Information Post- Anxiety💛

Hey hey hey, everyone!! I hope you're doing well😊 Me ( @Aimee198 ) and @emmaishereforyou88, have collaborated to come up with an idea to explain anxiety and the different types, and also share some grounding/breathing methods and tips. I hope people find this helpful and I hope this is good💛

-What is anxiety?

Anxiety is a feeling of unease (such as worrying) that can be mild or severe. Mostly everyone has feelings of anxiety at some point in their life. For example, you may feel worried and anxious about having a job interview or starting school.

-What can anxiety feel like?

When you feel anxious, your body goes on high aert, looking for possible danger and activating your fight or flight responses. As a result of this, some common symptoms of anxiety can include: nervousness, restlessness or being tense. Feelings of danger, panic, or dread.

-There are several types of anxiety disorders:

•Generalised anxiety disorder. You can feel excessive/ a lot of worry and tension with little or no reason.

•Panic disorder. You can feel an intense fear that brings on a panic attack. During a panic attack you might sweat a lot, have chest pain and have a pounding heartbeat (also called, palpitations)

•Social anxiety disorder. (Also called social phobia) this is when you can feel an overwhelming worry and self-consciousness about social situations. You worry about others judging you and/or being embarrassed or ridiculed.

•Specific phobias. You can feel intense fear of a specific object or situation, such as heights or flying. The fear also may cause you to avoid ordinary situations.

•Agoraphobia. You can have an intense fear of being in a place where it seems hard to escape or get help if an emergency happens. Like, you may panic or feel anxious when on public transportation or standing in line with a crowd.

•Separation anxiety. Most people assume this just goes for little kids, however, they aren’t the only ones who can have this type of anxiety. Anyone can have separation anxiety disorder. For example, you might feel anxious or fearful when a person you’re close with, leaves your sight.

•Selective mutism. This is a type of social anxiety disorder where a person is unable to speak in certain social situations, such as with classmates at school or to relatives they do not see often. The cause(s) are unknown.

-There can be negative emotions that come with all of these types, but some people tend to ignore/suppress these emotions them.

If you do feel these negative emotions, try and think of these emotions like holding a half filled glass of water. Now at first when you hold it for a couple of minutes, it feels fine, but then when you hold onto it for a day, months, a year...etc. Your arm would be aching, you will feel tired and that small half filled glass of water will feel really heavy to you. That's what it can feel like when we deny/ignore our emotions. And then suppressing those, can manifest different emotional/behavioural symptoms like low- mood, more anxiety and stress because the feelings actually need to be acknowledged, processed and released.

Now I know that sounds daunting but when we do tap into our pain, it actually lightens the load that we feel is on our shoulders💛

Now onto the coping methods!😊

Here are some ways you could cope:

•Being physically active

•Writing out my feelings- With being active and writing out feelings, you can get a sense of release so the feelings don't build upon each other as much. Even just going for a walk can be very helpful. Eating healthier can help as well, which brings us to the next tip!!

•Eating relatively healthy- If you give your body good food, instead of bad, and drink a lot of water, your mind will be healthier both physically and mentally.

•Prioritizing sleep- Sleeping is very important as well. Getting enough sleep and getting on a normal schedule can help your mind function better, in general.

•Relaxation techniques (such as meditation or mindfulness)- Even just for 5 minutes when you wake up in the morning, you can listen to a guided meditation, it can help clear your mind and get you ready for the day.

•Distracting myself- Some of my favourite distractions are listening to music and watching a show or movie. Often times when your mind is elsewhere, the feelings tend to not rise up as much or as bad. That is just temporary, but can help in the moment.

Here are some tips for panic attacks, specifically:

•Remember that it’ll pass

•Find a peaceful spot

•Focus on an object

•54321 method (look at 5 separate objects, listen for 4 distinct sounds, touch 3 objects, identify 2 smells, name 1 thing you can taste)

•Walk or do light exercise

•Do muscle relaxation techniques (tense up and relax various muscles one by one, hold the tension for 5 seconds, say “relax” as you release the muscle, let the muscle relax for 10 seconds before moving on to the next)

❤️Remember that you don't have to try all of these at once, and setting small goals or trying new things slowly can be great! It's a really long journey and i know it's scary, but you'll make it through this!!

We wanted to share a few pictures/quotes that might lift your mood or make you feel a bit better💛 so here they are:

Reminder to all:

•You matter to me and others
•You are loved by me and others
•You are worthy
•You are ✨Magical✨

Thank you @emmaishereforyou88 for doing this with me! I couldn't have done it without you😊