Going through life pretending you don’t have anxiety is crippling. Considering 90% of the population has some sort of anxiety, this article should resonate with every person. (I made that statistic up) But either you know someone or you understand how it feels..
I think anxiety can be a learned feeling. For me, I watched my mother constantly worry about everything. Bills, cleaning, grocery shopping, making appointments. I felt like it was a normal thing to always worry about these things like her. It was all I ever knew and saw.
As I got older, I realized the negative effects this can have on the rest of my life. I have read self-help books, talked to a therapist, tried yoga, wine, and to some degree, all of those things have helped but never ‘fixed’ the issue.
I do agree it is hard to break habits you always thought were a ‘norm’ but it is possible. Realizing what we might have learned in the past is not always ‘right.’ And we can’t keep living in the past and using that as an excuse to not take care of ourselves.
Self-care is so important. Work out, drink water, get sleep. Get mentally healthy. Otherwise, we can’t complain things are not going well if we refuse to take care of ourselves first.
The world is full of things that can trigger anxiety. Being able to identify and avoid those situations is also part of mental health awareness. Anxiety can be a mind set to some degree. We need to train ourselves to recognize the signs and steer back away from falling into that endless anxiety pit or having an anxiety attack.
On the other hand, we can do everything in our power to steer clear of those situations. But as luck would have it, anxiety continues to find and haunt us.
As an adult, I realized how I got to the anxiety level I currently have. I know what makes it worse, better, and how to handle it. I still don’t feel that it makes it any easier. You can be having the best time and all of a sudden something happens. Or someone says something and that dark pit comes marching with all their luggage into your stomach and waves hello.
And you have to act normal. And try to continue to keep up the good time you were having. I feel like my senses get heightened when my anxiety is high. I can’t concentrate on one thing for a long time but I notice everything. I don’t think rationally. It’s doomsday all the way.
But I try and recognize when this is happening and turn it around. I understand sometimes, it gets out of control but more often than not, I can make the situation better.
Sometimes drinking helps. Sometimes it makes it even worse. I think the experts would say don’t drink. Being a realist, do whatever the fuck helps. There is not a cookie cutter way to deal. If sitting in a dark room listening to Celine Dion or cleaning the entire house helps, fricken do it.
If it does get to the point where you think you are going to hurt yourself or others, please do seek medical attention. Don’t feel embarrassed or bad about it. You need to take care of yourself and if medical help is what it takes, so be it. As a health care provider, I always commend individuals who check themselves into the emergency room for suicidal ideations. It takes a strong person to admit they need help and I think they are very brave.
If you need some helpful tools, please check out this post on 23 things you need to help you relax. I have used them and can vouch, they are awesome. Also, great for gift ideas year round for family and friends.
In today’s world, anxiety is just going to get worse. More problems, violence, pandemics, employment decline. We need to manage it before it gets out of control. Call a friend, work out, read, knit, play with your dog/cat.
Do whatever you need too to find that normalcy in your life and feel complete again. And maybe for some, that’s even medication. Which, if it aligns with your beliefs, should be considered if you can’t control it holistically.
As terrible as it is, I don’t think anxiety is going anywhere. Recognize the signs, remember to take care of yourself and reach out for help when you need it. Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE [mailerlite_form form_id=1]