Anxiety is very much real. And do not let anyone put you down for it. You are not weak, crazy, or disabled. I have had anxiety for years. I do not suffer it all the time 24/7 but I have daily episodes of anxiety. I have never believed in getting medicated (prescribed pills), part of this is because of how I live and see the world. I believe in holistic medicine, which is common in almost all pagan religions, even though I do not identify myself specifically with any. It is when we heal ourselves using our whole body, that meaning, soul, mind, and body. I am no doctor, but I have good and sane methods of dealing with my anxiety and here I share them.
In order to deal with anxiety or to help someone with anxiety, we have to understand it. Anxiety for me has been a heart pinching, out-of-breath, and body-trembling feeling. It happens to me whenever it feels like it. It does intensify if there is an unknown outcome of a situation or if I overthink a situation. It is important to let your trusted ones know that this happens to you and that you tell them what they need to do to help you, which if they do not know how to nor you have a clue; I will let you know what works for me which could work for you. But the most important part of it is how to treat it, and this is how I’ve done it;
Whenever I get the feeling of it, this is what I do to it.
1. Stop, breathe.Â
I stop breathing, I then concentrate on my breathing. I breathe in a huge gasp of air, I hold it in for 7 seconds and then I let it out for 9 seconds slowly and evenly. I do this until I feel calmer. If this practice does not work, I use my fingers to cover one nostril and breathe through the other, then I release that one nostril and cover the next so I can let out the air and breathe back again; I do this over and over again.
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2. Identify it.
If this does not make me feel better, I work with my cognitive side. I identify the feeling as not being me, I am not an anxious person, it (anxiety) is a thing that is not part of me. Once I identify the feeling of being an exterior force, I usually can feel better and continue with my deeds.
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3. Write your guts out.
Write it down. Many times when one experiences anxiety the feeling is hard to describe. You usually feel like you cannot talk, that even if you do no one can understand or you do not understand yourself. Grab a notebook and just write everything and anything that comes to your head. Even if it does not make sense. Even if you cry, cry it out. It is usually very intense when I write what I am feeling because I realize what my thoughts look like but it usually leaves me to realize that 1. there is nothing I can do about x at the moment and 2. the feeling is holding me back from my true self. I have kept a journal of thoughts for four years now, and its full of all kinds of crazy, weird, sad, and emotional philosophical thoughts.
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4. Be present.
If I am not able to feel better I call a family member or someone who I trust and knows about this. It is very important someone in your family knows or someone you can trust knows about this and that they understand how serious this is. When I call x or y person, all I want them to do is listen to me. All they need to do is be there, listening to you to whatever you need to say. Or just hold your hand, hug you, and/or tell you that they love you and appreciate you. I do not need to listen to words like “why do you feel like this?” or “just be stronger” or “just ignore it” or anything other than “I am here; I love you”. Even silence helps, just being there in presence of someone I trust makes me feel better. Makes me understand that I am okay, and that it will pass, and that it is not a forever feeling.
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5. Yes, meditate.
Lastly, (I know this is the most common one you must have probably heard) but meditate. Meditation is not difficult. What I did in the first step is a way of meditating. Find a comfortable space where you can sit down, lay down, or even stand up comfortably. There is no specific way you need to meditate, as long as you are comfortable, not straining your body, and have a good posture in an environment where you feel comfortable you can meditate. This practice is good for your mind, and overall well-being. It may be difficult at first to encounter your thoughts, you may back down from meditation because of it, but do not give it up. When you meditate, let those thoughts come, even if they are difficult to let them come, let them flow; pay attention to them and then let them go. Imagine them leaving your head, and continue doing this until you feel comfortable with your thoughts and self. If you cry that is okay. It is a very emotional but
then calming experience that will let you get to know yourself better, and this will be great not only in relieving you from anxiety but also in being your best self.
Finally, I believe you have the power to feel better. You are strong enough, this is not a weakness. It is a disease, an exterior force that is not part of you; this is not you. After I have identified this I have been able to know when it is coming, and now it does not happen as frequently; every new day I feel better and it feels like a past thing.
You are okay. I understand you. You are never alone, you are loved and everything, in one way or another, always turns out okay. Because at the end of t