"That knot in your stomach feeling, shallow breathing, heart racing."
This has been me for the last year. This is also what a number of my clients have or do experience regularly.
How did I deal with it to start with?
I did everything to avoid places that I knew would cause me to get into this anxious driven state including my own home. I also saw therapists (yep, I tried a few!). And of course I buried myself in training, work and travel.
I knew it was anxiety because of the way it took hold of me, it was an awful and miserable feeling that I felt unable to control.
And then I had a car crash.... I realised that perhaps the universe was trying to tell me to stop.
To take time out.
To stop running away.
To start loving myself and my home.
Recognising that my feelings... Were just feelings. That in speaking to myself and recognising my mind's attempts at catastrophizing everything was out of proportion with reality. That me giving energy to these negative thoughts/feelings was exhausting and pointless.
I worked on retraining my mind and followed mind set coaches to help me understand my thought processes. I meditated. I did affirmations. I breathed deeply.
Every time I learn something from this life I hope to help others to be able to process their experiences better.
There is no doubt my training and working with people has helped me get through some pretty shitty times. I just want you to know you're not alone. There are ways to help overcome many of our mental stumbling blocks to find a happier and healthier version of ourselves.
Don't let social media create labels for you, that you are not. If I believed everything on social media I could attune myself to being a high functioning empath (no such thing) with ADD who's an ambivert (extrovert and introvert) and then start justifying poor behaviour. Instead I choose to be more than a bunch of labels. I choose to be uniquely me and work on myself to grow and be a better version of me.
Be You.
Be Uniquely You.
Be The Change.