I've written a lot about my anxiety on my blog. When I saw Kalms/ Spink where looking for bloggers to talk about their anxiety, this was something I was more than happy to talk about and get involved with the #livelifeready campaign. Living with anxiety is something I do everyday and I can have anxiety at any moment, any second. My aim is to make people aware of anxiety and what it's like for people to live with it. Everything I write on here is my own experiences and things that happen to me and the way I deal with it.
I've written about my personal experiences as well as things I do to try and manage anxiety on my blog before. I hate anxiety with a passion and as much as I hate it, it's apart of me and who I am and you have to try and deal with it the best you can. Anxiety can make you overthink to the point where you are making that thought ten times bigger than it already is. The way you are is completely different and irrational to the person you are normally. There are a few signs an symptoms to anxiety which I experience such as panic, fear, worry, not being able to sleep, heart palpitations, nausea and shortness of breath. Like I said, I have experienced all of the above. I'll worry to the point that I'll worry about the worry that I'm worrying about (if that makes any sense) If I have something to worry about, that's when I get heart palpitations and I will start to feel sick. Fear is something that also gets to me when I get anxiety. The thing with fear is that it is also irrational, it can make you scared or fear things that you don't need to fear. That comes hand in hand with overthinking and worrying. Anxiety can be really horrible and I've experienced this so many times. I hate the worry, the overthinking and the fear that won't let you sleep.
I have anxiety over things I can't control or over things I think could happen. I had bad anxiety the first time I went on holiday. This was last year and I had never been on an aeroplane or even left the country before. The run up to the holiday was an endless blur of worry, fear, panic attacks and sleepless nights. When it came to boarding the plane, I went into panic mode. I literally wanted to run! I found it hard but I forced myself to get on the plane and into my seat. When it came to take off, I forced myself to look out of the window and that was it. Anxiety gone. The whole experience of flying was magical and I all I could say was 'I've done it'. There are times where I've been able to talk myself out of anxiety or distract myself. These times are rare. There are some days where I really struggle with anxiety and there are some days where I'll be fine. The days that I do have anxiety are the worst, silly little things can trigger me off at any moment.
My fiancee Tiernan is brilliant and he always helps me the best he can. Sometimes with anxiety there is no help anyone can do. No matter how many times you are reassured or told it's ok ..... it never is ok in your mind!! He came to see signs that I do such is click my nail which is a really bad habit but it's something I do if I'm nervous, feeling awkward or the start of anxiety. He has told me that I shut him out and refuse to talk because of all of the thinking going on in my head, I do find it hard to then open up and say what is worrying me or what I'm thinking or even over thinking about. He also says I tend to make things worse than they actually are. Such as simple situations that can be easily solved, my anxiety tends to make them ten times worse than it is. I'll over think about the situation to the point that I'll be ill and I'll be fearful about the situation too. Once my anxiety is over and I have a clear head, it all seems silly and I wonder why I ever felt like that in the first place. Like I said, my fiancee is really helpful with my anxiety. If he knows I'm going to have anxiety, he'll talk to me and reassure me that it's going to be alright and explain things logically and in a way to make me see that it's just a worry. He also helps me take my mind off things such as being silly, trying to make me laugh or will ask me to make a sandwich. This is something that works really well and it takes my mind off the anxiety and focused on something. 'How to make a sandwich' is literally talking through how you'd make a sandwich. You just talk about each step, bread, spread, filling ...the lot.
I've heard that lavender oil is suppose to help anxiety. For the first time in the UK, there is a one a day capsule to help anxiety. There have been over 15 clinical trials and have shown that anxiety symptoms have been increased and was noticeable in the first couple of weeks when taking the capsule. Kalms One-A-Day Lavender Capsules can be found online or in Asda or Boots, RRP £6.49. Kalms Capsules is traditionally a herbal and medicinal product.aimed at relieving the symptoms of anxiety. I haven't tried these but it could possibly be something that I look into if I think I need to help control my anxiety. At the moment, the methods that I am using are working so I won't be buying these as of yet but maybe one day in the future when I can't cope with it, these may come in handy and I'm glad that I know that this exists, should I need it.
These are the steps I do to try and help my anxiety as well as my top tips.
1. Relax. Whether this is sitting in the garden, reading a book or taking a bath. I personally find having a quick bubble bath helps me relax.
2. Talk about it. As hard as this is, I know how hard it can be to open up. I don't open up easily but once I do, I feel a lot better. There's nothing better than talking about what's going on in that mind of yours or those worries that are bringing you down.
3. Set yourself small goals. These can be small things that you find hard. Turn those baby steps into bigger steps. My bigger step is flying to New York in a few months time, having only been on four flights in my life, my anxiety is really bad over the whole New York trip. Even saying yes to go to New York was a massive step. I cried for days after agreeing to go and worried about every little detail. That's anxiety for you and as much as I am worrying about it all, I'll be fine. It's a once in a lifetime trip.
4. You aren't alone. There are others out there with anxiety who worry about similar things to you.
5. Surround yourself with positive. Have quotes printed out and plastered over your walls. Set a positive message as your wallpaper on your phone. As hard as it is, try and stay positive.
6. Find something to help your anxiety like writing or drawing. I find getting lost in a little world of my own helps a lot. Just me and my laptop and a whole load of words that may or may not make sense just helps to clear some of the blurriness up in my head.
These tips won't work for everyone, these are just things I find help me and things I do if I need them.
Let's #livelifeready and stay strong lovelies. Remember sometimes you have to go through the rain to get to the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Those rainy days will pass.
Stay strong.
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