In life, you will hear many many people saying that they may feel anxious, worried, on edge, depressed, alone (unfortunately the list goes on)…
For some people this is only a passing ‘phase’, like pre exam anxiety that passes once the event is over, or not having plans at the weekend and therefore feeling alone.
However, for many others this is life day in and day out. And it sucks. A lot. You can end up feeling very different from the rest, and never in a good way. You can begin to isolate yourself and it feels (within the irrational mind) like you are the only one who is suffering and it is the worst thing ever and it is never going to end and you can’t breathe and nobody is around and nobody loves you and nobody will help and nothing works to help and.. stop.
Breathe. Think. Small steps.
It’s very hard to break out of the usual bad habits you’ve developed but with a few small steps you can slowly regain control.
3 things you can do : (The things you can do really vary from person to person however these are the main ones that help for me and people I know)
Apps – there is soooo many apps out there now that you can discretely store on your device which is especially helpful when in public. Headspace is brilliant as you can literally do these mindful activities ANYWHERE. Just plug in your earphones and to others you will just appear to be listening to music, when in fact you are in your calm safe zone mentally! Or just listening to calming music.. download a few tracks and whenever you may be doing something such as using public transport you can just click play and be away. (Much like people do with sleep). I also know there is many colouring apps, I don’t personally feel they’re (or were when I last checked) very effective as… however it is always worth a check as everyone is different.
Which leads me to my next one. Colouring. This to me is such a calming activity to do. I spend a lot of time at home and inside so this is something I am able to just pull out either at home or at my boyfriends house. I have a lovely pocket sized colouring book that I take pretty much everywhere!
Positive thinking. Okay, this one may seem completely ridiculous, impossible, cliche and just a big no no will never happen.. which is ironically a negative thought already. I don’t mean you need to skip through the streets singing and hugging everyone you see (but why not?). Just try and look at things a bit more positively.. Back to the public transport anxiety – okay you didn’t exactly get on the bus when it came, but you took small steps, you got dressed, you ate a good breakfast, you walked yourself all the way to the bus stop.. So now you know next time none of the pre bus bit is scary, you CAN DO THAT, now you just need to focus on the getting on the bus (e.g. Having the correct money (but also a little extra), having music downloaded to, having someone waiting for you at the end, etc.). Just remember every time what you did do right.
There is so many many more things that you can do, and I will discuss them in more depth within another post (or I’ll be rambling on all day!!).
Small steps everyday, it may take some time but you will get there one day, you will feel okay.
Anya xxx
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