So many of you might not realize this but i have anxiety. It is not something that is normal to talk about but it should be fine to express how you are feeling and should be normal to talk about within society.When i was approached to write this blog sharing my personal experience and to help raise awareness of anxiety. I was thinking of the best way to to help raise awareness for anxiety. The best way I felt was to share my personal experience and techniques i use and have heard others that have anxiety and their techniques.
So i have had anxiety all of my life but it was manageable but i never did what most people my age did and did not have many friends when i was growing up as i did not feel they would understand how i was feeling and felt that i was better off in my own company so i isolated myself going through education. Then when i got to high school i was encouraged to make friends and went to groups to help with my anxiety and to find strategies to help with my anxiety. I would never step out of my comfort zone and due to the anxiety i would stay in my house with my family as i got very anxious about going out and would overthink what might happen and would find myself finding excuses not to go or cancelling on friends due to waking up feeling anxious.
As i got older i feel that my anxiety got worse even though i had a friends. I started really struggling with my anxiety. I never admitted i had anxiety so much so that most of my family did not realize that i struggled with anxiety which was not a good move on my part because they could have supported me with my anxiety and i could of got more help to deal with my anxiety. But if i am honest i did not want anyone to know as i worried that they would worry and think the worse of me and i was ashamed of admitting that i had anxiety and feeling like this. I also did not want to tell my family as they would want me to go to the doctors for help which at the time i was scared to do.
But about two years ago, My anxiety got the worse that it had ever gotten and my family started to worry about me and knew something was up since i had received some awful news that a good friend of mine who was my age had died suddenly and this impacted in my attendance at college and also i started isolating myself which included not wanting to leave the house and if i was able to leave the house i started to panic and started having panic attacks wherever i was whether i was out or at college. At this point i felt i needed to talk to my family and explain and with encouragement from my parents i went to the doctors and i feel this really helped me because the doctor was very helpful and recommended different services that could help with my anxiety for example counselling which i did not feel helped me it made me feel worse but it was counselling provided by my college and also my doctor gave me some techniques and i go to my doctor more when i need to due to my anxiety which still happens now.
My top tip would be not to be embarrassed to go to the doctor as they are used to dealing with patients with anxiety and they can help you.
Anxiety is when you feel worried, nervous and is perfectly normal to feel anxious occasionally everyone feels anxious sometimes. Also fact that when i was researching about anxiety is that i found out that women are twice as likely that men to be diagnosed with anxiety disorder and recent research has found that commonly affects the most the under 35's.
Symptoms of Anxiety can be:
- Poor Concentration
- Headaches
- Tension
- Dread
- Fear of Losing Control
-Feeling Nausea
- Sweating
- Dry Mouth
These are just a few that i found.
Link that helped to find the symptoms that can be experienced is http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Anxiety/Pages/Introduction.aspx
TOP 5 #livelifeready Tips
Top Tip Number 1 - Take a mindful moment - for example try and do some yoga or meditate.
Top Tip Number 2 - Know what your triggers are such as hearing a specific song or going to a certain place.
Top Tip Number 3 - Take slow and deep breathes if you are feeling anxious.
Top Tip Number 4 - Take some time to talk to someone that you feel that you can trust and are confident talking to for example your parents, a friend or a family member or anyone that you feel confident talking to and remember it is OK to talk about it.
Final Tip is that you should try to write down ANY worries you have as this can help as you are offloading your worries and thoughts which can help and this would help if you do not feel you have anyone to talk to about your anxiety.
The tips above are for if you are having feelings of mild anxiety but for serious anxiety symptoms or if you have the anxiety for more than two weeks i highly recommend talking to your GP for further guidance as they will be able to offer support and suggest strategies and suggest services that will help.
You can find more advice and article if you use the hashtag #livelifeready.
I was approached by www.spinkhealth.com and
There is Kalms Lavender One- A- Day Capsules which are a traditional herbal medicinal that are a temporary relief of the symptoms of mild anxiety. For example Stress and Nervousness and these can be brought from Boots, Asda and online at www.kalmsrange.com for £6.49 and this is a two weeks supply.
Thank you so much for taking your time to read this blog as it is something so close to my heart as i have anxiety and i hope this blog helps you. This blog was really hard for me to write especially my personal experience.
Rachel x
Thanks for sharing this great insight with me. A lot of great info here!
ReplyDeleteWarmly,
Celeste | ohhelloceleste.com
Aww thank you so much for the positive comment and hope you found this blog helpful
DeleteThese are some wonderful tips. I guess in the current modern lifestyle, we all undergo some level of anxiety and it really helps if we know how to fight it or brush it off and get back to a happy life
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for this positive comment and yeah that's true
DeleteThank you for sharing something to raw with everyone, I suffer from bipolar disorder and its hard to talk about it at times.
