Anxiety Part 1 ¦ Introduction itsoknottobeok.

 

Introduction. 
Over the years I've noticed a huge increase of anxiety awareness. Where people are talking about anxiety, it's symptoms and individual experiences openly being discussed.. young people are receiving a lot of support and advice through individuals on social media which is great to see!! Which encouraged me to share my own experiences.

Around three to four years ago anxiety wasn't as commonly understood - or even expressed. People around me were not really educated or aware of what anxiety was and had no idea what I was experiencing. They thought I was just a little crazy, or just exaggerating my feelings and symptoms.

It's OK not to be OK!!! It took me a very long time to understand that and then to completely change my life around.. I learnt that your mind plays the biggest part. Your thoughts are everything, and learning how to have PATIENCE and CONSISTENCY - is key for happiness. I'll tell you how don't worry ;). 

I have kicked anxiety AND panic attacks out of my life - #anxietyfree which means ANYONE CAN! I am a happier, positive person and I will share how I did this, in the hope that I can help even one person suffering :). 

 

I never spoke about my anxiety to anyone around me whilst I was going through it - not even my friends, even if I ever did, they didn't really know much about it. I only openly started talking about it to my after it was under-control (the happier me :).

I started to realise that I wasn't really the only one going through it! People have also experienced the same if not similarly to me. And when friends and people around me started experiencing anxiety I understood it entirely.

Today I am not sharing the details of what severity my anxiety was at, as I feel it's far too personal - and maybe at some point I will feel comfortable and confident enough to write about it - for now it's the basic experiences ;D.  

 

When did your anxiety start?

As a teenager I suffered from panic attacks - every time I was in a state of shock/stress/argument I would suffer from panic attack. As I grew older - going into university my anxiety symptoms began and panic attacks continued and got worse as I grew older. 

How did you know you had anxiety?

I didn't know I  had anxiety, I had no idea what it was. I used to convince myself that I wasn't okay and then I'd sit in A&E for hours, or call an ambulance at my door step because I thought I was having a heart attack - (they were only panic attacks and anxiety symptoms haha) It's all funny now but at the time it wasn't. That's when I found out, when the doctors continuously told me that 'nothing is wrong with you, all the results are fine you just have anxiety' 'these are just symptoms of anxiety' 'if you were having a heart attack you would not be breathing' 'you have enough oxygen, if you didn't.. you wouldn't be alive' haha ;D ah. It's funny now but it wasn't at the time!! 

How did you overcome your anxiety? 

I changed everything. My thoughts, my lifestyle, everything. But it wasn't easy, I  had some sessions of CBT (cognitive behavioural therapy) which didn't help right away. Seeking professional help is nothing to be afraid of, I didn't want to take any 'happy pills' I didn't want to be cured by taking pills so I refused to take them. Doctors will persuade you to go down that route as it's the quickest way to getting out of your nasty feelings!! But if you don't want to then just push on seeing someone. 

Seeing and speaking to a therapist didn't help straight away, but I learnt a lot about what was happening to me and my body, I learnt lots of different breathing techniques to help me calm myself and I learnt how to control my panic attacks before they got worse!!! I still hadn't overcome anxiety after the 8 sessions. I had to do A LOT - a lot of reading, a lot of meditating and I downloaded several different anxiety apps to help me. I swear it is all and everything that helped and changed everything.

It didn't happen over night, it took me several weeks and months.. to finally become stress and anxiety free!!!!! It's all in your mind!!!!! 

I will write an entire blog post on 'How to be happy', as I have A LOT to talk about!!! Make sure you keep an eye out for ANXIETY - PART 2. I will also link it at the end of this post. Thanks for reading :).