Dealing with Anxiety

Dear friend, 

I don't know about you but I'm feeling considerably anxious at the moment and it has compelled me to come out of blogging retirement to try and process this. Global events and upcoming personal changes are hammering away at us and it's a lot to deal with.  I attended a talk on building resilience in children and have been talking to other people about this, as well as doing a bit of research and this is a condensed version of my findings.

1. Feel your feelings - sit with them, acknowledge them, suppression is unhealthy. Yes, there are other people who are worse off - that's a given, and if you are an empathetic creature you will be hyper aware of this, but that still doesn't mean that you are barred from feeling. You are still allowed to feel sadness, depression, fear, whatever, without the twin kick of guilt. Suppression is unhealthy.Do doctors who set someone's broken limb remind the patient that there are paraplegics out there? Why do people find it easier to deal with physical than emotional pain? To the extent that their instinct is to smother it? Is it the abstract nature of emotions or the fear that emotional pain is contagious? Anyway, I think it's healthy to give yourself permission to feel. If it's painful then wrap your arms around your torso, as if giving yourself a big hug. It might sound a bit wanky but what do you have to lose?
2. Do something active - campaign, volunteer, help out. 
3.  Donate, if you can afford it - money, time or resources. (https://www.dec.org.uk/) 
4. Switch off! When it all gets too much, turn away from constant news reports and social media. 
5. Exercise. I've recently started doing Aquafit again. Because you have to book and pay in advance, am less likely to ditch it.

1. Calming music, podcasts, apps. Headspace, Get Sleepy https://getsleepy.com/.
2. Reach out to someone. I realised a while ago that if I sat around waiting for people to invite me to things I'd be very lonely so I try to put my fear of rejection on the back burner and organise things. The pandemic got us out of the habit of meeting people but we are social creatures. 
3. Be kind to yourself, challenge the negative voice. 
4. Make something. A cake, Plasticine snail, painting, cuddly toy.
5. Routine. Make time for celebrations, marking momentous occasions.
6. Buy yourself flowers. Buy flowers for a friend or loved one, buy everyone flowers, if you can afford it.         
   
   
   
7. Things I don't do but am told are good for the mind - gardening, running, pottery, sculpture.

Every Mind Matters website https://www.nhs.uk/every-mind-matters/.

Books: for helping children deal with anxiety - a friend recommended The Unworry Book. It's coming today. 

I hope this helps. I hope you are feeling OK. It might feel a bit self indulgent or self obsessed but what use are we to anyone else if we are tightly wound ball of wire wool? As they repeated in the 'Building resilience in children' talk, 

'you can't pour from an empty cup'.