Living with Anxiety
December 8, 2019
I was diagnosed with anxiety disorder about two years ago. I could not concentrate at work or at school and was having a hard time remembering things. I went to the doctor and it turned out it to be anxiety and stress. My anxiety gets so bad sometimes that I literally shake uncontrollably, get sick to my stomach, get killer migraines, heart would race, and I feel like I am going to lose my shit. I first started feeling these symptoms about four years ago and it really scared me because I did not know what I was feeling. I just felt like I was going to have a heart attack because my heart would start racing and I would feel panicked for absolutely no reason at all. The only way I could cope with this back then was good ol mary jane. That would relax me and slow my heart rate. Since then I have learned how to cope with this in healthier and more natural ways. Not that Mary Jane ain't natural ;-)
I remember one year (the only year actually) I hosted Christmas with my whole family at my condo and that day was miserable for me. I actually wanted to be excited to spend time with my family but all I felt was stressed, worried, and like I was going to die (exaggerating). I woke up with the worst migraine and I was just frantic and a crazy person all day. I was sick to my stomach and even when my family was there I just felt terrible. I felt so stressed and like something was wrong and I just couldn't be in the moment and enjoy myself or my family. One of my downfalls is that I overthink everything! I am also a natural worry wart, it's the cancer in me, I can't help it. Being a person who overthinks with anxiety as the cherry on top is NO FUN!
I knew I had to do something to start coping with these feelings better so I started doing research and one of the things I read about was yoga. I actually got really into doing yoga at that point in my life and it really did wonders for me, physically and mentally. You would think yoga is easy because it is slow but no, its definitely challenging but there are different types of yoga that you can do. I suggest doing a slow relaxing yoga for when you are feeling anxious or manic. I swear if you really take the time to be in the moment and concentrate on the moves and focus on what you are doing you will sleep like a rock. Its amazing. I would do yoga DVD's at home in my living room and sometimes I was so relaxed that I would be damn near sleeping. There are more challenging types of yoga as well if that is your thing.
Another thing that helped me immensely was mindfulness. I literally still use this practically everyday of my life, especially when I start to feel anxious. I live by mindfulness and recommend it to everyone I know who suffers from anxiety. Mindfulness is learning to be in the moment. Learning to be in tune with yourself and understanding why you are feeling the way you are feeling. Additionally, it is knowing your triggers and knowing how to cope with those triggers. For example, sometimes when I travel I get super anxious (I don't know why, maybe its the excitement or nervousness of getting on a plane) and my heart starts to race and I notice myself breathing faster. Once you feel these things, you are now conscious of it, so your next job is to slow that heart rate and breathing. How? Take nice deep breaths, so deep that your tummy contracts up and down. You keep focusing on your breathing, do not focus on anything else, just your breath. You keep breathing deeply until you feel your heart slowing down and your breathing is normal again. Now you have calmed yourself down. Now its time to think about why you were feeling that way. I get anxious when I travel, it's something I am now aware of and now when I travel I know I may get anxious but I always have mindfulness on my side to help me through it. This has helped me SO MUCH! There have been times my anxiety is so bad I feel like I need to throw up because I am so worked up, I practice mindfulness and the nausea goes away in a few minutes. The mind is an extremely powerful thing, powerful enough to make you sick to your stomach and powerful enough to take away the sickness in a few minutes. Crazy huh.
Another thing I recommend is meditation. Although I have only tried it a handful of times I definitely found that it helps with stress and relaxation. I definitely have always wanted to be able to meditate more often and I plan to in the future.
Another recommendation is writing. I blog because I love writing. It is my release. I feel good when I do it. And sometimes I just write to vent. I will open up a word doc and type my feelings away and when it asked do you want to save this document? I say no and keep it movin. My outlet is writing and maybe yours is something else. Whatever your outlet is, if its healthy, go for it. Drinking is not a healthy outlet people, sorry haha.
Last thing I recommend is going to see a therapist or counselor if you feel things are getting out of control and you want another way to release those feelings. Talking is therapeutic so try it. I have gone to see a therapist many times before and it definitely helps. No, therapy is not for people who are crazy. It is for people who are strong enough to admit something is wrong and brave enough to go talk to someone about their issues. You have to be in charge of your own life. Don't let the anxiety control you, learn to control it!
Anxiety is definitely is not easy to live with but there are definitely ways to making coping with it easier. I hope this post was helpful to you if you suffer from anxiety too.
