My story of anxiety
Incl tips and tricks to help
A lot of things have made me nervous over the years. Since I was very young I have struggled with general anxiety disorder which affected many of my childhood experiences.
One of the things that used to make me the most nervous was travel. I found it particularly difficult to sleep at night as my parents were shift workers and sometimes had to wake up as early as 5am. If they weren’t in bed by 9 o’clock, 8 year old me would potter downstairs and tell them that even if they went to sleep at this second, they wouldn’t get the required amount of sleep to function healthily! Little did I realised, I wasn’t getting enough sleep for a young child because of this anxiety.
As I got older, me and my parents tried many different tactics to ease my anxiety like worry dolls, a tent like canopy over my bed so I wasn’t always looking around, a device in the shape of a tree stump in which I would put the palm of my hand on and the fairy’s would take my worries away (that one was my favourite) and a worry monster. All of these worked for short periods, particularly when I was younger and found comfort in toys, however nothing seemed to fully shake my anxiety.
As I grew up more and began secondary school, the anxiety worsened, being in a new, unfamiliar space was a lot for my brain to cope with, especially at a grammar school where the standards were higher than I had expected. Throughout my time at secondary school, my anxiety often showed in my grades as I had decided it was better to not try and not do very well or fail, then try and disappoint myself by having a bad outcome, this I have now realised, was probably not the best approach.
I started seeing a councillor for the first time when I was in my first year of secondary school at just 11 years old, turns out, she was not what we had in mind (that’s a whole other story). So then, during COVID when I was in year 9, I began seeing another councillor by the name of Mandy and safe to say she was my guardian angel. She made me realise so much about myself and how my brain worked as well as the world around me, teaching me incredible and helpful ways to cope with my anxiety. I have included my favourites at the end of this entry in diagrams and descriptions.
However, possibly the worst part is about this first blog entry is I don’t really have a resolution to these anecdotes, I just had to cope for a large portion of my life, which in hindsight, was a lot harder than I realised at the time. Despite the support from those around me, it was eventually down to me to deal with my anxieties as I realised I needed to start being more independent in my life; although at this moment in time it may feel like that’s not possible, I promise it will be.
My anxiety ended up being a part of a cumulative effect which eventually led to a diagnosis of depression a few years later. If you are experiencing any of these symptoms I urge you to seek a diagnosis, I know it may take a while, but even after a while, getting a diagnosis is better than not.
Whatever you’re going through, I believe in you.
Wellbeing with AJ ❤
Square breathing is one of my favourite techniques as it is practical, in the sense that you can do it anywhere are also has an element of touch, but it is also one of the most helpful breathing techniques I’ve found. Wether you’re crying and can’t stop, having a panic attack of even just been on a run, square breathing is a useful technique to have in your toolbox.
This is one of my favourite methods for calming down during a panic attack. You can do this by yourself or with a trusted friend or family member to give you the prompts, I find having this screenshot on my phone helpful for me and others as I can always have it handy if I can’t remember or someone else needs it.
Wellbeing with AJ 