Anxiety

If you suffer with anxiety you have definitely felt a variation of sensations and emotions while the attack is at its peak. A lot of the time we think of anxiety as breathing in a paper bag rapidly. The reality is that anxiety can have very mild visible symptoms with serious mental stress. I have sat quietly in a room before and had an anxiety attack and did not realize this is what it was until I had a full blown attack requiring medical attention.

There are people who never have anxiety attacks and this is baffling to a person like myself who has them quite often. For these people I felt it would be good to go into how anxiety typically feels. This varies person to person so this is my personal experience with it. Usually my first response is to run away from the feeling. Typically this means wanting it to disappear or trying to ignore it all together.

How do I know I am having an anxiety attack? My chest usually feels like it is difficult to breath. My jaw, shoulders, and neck feel stiff. Sometimes it will present itself in a stomach cramp, headache and blurred vision. All of these things are good indicators to me that it is time to get myself in a better head space.

This sensation usually occurs for me when I am meeting new people or starting a task I am not confident in. Other times it can be something as simple as someone not allowing me to convey a thought while having a discussion, my plans suddenly running into a rocky road, or sometimes Just Because.

In the past when I was having anxiety attacks I felt I had no control over how I reacted to it. I would get so frustrated with my environment that I would go hide in a closet. A closet is my safe space. My friends and family typically can tell when I am anxious because I talk faster, or lose my patience with them for seemingly no reason. On the worst end of the spectrum I have cried, screamed, hit/scratched my skin. The most unhealthy thing I've done mid anxiety attack (besides self harm) was think negative things about myself which result in self inflicting thoughts, i.e : shoving a pencil (this is a specific thought I've had) in my eye.

I am wise enough to know that there are healthier ways to deal with my anxiety and I implement them each day to keep me on track. My favorite to do when wound up is deep relaxing breaths. Mentally I like to prep myself with focusing on what I can accomplish in that moment and what I can do to resolve my current predicament.

Taking medication is a great way to keep your mind balanced as long as it is prescribed by a professional.

Sometimes I am completely unable to resolve my anxiety and the only thing I can do is work through the issue until I have completed whatever task caused the episode. This is also okay, we are human. A technique that is new but now dear to me grounding.

What is grounding? Grounding is a particular type of coping strategy that is designed to "ground" you in, or immediately connect you with, the present moment. Grounding is often used as a way of coping with flashbacks or dissociation when you have post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).*

A few grounding techniques and more information about grounding can be found at : https://www.verywellmind.com/grounding-techniques-for-ptsd-2797300

I hope that some one who suffers from anxiety and people who do not find insight in this blog post. There may be future installments to this to talk more about the subject. In the meantime I want you guys to stay cool, calm, collected, and enjoy the flow of life.

*Source : verywellmind