ReplyDeleteYou are so welcome and thank you so much for the positive comment and I hope some of these tips can help
DeleteBeing vulnerable is difficult but by doing so, you will reach so many people. Anxiety is common. Your tips are helpful and I want to research that supplement more. Thank you for sharing!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for the positive comment and I would definitely have a look at this supplement and I am glad you found the tips helpful
DeleteI've lived with anxiety for 10 years--the tips you offer here are ones I use every day and very helpful. Great post!
ReplyDeleteThank you for the positive comment and I am glad you found that I think is very helpful
DeleteThank you for sharing this and for being so open and honest. xx
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for the positive comment and I have to say I was nervous
DeleteI think, the older I get, the worse my anxiety gets. Meditation and mindfulness really helps to get it under control though.
ReplyDeleteYeah I totally agree with you but meditation and mindfulness is important
DeleteThanks for sharing your tips on coping with anxiety. I also suffer and it can be debilitating some days
ReplyDeleteThank you for your positive comment and its nice to hear from others that suffer from anxiety. Hope you are feeling better.
DeleteAnxiety and depression are horrible things to go through and can really impact life - I went on a mindfulness course, and that seemed to really help me manage my symptoms. Hope you are doing better now! :)
ReplyDeleteThank you for your positive comment and i am doing ok at the moment thank you and i am still looking at ways to help with my symptoms
DeleteI suffer as well, its been ongoing for 2 years now, my heart races like mad and Im not on meds. I hope yours settles, but great tips and I use Kalms as well x
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing with me and feeling able to share with me as it is really helpful to hear from others and i am on some anxiety medication currently and i know that feeling x i am glad to hear that kalms are helping you
DeleteI suffer with anxiety and use Kalms occasionally if i am becoming overwhelmed, especially at night to aid sleep. great advice x
ReplyDeleteThank you for feeling able to share your thoughts as they are very helpful and i am glad that having kalms helps you and thank you
DeleteGreat tips , I suffer from this at times , meditation, mindfulness and yoga definitely help , and as I've got older I allow myself to avoid situations I know will cause me discomfort x
ReplyDeleteThank you for being so honest and sharing your personal opinion about this and i know i try to step out of my comfort zone sometimes but little steps at a time and one day at a time i find helps
DeleteI have depression and anxiety so can relate. Sometimes when the worst happens it is good because having anxiety i often think of worst case scenerio and never as bad as you think it'll be if that makes sense? Love the tips - yoga really helps me relax. I find relaxing difficult as well and only started doing it for about a year and half on and off and definitely notice a difference doing it x
ReplyDeleteThank you for being so honest and being brave enough to share and i understand what you mean and it is about finding the strategies that help you as an individual i find that singing and blogging helps mine and trying to go out in the car on a bad day and also talking to friends or family texting them
DeleteI hope you are feeling better! thank you for sharing this with us and shedding light on the importance mental health
ReplyDeleteThank you for your thoughts i am ok at the moment and i feel that raising awareness is very important as it should be a topic that is normal in society to talk about and should not be a taboo topic and people should be able to talk about it
DeleteHope you are doing ok right now. Thanks for sharing your story.*hugs
ReplyDeleteThank you for your lovely comment and i am ok at the moment thank you and i was nervous and anxious to share this blog post as it has my personal experience but if it helps to help raise awareness and helps others that suffer with anxiety then i am happy to have shared it with others
DeleteThank you for sharing such a personal post! It will really help people with anxiety issues
ReplyDeleteThank you for such a lovely comment and i hope it helps others who suffer with anxiety and helps to raise awareness of anxiety and raise awareness of mental health
DeleteThankyou so much for this post. It's nice to hear a personal story rather than just generic tips- which I never find helpful.
ReplyDeleteThank you for such a lovely comment and i felt that adding my personal story would help as i know it from a personal point but i thought adding some tips as well would help others but i know what you mean as just reading tips is not something i find helpful from a personal point of you.
DeleteThis is a really good post and thanks for sharing some really useful tips, its always good to know that you can help your self overcome some anxiety by just making little changes in life.
ReplyDeleteThank you for such a lovely comment and you are more than welcome these tips i have shared are ones that i personally have found helpful as well as taking it day by day and also sometimes stepping a bit outside of my comfort zone but then rewarding yourself. Its very true. Different strategies work for different people though
DeleteSuch a personal post and it is nice to hear from someone who has anxiety, as someone who doesn't, I find it really helpful x
ReplyDeleteThank you for such a positive comment much appreciated and i am glad that you found it helpful
DeleteI think it's so important that people know they're not alone and not to be afraid to talk about it x
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you that is definitely an important part because you can feel very isolated and feel embarrassed to talk about it.
