Hayes), an arrogant ex boyfriend of Hazel's character (Jake Unsworth), and a man addicted to a fictional app that is described as "Instagram and Snapchat combined with cooking" in which you take pictures of food (Charlie McDonnell). When the internet gets shut off in the building, the office workers treat this situation as the actual end of the world. The movie has many ironic pieces of humor and really makes you laugh at how ridiculous we are in a world in which we are oh so dependent on the internet. 

What were your favorite short films of the year?

-Ann

Friday Extra: Still Not Asking For It

I absolutely hate it when people start rants off with "This is a rant about...." I just had to put that out there for I seriously had no other way to start this. Lately, many people at my school have told me that I show my boobs off way too often or that my leggings are too tight or my heels are too high. Personally, I disagree, but that isn't the point. The other day, as I walked by a group of sixth graders, one of them whispered to another one of their cunt friends,
"It is as if she is asking to be raped." referring to my low cut Pierce The Veil tank top. I am not going to take something some ignorant sixth grader said as extremely hurtful. That isn't the point either. If she had just called me a slut or whore or any other offensive (and disgusting) word of her choice, I would have been completely fine with the rude comment and have moved on with my life. No, she said that I was fucking ASKING to be raped. I seriously can't describe how awful that is that someone would think is OK to claim.

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For once in my fourteen years of life, I have felt good about my body. Ever since about the age of ten, I have either felt too fat or skinny or tall and have classified myself as ugly. Finally, I can come to peace with what I have and feel confident walking around with something that is a little more revealing than I normally wear. Was I strutting down the hallway saying "Hey! Who wants to rape me?". Of course not! So what gives this girl that right to tell her snobby friends that I want to be raped?
One of the main things I was disgusted by the comment was how casually she talked about rape. She being a sixth grader, may not have been exposed to these topics as much as someone older than her has. She may not realize how serious and tragic rape is and how this really isn't something you should be saying casually towards others.
Also, what happened to the fact that everyone has feelings? About every child learned in preschool that if you don't have something nice to say don't say it and that everyone has feelings. Even that eighth grader walking down the hall in the low cut shirt. This girl didn't know me at all and I didn't know her. Does she know about how many times I have cried in front of the mirror about my body? How about the amount of times I have felt so insecure about myself that I have had to wear a hoodie over something I was wearing for I felt too ugly? I don't think so. She doesn't know that I have respect for myself and that I am, in fact, a feminist who believes that people should wear whatever the hell makes them feel good because it doesn't matter how much you show as long as you are happy with yourself and feel beautiful. On top of all that, her comment is flat out invalid. You can't ASK to get raped. Rape is a one sided situation so if I wanted to be raped, it technically couldn't be classified as that.
To finish this all off, I just really hope that people will stop saying these terrible things to each other. Rape isn't a thing to say casually about another person no matter what the hell they are wearing. No one ever asks to be raped. I don't care how short their shorts are or how low cut their tops can be. I seriously hope that one day, this sixth grader will say something as disgusting as what she told me, to the wrong person. I am not saying this so her life gets ruined or something crazy like that. Just at one point, she is going to learn her lesson that saying such awful things about people isn't going to get her very far. I am also going to clear up before people begin going insane, I did not write up this post so I could trash talk this girl and to make her feel bad (I doubt she will even read this). I made this post to show anyone else who has ever said that someone is asking to be raped how terrible that is. Thanks guys.
-Ann

Friday Extra: Holiday Gift Guide!

Last minute gift shopping? Here are some ideas for any type of person!
Crafty
After collaging my walls, I had to put my work somewhere else so I went to compositional collaging in my collage book. You can find a blank notebook or sketch book at about any craft store. If you want to be extra thoughtful, pick up some magazines to get them started!
Cosmetic Loving

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If you are looking for a cheap present for someone who loves makeup, go for the holiday packs of lip glosses such as EOS and lip smackers! OK OK Lipsmackers is a bit of a throwback to fifth grade but who can resist peppermint scented chap stick? A lot of holiday makeup packs come in really adorable packaging that is great for gifting! I found a wide variety of sets at Target though I am almost positive they sell sets like these at your local drug store.

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Fashion Loving
Bangles are a great gift because this gives the person a chance to start a collection of them. I really love Alex and Ani because they have such a wide variety of styles for all sorts of fashion senses and personalities.
Music Loving
If this said person likes listening to music, I would seriously suggest an iTunes gift card if you are looking for a cheap and quick gift. This gives your loved one a chance to download all the new music that will be released in 2014! If you looking into being real generous (by generous I mean THE BEST PERSON IN THE WORLD), and this said person likes pop punk (and other genres), Warped Tour 2014 tickets (or any other concert tickets just that Warped is amazing) are a great idea for it gives the gift receiver something to look forward to. If your shopping for someone who enjoys making music, buying them a ukulele is a huge suggestion of mine. Learning ukulele is fairly simple and extremely fun. Also you can get one extremely cheap (it may not be very high quality). If you want to spend a little more and be awesome, I recommend shopping at The Ukulele Workshop they sell beautiful decorative ukes from dinosaurs to flowers. My favorite one is their pin up girl one (shown right). The ukuleles they use as bases are extremely high quality and sound great too!
Book Loving
If the person you are shopping for loves reading, I would recommend the Divergent series. The books are going to be released as a major motion picture soon and are absolutely amazing!
Other
Bastiste Mini Dry Shampoo- Set Of Three
This is a simple gift for anyone who loves these hairsprays! Even if the gift receiver has never used this hair product, I use the full size kind and it is a life saver for a bad hair day! I found these at Urban Outfitters.
Disposable Camera
I got my friend, John, one for secret Santa and he absolutely loves it! These kind of cameras are just fun to use and give off a sort of 2005 feel (if you are into that).
Socks
I constantly tell my friends that socks are the best presents because to be honest, they really are. I mean not only do they keep your feet warm, but they come in all different kinds!