I was diagnosed with anxiety disorder about two years ago. I could not concentrate at work or at school and was having a hard time remembering things. I went to the doctor and it turned out it to be anxiety and stress. My anxiety gets so bad sometimes that I literally shake uncontrollably, get sick to my stomach, get killer migraines, heart would race, and I feel like I am going to lose my shit. I first started feeling these symptoms about four years ago and it really scared me because I did not know what I was feeling. I just felt like I was going to have a heart attack because my heart would start racing and I would feel panicked for absolutely no reason at all. The only way I could cope with this back then was good ol mary jane. That would relax me and slow my heart rate. Since then I have learned how to cope with this in healthier and more natural ways. Not that Mary Jane ain't natural ;-)
I remember one year (the only year actually) I hosted Christmas with my whole family at my condo and that day was miserable for me. I actually wanted to be excited to spend time with my family but all I felt was stressed, worried, and like I was going to die (exaggerating). I woke up with the worst migraine and I was just frantic and a crazy person all day. I was sick to my stomach and even when my family was there I just felt terrible. I felt so stressed and like something was wrong and I just couldn't be in the moment and enjoy myself or my family. One of my downfalls is that I overthink everything! I am also a natural worry wart, it's the cancer in me, I can't help it. Being a person who overthinks with anxiety as the cherry on top is NO FUN!
I knew I had to do something to start coping with these feelings better so I started doing research and one of the things I read about was yoga. I actually got really into doing yoga at that point in my life and it really did wonders for me, physically and mentally. You would think yoga is easy because it is slow but no, its definitely challenging but there are different types of yoga that you can do. I suggest doing a slow relaxing yoga for when you are feeling anxious or manic. I swear if you really take the time to be in the moment and concentrate on the moves and focus on what you are doing you will sleep like a rock. Its amazing. I would do yoga DVD's at home in my living room and sometimes I was so relaxed that I would be damn near sleeping. There are more challenging types of yoga as well if that is your thing.
Another thing that helped me immensely was mindfulness. I literally still use this practically everyday of my life, especially when I start to feel anxious. I live by mindfulness and recommend it to everyone I know who suffers from anxiety. Mindfulness is learning to be in the moment. Learning to be in tune with yourself and understanding why you are feeling the way you are feeling. Additionally, it is knowing your triggers and knowing how to cope with those triggers. For example, sometimes when I travel I get super anxious (I don't know why, maybe its the excitement or nervousness of getting on a plane) and my heart starts to race and I notice myself breathing faster. Once you feel these things, you are now conscious of it, so your next job is to slow that heart rate and breathing. How? Take nice deep breaths, so deep that your tummy contracts up and down. You keep focusing on your breathing, do not focus on anything else, just your breath. You keep breathing deeply until you feel your heart slowing down and your breathing is normal again. Now you have calmed yourself down. Now its time to think about why you were feeling that way. I get anxious when I travel, it's something I am now aware of and now when I travel I know I may get anxious but I always have mindfulness on my side to help me through it. This has helped me SO MUCH! There have been times my anxiety is so bad I feel like I need to throw up because I am so worked up, I practice mindfulness and the nausea goes away in a few minutes. The mind is an extremely powerful thing, powerful enough to make you sick to your stomach and powerful enough to take away the sickness in a few minutes. Crazy huh.
Another thing I recommend is meditation. Although I have only tried it a handful of times I definitely found that it helps with stress and relaxation. I definitely have always wanted to be able to meditate more often and I plan to in the future.
Another recommendation is writing. I blog because I love writing. It is my release. I feel good when I do it. And sometimes I just write to vent. I will open up a word doc and type my feelings away and when it asked do you want to save this document? I say no and keep it movin. My outlet is writing and maybe yours is something else. Whatever your outlet is, if its healthy, go for it. Drinking is not a healthy outlet people, sorry haha.
Last thing I recommend is going to see a therapist or counselor if you feel things are getting out of control and you want another way to release those feelings. Talking is therapeutic so try it. I have gone to see a therapist many times before and it definitely helps. No, therapy is not for people who are crazy. It is for people who are strong enough to admit something is wrong and brave enough to go talk to someone about their issues. You have to be in charge of your own life. Don't let the anxiety control you, learn to control it!
Anxiety is definitely is not easy to live with but there are definitely ways to making coping with it easier. I hope this post was helpful to you if you suffer from anxiety too.