I’ve sat down to write this blog numerous times. Started, then abandoned it, deleted it, and then re-wrote it. In moments when my anxiety is at its highest I often feel like I want to hide away and avoid any social interaction or any situations where I have to be around people. So writing this is absolutely out of my comfort zone. But at the same time hope it may help others.
Focusing on Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD) the Charity Mind have defined it as ‘’Anxiety is what we feel when we are worried, tense or afraid – particularly about things that are about to happen, or which we think could happen in the future. Anxiety is a natural human response when we feel that we are under threat. It can be experienced through our thoughts, feelings and physical sensations. Most people feel anxious at times. It’s particularly common to experience some anxiety while coping with stressful events or changes, especially if they could have a big impact on your life. Anxiety becomes more of a problem when it starts to impact on your everyday life for example;
- your feelings of anxiety are very strong or last for a long time
- your fears or worries are out of proportion to the situation
- you avoid situations that might cause you to feel anxious
- you regularly experience symptoms of anxiety, which could include panic attacks.
- you find it hard to go about your everyday life or do things you enjoy’’
Anxiety – can show its self in so many different ways and is different for every person. what works for one person might not work for another. Each person’s experience of anxiety is different, and what their triggers and ways of coping again will be different. For me personally there are days when my brain is telling me I am not good enough, I can’t do it and I have done something wrong… and I listen and believe those words.. my chest gets tight, my heart rate is high, I struggle to breathe properly, I feel sick and my brain doesn’t think rationally. I like to try to hide it, tell everyone I am fine, keep conversations short and push the conversation back on to them. I sometimes can identify the triggers and try to put in place some coping mechanisms which work for me –breathing techniques, talking more positively to myself, changing the tone of the conversations, more sleep and exercising!
If we just focus on the exercise part for now… physical activity has been shown in lots of studies to help with anxious feelings. Medical professionals often suggest it as a way to help, this is for a number of reasons including helping with sleep by making you feel more tired at the end of the day, better moods as physical activity releases the feel good hormone Serotonin, which make you feel better in yourself and give you more energy, and also when we are being physically active it can also help us focus the brain and can be a positive way to cope.
I find exercise is often my safe space, exercise has always been such a huge part of my life, growing up I spent many hours on the side of a hockey pitch watching my parents play, fielding to make up the numbers for my dads cricket team and huddled around a tv watching the 5 Nations (yes it was only 5 when I was very young, growing up). I have been a dancer, swimmer, gymnast, hockey player and now it is part of my everyday life as a Personal Trainer. As I have grown up I have identified the importance of exercise on my well-being, and it helps me personally manage my anxiety.
Exercise for me now includes my favourite music on, either walking, running or being in the gym. Previously being part of a team and being able to solely concentrate on the training and games allowed me to focus and ‘escape’ for a period of time. It is important for me to carve out some time now that I no longer play and try to not feel guilty as these moments are really Important for my general well-being. I am a mum to 2 very busy growing kids, running a start up business, working as a freelance marketing consultant and also a personal trainer. Often my brain feels overwhelmed and I cannot organise the hundreds of tabs open in my brain… have I paid for the school trips, have I got enough in for pack lunches and dinner, who is taking who to which after school activity, have I communicated enough with my clients to keep them on track and enjoying their experience, have I responded to that email about the next social media activity!
Recently at the bootcamp games one of my anxiety attacks struck… wanting to make sure I didn’t make any mistakes, so many different things going on all at once, everyone so excited and adrenaline pumping through to make sure they had the best experience hit me. I couldn’t get my brain to rationalise and couldn’t get my coping strategies in place, my chest was tight and I got the shakes, it took me a good few days to start to feel ok.
Breathing techniques – some suggestions of different techniques can be found on the NHS website Breathing exercises for stress – NHS (www.nhs.uk) they can help with calming increased heart and breathing, reducing that tight chest feeling and thumping heart!
Finally having a team around me is such a support, my husband, family, some very special friends and the team here at Jake’s. I try not to let it define me but I am a work in progress!
Chloe