Happy Holidays!
-Ann

Friday Extra: Ann "Draws"

So basically, I got an app on my laptop that is the wannabe paint and well this happened...

 My first drawing of my favorite Rookie writer, Ruby Book.

 This one is a little better (it couldn't get much worse) and is actually on Ruby's tumblr blog here

I caption this as "A sad attempt at drawing Petrel"

 So this was supposed to be Alaska Young...

 Eh this is an EXTREMELY bad Carrie Hope Fletcher.

Wait this is terrible.

-Ann

p.s do to something coming up, no weekend posts will be released on Saturday and Sunday. Sorry!

Friday Extra: The Moon's Best Dun

If I were to make a full out list of intelligent young you tubers, Steinunn from the channel, The Moon's Best Dun, would have to be the first person I would add. This fourteen year old girl also known as "The Girl Who Never Sleeps" is not only extremely insightful but just so creative and different than about any other person I have seen on YouTube. On top of it all, Steinunn is an extremely lovely person and was just so sweet to let me waste her time and ask her a couple questions! 

-What made you start a YouTube channel?
There are loads of reasons why I originally started my youtube channel, I've always been into filming and generally sharing stories and my own opinions, youtube is a great platform to combine these things. Another reason is that I have been watching youtubers for quite a while, I think I came across Charlie McDonnel when I was 10 or 11 years old and completely fell in love with the world of vloggers.
Charlie Mcdonnell got me into vloggers too! It was also around the same age as me that you were opened up to the world of vloggers ;) 

- I have "Blogger Buddies" being a blogger myself. Do you have any Youtuber friends that you have met through Youtube?
Over the time I've been on youtube I have met some of the most amazing people I have talked to. I don't call my youtube friends "youtube" friends anymore because they are just as close to me as my friends from school. Most day's I come home and talk to other youtubers, have a quick skype or a little chat on facebook. Being able to meet people from around the world has really changed my life and I couldn't be more happy about the things youtube has given me.

-What vloggers would you say you look up to?
To name all the vloggers I look up to would take ages considerating there are so many amazing content creators out there. One of my favorites at the moment is Jackvslife. He manages to combine talking ad film in such a great way. Other people you should defenetly check out are people like Adam Borman (thatoctagon), grimbleism, Louis Cole (FunForLouis), Ollie (olliem97) and especially LordLouielou. There are so many more people that I could name but theses are people I have been enjoying a lot lately!

-This is extremely irrelevant to the subject of you tubing, but I love your haircut. What made you want to cut your hair in such an edgy way?
Well  I really don't know, I guess I wanted a change and I didn't want to fit the steriotype of a 13 year old girl with long blonde hair. i've always had quite short hair, it's just  thing I like. When I first cut my hair most people liked it but there were a few times I got teased for it so at a point of time I really regretted it but I think I'm happy I did it. We all need to realize people aren't all the same, you don't know why their hair is short and you don't know why are how they are. Let's just all embrace the different.

-What would you say your goals with your channel are?

At first, when I started my youtube channel I wished I would become a "big" youtuber. Not anymore, right now I'm enjoying youtube as it is, it's always great to gain subscribers but that's not the most important thing, I stay on youtube because it's my hobby and my friends are there. So my goals are to improve my videos and meet more people. 

Your goals for your YouTube channel are a lot similar to when I started How Fitting. I wanted to be the biggest blogger possible but now I'm pretty happy here being a mildly popular online magazine.

-What opportunities have you had since you started your channel?

I've had the opportunity to meet people around the world, talk, collab and make friends. I have had the chance to make video's that hundreds of  people will see and even though sometimes i feel like that number is small, if I would try to fit every single one of my subscribers into my house, it would be bloody hard!

-So you are a part of the collab channel, The Fabulous Few, how did you decide you wanted to be a part of a collab? Is it harder having to make videos for your own channel and for The Fabulous Few?
yes, yes I am indeed. It hasn't been going as well as we wished because everyone has been quite busy but we plan on getting it on track again soon, It's harder to make 2 videos than one, obviously. but I think it's good for me to get the practice.

-As you probably know, about every Youtuber has been shipped with at least one person. Have you ever been shipped?

