My anxiety started when I was 15/16 and was triggered by exam stress. The trigger of your anxiety can be something quite small but it also may have nothing to do with what you are anxious about. It was actually after I had finished my exams that my anxiety became a problem and by the end of summer found myself in a very dark scary place where I couldn't even leave the house or finish a meal. I don't want to focus very much on how my anxiety made me feel or what it did to me because this blog is about overcoming it not reliving past traumas.
I started addressing my anxiety when a friend noticed how different I was acting and it was through talking to her that I first started seeing my doctor and through my doctor I went to counselling sessions (where I would sit and talk about why I felt the way I did) however I did not like this method of coping as it made me very uncomfortable and even more anxious! So I had a hypnotherapy session which I found did help as it was very relaxing and changed the way I thought about my anxieties. I was told to watch my anxieties as if through a tv screen and could turn them on and off as I pleased (obviously it was a bit more complex than that but it's quite hard to explain and I was being hypnotised at the time!) It's since then that I have tried to 'turn off' my anxieties and focus on other things around me rather than letting myself get stressed and paniced. Of course this worked sometimes and helped with the little things but I was still struggling with going out to big social events and it's not till very recently that I was able to do this without getting so worked up about going that it just wasn't worth going. I decided to develop a 'just say yes' type attitude. My first challenge with this new attitude was when I was invited on a night out by two people I worked with (something I would never had said yes to before) I said yes and remembering that my anxieties could be switched off like a TV went out and am so glad I did, the two people that asked me to go out are now two of my very best friends and I can't help thinking that it was because of me saying 'yes' and having this night out with them is the reason we became friends.
I have always believed in life that everything happens for a reason but if all you ever do is sit in your room feeling scared then nothing can really happen right? It's the things that you don't do you regret more than the things you do do and who wants to get to the end of their lives with a massive cloud of regrets? I don't. Anxiety is still very much part of my life however it no longer controls me the way it used to - I like to think that I control it, and although I still do have bad days with it were I just want to stay in bed all day and hide from the world I try not to let it stop me doing the things that I love doing.
Try saying yes to more things, even if they do scare you, nothing terrible will happen to you like the anxious voice in your head is telling you (unless your saying yes to something life-threatening in which case I suggest you listen to it haha) chances are you will enjoy yourself and be glad you went and if not then you can at least be proud of yourself for trying !
I would love to hear your stories about how you guys have overcome your anxieties and I really hoped this helped at least one of you!
♥
