Dealing with anxiety.

I’ve had a lot of messages asking for my personal tips on dealing with anxiety. Keep in mind that these are what I have found useful, and they may not work for everyone, and some may not be everyone’s cup of tea! Anyhoo- these are my main tips for dealing with the scaredy cat within:

Learn to distinguish between how you feel and how your anxiety feels. This is basically a process of becoming more aware of what are your normal everyday nerves and what are abnormal. I find that acknowledging when I am having these irrational thoughts helps me to deal with them because I know that they are fuelled by my anxiety disorder, not necessarily from a warranted source.
Acknowledge your anxious feelings and act anyway. This can be very difficult at times and obviously doesn’t have a 100% success rate, but it’s important for moral and your general goings on to not be too inhibited by our nervousness.
(This is a similar note but,) Don’t forget to leave the house! You’ve gotta get out and have fun, for sanity’s sake. Even if it’s just a walk down to the park or something like that, it’s better than staying locked in your basement with three spears and an internet connection.
Practice meditation and mindfulness techniques. I first started doing this because my doctor suggested it and it has been surprisingly effective. Some of my main ‘anxiety hot spots’ are train stations and shopping centres, and becoming hyper aware of the way I was walking often made me just want to melt into a puddle of tears! Practicing mindful walking (and eating) helped me stop becoming so hyperaware of myself because I am focusing on my body in a different and far more calming way. Meditation is also incredibly beneficial for your mind- to quote my doctor “it gives your brain some time out from the banter of thoughts it puts up with most of the time, and really everyone should do it”. If you don’t know where to start, just search guided meditations into youtube, there are some really good ones in there to start you off. Incidentally if you are having trouble sleeping there are lots of them to assist you getting a better nights rest.
Remember that we are brave, and never be ashamed. Don’t let your self-esteem get too much of a battering because of all this. We didn’t ask for anxiety but we live our lives the best we can with it, and the fact that we keep fighting is a credit to us!

Hopefully some of this will be of use to at least one of you. They’re the main things I do to help myself deal with this shit and live life in a semi-normal way.

Peace and things,

-Anxiety Cat.