I have suffered from a pretty bad online bullying back in my uni, and it has resulted to my anxiety on mediated communication (all forms, from simple sms to e-mails). I’ve gone through various cocktail of medicine, talk therapies, mindfulness therapy, support groups, and a psychward stint, but I still can’t help but get an anxiety attack whenever someone messages me. I’m always scared that I’m getting attacked or scolded and it pushes me into a spiral. Even people who are very understanding of my conditions tell me to just always remind myself that a text is just a text and the sender is not mad at me, but we all know it’s not that easy.

What other things (habits, activities, mantras, etc.) have helped you deal with this? I don’t know how else to cope until my next scheduled therapy.