Hi Anxiety

Hi Anxiety!

Tips for creating a healthy relationship with Anxiety.

Hi lovely people!!!

Just writing this as in the past I have struggled with Severe Social Anxiety and sometimes because of this life has felt impossible. But I have been fortunate enough to have help available and I thought maybe sharing what I have learnt with people can hopefully help and maybe you will enjoy reading this too.

Tip number One: Understand that there will be good days and bad days.

Living life with anxiety can be like a bumpy roller coaster but implementing certain habits and approaches into your daily routine can help smooth that journey out a little.

Tip number Two: Don't make Anxiety your enemy.

One thing that is very easy to do when we are experiencing high levels of anxiety is to make anxiety this monster and then try to hide what we feel away from the world. Doing this can actually make anxiety symptoms worse. Instead try to acknowledge what you are feeling. This can be hard at times as it's not always clear to us why we feel the way we do but some feelings of anxiety can be linked to past memories or fears hiding within a part of our mind that controls the basic functions of our body (the sub-conscious mind), hence the nervousness and panic symptoms.

When you first start to notice the thoughts or symptoms of anxiety arising, try saying to yourself "Hi Anxiety (or other feeling), I see you and it's okay that you are here"

This acceptance of the emotions you feel, will help you be more aware of the present moment and aware of what it is you are worried about.

Tip number Three: Create a space where you feel comfortable.

Having a safe place around you to clear your mind and look after yourself is important when living with anxiety. In a world that's full of chaos and complications it's nice to have somewhere you can let go of all that. Some people won't be fortunate enough to have their own private space to relax and unwind but no matter where you are, having a place you feel comfortable is possible. This could be a park bench you like to sit and read or listen to music. It could be at a close friends house or it could simply be anywhere that you feel comfortable.

When you know this place make sure that whenever you are in this particular space you switch off from all the worrying. I know that's easier said than done but if you have something on your mind, try clearing all the buzzing that is within your mind by spilling the words down onto a sheet of paper or a laptop.

Tip number Four: Create healthy habits

Creating healthy habits is one we all know. Sleeping right, eating healthy, having a routine blah blah blah, things we have all heard a million trillion times and honestly how can one manage to do all of that.

The trick here is to take it one baby step at a time and don't try do it all at once because let's be realistic that's not going to happen. Try this by planning but adding new reminders every two weeks or when you feel you can take the next step. I'd say start with sleep first, I'm not saying be a grandma and sleep at 8pm on the dot every day. Just set a time you would like to sleep and try get at least 8 hours sleep a night because a sleepy person will have a bumpier day than a well rested person.

Once you feel that this has become routine for you, then you can try adding reminders to eat some fruit and veg, take 10 minutes to clear your mind through meditation, exercise or have a goal for the amount of water you drink a day. These small changes to your daily life will have a big impact in the long run and help ease anxiety symptoms.

If you struggle to sleep there are many methods to try and help this, a few things that I would recommend are: writing thoughts down, listening to calming music (sleeping at last is great for this), sleep meditation audio, being a blanket burrito, reading with a cuppa tea, putting some lavender drops on your pillow or having a warm bath before bed can help too.

Tip number Five: Have a healthy outlet for emotions.

This part is my favorite, it's where you find something that you love to do and use this as an outlet for your emotions. This come in useful when emotions feel overwhelming and you just have a lot going on inside you and you don't know what to do with all the emotions and thoughts within you. When you feel like this having an outlet helps you to actually do something with the emotions that are having a negative impact on how you feel. It's not easy for everyone to find something that you can get lost in but its fun to try new things anyway. Here is a list of things that you may like to try...

Dancing, Drawing, Painting (finger painting is fun but messy), Playing an instrument, Listening to music on full volume, Singing, Hiking, Cook/bake something, Origami (if you can do this a lot of respect to you!), Scribble what you feel, Watch a movie in a different language, or YouTube videos with subtitles (can be funny!)...

I could go on forever but just find something you like to do, set a timer if you have responsibilities to attend to and forget about the outside world for a little and tune into the world of you.. The outside world can wait!

Tip number Six: Switch off from social media

It's no wonder in todays society that so many of us struggle with mental health! It's hard out there guys! We are in the age of technology where we spend a huge amount of time online which can be draining to both our mental and social battery. I feel like at times we feel as though we can't turn off our phones because someone might need us but having our on button constantly active is draining and its okay to say "hey, look I need a break from social media and sometime to myself." It's not selfish and taking that time to disconnect from the world of social media can be refreshing. Get some fresh air and allow yourself to be human!

Tip number Seven: Be aware of your safety behaviors

This one may take a bit of time to realize as everyone has different safety behaviors and it can take some time to realize your own. I will use an example of one of my safety behaviors so you guys can understand.

I used to fear social interactions especially eating in front of anyone, so if I got an invite to go for a meal with people I would decline and avoid it at any cost for the fear of embarrassing myself or being negatively judged.

There are many different safety behaviors such as sitting at the back of the classroom so people don't look at you, isolating yourself or even avoiding giving your opinion to keep the focus off oneself. In this situation my safety behavior is avoidance of the situation. Now this seems okay for the short term but in the long term it will impact the way I interact with society and I will be limiting myself and keeping my captive in the small comfort zone I have created for myself. After identifying and acknowledging a safety behavior you can then start to get out of your comfort zone and use mindfulness techniques in situations where you feel threatened or at risk. Doing this will allow you to slowly expand your comfort zone radius and help you become less anxious in situations that you now dred or worry about.

Bare in mind: Not every experience will be a good one but that's okay, everyone has good and bad days, but we just need to keep trying, if things go bad don't be put off from trying again, take some time to heal and try again and again and then when you look back you will see how far that effort has got you, even if you don't realize it at the time.

Tip number Eight: Use mindfulness techniques

First of all what is mindfulness? Mindfulness is simply bringing your attention to the present moment.

Mindfulness is a practice that is often used during CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) to help people understand and cope with anxiety when it arises. This helps because our anxiety comes from sources or experiences that have happened. This could be a past experience that was unpleasant and uncomfortable for you or even that you have been stressed at work and have had to take so much information in that you feel overwhelmed, on edge and anxious. There are many reasons but all can be helped through practicing mindfulness and implementing healthy living habits.

Here are a few that can help in different situations but if these don't work there are many many mindfulness techniques out there and plenty of books.

1) Gratitude list - Simply grab some paper and a pen and write a list of 10 things you are grateful for.

2) Stillness - Focus on the body, what sensations do you feel, can you feel tension in your shoulders or back or stomach.

3) Tea or coffee drinking exercise - Make a hot drink and enjoy the exercise. Notice the smells and the colour of drink or patterns in the cup as you add a splash of milk and then sip the drink slower than usual and pay attention to how it feels and how the body feels.

4) Square breathing - For this exercise you take a deep breath in for 4 seconds, hold for 4 seconds and breath out for 4 seconds and hold for 4 seconds again before repeating the process. This is a good exercise for concentration and stress too.

That's it for the mindfulness techniques just one last point- There are many anxiety symptoms such as: Panic attacks, headaches, dizziness, nausea, aches and pains, digestive upsets and more. These are all completely normal symptoms of Anxiety and can be improved by practicing mindfulness and healthy living habits. But if anxiety does impact your life please seek help or talk to a doctor.

I hope this helps people anyway and I also hope that you enjoyed reading this or found it interesting.

Thank you, keep being awesome! And take care lovely people!!