| I could not figure out which of those lines to make the subject, so I decided on both. Please, hold your applause. I hope this finds you in a place where you can sort through this email and find solace. That is the point of me sending these monthly musings around topics that have left many of us in the dark in our own healing. I hate anxiety. Hate it. Part of that hate stems from the first time (in my late teens) someone explained that the heavy sensation in my chest, the lack of oxygen, the inability to soothe myself was: an anxiety attack (later renamed as a panic attack). While I have better coping skills on what to do with anxiety now, at the time there was little coping. You only know your body is experiencing something that feels unbearable. Looking for a definition was not as important as finding immediate relief. I have approached most of my healing this way. When I was diagnosed with cPTSD, I was looking for answers and felt lost. My therapist: “There is a newer therapy that might help. It’s called EM…” Me: “I’M IN! Here is my social security number, blood sample, and my credit card. I…AM…IN!” There were no conversations around what may work and what wouldn’t. There was prolonged stress, lack of diagnoses and definitions, and frankly, I would have done anything that was recommended. Fortunately for me, EMDR worked well. Over 13 years later since I got that help, I look back and often question “Why didn’t anyone explain what anxiety was?” “Ok, so I have cPTSD. What does that mean?” I wrote A Survivors Guide to Trauma Recovery hoping to empower people who are approaching this process as their own best advocate. Meaning, they do not have the answers, but they are educating themselves as best they can to offer themselves every potential resource that could bring healing. I speak as a survivor who feels like there is so little information that speaks survivor language. Messages that break down the experience with more validation over the mind and bodies responses and less guesses as to how to make the story go away (tip: they don’t). Reminder: I am not a mental health professional. I am speaking this from my experience, with the hopes that it can be translated to help others find paths to heal. What is anxiety?
How does anxiety show up?
How do you soothe anxiety?
When anxiety is coming from a place of warning (I remember something about this, and it is not a good memory), it sends a flush of intensity to us, in whatever way our body will receive. In real time, anxiety is difficult to manage because that intensity is usually not just one symptom, but many, and at once. It is unrealistic to think we can always pause and name it as anxiety. But, when we can:
Again, there are so many layers to this. When I began googling to see if I could add some links here, almost all of the articles lead to the 392 ways we are supposed to address anxiety. Guess what that brought about in me? Yeah. Please hear me out:
So much of this is learning to BELIEVE the truth behind our body’s response. That synchronicity has so much power in it. Again, hard to get there? Yeah. Worth it to try anyway? Absolutely. If you have never done breathwork exercises, I can’t stress enough the power in them. That may mean intense breathing while going for a long walk and yelling every five minutes. But, learning to pull in things that tell the body “I am listening. I am here to help you resolve the things that you need clarity about. I hate how this feels but I respect that you need something from me.” Healing in real time. Seriously. As you sign off, in case you have the space for this:
Repeat with compassion as often as possible. As always, I am grateful we have a space where we speak openly and can trust we are each on a path trying to find ourselves less anxious, and more relieved. I am so glad you are here! Nate PS: For those like me, who feel anxious in public (large crowds, heavy traffic, LOUD anything) I have found noise canceling headphones to be extremely beneficial. I will often have on my nature sounds app or soft classical music (try “September Song” by Agnes Obel) and it makes a significant difference while in public. I hope that helps! |
What the Hell is Anxiety and
Why does Anxiety Feel Like Hell?
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