DeleteI think the first step, of not being embarrassed to speak to a doctor, is so important. I let my anxiety go unchecked for years because I couldn't bring myself to speak to my doctor about it but I was so glad when I finally did it. x
ReplyDeleteThank you for your response and i feel that the first step of telling the doctor how you are feeling is the most difficult that is definitely true but i hope you are feeling better after telling your doctor
DeleteIt's surprising how many suffer from anxiety. You have some great tips and I am sure that they will be very useful for those that need them.
ReplyDeleteHonestly i was shocked to find out how many others suffered with anxiety and thank you so much
DeleteA great post, it has really opened my eyes as to how many suffer fro anxiety
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for the positive comment and this post is to help raise awareness for anxiety and mental health x
DeleteI also suffer from anxiety. I was really embarrassed about it for a long time. You offer some great advice here.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your positive comments and i know that feeling as i was embarrassed for ages but i had such a supportive family especially my parents x
DeleteAnxiety is so common, it's so important that people talk about it more so that people who are struggling can get the help they need. Thank you for sharing your tips ♥
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for all the positive comments and anxiety is more common than i thought as i did a bit of research about it and these tips i found helped me with some of my anxiety
DeleteI used to suffer terribly with anxiety but I've made lifestyle changes, which have helped and now only when I'm run down does it get bad.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for sharing your personal story and glad with a change of lifestyle it has helped with your anxiety
DeleteI've had periods in my life where I have felt anxious about certain situations but it has never been persistent.
ReplyDeleteThis is a really great article. Thank you for sharing such a personal story. You include some great tips. My tip, would be to do a little light exercise if you can....walking helps me to feel calm and less anxious about things.
ReplyDeleteThank you for such a great comment and such a positive comment and also thank you for sharing your tip with me i will definitely try this tip thank you
Deletethis was insightful! thank you for sharing. i always tell my sister tip number three and it helps
ReplyDeleteThank you for such a positive comment and glad that the tips work x
DeleteI also suffer from anxiety which started causing panic attacks that got progressively worse. I remember crying down the phone to my GP. Luckily my other half is really supportive, and he helped me so much in dealing with my anxiety and honestly got me through the worst of it. I wasn't afraid to use or talk to the gp, but having someone by my side while I dealt with the worst time of my anxiety really helped.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for sharing your personal experience with me as this really helps and i know that talking to your GP helps x hope you are feeling better and that you have support
DeleteWell done for writing this. I don't think people realise how debilitating anxiety can be. The tip about mindful moments is something I try to do daily and makes such a difference to how I feel throughout the day.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for a positive comment and i am so glad that the tips are helpful
DeleteThank you so much for your honesty and also the advice and tips. I am going through this at the moment and it is good to know you aren't the only one.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for the positive comment and glad that the tips and advice i have given is helping others and i hope it gets better soon.
DeleteI will be sharing the post. I know a few friends who are battling with anxiety and these tips are suitable for them. The tips are really great.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much and feel free to share this blog post as it is to help raise awareness for those with anxiety and i am glad that the tips are helpful to you
DeleteI think more and more people suffer from anxiety now more than ever - the world seems so chaotic its easy to feel overwhelmed by it - I know I do. Even though I am in general very out-going I have had a fair few panic attacks in the past and anxiety still flares up every now and then
ReplyDeleteLaura x
Thank you for commenting on my blog post and it seems to show that more people suffer with anxiety nowadays i feel it could be that there are more stress put onto people nowadays for example young people. Just try using the tips and i hope this helps x
Deletei feel in todays time and age we all suffer from anxiety in different levels at different times, those tips are very helpful!
ReplyDeleteHi chichi thank you so much for this positive comment and yeah that is very true and glad you find these tips are helpful
DeleteI have been living with anxiety since my early 20s and knowing what my triggers are make a huge difference.
ReplyDeleteAww thank you so much for sharing your personal experience and I know it's very helpful to know your own triggers to try and avoid your trigger points
DeleteToday, it seems like it's normal to have anxiety. Which just sucks. Why are so many of us suffering unduly? I had really bad anxiety through my school years (headaches, sweating, poor social skills, no friends, etc), although I'm sure some had it worse. The great thing is, I don't really have anxiety anymore. I'm sure there are many factors that lead to it becoming less, but I know for sure that becoming a mom was the best thing that ever happened to me and I credit that, more than anything else, with my ability to get over my anxiety. Why? I have no idea. But being a mom fixed me :)
ReplyDeleteAww thank you Jaclyn for sharing your personal experience and it is true and I am glad you have gotten over your anxiety and hope you are feeling better in yourself
DeleteI had a breakdown 7 years ago, so anxiety is something that does rear it's head now and again, you have to learn to control it by finding what works best for you.
ReplyDeleteThank you Emma for sharing your personal experience honestly it is so brave to share your personal experience and exactly finding your triggers and avoiding them if possible and also finding strategies is also a good way of helping with your anxiety I find talking about it helps
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