Monday 30 November 2015

Anxiety: Relationships

So I don't claim to be an expert at relationships. But I've had my fair share of crappy ones. And those, despite your efforts, are the ones that you end up carrying with you. It means you feel you can't trust anyone and you are terrified of getting hurt again. It doesn't matter how many times your friends tell you really nice things you don't believe it because all you see is the bad stuff.

It also is a trigger for my anxiety, I worry who is looking at me and why, and what they are thinking. There have been times I have been at the point of panic attacks because I am that worried of people around me. There are tonnes of quotes I could come up with to motivate me into changing my thinking, but personally I think its something everyone experiences, some are just better at it than others.

I have realised getting hurt can help you learn. That sometimes walking away, however hard can help in the long run. What matters is how you feel within your self, so I write down things I am grateful for, and try to write one positive thing about myself every week (little steps always work better than throwing yourself into something from my experience). Having a network of support whether its friends or family you can confide in means even when everyone around you seems to be in relationships.. having babies etc. You know there's someone at the other end of a phone or Facebook message to help.

When someone says they like you, appreciate it. Take little steps towards trusting them more. If it works out great, if not its okay to cry a little bit and move on. Take it as another learning experience.

So here I am (mostly) happy to be single and curious what my future holds.

xx

Thursday 26 November 2015

Anxiety: Talking about things

I contacted Mind recently as I have been struggling a lot with anxiety recently. They suggested looking through their leaflets, going to the doctors and signing up to their chat-room called 'Elefriends'. This is basically a place where people with issues from anxiety to Bipolar disorder can talk, share experiences and have a general shared understanding which they would usually lack elsewhere. You can say as much or as little as you feel you can, use your own picture as a profile pic or any random thing like a pet or a quote.

I was initially apprehensive, I could be talking to anyone and could get mocked for the negative thoughts I wanted to share. However I was so wrong, this group are so helpful and even when you share something and get a hug, like or a comment it makes you feel so much better than sharing on Facebook where you may not get any support. I would recommend this to anyone suffering anxiety or any issue!!

xx

Saturday 21 November 2015

Anxiety: daily life

This came through the post this morning and I was so excited. It's a personalised notebook. I chose the words 'Always have courage'. Combining two, of my many favourite quotes. Always being from Harry Potter and have courage is from Cinderella. 

I'm always one to write things down so this felt perfect for jotting down things about my day that was positive. So when I'm having a bad day can look back and see the good things. 


Xx

Monday 16 November 2015

Anxiety: Dealing with rejection

The previous anxiety post was to do with interviews, so this ones focus is getting rejected from them. It happens, I've had lots of interviews more than I can count on both hands, and only successful once. Even then the job didn't work out. 

So what do I do..?

I focus on the positives, like at least I got offered an interview in the first place, it gives me more practice and confidence for future interviews. It also helps me talk to professionals, see how different organisations work.

Getting knocked that much can start to get to you. You'll have your bad days, where you feel out of sorts, but the other good days will come. As they say you can't have rainbows without a little rain.

xx

Sunday 15 November 2015

Maple syrup and banana cupcakes

So one of my birthday presents was a baking book which I absolutely love! And a recipe that hit me right away was a maple and banana cupcake, with maple frosting and walnuts on top. They tasted so good! 
Here's my cakes! 

Xx

Thursday 12 November 2015

Dealing with interviews

So since I left uni I've had a couple of interviews in primary schools. Which on the one hand is amazing as it means they are interested but on the other I was so scared. Like alot of people I stumble with my words during interviews. The anxiety also creeps in the sweaty palms, fluttering chest and wishing you'd rather be anywhere but there.

So here's how I (try) to deal with interviews. First breathe, seems obvious but taking deep breaths helps to regulate the oxygen in your body and make you feel less panicky. The next thing I do is look around the room. In schools especially there are lovely posters and art work that the children have done. This not only helps pass the time but the colours are actually quite calming. Another thing is if any members of staff walk by smile and say hello, it not only makes you look welcoming and polite it is another good way to distract you.

The interview itself I try to take my time answering questions. It's okay to ask them to repeat the question, it doesn't mean you aren't listening but trying to find the answer. Sometimes the questions can be quite tricky and long, so would be difficult to remember in any situation!

On another note it was my birthday early on this week, which I really enjoyed. I got Cinderella on DVD and this quote felt really meaningful, so I'll leave you with it.
 
xx

Monday 9 November 2015

Another update

Just another quick update my graduation ceremony information finally came through! Still have to wait until January but worth the wait.

So I opened the email and at first I was so excited, then the wonder that is anxiety crept in. Which left part of me thinking should I really go? Still debating with myself but definitely going to try to go as it'll be so worth it. And it's not everyday I get to graduate.

Updates soon, and to anyone else feeling like this it's okay!! You're not the only one.

xx

Bonfire night

So on Saturday (7th) I went to a bonfire night celebration at a local park with family and friends. I was both excited and nervous at the same time.

At the time I kept a lot of the anxiety at bay. And levels remained low using all the techniques I could think of. And with 20,000 people there I definitely needed it! 
The photo below, if you look carefull shows all the people that were in front of us. A little hard to tell admittedly but all the things underneath the firework.. Are the people and that wasn't even everyone. Trying to leave the park at the end was crazy! All those people leaving at once (well trying to).

The following day I suffered badly with headaches and severe tiredness how I usually feel after an anxiety attack so I think the events just caught up with me. But all in all I enjoyed it.
That's all for now.

Xx

Thursday 5 November 2015

My Anxiety: dealing with bullies

This post is sort of continuing with my last. But this time I'll start talking about ways I've overcome things. First one bullying, something almost everyone at some point in their life has experienced, unfortunately some more than others. Which is a sad fact really!!

 As I've said before I've been bullied most of my life. It's something I feel comfortable admitting. It's not easy at the time to deal with the comments, taunts etc but over time it gets better. It's probably something we all hear and think "no that'll never happen with me" but it does! As you get older you realise who your friends are, whose just not worth it and who to stay well clear of.

I'm not one of those people that will say stand up to the bullies, because when there's 5 of them and 1 of you.. well its crazy. So talk to a friend, teacher, someone you can trust, if you can't explain it in words write it all down and show it.

Like most of these blogs I'll keep it brief as I know people don't like reading too much text.

Thanks for now, give me a follow, like, comment and I'll do the same back.

xx

Tuesday 3 November 2015

My Anxiety: a bit of background

For as long as I can remember I've been bullied for one thing or another. Whether it was my height, the fact I'm half Japanese, well my appearance in general. Many of the things I was bullied have permanently mentally scarred me for life. There are events that happened when I was 6 at school that I remember with such clarity (bearing in mind this was 18 years ago). All of this led to re-occurring panic attacks, feeling sick all the time. When it's at its worst it meant finding any excuse I could not to leave the house. Even now with the coping strategies I have there, are still some bad days.

My anxiety flares up when I'm in crowds. This could be by being in town when it's busy, a busy street, when I used to go out clubbing or even a crowded lift. This often means that when I get asked to go out there's days I'll have to cancel because I start to panic. Which is not only frustrating for me, but I often think my friends too, luckily all of whom are supportive.

I could ramble for ages about it and there's probably things I've forgotten to say, but that's my anxiety in a nutshell. Next time I'll talk about ways I overcome it.


xx