Anxiety

I was not going to blog today! But after a few events I felt I would be brutally honest and discuss a very serious thing in my life.

Anxiety! 

Anxiety is one of those things that if you have never suffered from it, or dealt with it on your own you may feel that a person is making it up to get out of things. This is sssooo  not true! I'm be no means an expert, but I would like to take a minute to describe what anxiety feels like to me in my different situations.

ME: (this is about ME, and how I deal) - it can be different for everyone.

Regular Anxiety - I'm short of breath, my heart is pounding, I'm sweating, and I am VERY irratable. Everything around me feels like it is going in fast forward and I can't keep up. Things are moving to fast, and no matter how hard I try I can't manage anything that  is going on. I get "worked up" normally followed by a break down (crying).  How do I deal? Pray! Pray! (While I am still praying) I work to find out what the trigger was. Sometimes it is easy to say "Oh it's because this happen." Other times it is much harder to discover and make take a couple days to figure out. It has become key to me to find out what the trigger is so I can better hand a similar situation later. Then I take deep breaths (still praying), and step back from the situation. (Not always easy when you are teaching and responsible for people - this could just be sitting at your desk for a few minutes pretending to be occupied with something.) Pray some more! (God is a great helper!) Then I am able to regroup and begin my time again! The key is to CALM down! Woman watch out! Sometimes anxiety attacks come out of know where right before our cycles (I never would have dreamed about this until I experienced it first hand - good warning sign you are suddenly insecure about something.)

Anticipatory Anxiety -  If you know me at all you understand this anxiety from me,  because I am very honest about it. It has taken a lot of work to get me past this one. Anticipatory Anxiety is when you get really anxious about doing something or going somewhere that you probably have never been to before. (A friends house for the first time, a party, to a meeting, starting a new job, hanging out with a new group of people.) Some of you may be thinking, Laura, we all get nervous. Here is an example of how bad this would get. I would not go through the drive thru of a bank because I had never done it before, and I was afraid I would do something wrong. Most of the time it is causes me to turn down and invitation to do something because I am to anxious to go, or be with new people. I used to never be able to go on a Retreat or anything like that because it was just so stressful I would be get sick from stress before I ever went. Most of the time I would just cover this with a "Sorry, I can't." and then end up sitting at home by myself on Saturday night (not that there is anything wrong with that.)
          With the great push of some friends and being able to identify that this was  happening to me I was able to start working through it. I'm happy to say I go through the drive thru at a bank all the time now. I can face the fear of a new situation in a different way now. One thing you will often notice with me in particular is I ask a lot of questions about something I am not comfortable (anxious) about. Such as Where is it? Who ALL is going to be there? What will be doing? My friends that know me well enough will answer all of these details and then give as many details as they can about a situation. My favorite answer "Laura, I will be there and you can stick with me." If I have a person I can "stick" with I am normally fine to attend even though I am very nervous about it.

My biggest reason for taking time to mention this is because I think often we feel like we are the ONLY ones that are dealing with this sort of  "disorder". WE ARE NOT!! Many people deal with anxiety, and there are so many types of anxiety out there. 

If you suffer from it, don't be afraid to talk about it. I honestly feel myself overcoming things and being able to do things in my life that I never thought I would be able to do. (I got up in front of the entire staff today and gave a presentation. YUCK) But I do it.  Don't be afraid to say "Hey we need to slow down, I feel an anxiety attack coming on." And then discuss how you feel with your loved ones, so they can understand what you are going through. I have always felt that education is key to any situation. If a person doesn't understand or know any better they CAN NOT help you. Remember to PRAY! GOD is amazing when it comes to helping people work through their anxiety. (I honestly feel sometimes he uses my anxiety to teach me things.)

If you don't suffer from anxiety, be patient and listen to your loved ones. Try to understand where they are coming from. Feel for them, you CAN NOT fix it, but you can let them talk about it without making them feel weak or wrong about this matter.

Finally here are some helpful tips in reducing anxiety and depression:

• Meditate or pray.
• Avoid alochol, because this may lead to sleep problems or even trigger panic attacks.
• Stop smoking. The nicotine can cause panic attacks in some people.
• Stop having caffiene. Caffiene sources include coffee and soft drinks.
• Exercise burns up stress causing chemicals such as adrenaline and cortisol, and this will help you to relax.
• Exercise also boosts serotonin, which is an feel-good endorphin, it’ll also help reduce sleep abnormalities, a factor in a stressed brain.  If your depression is linked to your appearance, then exercise will positively help boost self-esteem by reshaping the way you look at yourself.
• Create small, obtainable goals for yourself, then once you reach your goal, reward yourself.

Reducing Stress

• Learn and practice various relaxation techniques.
• Seek social support from friends.
• Manage your time more effectively; keep a daily planner.
• Exercise regularly.
• Get a proper amount of sleep.
• Eat regular, balanced meals.

The ones in blue are the ones I use and have found helpful. I hope you find this a little helpful also. I go my tips from the following website.

SocialAnxietyDisorder.net
http://www.socialanxietydisorder.net/coping/tips-for-reducing-anxiety-stress-and-depression-in-your-life.html

Have a wonderful day! Stay Calm! PRAY!