I have indeed! i've been shipped with my best friend stan (stanearls on youtube) but it's all for fun :)

-If you watch the channel Crabstickz, you would have heard of when Chris Kendall said he was "quitting YouTube". In the video, he described how fake some Youtubers were. What do you think of that video?

I absolutely love that video, with youtube there follows stress and attitude. I think almost no youtuber really acts how they are in real life and It's very easy to understand that. You choose to show your best side and the one you want people to see! I would actually sometimes consider myself a totally different person online but that's because I am not as confident around the people I know in school and I don't feel as accepted there. 

Big thanks to Steinunn for letting me ask her a couple questions!

-Ann

The Best Thing Ever: Tim and Eric Awesome Show Great Job!

During hurricane Sandy, Vivi and I found probably the stupidest yet best show I have ever seen in my life. This beautiful show was Tim and Eric Awesome Show Great Job. Though Vivi has already talked about it in a post here, I felt it needed yet another post to follow up with. When people ask me what this magical show is about, it is seriously hard to describe it to the point where all I can say about it is that is that Tim and Eric is a skit show with extraordinarily stupid yet hilarious sketches that I cannot even explain why they are so funny. The reason why Viv and I love it so much is just kind of for the all out horribleness of the show. I am yet to see a part of that show that I can say made sense. Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim don't even know what their show means. Everything just seems to come out of nowhere and has no connection to what was previously shown. One of Vivi and I's favorite skits would have to be a man with a terrible quality puppet singing a song about how he is the best dad and his puppet is the best son to the point where it out of nowhere becomes a fight when both party could have achieved what they wanted. There are also just such good moments to quote with friends. Vivi and I will constantly laugh about the 100 Years Of Jackie Chan episode or just kind of out of nowhere quote Zach Galifianakis's memorable character, Terri Green, (who is known as a big star within the show) who for some reason runs an acting class and tells a boy that his new name is Fix The Fern Back and calls out
"Answer me fix the!". Stupid things that make no sense. How could you not love this show?
All in all, Tim and Eric Awesome Show Great Job is about the stupidest show on television and that is exactly why it is so lovable.
-Ann

Friday Extra: Inside Ann's Collage Book

The cover of my book. I found the quote on one of Tavi's old journals and found it really cool.

"We could just listen to vinyl all day long"

Based off the Alex Day song "You and Me"

I wrote all the lyrics to "Royals" by Lorde as the background.

I drew the flowers on green construction paper and outlined everything in metallic sharpie. 

My Marina and The Diamonds collage

I used a letter I got from my school as the background

"Are you going to class today?"

"I don't think I'm emotionally prepared." I ripped a page out of my math text book for the background

I once used this in my "Pipes" post from a couple months ago

I used yet another page out of the textbook for this one and outlined a lot of things in metallic sharpie. I really wanted to put some words on the page and Vivi and I were on spotify so when an ad for an album called "Redneck Crazy" came on, I couldn't resist.

Yet another textbook background

"We crave a different kind of buzz" 

I couldn't resist using another page out of the textbook. I had no idea what to write on the side so I went with a Great Gatsby quote.

These are just a couple from last week!
-Ann

Friday Extra: DIY Ouija Board

Now for something completely different. For some reason, I thought it would be a fun idea to make an Ouija Board so if you want to talk to your dead cat or something, heres a do it yourself step by step:

You Will Need:

-Cardboard

-Markers

-Scissors

-Paper

-Glue

Step One

Get out your cardboard. I used a Nilla wafers box that has been sitting for ages in my room. Cut how long or wide you want your board to be. I cropped the box a bit for I wanted a small one.

Step Two

Take out a piece of paper. I ran out of plain white paper so I went with yellow. Put glue on either the cardboard or paper and cut around the cardboard so there isn't paper hanging off. I do suggest that you don't cut it perfectly and leave a bit hanging off for you to glue to the back. 

 

Step Three

Time to take out your markers. Most ouija boards are written in black but since I am so darn edgy, I wrote in a deep blue. To start off, write "YES" in the left corner and "NO" in the right corner. The font doesn't exactly matter but I want mine to look fancy shmancy. 

Next, write every letter of the alphabet. Most boards have the letters on a slant but if you prefer them in a straight line, that is fine. I changed the color of my marker to a lighter blue just because I thought it would look pretty.

Below your alphabet, write the numbers 0-9.

Finally, put Goodbye under the numbers. I've seen some boards that say "Farewell" or other things like that. There are no rules of what you must say.

Step Four

Now that you're done writing up every thing on your board, its time to make the planchette. This could possibly be the hardest part of the entire thing and I hope that your's won't turn out as crappy as mine did. Start out by cutting a point with two curves at the bottom on your cardboard.

Step Five

Now that you're done cutting, cut out a strip of paper that is larger than the planchette put glue all over it and press it on. Cut around the paper so that you can no longer see the cardboard. Once you're done doing that, fold the planchette in half and cut a hole in the middle. Make it medium sized so you can see you letters through it,

Step Six

Time to decorate! I cut pictures out of an old world atlas to glue onto my board.

Final Product!

 We'd love to see how your board turned out! Send pictures to howfittingblog1@gmail.com

-Ann