Anxiety
No matter how low or high, anxiety is awful, it can escalate and stop you from living a full and happy life. It's not something that a person can just switch off, no matter how much they want to. For some, it is so bad that it cause panic attacks or feeling of lack of breath.
If anxiety is linked to the menopause, then HRT will help but it's not always a 100% cure although it does take the edge off and there are things you can do to help yourself.
Meditation - Brain Training
There are lots of different people that offer mediation in person and online courses and it can be really hard to find one that is right for you. Look for one that is done by a professional with qualifications and experience and not just a 2 day course. Many years ago I started meditation with a CD and book, which is now on You Tube for free called Peace in a Frantic world by Professor Mark Williams. It has 8 mediations , you are advised to start at Number 1 and work your way through to Number 8 as they are in a particular order that makes it easier to learn and get used to. After that you can chose which you think you need on any day. You may prefer to always listen to the guided mediations but you may like to try and do it alone once you are familiar with it and you can add to it extra breathing, or adding something from one of the other meditations on to it, combining two. The mediations are CBT based and aimed at increasing your awareness of thoughts and training the brain to think differently. It requires commitment and consistency, its not something that you can dip in and out of. You will need to make time for it every day and make it part of your life, but You are worth it and it is a worthwhile activity. The book is fantastic and is still available as an audio book as well as in paper form.
2: Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
Your thoughts and feelings can get stuck in a negative cycle, where you are thinking, feeling, allot of the time that the worst is going to happen. CBT works on the concept that your thoughts, physical sensations and actions are connected. CBT aims to help you break the cycle of the despair, overthinking, worrying, panicking, and feelings of being overwhelmed by showing you how to change these behavioural patterns by giving you a tool box for life to cope and deal with problems that you face in your daily life right now in the present rather than looking back and digging int the past.
There are books online as well as in shops that have useful daily CBT exercises as well as giving a good description of what CBT is about. You can also see a CBT therapist who will help you to recognise and change the negative though pattern as well as giving you tools to help yourself. Or there are group in person CBT courses. There are also CBT courses online that you can do in the privacy of your own home at a time that suits you.
3: Cold Water Shower Therapy
Cold showers are not advisable if you have a heart or lung condition and anyone with these conditions should consult with a medical practitioner before taking cold shower.
Like me you may think its not for you but honestly, it really isn't as bad as what you might think and you do get used to it quickly. Firstly set a time you will stay at the cold temperature, keep it realistic and the time low so its achievable something like 5 or 10 seconds (or maybe you decide to go for a full 30/45 seconds). Start off with the shower at the normal temperature you have it wash as normal in the warm water then gradually decrease the temperature until it feels cold, until you feel you are out of your comfort zone and stay there for the time you have set. If you don't get it at the coldest setting first time, just try to gradually decrease the temperature a little more each time. Keep gradually increasing the time spent in the cold zone, you can go up to 2 minutes a day, after that there don't seem to be any increased benefits. It's best to shower cold first thing in the morning for you to get the most out of it. Cold showers at night could re-energise you and keep you awake.
We have been used to experiencing hot showers and it feeling pleasurable and now you are asking yourself to take yourself away from that and take yourself into a cold shower which is, if I'm truthful, not that pleasurable (especially when you're new to cold showers) so you do have to be brave and the temptation to flip the tap in the other direction can be strong! The temptation, in particular when its cold out and you're enjoying the hot shower more than usual, or you're feeling tired will make you want to skip the cold shower. You may think to yourself, Just on this one occasion ill get back to it tomorrow. The voice is so strong sometimes, so be prepared and stay strong. When you turn the tap in the direction of cold you are turning the key in the door that opens up to a whole new way of feeling and a whole new way of thinking. You are choosing to get out of your comfort zone and do something challenging, you are choosing to change your mindset, you are choosing to face the difficulties in your life.
Ask yourself?
Do I want to feel more positive?
Do I want to ease my anxiety?
Do I want to feel more confident, more alive?
Do I want to feel more energised?
Do I want to feel more positive every day?
Do I want to feel calm in the face of stress?
If it's a YES THEN DO IT! Do something.
It is a shock, it does take your breath away, Your mind will shout out get ME OUT OF HERE NOOOWWW!! but hold tight and breathe and keep in mind what's through the other side of the door, ALL THE GOOD STUFF IS RIGHT THERE WAITING FOR YOU.
4. Get Out of Your Comfort Zone
Do something you don't want to do every day, something that scares you a bit. When we are adults we are more in control of our lives and if you are an anxious person then the mind will be very reluctant to take you to a place that is unusual, different, or somewhere or into a zone that is challenging as the mind of an anxious person perceives it as danger and the mind's job is to protect us from danger. Unfortunately for someone who is very anxious the mind works overtime and sees danger where there isn't any or work's over time in escalating a normal scene into one of which is of extreme danger.
Getting out of your comfort zone regularly can change the mindset and help boost your confidence and help you to feel good about yourself and boost your mood. It can help you to deal with difficult things that crop up in your life more comfortably because your mind becomes more used to dealing with difficult things or challenges, Its used to being out of its comfort zone.
5. Yin Yoga
Not only is Yin Yoga incredible for increasing flexibility (for the whole body) It is has benefits for improving mental health. As we hold each pose for 3 minutes (or longer for more experienced Yogi's) we focus the mind on the breath and the sensations of the body. We focus on letting go of the sensations which can feel challenging if you are targeting an area of the body which is tight . When we experience discomfort the mind tells the body to back off . When we stay in the pose (of course not pushing through pain but staying in an area which may feel uncomfortable) we are overcoming a fear of the unknown and coming out of that and realising that we are in fact fine. This makes us feel good, alive, happy. Not only that, the focus on the breath and present moment helps increase alertness and awareness of our surroundings as well as learning to let go of negative thoughts and thought patterns.
We learn instead to turn our attention to the positive.
Summary:
Our minds are to be cared for , to be loved, to be trained, to be made strong, to be nurtured. Negative thoughts are like weeds, we can all get used to treading the familiar path to water the weeds. The path is well trodden and easy to get to, the path to the flowers however is less well trodden and the grass is high and there is no path its easy to get lost and hard to get there.
People often say "that is just the way I am, I'll never change". The thing is, we are all capable of change if we want it, If we are willing to out in the time, effort, and challenge ourselves and make the effort, it's not easy, but it is worthwhile and YOU are WORTH IT.
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