Dealing with Anxiety

Hi lovely people.

I wrote this post on Saturday but for some reason haven’t posted it until now. Possibly because I feel a little exposed sharing details of my personal experience with anxiety, however, I have decided to post this because anxiety is something that alot of people have experience with and if this post resonates with or helps anyone then that is worth it.

As I write this, I have just calmed myself down after an hour of overthinking, shaking, hyperventalating and crying hysterically. Today was one of ‘those days’ where I awoke with crippling anxiety and an overwhelming feeling of complete worthlessness. It is now 11 o’clock in the morning and I finally feel relatively calm and able to face the day.

I am finally at a point where I know how to calm myself down when i feel anxious . I have tried lots of different strategies and I’m going to share with you what has worked best for me. Everyone is different and we all have different experiences with anxiety so thefollowing ways might not work for you. I just thought I’d share them in the hope that they may help someone.

Here are the steps I take to calm down when I’m having an anxious moment:

• Take deep breaths, drink water and get some fresh air if possible.

• Distance and Distract- Take yourself away from the situation if possible, and use distraction to allow yourself time to calm down. Meditation,exercise,crafts, walking etc are all good ideas.

• Write down your thoughts without delving into the content of them.

• Go through the list and challenge any distorted/irrational thoughts.

• Go through any remaining thoughts or problems and try to manage/problem solve.

I have written these in a very brief way as to keep it simple. This makes it easier to digest and remember during a difficult moment. If anyone wants me to expand on any of these or go into more detail on how I manage my anxiety / mental health issues then I will do so.

Again, these are just the ways that have worked for me and they may not work for you. Pick and choose the tips that work. There are so many self help books out there with many different ideas, find what works best for you.

Most importantly, never forget that YOU ARE AMAZING!

Lots of love, glitter, and happy thoughts. Beth xoxo