My Experience with Anxiety

One of the reasons we avoid slowing down is because then we have to face the feelings and thoughts we’ve been ignoring. Oooooof! Anxiety is something I’ve experienced from a young age, but it wasn’t until I took a big pause from life and tuned into the way I feel, that I discovered how much feelings of anxiety were keeping me safe (and small) in all areas of my life.

Anxiety is not you - it’s feelings in your body, usually combined with an active mind, that can set you on an endless loop of trying to solve “the problem”. Sound familiar?? While I don’t want to trivialize anxiety, I do want to unpack the monster we think it is, so you can empower yourself from its hold.

Anxiety shows up uniquely for each person, with different feelings, and locations in our bodies. I instantly feel it deep in my stomach (energy center of self-power), and it usually has to do with feeling uncontrolled. The first thing I do when anxiety stops by, is try and change my feelings (more control!), which I would not recommend, because it’s impossible to think your way out of feelings.

You are not meant to be perfectly still, or “normal” all the time. We are animals, with real bodies. Things are meant to move through us. While feeling out of control can seem scary, the more we get curious about ourselves, the more we can show up to life judgment-free.

So…. if anxiety isn’t something to run from, what can we do with it? Sometimes we just need to feel, but most of the time, anxiety is pointing out an area of your life that is no longer fitting, or an action that needs to be taken. We can ignore it, suppress it, and hope it goes away, but eventually, that feeling, or little voice in your head will come back to haunt you. And, because your dream life doesn’t happen overnight, even if you’re taking action steps, you’ll still feel the signs of discomfort, as you’re being guided on your path.

I still feel anxiety most days, some months much less than others. Yes, breathwork helps, but for me, it’s slowing down enough to pay attention to how I truly feel, in order to harness these emotions. Below I share 5 tips to using your anxious feelings, instead of pushing against them.

HOW TO SUPPORT ANXIETY

1. STOP!!!!!!

   1. An anxious mind cannot solve an anxious problem. Be as still or as silent as you can, and just be. Literally, stop moving, and just be. A frantic mind will bring frantic solutions, and we want to be intentional, always!

2. Breathe

   1. After you’ve hit pause, let your body relax a little bit. Maybe that’s simply through taking a mindful breath, or maybe it would feel good to move your body through a workout, or some dance. I always love a really good shake. Get out of your mind, and back into your body.

3. Notice what and who are in your life

   1. Has something changed? Are you moving through a period of transition, or trauma? Be patient with yourself as you start unpacking. The goal here is not to excavate problems, just to get curious about what could be going on in your life. Allowing things to be as they are, with as little judgement possible.

4. Take action

   1. For me, that looks like returning to grounding habits (no alcohol especially), and dealing with the hard things I’ve been putting off. I like to start small, 2 x 25 minutes a day for bigger tasks, and giving myself a timeline for the quickies I’ve been building up in my head. You are the only person who truly knows what you need. So make sure you’ve taken a pause, and are mindful of taking action that feels good (scary, or not!)

5. Be Kind to Yourself

   1. Hard feelings are hard enough! If the action you’re taking is creating more problems, go back to Step 1 only after you’ve done something loving for yourself. That could be a good cry, a long bath, or maybe you want to go the opposite route with a fun solo dance party, or a beautifully rolled joint. Give yourself just ten minutes to not care about worst-case scenarios, and lean into your feelings instead. One of my favourite ways to get into mine is stomping around to Alanis.

I am not a doctor (yet), this is simply my own personal experience and beliefs. If you are seeking medical information/advice, please seek a more reliable source!