To Anyone Who Has Anxiety, I See You And I Promise You're Not Alone
To anyone who also suffers from anxiety, to anyone who suffers from depression, to anyone who suffers from any mental illness, to anyone who is feeling uneasy, scared, or nervous about what is currently going on in the world, firstly you made it through yesterday, you got up today and that is something that you should be so proud of!
I suffer from extremely bad anxiety, some days are bad and some days aren’t so bad, but every day it’s there. I have learnt some really good tools over the last few years on what to keep in my survival kit and I just wanted to share with anyone who needs it right now.
I know that some days are worse than others and they feel like they are gonna stick around forever, but I promise you they won’t. As hard as it is, you need to try and hold the bad days lightly, I really try to just let my anxiety sit with me as I go about my day, the more I try and fight it, the worse and stronger it gets… so I kinda just let it have a front-row seat to my bad days and I do my best to try and prove it wrong. I let it become my shadow, but I try my best to never let myself become my anxiety’s shadow…I am always in the lead… but sometimes I’m not and that is okay.
Every single day, whether it be good days or bad days, I do something for my mental health or something that my body or my mind will thank me for, I go to the beach a lot, go for a lot of walks, meditate, read, listen to a podcast, do something creative… all things that kinda keep my mind active on top of my anxiety going wild in the background… don’t get me wrong, some days completely take over me and it’s suffocating, it can be paralysing… but on those days, I try and remind myself that I have been here before, and I have gotten through it, instead of talking down on myself, I guide myself through it, I talk to myself the way I would talk to a friend going through the same thing, I care and just listen to what I need that day and then I start again tomorrow. I have found that a balanced lifestyle helps me so much and listening to my body is so important. If I am tired, it’s okay to sleep and rest, if you are hungry, it is okay to eat and if you need a moment to catch your breath, take that moment.
If I am on the verge of a panic attack or the days where my anxiety is completely uncontrollable, I have found that having a shower really helps and then mid-shower I turn the water to freezing cold, it is like it resets you or something it shocks the negative thoughts away, on days where it’s really bad, I get out freezing cold, but sometimes I let myself warm back up again with the water.
Listening to music is another big help for me, if I am at a place where I can’t have a cold shower or meditate to stop a panic attack or if I am struggling to control my anxiety in that moment, I listen to Shake It Off by Taylor Swift, the amount of times that song has saved me from tears or a breakdown is beyond. Try to sing along as much as you can and really listen to each lyric, it distracts you away from your thoughts and gives your mind something positive to focus on.
I have also found that counting while walking can also help to lighten the dark thoughts when you need to try and soften the noise a little bit. Once again, it distracts yourself enough to focus on something that is basically second nature and it gives your mind a bit of relief.
There are so many other tools you can use to help manage your anxiety and I also find the grounding exercises really helpful, but these are the main ones I use every day.
Before you do any of these remember to take a few deep breaths and just bring yourself back to reality as much as you can.
One of the most rewarding things you can give yourself is being aware of your anxiety and allowing it to show up.
The fact that you know it’s there shows you’re already on a good path and the fact you want to help yourself shows so much courage and so much strength and you should be so proud of yourself because that is a sign that you have already come further than you were before, try and hold your thoughts as lightly as you can and know that it will not last forever, this is not permanent, you will come out of it the other side and listen to your heart and give it what It wants and needs.
You are so worthy, and remind yourself of that every single day.
carlylala x
