Anxiety is a common mental health disorder. It can be a cause of physical illnesses and depression. Demands in life can relate to finances, work, or lack thereof, relationships, lifestyle and social networks, to name a few. Anything that causes a challenge or threat can cause us stress.
I never really understood depression. Always thought you could shake yourself out of negative thoughts and just feel happy. I keep telling myself ” I’ve never suffered depression”, but you know what? I think I do?. I’m fully aware I get anxious feelings sometimes. Actually, if I’m being truthful, a lot of the time.
I experience feeling like I’m, ‘not in a good headspace‘, ‘not good enough‘, ‘low & down‘, ‘teary‘, ‘avoiding appointments & socializing‘, ‘ heart palpitations & sweats‘, ‘scared about meeting new people‘, ‘ overloaded & struggling to cope with demands‘, and also ‘ insomnia‘.
My friendship circle consists of 2 people who live 1000km from me and we mostly only chat over social media. These days, my best friend is a pen, journal, google home and a keyboard, and I’m ok with that. I have been single now for 7 years and have learned the hard way that, the only person I can truly trust, is myself.
When I’m stressed, I tend to shut down. I don’t want to talk, except to myself, I go into my little corner and cry for a while then try to sleep it off. The next day those thoughts and feelings are still raw but I try to see it as a new day, worthy of new goals.
When I’ve been taken advantage of, how I handle things, is a whole new ball game. I tend to follow the same pattern as to when I’m stressed, but it could last for weeks or even months.
My level of anxiety depends on the level of deception. Getting out of that deep hole needs to run its course. For me, I think it’s healthy to take some time out and really feel what you’ve been through, but learning how to scale it back is something I would love to accomplish.
I think this is where I’m changing my mindset. Adjusting my routine so it’s more personally manageable, for me.
I’m starting to:
- Walk away when I’m feeling frustrated, and coming back to a task later.
- Divide my time between more jobs during the day, instead of just working on one until it becomes tedious.
- Take more regular breaks. (Quite time-outs).
- Garden for 1-2 hours a day. Just being outside in the breeze has a wonderful calming effect on me.
- Art, craft & writing. (Love to create).
- Not worry about what others think anymore. I only have myself to please.
- Help myself more. (But I still love doing good things for good people).
- Drink more water and eat more fresh fruit.
Since making these subtle changes, I think I’m coping with disappointment with a much more positive attitude.
What are some of the things you are doing to feel better and combat the effects of Anxiety & Depression
© Meagan Lesley
Resouces
Australian National Helplines and Websites for Anxiety & Depression
Online Resources Anxiety & Depression Association Of America
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