Creative Anxiety: CHALLENGE!

Wednesday, October 23, 2013

CHALLENGE!

Challenge yourself...to take care of yourself!

So many times we get lost in the shuffle of life. We forget to stop. We forget that we are human beings that need to be nurtured and cared for. We forget that sometimes, all of the worrying and negativity we send out on top of all the other things we endure in life is...well...just breaking us down.

It's SO important to find a balance. Find inner peace. For all of us who suffer from anxiety, depression, bipolar, OCD, and so on...we don't understand what it means to have balance. Inner peace? What...is a piece of my body missing? Am I getting an inner ear infection? Am I right...or am I right? We NEVER STOP! We make mountains out of molehills and create chaos in our minds and bodies. This is just about as unhealthy as smoking a pack of cigarettes. SO let's stop this cycle. Let's relinquish what strength we have (I know it feels like a few measly pebbles worth) and turn this all around!

First and foremost, you have to WANT to change. You have to WANT to feel better, have more energy, enjoy the things and people around you...

Decide NOW that you will take the journey to freedom.

Okay...now get out a piece of paper and pen, pencil, charcoal, dandelion, whatever and write three things that you want to achieve. Make them small. Nothing huge. Examples like: Go to bed by 10:30 every night this week. Work out once this week. Do one (whatever makes you happy) activity this month. See nothing too crazy, but all things that can slowly, especially if you make them habits, turn your mind and body into a much more habitable place for positive thoughts, for less achy necks, and more energy!

Now stick to the ideas that you wrote. Don't let yourself get overwhelmed with them either. If what you write down doesn't happen exactly as you foresee it...so be it. That's where the cycle ends. Our regular negative minds will want to take a sledge hammer, smash those ideas, and then crawl into a hole and shame yourself. Well DON'T. Just move on. Simple. It is not the end of the world if your one achievement was to go to the gym twice this month and you only drove there, but were too nervous to go in. Ha - I think it counts for something that you even drove there! Pat yourself on the back, try again tomorrow, and done. DO NOT sit there and let these things fester.

You are ridiculously powerful. The anxious mind is one that will do anything to spill down a canvas of it's own demise. So get out your paint brush take that drip of paint, and turn it into a beautiful swirl of color right in front of your eyes. I guarantee there will be more swirls to come!

I have struggled with the vicious cycle of trying to set goals to better my mind and body and then miserably failing. But guess what, I am here to say that, even though it hasn't been an easy one, I am slowly doing the things I am set out to do. All things that will get my health to a much better spot. Is it always easy? No. Do I always achieve the exact outcome I set forth in doing? Hell no! But I sure as hell try, all while learning something about myself along the way.

You are STRONG. You are CAPABLE. You are TALENTED. You are LOVED. You are IMPORTANT

Tell yourself this every night before bed...the more you tell yourself these very wonderful and VERY true things...the more you will believe it. And not only will you believe it...you will feel it!

Go ahead...take that leap of faith...for YOURSELF!

All my love and support - M

No comments:

Post a Comment

The girls who started it all...and their stories.

Well hello there! My name is Megan and here’s my little tale:

It’s safe to say that the person I am today is a far different one than I was many years ago. As many of you know, dealing with anxiety seems like an uphill battle some days, and I’ve felt like for most of my life I have been struggling to get to the top of that hill to safety. My anxiety started very young and mainly revolved around the constant fear of something medical going wrong with me. I was definitely a hypochondriac, and gave myself unnecessary amounts of anxiety over little to nothing at times. After passing out a few times due to seeing my own blood, both fainting and blood became huge triggers for me. This led me to avoid many situations, namely doctors’ offices, etc. My anxious symptoms were like that of fainting or having a heart attack and at any given time, I felt like my world was crashing and I was about to die.

…which brings me to my next chapter with the “beast”. By the way, I call anxiety the “beast” because it truly takes on its own entity at times. Anyhow, my next chapter is one of quite the lengthy time frame. It was all exacerbated when one day a tragedy hit close to home. My dad had got into a motorcycle accident and died instantly. This, as for anyone, sent my world spinning at the speed of light. It was then that my fear of death and dying amplified. I was constantly feeling sick, or like an 80 pound elephant was sitting on my chest. I didn’t know what I was feeling, nor did I really talk to anybody about it, which made it worse. Junior high, high school, and even my first few years at the junior college were plagued by constant worry; self esteem issues, horrible panic attacks, and so on. I somehow managed to make it through as normal as possible but I was hurting on the inside and most definitely not living a full life.

Once I went away to college my anxiety had stabilized. It was by no means gone, but for some reason it had subsided to a point of decent comfort. Those few years were as relaxed as they could be, and life seemed to be pretty good. It wasn’t until about a year ago that the “beast” began to really rear its ugly head again. This time it was back tenfold, however, and I was determined to find a happy place…one of comfort and happiness. And that my friends is where I’m at today, trying to find a true life of bliss. This last year has been a hard one, but through a lot of self discovery and branching out into new avenues, I am slowly piecing together what works best for me. So far I have found inner strength through trying new things such as yoga, supplements, and creative outlets such as photography, dance, and art. My hopes in build a community through Creative Anxiety is that I can reach out to others who strive to better themselves and others who deal with this unfortunate beast.

Hi there, I’m Chrissy!

My journey with anxiety has been a long one (or so it feels), dating back to when I was in high school. I had been struggling for a while in social settings and changes, but had chopped it up to being an average teenager. It was my first anxiety attack that painted a clearer picture as to what I had been dealing with. And so began the journey…

My first attack was something I will never forget and has created a foundation for where I stand today. My first attack also explains a lot of my history and was a breakthrough for me in getting the necessary help I needed at the time. It was triggered by a past traumatic experience. When I was fourteen I had been raped. The setting in which it took place was visually recreated which induced my first and most horrific panic/anxiety attack. This was a breakthrough in a lot of ways for me. I had not told anyone, spoken about it or personally revisited the memory for four years until that day. When my family was informed I gained the support I needed to start my battle against ANXIETY!

After learning what anxiety was, how it works and being fed drug after drug by doctor after doctor I was really getting nowhere. I was feeling zombie-esque on the medicine, having bad withdrawals and feeling sedated for the majority of the time. This is when I decided to take a different path.

See…my brain automatically links my anxiety now to being raped and the feelings that were felt in that situation. It is such a feeling of disgust and helplessness that motivate me to free myself. I have problems in social situations and trusting others with anything and everything. I have a fear of being attacked, which feeds my anxiety daily in everyday situations and the constant negative self-talk is something I have to keep battling.

I have really two choices (the way I see it)…I can either lay down and feel sorry for what was and what now is or I can fight like hell to live the BEST life I can possibly live. I’ve chosen to fight! I believe there is a fix for this thing we all call ANXIETY and I am determined to find it. Through trial and error, trial and success and a lot of support I believe it is something that is attainable. Holistic, drug free, all natural healthy ways to heal is what I’m all about. So let this new journey begin in sharing what I’ve learned with other who might have walked in my shoes or who choose to walk right alongside me. Let’s fight on!