Learning to live and cope with anxiety is challenging and it’s a journey. The good thing is, as time goes on and the more relapses I experience, the more I learn about how to deal with them and I’ve found because of this, usually each one tends to pass more quickly than the last.
First thing I do is not panic that I am feeling Anxiety again. This is an absolute golden rule I have learnt to live by with anxiety. Fear and panic fuel anxiety, so the minute you start to worry the worse your symptoms will get. Ever had a panic attack? Yeah, you’ll know what I mean. I understood this once I read ‘At last a life- panic and anxiety free’ by Paul David. I have recommended this book in a previous blog post and I will mention it again. And again. For the rest of my life because I truly feel like this book saved me (I will link it below!).
As an anxiety sufferer, I am very much aware that one symptom of anxiety is over thinking and catastrophizing. I tend to do this when the familiar thoughts and feelings of anxiety occur. Rather than seeing them for what they actually are; just a thought or a feeling, my mind and body go into fight or flight mode and my mind will start to try and ‘fix’ it. I’ve learnt to just ‘let it be’ rather than attempting to fix it or change it because I am so much happier this way and it also breaks the thought cycle. I am not in a constant mental battle and that is so relieving. A bad day is a bad day, not a bad life!
If my symptoms seem to be lingering around for a while with little or no improvement or I’m finding them unmanageable, I try to recognise if there could be something that is triggering it and 9 times out of 10, there is! I have a therapist that I have monthly sessions with; one thing I do if I’m having a relapse is up my sessions to weekly until I’m feeling more stable. I can’t explain how much therapy has helped me. Anxiety has made me somewhat an introvert so talking about how I feel does not come naturally to me as much as it used to; however, I find having someone completely platonic and actually educated on anxiety and all of its nasty little symptoms is the most relieving, refreshing feeling ever!
Another goodie I’ve learnt is to ‘trust your body’s healing process’. We have the most incredible, wonderful bodies. When we graze our knee our bodies form a scan by the blood clotting, which then heals. When I relapse, I’ve realised that it is what my body needs to do at this moment in time. I might not like it but I need to give my mind the time and space that it needs. Anxiety is a condition
and once you understand your symptoms it all becomes a lot less scary! I try not to fight against the symptoms, but instead to go with it and just let my body do it’s thing.
Lastly and very importantly, I do not let myself feel ashamed. There have been times in my life when I have hated myself and truly thought that I wasn’t worth that much. That only added to my pain and made my life a lot harder than it needed to be. I make sure I am kind to myself and take extra care of myself during these relapses; an extra massage here, a new dress there. Come on, I am worth it 😉 I also inform my loved ones on what’s going on with me. It is good for them to know as it provides me with a whole support system.
I truly hope this helps someone and please remember my door is always open! Let’s smile, we got this!
Love Yasmine x
https://www.amazon.co.uk/At-Last-Life-Paul-David/dp/0956948103
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