Let's talk about anxiety (Patreon)

It’s something that I have lived with my entire life… It greets me in the morning and tucks me into bed at night. But I didn’t always know that this heavy feeling on my chest had a medical term… Anxiety. I didn’t understand why I felt the way I did, nor what to do about it. It wasn’t until I discovered social nudity that I began to unpack the years worth of baggage I had been lugging around with me, the narrative of not being good enough, not worthy enough, not pretty enough. All the shit my anxiety had been whispering in my ear since I was a child.

But what is anxiety? We could talk about it’s definition stateing anxiety is a feeling of fear and uncertainty affecting everyday tasks. So, if you read that and resonate with that, you have anxiety. Great. What the hell do you do now?

We live in a digitally obsessed, escape based society, and we call this ‘the new normal’. But what this has caused is more anxious people than ever, which has led anxiety to be the number 1 cause of disability worldwide and is one of the major contributors to the overall global burden of disease. Fucking crazy isn’t it? That our anxiety is encouraged by our over consumption of information available to us at the click of a finger. The answer to every late night question, trivia question and every ex-girlfriends facebook profile.

Why I stress the point of our over-consumption is to remind you that this heaviness on your chest, your fear to leave the house, won’t last forever. It may not disappear for good, but it can be eased. And living with controlled anxiety is a hell of a lot better then it ruling our lives and submitting to it.

The first step is acknowledgement. It may sound silly but having lived with this silent killer for as long as I can remember, admitting that these feelings of absolute terror inside of me was in fact anxiety, was the turning point to re-gaining control.

So what's the answer then? Meditation, yoga… green smoothies? Nope. I’ve tried it all and I’m telling you first hand that no matter how much kale you eat, your anxiety is still going to be right by your side.

When you’re anxious, do you notice your breathing speed up? Your heart starts pounding and you may start to feel your stomach turn. When your body experiences anxiety, it goes into fight-or-flight mode to protect itself from an immediate threat. It releases adrenaline, a hormone that pumps blood to your muscles and causes your body temperature to rise. It also sends most of your oxygen to your muscles, which is why you feel these changes in your breath and body.

So what would you say if I told you your anxiety could be controlled by your breath by CONTROLLING your breath. I’m not asking you to sit in silence for 30 minutes every time anxiety comes knocking on your door, but simply breathing with intention.

When your chest starts to get heavy and your eyes begin to dart, step away from whatever situation your in and take a moment for yourself. Place 1 hand on your belly and the other on your heart or instead both hands at the top of your rib cage and breath. Breath in for a count of 4 and out for a count of 4.

In for 4 - out for 4.

In… Out…

If you're feeling safe and want to drop in a little deeper, breath in for 4, hold for 4, breath out for 4, hold for 4. And repeat. This is called box breathing and has been a fantastic technique to help me in stressful situations or even just to fall asleep.

If you would like a little more guidance on breathwork I have recorded this as part of my 9 day journey. You don't need to complete the entire 9 days. Just drop into one of these 3 videos whenever you need a little assistance.

https://youtu.be/yyUGs6La_oI

https://youtu.be/wv-tcmbdkY4

https://youtu.be/f9MfFlVuqJ4

Please remember that if you suffer from anxiety, you are not alone. You are here, you are seen, and you are valid. If you ever need someone to talk to, my inbox is always open.